Sony Linkbuds S Review | Don't Buy The WF-1000XM4, Buy These!

So lets talk about why so here we have the charging case. Very small, very compact, and the biggest thing to note about this case is that it does not feature wireless charging at this price point. That is a tough pill to swallow, but im sure that was an intentional move by sony just to keep some distance between these and the wf 1000xm4. So the only option as far as charging is the type c charging port on the back of the case. Moving over to the earbuds, much smaller, much more compact compared to the wf 1000xm4, which means in terms of the fit these are going to work for a lot more people. So well definitely talk more about the fit here shortly were also getting in ear detection. So anytime, you remove one of the earbuds from your ear. Your music will automatically pause now. Lets talk about specs, so these are running bluetooth, 5.2 and as far as audio codecs, we have sbc aac as well as sonys high resolution ldac, which is the exact same lineup that youre getting with the wf 1000xm4. So, as i mentioned, were not getting wireless charging which, for 200 bucks is pretty disappointing but, like i said i do get it because they want to leave some reasons for you to go for that flagship model. Now. One thing i dont understand is that so far ive only been able to get the right earbud to work independently.

I havent been able to get the left earbud to work and ive even tried messing with the voice assistant options within the sony app because i know when the wf 1000xm4 released initially in order to use both earbuds independently. You did have to make some changes to the voice assistant settings, but even after trying that still no luck, i also made sure that i didnt have ldac turned on that didnt work either. So i havent been able to find anything officially in writing from sony. So if you guys know something that i dont please let me know down in the comments now when it comes to the sony. Headphones connect, app youre, getting pretty much the same experience that you get with the 1000xm4. You have adaptive sound control, which makes adjustments to your noise cancellation based on your level of activity, as well as the amount of noise taking place around you. You also have the option to adjust the exact level of noise cancellation manually and then theres also the option to activate speak to chat, which is going to lower the volume of your music and activate the ambient mode anytime. You start speaking and then, as far as sound you have access to sonys equalizer, which allows you to choose from different presets as well as come up with your own and then in typical sony fashion. You have the option to choose which list of controls you want for the left and right earbud, but they dont give you access to all of the functions at one time.

So lets go ahead and talk more about the fit so with that compact size. The fit on these is way better than the 1000xm4, especially for somebody like myself with smaller ears. I wore these during a workout yesterday and i didnt have much trouble with them. Staying in place, on the other hand, with the 1000xm4, i wouldnt even begin to imagine trying to work out with these earbuds and i think thats pretty much the case for anyone that doesnt have larger sized ears. So lets go ahead and talk about the sound quality in order to make these earbuds, as compact as they are, sony did have to use a smaller five millimeter driver compared to the six millimeter driver and the 1000xm4. They definitely hold true to sonys typical, sound signature. Youre getting a very well balanced type of sound, solid, mids, really good highs and a good tasteful amount of bass. If youre looking for that very impactful low rumbling sub bass, i wouldnt say that these quite give you that, for me, the overall treble and clarity stands out a little bit more, especially once you make the necessary eq adjustments. The treble boost setting in particular, really opens things up as far as vocal clarity. Now, overall, you are getting the better sound with the 1000xm4, which makes sense considering the price difference. So you are getting better range, better extension, better separation in terms of the mids and the highs, and a little bit more punch in terms of the bass.

But, to be honest, i dont think the average person would really tell that much of a difference. Now, if youve owned, multiple pairs of earbuds and youre used to kind of comparing the different types of sounds, i think you would definitely notice. But again, if youre asking the average person, i think they would tell you that they, both sound relatively the same so lets. Go ahead and talk about active noise cancellation. Most of you probably know that the wf 1000xm4 are one of the absolute best when it comes to anc, but surprisingly, the link buds s arent that far behind considering the price difference between the two, the link buzz s. Do hold their own and the same goes for the transparency mode. You are getting a slightly more natural, sound, a slightly more clear, sound with the xm4s, but again its not exactly a night and day difference compared to the link buzz s aside from the fit. If there was one thing that i would say, the link buds s do noticeably better than the xm4. Its actually call quality, so lets go ahead and do a test all right. So this is a microphone test of the sony link buzz s right now. We have quiet conditions, so this should give you a general idea as to how you would sound if you choose to take calls in a quiet environment, testing testing one two, three testing testing one, two, three all right.

So here we have the sony. Wf 1000xm4 quiet conditions. So again, this should give you an idea as to how you would sound in a quiet environment, testing testing one two, three testing testing one: two three sony link buds s this time with some crowd noise being played in the background. So this should give you a rough idea as to how you would sound if you choose to take cars in a more noisy environment, testing testing one two: three testing testing one: two: three sony: wf 1000xm4 crowd noise being played in the background, so this should give You an idea as to how you sound in a more noisy environment, testing testing, one two, three testing testing one, two three, so the 1000xm4 obviously perform better overall compared to the link buds s, but all of that kind of goes out the window, if the size Of the earbuds prevents you from getting a good fit so thats. Why? I say the link buds s are going to be a better purchase for a lot of people, because that compact size means that, in terms of fit theyre going to work for a much wider audience now, taking a step back and considering the price point as well As the overall list of specs, i do think theres more competitive options out there.