Sony LinkBuds - New concept open ring design allows conversations without removing earbuds and to stay safe while running - White

I received my Linkbuds yesterday, so these are just early thoughts, but overall I'm impressed.Packaging: They come in the recyclable modular cardboard packaging now favoured by Sony. Compact and fits through a letterbox. Includes different size ear hooks and a USB-A charge cableSetup: The ear hooks can be interchanged from four different sizes, and whilst they're a little fiddly to change, it's easy enough. They went into pair mode right out of the charge case, but you can initiate pairing to further devices by replacing them in the case and pressing the pair button (far preferable to the normal way of having to press both buds for 10 seconds).Fit: Comfortable and secure once you have the right hooks. I'd probably not trust them for cycling only because of the risk of brushing your ear and one falls on the road, but for pretty much any other use these are just right.Sound: Surprisingly good, particularly since there's almost no attenuation of background sound with them on. Bass is a bit light and the audio lacks depth, but that's not why you buy these - they're to ensure you can still hear what's going on around you. I find them perfect for Teams calls, because I hate that isolated sound that comes from using regular earbuds when you speak - you're never sure how loud your voice actually is. These fix that beautifully. Obviously noise cancellation would be better in a very noisy environment or on public transport, but for desk use or out walking, these are spot on.Conclusion: The Linkbuds are now my go-to earbuds for videoconferencing and outdoor activities. I'll continue to carry a pair of noise-cancelling earbuds for travel or serious music listening, but these will easily get just as much use.

Before I start, I'll just say I used to review tech stuff for YouTube so I've handled a fair bit of tech and even though I don't do video reviews anymore, I still enjoy trying out various things.I have had these on my watch list for ages and they tend to go on sale every so often for around £60-80. I got mine on the refurbished warehouse for £51 marked very good quality.The box was heavily damaged and torn, there was no usb cable with it and the instructions were missing but the unit itself was pretty much perfect. The rubber ear adjusting rings were still in the box but they were falling out when I received it. It's a good job these were present because you really need them.I cannot wear the normal rubber/foam tipped earbuds anymore and they have actually scarred my ear canal from bad fitting ones previously so I tend to look for the old style Apple ones that are just plastic but they tend to sound fairly bad comparatively.These fit in my ears with zero discomfort which is absolutely massive to me. They are so lightweight and comfortable that I even forgot I had them in earlier today. I did need to change the rubber holder though and without that holding ring, they felt as though they would fall out if I moved my head too quick so if you buy refurbished and they are missing, you might as well send them back.Sound wise I didn't know what to expect. People said they are for hearing stuff around you and that they had no bass at all as a result. I kind of disagree with this but I understand the viewpoint.I found whilst they do allow much more sound through than standard earphones, it's still possible to pretty much completely block outside sound for me if I use high volume. On low to medium volume though you can hear sounds around you much clearer than regular earphones. The hole also keeps your ear canal cool which is a fairly big thing for long usage.Sound quality wise it's better than the original airpods with the plastic frame but not as good as the newer type fully sealed ones. As others have mentioned, bass is low but if you use the Bass Boost EQ option in the app then you get much better bass. Outside of the bass though, the earphones are standard Sony level balance which is very good quality on par with Sennheisers.I can't comment on battery life yet because I haven't had chance to run them down but they took quite a while to charge.I was thinking if I didn't like these I was going to send them back but I'm very happy with them and will keep them as my daily use earphones. The comfort alone is massive for me and the sound is decent.I'd love to see this design with less focus on being open and potentially with ANC on it with an updated model. I get that the main gimmick with this is that it's open but I honestly prefer the way this sits in my ear compared to any other type I've ever tried. A closed version would be perfect.

The positives: very small and light, a tiny charging case, reasonable sound when in the perfect position.Negatives: In my ears I could not get them to fit well, be comfortable and have good sound. I also found them lacking in volume for busy environments.These headphones are a really cool and interesting design, and Sony have not been afraid to try something that really does break the mould of headphone design. They are very small and light and I could perceive them being comfortable for a lot of people even for sleeping. The sound is reasonable, a little overly present in the vocal frequencies which would make them excellent podcast headphones, but for music with a lot of distorted guitars they can be a little fatiguing and not very balanced. However, to the subject of my review, your mileage may vary.These would not fit my ears properly. I found if I got them in the right position to sound good, they would fall out or, in the other position where they sounded good, they were very uncomfortable. If I got them in a comfortable position that would stay in my ears they sounded bad and were far too quiet for outside listening. Even with this consideration I would probably give 4 stars for a cool and innovative product but I saw on YouTube some other reviews where they did not fit the reviewers ears either, so 3 stars and mine are going back.

I play video games in the same room next to my wife on two consoles/tvs (e.g. Gears 5). We want our own audio but to be able to talk to each other because we're on the same couch. Open back over ear headphones work great, and now so do these!Update, they're kind of uncomfortable =(

I live downtown chicago in a nice neighborhood, but I got mugged again right next to the Chicago Theater. I was wearing the Sony WF-1000mx4, in broad daylight. In the city you really need to hear your surroundings. I really just use these when I’m out and about. It really is a great product for what I Need to stay safe. The sound is good for music and great for audiobooks and podcasts. There is no ear fatigue, sometimes I forget they are there. I also like no earbud jammed in your ear. I of course love the sound of my wf-1000mx4 much more but in the third largest city staying safe is a job.

Seit mehr als 25 Jahren kämpfe ich mit einem chronisch dekompensierten Tinnitus und begleitender Hyperakusis. Im Laufe der Zeit hat sich die Intensität meines Leidens leider verschlimmert. Durch einen glücklichen Zufall stieß ich auf einen Bericht, der die Nutzung von LinkBuds empfahl. Ich kann mit Überzeugung sagen, dass diese Ohrhörer die beste Investition sind, die ich seit vielen Jahren getätigt habe.Die einzigartige Konstruktion der LinkBuds mit ihrer schalldurchlässigen Öffnung im Bereich des Treibers ermöglicht es mir, sämtliche Umgebungsgeräusche ungefiltert zu hören. Dadurch nimmt mein Eigengeräusch (Tinnitus) nicht noch weiter an Intensität zu, wenn ich die Ohrhörer verwende. Gleichzeitig kann ich problemlos mit anderen Menschen kommunizieren, ohne akustisch von der Außenwelt abgeschnitten zu sein. Auch Telefonate funktionieren fantastisch, und die Übertragungsqualität wurde mir von vielen Gesprächspartnern bestätigt.Die LinkBuds eröffnen mir die Möglichkeit, jede denkbare Quelle wie weißes Rauschen, klassische Musik oder Podcasts abzuspielen, was meine Leidenslast verringert, indem es Ablenkung bietet. Im Vergleich zu speziell angefertigten Rauschgeneratoren (Noisern), die oft nur einfaches Rauschen produzieren können, ermöglichen die LinkBuds sogar die Durchführung einer selbständig durchgeführten "Klangtherapie".Ich hoffe, dass ich mit der Zeit durch die Ablenkung von meinem Tinnitus eine stetige Habituation erreichen kann. Ich bin zuversichtlich, dass das stetige Training mit den LinkBuds meine Hyperakusis positiv beeinflussen wird, da jede Vermeidung von akustischen Reizen das Problem der Geräuscheüberempfindlichkeit nur noch verstärkt.Ein weiterer Pluspunkt ist, dass die LinkBuds perfekt in meinem Ohr halten und ich sie kaum spüre. Vielleicht habe ich in dieser Sache Anatomisch gesehen, Glück gehabt. Selbst Windgeräusche sind kein Problem, was bei Over-Ear-Kopfhörern oft zu erheblichen Problemen geführt hat.Es ist meine erste Rezension, die ich schreibe, aber es war mir eine Herzensangelegenheit, anderen Menschen, die sich in einer ähnlichen Situation befinden, diesen Tipp zu geben. Ich habe die persönliche Erfahrung gemacht, dass Geräte mit Noise-Canceling-Funktion meine Ohrgeräusche getriggert haben. Ich könnte mir vorstellen, dass die Erzeugung eines Gegenschalls eine Belastung für die Hörverarbeitung darstellen könnte. Aber das ist nur meine persönliche Vermutung. Die LinkBuds haben keinen ANC-Modus, und das ist für meinen Zweck gut so.Ich bin so begeistert von den LinkBuds, dass ich mir sofort ein zweites Paar bestellt habe. Die Akkulaufzeit endet nach ca. 5 Stunden Dauerbetrieb. Da ist es gut zu wissen, dass ein zweites Paar die Nutzungszeit verlängern kann.

Los Sony LinkBuds me han sorprendido gratamente. Su diseño de anillo abierto es innovador y se ajusta cómodamente. La calidad del sonido es impresionante, con bajos profundos y agudos nítidos. La duración de la batería es decente, aunque podría ser mejor. Sin embargo, la función de cancelación de ruido podría ser más efectiva en entornos ruidosos. En general, son una excelente opción para quienes buscan comodidad y calidad de audio decente. ¡Me encantan!

Attention ! Ces écouteurs n'isolent pas du tout du bruit ambiant, si c'est ce que vous recherchez, passez votre chemin.En revanche, si vous êtes, comme je l'étais, à la recherche d'écouteurs confortables, non invasifs, pour avoir un léger fond musical dans les oreilles tout en ne se coupant pas de ses voisins de bureau et sans les gêner, de pouvoir passer des appels téléphoniques en open space, ce produit est taillé spécialement pour cet usage !La qualité du son est logiquement modérée car beaucoup de la pression acoustique est dispersée avec la conception ouverte des écouteurs. Néanmoins, un égaliseur est prévu dans l'appli qui permet de régler au mieux le spectre audio. Je suis tout de même content de la qualité sonore SONY, même si les basses sont les premières perdantes dans la conception des écouteurs.