Affordable quality earbuds: Sony LinkBuds S review

Sony has been on a roll as of late, with its flagship WH-1000XM5 headphones and the WF-1000XM4 pulling ahead of the competition with a winning combination of value, performance, and ease of use. So, what else is out there? If you’re Sony, it’s the new Sony LinkBuds S earbuds. Rather than all-out performance, the LinkBuds S earbuds are designed for comfort and long periods of use. So, are they worth a look, or are you better off sticking with the brand’s traditional flagships?

Essentially, it depends on what you’re after: keep reading to find out what we mean.

Build and how they feel to use

The LinkBuds S earbuds are as solid as you’d expect from a Sony headphone product. Each one has a rough, interesting feel to it – while the case is also made from premium plastic. Do they feel as good as the flagship buds they sit below? It’s hard to say as they’re a little different.

Materials aside the LinkBud S charging case is just as well put together as Sony’s flagship products. The hinges are secure, and the earbuds themselves also feel small but solid. Dropping them isn’t ideal but they don’t feel as though they’ll disintegrate. They come with a range of ear tips for differing ear sizes, but all sizes provide a good balance and firmness and give; so they make for a good seal.

In use, the LinkBuds S earphones come with a similar feature set to the WF-1000XM4s reviewed previously. Touch-sensitive and customizable via Sony’s app, it’s possible to program each ear bug to skip tracks, change the volume or other functions. And like other earbuds, it’s also possible to access whichever voice assistant currently occupying your phone.

Charging them is simple and using a USB-C cable means it’s pretty quick too. You can get around an hour’s worth of charge in just a handful of minutes, but annoyingly there’s no wireless charging – not ideal at this price – so you can’t leave them on a charging pad all day.

The fit, the sound

The main USP of the LinkBuds S is their incredible lightness, and that’s probably best to approach in usability rather than performance. They are earbuds, after all, not the over-ear cans of the excellent WH-1000XM5 we reviewed recently. While they’re not light enough to forget when you’re wearing them, the Sonys are extremely comfortable and don’t cause the same sort of fatigue and irritation as most other earbuds do after hours of use.

The lightness has other benefits; although they’re probably a little less secure than other earphones they don’t feel like they’ll make a bid for freedom when you’re running or jogging.

Sony has consistently produced class-leading headphones and earphones for the last few years, so it won’t surprise you that the LinkBuds S earphones here are similarly impressive. In isolation, they offer detailed but punchy sounds and are well-balanced enough to bring the magic out of everything from vocal-led tracks to more dancefloor-orientated ones. When combined with their barely-there size and weight, the LinkBuds S are a great shout if you’re looking for earphones to work with or exercise with.

Any downsides?

The only issue? Sony’s other products. The LinkBuds S are more compact in comparison to the WF-1000XM4s at the top of Sony’s range, but unfortunately, they sound a little more compact too. They’re not bad by any means, but they lack the sprawling soundscape and effortless headroom of their flagship siblings. There’s a little less sparkle on cymbals and synths, a little less ‘oomph’ behind kickdrums and a little less atmosphere in more cinematic scores.

Price and competition

If you’re looking for the best set of Sony earbuds on the market right now, you’re best to skip straight to Sony’s WF1000-XM4s. Although slightly bigger and more expensive, they offer soundscape and noise isolation capabilities that’ll worry most over-ear headphones at their price point. Likewise, the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro are a compelling alternative that offers impeccable audio that challenges the established Sony dominance in the marketplace.

Verdict

If you value comfort above overall quality, and you’re looking for something to take to the gym or wear all day, then the LinkBuds S are worth a look. Sure, they won’t deliver the overall quality of Sony’s flagship in-ears, but they get pretty close and come with their own, unique set of strengths to boot.

More items to consider:

How we tested it:

I tested the Sony LinkBuds S as I do all other earphones. I whacked them in as often as possible and tried them in as many situations as I could - this included during working hours, commuting and when hitting the gym. All in, they were in rotation for a few weeks.

Curtis Moldrich is a tech writer and reviewer for WhatsTheBest, specialising in the best audio gear, laptops and gadgets.

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