Just a few months ago, in February of 2022, Sony revealed LinkBuds — tiny earbuds with a physical hole for an always-on transparency mode. They were unique, offered rich sound, and for $179.99, featured no noise cancellation.
Three months later, Sony is unveiling the $199.99 LinkBuds S. These sport a more conventional earbud design with a well-rounded feature list boasting active noise cancellation and a digital transparency mode. Notably, like the over-ear Sony WH-1000XM5, these intelligently determine your listening mode — noise canceling when you’re stationary and a transparency mode when working out.
And I’ve spent nearly two weeks using LinkBuds S as my daily earbuds across work, travel, and many workouts. While swapping listening modes, I’ve been spinning some Olivia Rodrigo, Bruce Springsteen, Haim, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. So let’s turn the volume to ten and break down what Sony got right here.
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Filling in the HoleUnlike the LinkBuds, which took a few days to feel normal in my ears, the LinkBuds S felt normal after a few seconds and are some of the most comfortable earbuds I’ve ever worn. Why? They have a more conventional earbud design and are light at just 4-grams flat. That’s a whole gram less than AirPods 3 and Beats Fit Pro. I quickly forgot they were even in my ears and sat back to knock out work or immerse myself into a workout.
LinkBuds S, like other earbuds, features a silicone ear tip that extends into your ear and a canister that sits right in your ear. Unlike in-ear AirPods, no stem sticks out, and like Galaxy Buds or Pixel Buds, the LinkBuds S have a circular canister that sits in the ear. And unlike Sony’s $279.99 WF-1000XM4 — our pick for noise canceling earbuds — these sit flush and don’t protrude out of the ear.
They’re very compact and cozy — Sony even says these are the lightest earbuds with active noise cancellation and a transparency mode. You’ll get four ear-tips in the box to help get the proper seal in your ear, and there’s an ear tip fit test in the app that we highly recommend. You can also get the LinkBuds S in black or white from any retailer or BestBuy’s exclusive “Ecru” (AKA gold) color. And like any other pair of true wireless earbuds, the LinkBuds S live in a relatively compact case that doubles as a charger.
You’ll control the LinkBuds S through touch capacitive sensors on the earbuds. You can tap once to play or pause, double tap to skip forward, and long hold to engage a voice assistant. And with IPX4 sweat and water resistance, you can wear these while working out or safely in some light rain.
Crisp and Rich AudioSony’s LinkBuds S sound good and meet the bar set by other earbuds at this price and above it (looking at you AirPods Pro, Galaxy Buds Pro, and Beats Fit Pro). They also offer a more full, rich mix with a significantly wider soundstage than the original LinkBuds. A custom ring-shaped driver powered those, and here Sony is using a more standard, 5-millimeter drive to create sound. It’s paired with a custom-made Integrated V1 processor used on the WF-1000XM4 and WH-1000XM5.
This comes together for a powerful mix that works remarkably well across all genres. And like other Sony earbuds and headphones, you can use the companion “Sony Headphones” app for Android or iOS to customize the experience with a digital equalizer. This lets you have the LinkBuds S mix the music the way you want to hear it, and I really wish that other companies offer this.
“The Love Club” by Lorde opens with a solid thud of a repeating bass tone with smoother higher-end vocals backing a strong main vocal. It’s a crowded track, but you can pick up on the various inputs for a melodic mix with these buds. There’s no rattle or crackle from deep bass or low tones on this track or with “Good 4 U” by Olivia Rodrigo. The latter comes through richly and allows for a rewarding ramp up towards the chorus on the track.
And to test instrument separation, I tossed “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen into the mix. You can make out the various guitars, main drum, saxophone, piano, and a bevy of vocals that come together for a wall of sound mix. LinkBuds S delivers a rich and enjoyable listening experience regardless of the genre, artist, or track. This also extends to podcasts for clear audio and a rapid fire of genres while scrolling through TikToks. The LinkBuds also support two hi-res streaming standards — LDAC and DSEE Extreme — along with 360 Reality Audio.
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Intelligent Listening Modes Steal the ShowLast week, I reviewed the over-ear WH-1000XM5, which premiered a more intelligent version of noise canceling and ambient sound modes. That same feature set, dubbed “Adaptive Sound Control” by Sony, is in full force on the LinkBuds S and might be the next must-have feature that all earbuds should strive to hit. You don’t want to constantly open your phone to adjust the mode or tap the earbuds to move in and out of noise canceling. And this feature solves that and fits in with the broader LinkBuds promise of “connecting the online and offline worlds.”
Using sensors like gyroscopes and accelerometers, LinkBuds S can determine if you’re stationary or on the move in the earbuds. When working at your desk, noise cancellation will automatically be engaged, but if you get up to walk a dog or take a stroll, it will engage an ambient sound mode to let outside noise in. It can even judge your environment to determine the proper level of audio to let in. It’s impressive, and you can customize each of the modes: staying, walking, running, or transport. The app will even request location access to help create these presets and get more intelligent over time.
And the noise cancellation is pretty strong here and works best for more loud and lower frequency sounds. LinkBuds S can mostly mute an HVAC system down to a pretty high-pitched hum, block out neighbors who like to stomp, and give you some peace of mind while commuting. The transparency or ambient sound mode is decent here but not as natural as AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, or the original LinkBuds. It’sIt’s clear that it’s digitizing something, but it doesn’t sound as robotic as some cheaper earbud options out there.
And on Android at launch, with iOS arriving in the next few weeks via an update, Sony will roll out an “Auto Play” function that will work with Spotify and Endel at launch. Essentially, letting it engage a particular playlist, song, or even meditation depending on the time of day or your activity. For instance, when you wear LinkBuds S in the morning, it can play a daily briefing from Spotify, or before bed, as you’re winding down, it can engage a track to help you feel serene.
I’ll be continuing to put this to the test, but I am eager to see more services jump on board with this to get the most out of it for the broadest pool of listeners. And you will need the separate “Auto Play” app from Sony installed to use this, which is a little strange and frustrating.
Strong Battery Life and Clear MicrophonesUnlike the original LinkBuds, which lasted for five hours on a charge, I’ve been able to hit six hours on average with “Adaptive Sound Control” engaged on the LinkBuds S. That’s long enough for use for most of a workday and is in line with other earbuds at this price point. The charging case provides three additional recharges, and placing the LinkBuds S in the case for about five minutes yields 60 minutes of playback. You’ll recharge the carrying case via USB-C — Sony includes a cable in the box — and it’s relatively compact.
As mentioned above, the LinkBuds S feature a circular mesh cutout on both earbuds, and this is essentially a filter for wind. The microphones for picking up your voice and blocking out sound or letting it reside behind this. And this helps to cut down on echo and external sounds when you’re taking a phone call, recording a voice memo, or sending an audio message.
And it works pretty well here; at times, you can hear a bit of an echo in the wearer’s voice, but it wasn’t to a detrimental degree. Colleagues let me know that I came through clear and crisp on VoIP calls using Google Meet and Zoom.
Bottom lineIf the LinkBuds are best for those who want to hear the world around them constantly, LinkBuds S give you the best of both worlds. At $20 more, it makes sense to get these over the regular, especially if you’re alright with a slightly more digital-sounding transparency sound mode. LinkBuds and AirPods Pro still offer the best in class experience there.
But aside from that, LinkBuds S gives you everything you could want in a pair of earbuds. You’ll get battery life that can last all day, a compact build, and rich sound. Most importantly, though, Adaptive Sound Modes automatically and intelligently switch you in and out of listening modes based on what you’re doing. It’s cool, and if you’re into new technology, these are worth picking up to try.
However, if you’re looking for a deep ecosystem integration, Sony’s LinkBuds S are mostly platform agnostic, leaning towards Android thanks to fast pairing. Those with an iPhone who want earbuds that sync across all your Apple devices will want to look at AirPods Pro.
Sony’s LinkBuds S are available for preorder at $199.99 in Black or White from retailers like Amazon and BestBuy. Those who want the exclusive “Ecru” gold color will need to visit BestBuy. LinkBuds S will begin shipping in all colors on May 20, 2022.
Prices are accurate and items in stock at time of publishing.