Sony LinkBuds S review: the small and powerful TWS headphones

They are called LinkBuds but they don’t have the donut shape. Sony inaugurated the family a few months ago with true wireless as beautiful as they are particular, but now they have also been added the LinkBuds S, of the classic in-ear that perhaps aim less to amaze and focus directly on technology and proprietary functions. The segment is going strong, very strong, and this is the time to push on the accelerator by listing an ambitious model that is much smaller than the top of the range WF-1000XM4 announced last year.

After spending more than a month in their company, I will tell you my experience, aware that choosing TWS is now complex given the abundance of solutions on the market. Making flashy steps forward is not easy for manufacturers, in fact many have reached a very high level and improving technology by having such small components available is increasingly challenging. Sometimes it is then the brand that makes the difference: Sony is a guarantee in the audio field, a lot is expected and little is forgiven. Let’s see now how these LinkBuds S go, whose debut on the market dates back to May.

I start from the basics, or rather from custodywhich represents the gateway and performs a double task as usual: recharges the headphones via the built-in battery – when they are inside – and allows you to carry them around safely. It weighs little, only 35gand it’s coarse to the touch. No quality material, it is in fact polycarbonate, but I appreciate the finish that keeps fingerprints and dirt away.

The green footprint is not lacking here too, Sony is committed to increasingly reduce the impact on the environment and for this reason much of the plastic used for cases and headphones comes from recycled materials. The package is then made entirely of recycled paper and cardboard, in short, the (right) direction is now traced, we hope that many will follow it.

Flat enough, it fits comfortably in your pocket and earns more than a point compared to the houses used for other family members. It can be recharged comfortably via a USB-C port, unfortunately the possibility of using a wireless base is missing, the only real hardware flaw I encountered. Door that opens without difficulty and seems solid enough, magnetic mechanism for hooking the headphones powerful enough, making mistakes is impossible.

The LinkBuds S they are positioned immediately below the WF-1000XM4 and for this they aim high towards a pleasant and precise sound experience, with many of the technical solutions expected from the top of the class. The 5 mm driver, high-elasticity diaphragm and high-power neodymium magnets help create powerful bass and crystal-clear sound. For noise cancellation, the V1 processor comes into play (the same present on the top of the range) which does a good job, you can isolate yourself sufficiently from the surrounding environment to enjoy audio and songs, without too many distractions. But beware, we are far from the result obtained with the WF-1000XM4.

For the most demanding there is thehigh resolution wireless audio with LDAC technology (capable of transmitting more or less three times the data compared to conventional Bluetooth audio), but beware of the source because only some streaming platforms offer this quality. There is also the DSEE Extreme which restores compressed digital music files in real time.

Sony uses the slogan #neveroff that we can translate with a simple “always on”. It might seem an oxymoron given that these are traditional in-ears, so not really comfortable if you wear them for a long time consecutively, but the Japanese house has reduced the weight of the individual earphones by 33%, going from 7.2g of the WF- 1000XM4 to 4.8g of the LinkBuds S (think that the old WF-1000XM3 weighed almost double, or 8.5g). This means less discomfort on the auricle, less stress and the possibility of using them for several hours without particular hassles, as happened to me on several occasions in this test period.

Having found the right combination of silicone adapters, taking advantage of the 4 sizes available with three alternatives present inside the package, you will quickly find the right confidence with the headphones. Personally I found them unobtrusive, comfortable and with a shape that fits my ear well. They protrude little, very little, they are therefore less showy than many other models and this discretion, in my opinion, has a value.

Excellent call quality, my interlocutors confirmed to me an enviable cleanliness of the sound and then there is the appreciated function “Speak-to-chat”, capable of interrupting any reproduction as soon as the wearer speaks. In this way you do not have to remove them, at the same time the ambient mode is activated and the microphones help in listening to the surrounding environment.

As on many other latest generation in-ears here too battery life is not a problemrather a strong point. The manufacturer speaks of 6 hours of autonomy with a single charge, but thanks to the one integrated into the case, another 14 hours are added, for a total of 20 hours. It is difficult to say if these estimates perfectly match reality, also because generally these headphones are used for short periods or for a few consecutive hours (whether it is a flight or a train ride or in front of your PC).

Once the listening session is over, perhaps even just for a break or lunch, the headphones are returned to their accommodation and recharged easily there. And if it were completely zero, then it would only take 5 minutes to have about 60 minutes of listening. Just consult your connected smartphone to get an accurate estimate of the remaining percentage of the headphones and case left.

The application is the classic Sony Headphones, a portal that becomes more and more complete over the years and has now reached version 9.1. Once paired, very fast on both smartphone and Windows 10/11 PC, you access the main screen which includes 4 sections: Status, Sound, System and Services. The recharge percentage of the three batteries is always clearly evident.

The first, the “State“, it only shows the queue being played and the adaptive sound control. If you activate it you access a screen that allows you to detect the actions and memorize the positions frequented, so as to customize the experience and activate or not certain things such as the sound cancellation. Up “Sound“On the other hand, you can directly control the noise cancellation, voice dictation, equalizer and settings of 360 Reality Audio. The latter is a world unto itself so you have to analyze the shape of the ear and follow a process of refinement which takes a few minutes (but it’s worth it for the most thorough).

On “System“There are instead the controls, a fundamental part for the TWS that allows you to expand the functions and make them smarter than they already are. Once you have chosen the right combinations, between left and right earphones, you interact directly with the headphones by touching the external back (light touches are needed) or with the voice. By also associating the Google Assistant, for Android mobile devices, we will be able to listen to incoming messages, respond by dictating slowly, or make requests, call phonebook numbers and all with extreme ease In fact, I found such an interaction that I really activated all the functions to exploit them at the right moment, it will also be thanks to Google that has done its part.

We close with “Services“which opens to external platforms such as Spotify, Endel and Ingress. Just connect them to activate the” quick access “commands and thus enter your library with a tap (or more, depending on the combination chosen).

The LinkBuds S fill a small gap in the Sony line-up, offering many of its technologies already present on the WF-1000XM4 in a smaller, more versatile and easy to wear format. A few grams less counts in this segment, as well as design and comfort, leaving it to be understood that the sound quality is more than excellent and the listening experience is one of the best possible.

Of course, the noise cancellation is not the “perfect” one of the older sisters, but you must always consider the physical limits of these headphones and consider the over-ear if you aim for complete isolation. After trying them all, I admit that I prefer their comfort to more incisive noise cancellation, it’s a compromise I’m willing to accept.

Their evolution on the market is also very interesting: officially starting from 199 euros at the end of May, they are now easily found online around 150 euros, an average positioning that makes them even more attractive given what is offered.