Sony LinkBuds Open

Introduction

Launching in 2022, the original LinkBuds led the current push in open-ear sound. It’s an area Apple dominated with its AirPods, but now everyone is trying to get a slice of this pie.

The LinkBuds Open are the sequel to original, and the aim remains the same: allowing the wearer to remain connected to what’s around while wearing the headphones.

That might come across as a contradiction in terms of how you can listen to audio but still be alert. I find it hard to concentrate alone, so it’ll be difficult if you could hear what’s around you at the same time.

But the LinkBuds are catered for those who want to tune in and tune out whenever they like – and the LinkBuds Open perform pretty well.

Design

• Air Fitting supporters
• Always ‘open’ design
• Good levels of comfort

Not everyone wants earphones in the ear. The pressure and fit for some make wearing headphones uncomfortable, and there’s a safety aspect to consider. There have been plenty of times when I’ve been caught unaware of what’s around me.

The design isn’t altogether different from the original but Sony has added the same Air Fitting supporters as on the LinkBuds Fit to keep them secure. They come in different sizes to match bigger or smaller ears.

The second is that I don’t think they use the same material as before, which I found chafed when the earphones made contact with the skin. Wearing the LinkBuds Open on a chilly day, I found them comfortable enough for a couple of hours. They’re also rated to IPX4 to protect against water and sweat.

The problem – or solution for some – is that these earphones are always open; always letting in sound. That’s good if you want awareness but these headphones don’t block sudden, loud sounds. On public transport, it can be hard to hear audio and I wouldn’t recommend exposing your ears to the sound of the Underground.

They do go louder than the original did at full volume, but not as loud as the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, which are better (though not perfect) in louder environments.

You can control the earphones with taps on the surface or with Sony’s Wide Area Tap, where you can double or triple tap near your ear to control audio playback.

I don’t find that works all the time – and I don’t believe you can change the sensitivity in Sony’s Sound Connect app. It sometimes requires a few tries but it’s a cool way of operating the headphones.

The charging case is the same lovely-looking glossy compact version that the LinkBuds Fit came in, though the LinkBuds have a plainer finish that doesn’t make them as stylish. They come in different colours – the usual black, white and the Olivia Rodrigo violet version that adds a dash of colour.

Again, I do wish Sony was more adventurous. The finishes are subdued and don’t give off much personality.

Features

• Sound Connect app
• Voice control
• Background Music Effect

It’s not just through taps that you can control the LinkBuds Open. Say ‘hey, headphones’ (which actually works); or through head gesture controls for audio and taking calls. Strangely, it doesn’t work for accepting or rejecting calls with the Android Call app.

Google and Amazon Alexa are both supported for other means of voice control.

If you’ve got the LinkBuds Speaker you can set up the Auto Switch settings that passes audio from the headphones to the speaker. The Adaptive Volume Control automatically changes the volume depending on loud the environment is (quiet = lower volume – loud = higher volume).

In the Services area of the Sound Connect app you can find shortcuts for playing music in Spotify Tap and Amazon Music Play Now, along with Endel and Ingress Prime that provides personalised soundscapes (though both require separate apps to experience).

The DSEE Auto feature (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine) restores music to near its original state by flinging off the shackles of compression from music streaming services and Bluetooth, though I can’t say I heard a difference with it on or off.

Two of the more interesting features is Background Music Effect and Auto Play. With the former, the LinkBuds Open make it seem as if audio that’s in your ears is coming from further away, so you can listen to music without being distracted.

Auto Play presents music for whatever activity you’re doing, sensing whether you’re working out, walking or commuting. You still get your notifications delivered to your ear, but you do so without having to touch your phone. Neat.

Like the LinkBuds Fit, the Open support Bluetooth 5.3 and LE Audio, a feature that uses less energy and, in theory, should extend battery life. There’s only SBC and AAC streaming over Bluetooth with the higher quality LDAC Bluetooth not available.

You’ve also got Bluetooth multipoint for connecting to two devices at the same time; as well as Google Fast Pair for swift connection to Android devices, plus Microsoft Swift Pair for fast connection to Windows devices.

In terms of the Bluetooth performance, I didn’t have an issue over the course of testing. The only problem was a slight slip walking through Waterloo station, but otherwise the LinkBuds Open’s connections held on strongly.

Less impressive was the call quality performance which is just above average of a true wireless. It doesn’t help that the headphones leak in sound all the time, and on my side I found it hard to hear what was said even with the volume pushed to high. On the other person’s side all the noises around me meshed with my voice. I don’t there’s any open-ear design that’s managed to navigate this issue.

Battery Life

• 22 hours in total
• Quick-charging support

The battery life for the LinkBuds Open is higher than the LinkBuds Fit on a single charge but in total they’re on similar footing.

Sony claims 8 hours on a single charge which is more than the Fit’s 5.5 hours, but you get fewer charges in total from the case as the Open conks out at 22 hours (the Fit is 21).

Despite that, battery life is stronger on the LinkBuds Open. I streamed a Spotify playlist over the course of an hour at 50% and the headphones’ battery fell to 97%.

That would suggest 30 hours, which would be enormous, and I imagine the longer you use the LinkBuds Open the higher the battery drops would be. But what you can take from that is these headphones manage battery life better than the original.

The battery life still might not be enough for some given it’s only a few hours increase over the original LinkBuds, but a three-minute charge provides an extra hour of listening. There isn’t any wireless charging support though.

Sound Quality

• Stronger bass presence
• Warmer sound
• Improved levels of detail and definition

The LinkBuds Open are slightly different from the LinkBuds Fit. They’re not as warm sounding, bass isn’t as big, and they’re always battling against the elements. You’d be forgiven for thinking the sound wouldn’t muster up against more traditional earbuds.

And they don’t, but the improvements made make for a better all-around listening experience over the original. These won’t replace your true wireless earbuds – in fact they don’t sound as good as the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds which are the current benchmark – but they are a step up on the original.

The LinkBuds Open present highs that are clear but not the brightest or sharpest sounding. There’s a slight dullness to those highs but there’s clarity and detail without sounding harsh.

This is the one area where the performance isn’t as good as the original LinkBuds. Treble sounds slightly less defined on this latest pair.

The low frequencies lack depth but there’s a better sense of bass here than on the original. Listening to Labrinth’s All For Us and to the low-end but the performance is decent enough, with more presence and weight eked out from the 11mm ring shaped driver.

The most noticeable difference is that the LinkBuds Open don’t sound as thin – there’s more weight to the sound as well as more warmth. There’s a trade-off in having a warmer sound with highs that aren’t as defined; but the midrange shows a much better grasp of detail with instruments and singers’ voices.

There’s a bigger space for voices and they come across clearer, and levels of detail and clarity have going up, so you hear more of the instruments in the foreground and background. With the original you’d barely know they were there.

They’re still not the most energetic-sounding headphones but the older LinkBuds sound even more haggard. Bose has the upper-hand in terms of sound but they are £100 / $100 more expensive.

And the Background Sound Effect works better on the LinkBuds Open than on the LinkBuds Fit, with music that sounds as if it’s coming from a different room or distant area. It doesn’t sound ‘great’ but that’s not the point. Switching it on didn’t distract me from my work.

Should you buy it?

FAQs