Sony Linkbuds S review | One month later + Custom EQ's

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So these are the Sony Linkbuds S & the S stands for Silent, and I know this only because I asked Sony.

And instead of me just repeating what all the other reviewers have already said about these. I will tell you what I like about the Linkbuds S and how it stacks up against the other Sony earbuds & at the end, I'll be sharing my custom EQs with you, so stick around for that if you'd like to test them out.

So let's go. So I think Sony's approach to the Linkbuds S was to take an already winning design from the XM4s and improve on it in several ways. To achieve a hybrid between the open-back linkbuds and the top-tier XM4s.

So Some people complained that the XM4s was too heavy and caused wearing fatigue over long periods.

So with the Linkbuds S, they kept the same shape but made them 33% percent lighter. And smoothed out all the sharper edges too. Some might say this white version resembles a marshmallow. And from my experience of wearing them, I can say that I appreciate that marshmallow lightweight pillow soft, comfy quality that they bring to the table.

And one sacrifice that Sony has made to bring the carry case weight down is they've stripped out the Qi wireless charging coil. Which is not a massive disappointment to me personally. Let me know how you feel about that.

Some reviewers complained that whilst the XM4s are IPX 4 rated, there were bulky, and this, combined with the weight, meant they weren't ideal for the Gym or sporting activities.

So I'm assuming Sony heard this, and a result has made the Linkbuds S around 40% smaller. They also ditched the bullet shell casing gold bling and replaced it with a flush to the metallic body mesh.

And some complained that the voice call quality was not an area of strength for WF1000 XM4s. So Sony has factored that into this streamlined re-design. The mics are now more strategically placed to reduce wind noise.

And the linkbuds do use Voice AI machine learning tech. That apparently cross-references a database of over 500million voice samples to assist with voice pickup. 1 million of these voices are me trying to remember the names of some of Sony's past products…anyway

I'll let you guys judge how better the mics are in this extreme mic test. Watch the video here

So linkbuds, that's an exciting name, right. And yes, some thought has gone into this. So I did review the Linkbuds original, and the idea behind them was to link the real world with your digital world seamlessly with earbuds that never really took off.

Typically earbuds allow you to hear through the use of microphones for audio pass-through. And they work. But do you know what works better? A hole right through the middle. And I can say the audio pass-through is matched

But for me personally, the fit wasn't that secure & the sound quality due to the open back design suffered when it comes to quality and volume…and the battery life was just 5 and half hours of playback…which might not be enough for some.

So, it seems as though Sony thought about how they could achieve the same goals as the original linkbuds. But maybe do it better. Well, that's what they did. The weight on the linkbuds s are just 0.7 heavier per bud, the battery life is improved, and a new adaptive sound mode has been added to offer that link between worlds.

So instead of a hole, the new Linkbuds Silent automatically and systematically adjust to different sound scenarios on the fly. For example, walking, running or jamming.

I like what Sony has done here with S. I can't say it's massively different or as unique as the original Linkbuds. But I believe if sound quality & secure fit are priorities for you, these hold an excellent middle ground between the other two earbuds in this video. However, when acting as a link between your phone world & the natural world…the originals win that hands down.

And it's worth noting the frequency response compared to the originals jumped from 20hz to 20khz up to 20 to 40Khz, and LDAC is back. And these are qualities shared with the flagship XM4 earbuds.

And I do like the sound quality compared to the XM4s. It's close. But I believe the flagship just edges them out, which might be due to the slightly larger drivers in the XM4. It's only 1mm, but these little adjustments can make a huge difference.

And that reminds me of when I got a speeding ticket for going 41 mph on a 40mph road. That adjustment cost me 90 quid and 3 points on my licence.

And will say the ANC has impressed me, I would dare to say, as they seem to be as good as the XM4s. And this could be because they use a similar 6mic ANC array & the same V1 chip it uses for the noise cancelling. One thing I noticed, though, is that it does seem like the tips that the XM4s ship with does offer more passive ANC than the ripple silicon tips with the Linkbuds S.

So my opinion is that the Linkbuds S has been designed to sit perfectly between the Linkbuds originals & flagship XM4s… not only from a price point perspective but also in their audio offerings. They kind of bridge the gap between both & think that's what Sony was going for.

And right now, I hold them in high regard, not just for their physical and technical attributes but also because of Sony's headphones software.

I would say if you're an Apple iPhone user and don't want to go with the AirPods. I think the Linkbuds S are the perfect alternative & they offer so much more when it comes to customisation. You could make a good case for them sounding better.

Especially when you factor in the Sony headphone app. Which is, in my opinion, truly legendary & I'm not going to go into too much depth about it in this video. However, I do want to show you my custom EQs.

So I spent a lot of time on these. I'm going to give you 3 of them. But before I do, let's do a pocket watch pocket test.

Eqs

Ok, thank you for sticking around to the end. You are a legendary person. Here are my EQs. Test them out. Improve upon them. Take them. They're yours.

Ok EQ 1. I tuned for Rock, heavy metal, grunge & indie. This might sound crazy, but, put the clear bass on 10. 400 band on +1, 1k band +2, 2.5k band on +10, 6.3k on +8 & finally 16k band on +3.

I was going for a focus on vocals, without too much sharpness in the hi-pitch sounds, and power in the deep bass so you can hear the drums but without making the mids too muddy.

EQ 2. Ok, this one is for more pop, hip hop, and EDM styles of music. The focus here is more mids and bass whilst keeping details clear & not too sharp.

Ok clear bass +8, 400 band +8, 1k at +1, 2’.5 at +4, 6.3k at +1 and 16k band at -1

EQ 3. Ok, this one is probe my favourite. It's tuned for tracks where you want to clearly hear the details, instruments, and vocals. It's perfect for live performances. Here we go

Clear bass +2, 400 band +1, 1k at +3, 2.5k band +7, 6.3k +5 and 16k band +7.

Test them out. Let me know what you think.

If you’re interested in Sony’s over-ear flagship ANC headphones. I filmed this entire review with the Sony Pro-I smartphone camera system & the Sony grip, the name of it escapes me.