Sony LinkBuds Open has achieved a significant overall improvement compared to the Sony LinkBuds, and is very satisfactory in terms of basic user experience. It continues the earbud cavity-shape design, shortens the cavity length and improves the earwings structure to adapt to a wider range of users.
Sony LinkBuds Open specs and features:
- Bluetooth 5.3 with SBC/AAC/LC3 codec
- 8 hours playback of per charge
- 22 hours playtime of total battery life
- IPX4 waterproof rating (rain and sweat resistant)
- Multipoint Connection & 360 Reality Audio
- $178 – Check latest price on Amazon US, Amazon Germany or other Amazon countries
Appearance Design and Comfort
The Sony LinkBuds Open charging case has a new design that looks like a “square macaron”. The upper lid has a glossy texture, while the lower part has a matte texture. The pairing button and USB-C charging port are located below the hinge on the back, and the button feels a bit soft.
The shape of LinkBuds Open earbuds is the same as Sony LinkBuds, but it has been optimized in size and structure – you can still understand that this is a structure consisting of two parts – front and back. The front-end is a speaker unit with a hollow structure, and the back-end is the part that integrates the microphone, audio circuit and battery.
The speaker is similar in shape to the previous model, but the hole facing the ear canal has changed significantly. It seems that in order to improve the low-frequency quality, the hole has been changed to a larger diameter. A layer of black damping mesh can also be seen inside the hole.
The back-end has also been restructured, from a flat inner structure to a more standard sphere to accommodate the new earwing. At the same time, the fit to the auricle structure will be slightly better. The charging contacts have been reduced to two, and the sensor area has also been reduced.
The fit of the back-end is improved, and the structure of the earwing is more suitable for people with small and medium-sized ears by default. The softer material and adjusted earwing angle make the pressure basically negligible. The wearing comfort is significantly improved for people with small ears. However, after wearing it for four hours, there will be some discomfort in the ear canal area.
Like the previous model, Sony LinkBuds Open supports IPX4 waterproof rating and can cope with scenarios such as light rain and daily exercise sweating.
Connectivity, App Support and Controls
The earbuds use Bluetooth 5.3 protocol and support SBC, AAC and LC3 codec. I tested several mobile phones and there were no problems with connection stability. Also, the LinkBuds Open supports multipoint connection and can connect mobile phone and computer at the same time.
Sony LinkBuds Open supports the Sony Sound Connect App for Android and iOS. The app provides equalizer settings, multipoint bluetooth device management, control options, Auto Play, 360 Reality Audio settings, firmware updates, and more.
In addition to retaining the basic headset panel controls, LinkBuds Open also supports wide-area click function. After activating it in the app, you only need to click the area close to your cheek to perform simple operations.
Its default control logic is: double-click to play/pause music or answer/end call, triple-click to play the next song or reject call, and repeat click to adjust the volume. There is no recognition of single-click, and the recognition of operations relies on “clicking” rather than “touch”.
Relatively speaking, the farther the wide-area click operation area is from the earbud, the longer its response time will be. Plus, the sensitivity can be adjusted on the app, but for the current state, its sensitivity is sufficient. After using it for a few days, LinkBuds Open has a relatively high recognition accuracy for both panel control and wide-area click.
There are also voice prompts for the operation. The default volume is OK, but it may not be loud enough in a very noisy environment. However, you can adjust the volume in the app and set the prompts in 15 languages.
Additionally, Sony LinkBuds Open supports head motion recognition. There is no problem with its recognition response accuracy, but the pause after taking off the earbuds is a little slower. The logic of head control is the same as that of Apple AirPods series, which is applicable to answering and rejecting calls.
Calls and Battery Life
Since LinkBuds Open is a product between semi-in-ear earbuds and OWS headphones, its call pickup effect is better than ear-clip headphones and ear-hook headphones.
The call clarity is good and the loudness is sufficient. The noise cancelling effect is perceptible in noisy environments, but there is still a problem of the algorithm interfering with the main voice in windy environments. Compared with Sony LinkBuds, it is an obvious improvement, but there is still room for improvement in the usability of call noise cancelling.
The single battery life of the earbud is up to 8 hours, and the total battery life with charging case is up to 22 hours. Plus, LinkBuds Open also supports power saving mode and fast charging function, charging for 3 minutes can listen to music for 60 minutes. After turning on the power saving mode, when the power is less than 20%, the EQ, DESS, smart hands-free and voice control functions will be automatically turned off.
Smart Functions and 360 Reality Audio
Auto Play: This is a function that automatically plays music for different sports scenarios. Currently, it can be linked to QQ Music, Endel and Apple Music. In actual experience, it should be based on the acceleration sensor for judgment, because turning on this function will prompt you to pair a new bluetooth device. When you start running, it will automatically start playing the preset playlist. The date will be broadcasted when you wear it for the first time every day, and the hourly time can be turned on every hour.
Adaptive Volume Control: A function that adjusts the volume in real time according to the noise level of the environment. In the past, you would notice it when you suddenly entered an area where the volume of the environment changed significantly; now the improvement is that the adjustment process is more natural, and the frequency of adaptation seems to be a little higher.
360 Reality Audio: After measurement, when listening to 360RA audio, there is a higher degree of soundstage restoration, but the sound source needs to support 360 Reality Audio. Sony did not specifically introduce support for Dolby Atmos.
Furthermore, Sony LinkBuds Open also supports Quick Access, Auto Switch, background sound effects, smart hands-free, and more.
Acoustic Configuration, Sound Quality and Leakage
Sony LinkBuds Open is equipped with a customized 11mm ring-shaped dynamic driver, and the inner hole of the cavity is larger. In a quiet room, 30~40% volume is enough for normal listening. Even in a noisy coffee shop, it can meet the listening needs at about 70% volume.
Compared with the previous model, LinkBuds Open has a smaller unit diameter and changed the cavity structure. When listening to pop music at 30% volume in a quiet indoor environment, the sound leakage is very difficult to detect at a distance of 8-10cm; at 50% volume, the sound leakage is difficult to detect at a distance of 15cm, and only a little sound can be heard at about 10cm.
The low-frequency quantity is slightly less, and the thickness and fullness are moderate. The elasticity is not very prominent, and the bass extension is good. The speed of expansion and contraction is moderate, and there is not much reverberation left. The ambience is slightly blurred, and there is no richness. The low-frequency is still not full and energetic, but it is much more complete than Sony LinkBuds. Its low-frequency quality is quite good, so it is not behind AirPods 4 in extension and layering, while maintaining a relatively natural hearing.
The thickness of the mid-frequency vocals is moderate, the distance is appropriate, and the mouth size is slightly smaller than the standard state. The texture of the vocals and the line depiction are both taken into account, and the clarity of the lines is sufficient but not too prominent. The compatibility of male and female voices has been improved, and the current state is a state of relatively wide adaptability of the voice line. The vocal transparency is high.
The high-frequency brightness is moderate, with some slightly prominent peaks, but no obvious stimulation. The ultra-high frequency extension is better than the previous model, but the amount of information is still not very large. The roll-off is a little early, but not too fast.
The naturalness of the soundstage is excellent, with a good sense of boundaries and a certain height for similar horizontal and vertical distances. The separation between vocals and instruments is OK, which is a big improvement over Sony LinkBuds. The fuzziness at low volume is significantly improved. The resolution and transients are good, and the dynamic is moderate.
Conclusion
Sony LinkBuds Open is a reasonable choice between semi-in-ear earbuds and OWS headphones. It is closer to the ear canal than OWS to reduce sound leakage, and more open than semi-in-ear earbuds to allow continuous wear. Abandoning the need for Active Noise Cancelling (ANC), it is the most worthwhile open-ear wireless earbuds under 200 dollars.
Check the Sony LinkBuds Open price:
- Check latest price on Amazon US
- Check latest price on Amazon Germany
- Check latest price on other Amazon countries