So, I got my Linkbuds yesterday, and listened to them till the battery died last evening, then used them for 8 1/2 hours at work today (other than the 30 minutes it took to recharge them to 100%... Just wow!). I won't go into my first impressions of the features and all the TWS goodness. If interested, you can read that part here.
But, for earbuds, my first impressions are: they are excellent! I was highly surprised that they were able to implement AAC and SBC to sound so good. I was half in regret after ordering them but before getting them because of this reason. Worries alleviated!
These actually sound more akin to IEMs with the soundstage of a bud. The bass quantity is more than any earbud I have heard to date, but sub-bass is severely lacking. In that regard it is tuned much like some of Hifiman's lower end planars (having more mid-bass to handle basically all the lower end duties). It is not super textured, as one might expect from a lower end BT codec, but I don't think it is the driver's fault. In fact, I believe the driver inside is of really good quality, limited by the lowered bitrates it is able to receive.
Mids are clear and present (though not at the forefront) and warm sounding. I find no issue with them in this regard at all. I don't find the pina gain boosted at all, so there is no shrill(ness) at any volume, that I can hear.
Treble is pretty warm, and I had to use the in-app EQ to boost it to my liking. But after this, I find them to be clear and with SOME sparkle, though not a ton. Just enough to convey the music with decent tonal accuracy. There is some congestion issues with complex tracks, but again I suspect it is the lower bitrate causing this. This is where having AAC and SBC as the only choices surprised me. Where you can hear grainy(ness), or simply tizzy cymbol sounds (for instance) in the treble when using lower-end codecs, Sony has done a nice job in the DAC/amp in these buds to compensate for that, and they are at least clear. Even after boosting the treble, it didn't really reveal any issues with the treble.
Does this mean they sound perfect? No, but for how tiny they are, and being BT, I would put them up against some really good buds, and also some good IEMs too. These won't be great for critical listening though, because if you listen VERY carefully you can hear the difference in wired vs. wireless (goes without saying really), but if you are using them out and about, they will fit the bill nicely.
But, for earbuds, my first impressions are: they are excellent! I was highly surprised that they were able to implement AAC and SBC to sound so good. I was half in regret after ordering them but before getting them because of this reason. Worries alleviated!
These actually sound more akin to IEMs with the soundstage of a bud. The bass quantity is more than any earbud I have heard to date, but sub-bass is severely lacking. In that regard it is tuned much like some of Hifiman's lower end planars (having more mid-bass to handle basically all the lower end duties). It is not super textured, as one might expect from a lower end BT codec, but I don't think it is the driver's fault. In fact, I believe the driver inside is of really good quality, limited by the lowered bitrates it is able to receive.
Mids are clear and present (though not at the forefront) and warm sounding. I find no issue with them in this regard at all. I don't find the pina gain boosted at all, so there is no shrill(ness) at any volume, that I can hear.
Treble is pretty warm, and I had to use the in-app EQ to boost it to my liking. But after this, I find them to be clear and with SOME sparkle, though not a ton. Just enough to convey the music with decent tonal accuracy. There is some congestion issues with complex tracks, but again I suspect it is the lower bitrate causing this. This is where having AAC and SBC as the only choices surprised me. Where you can hear grainy(ness), or simply tizzy cymbol sounds (for instance) in the treble when using lower-end codecs, Sony has done a nice job in the DAC/amp in these buds to compensate for that, and they are at least clear. Even after boosting the treble, it didn't really reveal any issues with the treble.
Does this mean they sound perfect? No, but for how tiny they are, and being BT, I would put them up against some really good buds, and also some good IEMs too. These won't be great for critical listening though, because if you listen VERY carefully you can hear the difference in wired vs. wireless (goes without saying really), but if you are using them out and about, they will fit the bill nicely.
