Sony LinkBuds (WF-L900): A Revolutionary Take on True Wireless Earphones Blending Comfort with Ambient Awareness

Опубликовано: 5 марта, 2025

True wireless earphones can generally be divided into two main types of fit. The first type is the in-canal design, which provides superior noise isolation and active noise cancellation. The second type is the outer-ear fit, exemplified by the original Apple AirPods, which allows for more comfort and better awareness of the surrounding environment. Sony’s latest offering in India, the LinkBuds (WF-L900), does not neatly fit into either category, showcasing a unique and innovative design that distinguishes it from its peers.

With a price tag of Rs. 19,990 in India, the Sony LinkBuds are designed for all-day comfort, natural and unobstructed sound awareness, alongside effective call and audio quality. Marketed as a pair of true wireless earphones suited for prolonged wear and versatile use, the Sony LinkBuds aim to stand out from the typical premium TWS offerings. Does it fulfill these claims? Discover in this review.

The distinctive design of the Sony LinkBuds allows ambient sounds to be heard even while wearing the earphones

Design and Features of Sony LinkBuds

The most striking feature of the Sony LinkBuds is their design; at first sight, many might not even recognize these as earphones if they are not already informed. The earpieces are clearly of an outer-ear fit, devoid of any components that invade the ear canal, and they come without stems. Centrally located within the driver chamber of each earpiece is a donut-shaped opening, ensuring ambient sound can pass through effectively even with the earphones in place.

This feature allowed me to hear my environment almost as clearly with the Sony LinkBuds on, even without any audio playing. Consequently, the experience feels entirely natural, albeit with the caveat of constant awareness, without an option to deactivate it. If being cognizant of your surroundings is a priority, you won’t find better-designed earphones than these at present.

The innovative design contributes to a comfortable fit, complemented by what Sony terms arc support fittings. The package includes five pairs of fittings in different sizes for a customizable experience. I found the smallest size to fit my ear shape the best, but it did compromise the stability of the fit. A bit of head movement would dislodge the earpieces, so it’s advisable to find a balance between comfort and security.

Each earpiece of the Sony LinkBuds weighs 4.1 grams and has an IPX4 rating for water resistance. The outer surfaces feature an appealing texture and design and include touch-sensitive controls. Interestingly, you don’t have to touch the earpieces directly for control functions due to a feature called Wide Area Tap.

When activated through the app, this feature enables you to tap on the area of your cheek near the ear, achieving the same result as tapping the earpiece. This worked reliably during my use and eliminated the hassle of fumbling for the small touch area on the earpieces, making the controls significantly easier to engage with.

The charging case for the Sony LinkBuds features USB Type-C charging but lacks wireless charging

The Sony LinkBuds charging case is notably more compact than most true wireless headsets within its price bracket, making it more portable. It has an accessible lid release button and an indicator light on the front, with a pairing button and USB Type-C port located on the back. Importantly, the earpieces must click into place to initiate charging, although simply closing the lid manages this efficiently, ensuring a straightforward experience. However, it is worth mentioning that wireless charging is absent, which is somewhat disappointing at this price level.

Additional features of the Sony LinkBuds (WF-L900) include compatibility with voice assistants, Google Fast Pair, Spotify Tap, and 360 Reality Audio. While active noise cancellation is not available, considering the intended design of the headset, this could be seen as a non-issue.

Specifications and App for Sony LinkBuds

Sony Headphones Connect app, which is available on both iOS and Android platforms. The app offers a robust array of customization options, including Speak To Chat, equalizer settings, 360 Reality Audio setup, control customization for taps, adaptive volume control, and auto play/pause functionality based on earphone placement, along with firmware updates.

While audio quality for music is satisfactory, I found the sub-bass response to be somewhat lacking

Some of these features have been present in older Sony headphone models, particularly Speak To Chat and 360 Reality Audio. A key highlight with the Sony LinkBuds is the Adaptive Volume Control, which adjusts the volume in response to surrounding noise levels, as well as the Wide Area Tap option, enabling activation of on-device controls without physically touching the earpieces.

The Sony LinkBuds utilize Bluetooth 5.2 for connectivity, supporting SBC and AAC codecs; however, it’s worth noting that there is no support for more advanced Bluetooth audio codecs, which is disappointing given the price. The earphones have a frequency response range from 20Hz to 20,000Hz. In addition to the five pairs of arc support fittings, a USB Type-C cable is also included in the packaging of the Sony LinkBuds.

Battery Life and Performance of Sony LinkBuds

The unique placement of the Sony LinkBuds makes them difficult to compare with other offerings in its price range. There is neither passive noise isolation nor active noise cancellation, yet what Sony provides instead is comfort, awareness of surroundings, and versatility across various functions and uses.

While the design initially seemed unconventional, the LinkBuds offer a commendable overall experience that I frequently found more appealing than other, arguably superior options available on my desk. Sony’s claim of the LinkBuds being all-day and multifunctional holds some validity, and the ambient awareness feature made them a preferred choice when working in my typically quiet home office or while exercising outdoors.

The capacity to clearly hear audio through the earphones without passive noise isolation initially appeared challenging, but the Sony LinkBuds provided an enjoyable listening experience in terms of volume and clarity. However, the audio signature was slightly problematic, revealing a minimal presence of sub-bass and somewhat weaker mid-bass frequencies.

The design and fit of the Sony LinkBuds significantly differ from the common in-canal and outer-ear designs of typical true wireless earphones

Listening to «White Horse» by Croatia Squad and Frey with the volume reasonably high in my home was quite decent, given the solid tonality and rhythm of the Sony LinkBuds. However, the track’s energetic beats and deep bass elements were almost nonexistent, making the musical experience feel somewhat hollow and lacking impact.

Though the sound quality felt relatively balanced, with the capable mid-range delivering a good amount of detail, it still fell short when compared to similarly priced models like the Sony WF-1000XM4. This might be intentional, given the design’s requirement to allow ambient sound in, but it may not appeal to all music genres.

Outdoors, the Sony LinkBuds faced challenges compared to indoor use. Cranking the volume up to 80% allowed me to hear playback clearly, yet it was never able to completely drown out the surrounding noise, even if it wasn’t particularly loud. This was manageable in quieter areas, but sounds from a bustling street in Mumbai could easily be distracting.

The tuning of the Sony LinkBuds allowed for a comfortable listening experience with voice-centric content like audiobooks, films, and YouTube videos, with dialogues appearing clear and crisp. This capability extended to call quality as well. As long as the volume was adequately raised, I had a solid calling experience with the Sony LinkBuds, despite the absence of noise isolation. In fact, the unobstructed awareness made conversing while using the earphones feel more natural.

Battery performance for the Sony LinkBuds was average for their category, which is somewhat unsatisfactory considering the lack of energy-intensive features like active noise cancellation and advanced Bluetooth codec support. I experienced approximately 4 hours and 35 minutes of listening time at moderate volumes, with the charging case providing two full additional charges, yielding a total runtime of about 13 hours per charge cycle.

Conclusion

Sony is known for producing some of the top wireless audio devices available, offering a diverse array of products tailored to various needs, some of which can be quite niche and innovative. The Sony LinkBuds represent one of the brand’s more bold and distinct offerings. They challenge conventional design standards within the category to deliver a unique user experience.

For the most part, the Sony LinkBuds are effective in this regard, providing comfort, exceptional ambient awareness, and sound designed to navigate the challenges of maintaining sound clarity around you. This can be distracting in noisier environments, and the lack of deep bass in their sound presentation might make some music genres feel lacking. Nevertheless, I frequently preferred using these earphones for calls, outdoor activities, and other general tasks at my work desk.

However, at Rs. 19,990, the Sony LinkBuds are on the pricier side, and even at the introductory price of Rs. 14,990, the design remains the focal feature. The LinkBuds will appeal to those seeking solid voice performance and unmatched situational awareness, but for those focused on music, I would suggest considering the similarly priced Sony WF-1000XM4.

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