Sony LinkBuds WF-l900
Feb 17, 2022 at 11:11 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 77

chortya

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Just got the LinkBuds in addition to WF-1000XM4 for a more casual fit. I am really impressed with the magic Sony did here. Best sounding in-ears without isolation I have heard so far. Nothing for hifi purists for sure but I will be thinking twice before I make a decision between ANC in-ears and these.

This scratches on my perception of something I call "agumented sound" where you are fully aware of the surroundings and the streamed sound naturally aguments into the ambient sound similarly as you have it with the loudspeakers. I still want to have an ability to have a conversation when I casually listen to music or podcast.



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Feb 17, 2022 at 11:29 AM Post #2 of 77
How's the comfort? I have the WF-1000XM3. I wouldn't call them uncomfortable, but they stick out of the ear too much and are not secure.

Is this something you can wear for hours without discomfort?
 
Feb 17, 2022 at 11:35 AM Post #3 of 77
How's the comfort? I have the WF-1000XM3. I wouldn't call them uncomfortable, but they stick out of the ear too much and are not secure.

Is this something you can wear for hours without discomfort?
Can't tell yet. I have them for 2h in the ears now, no discomfort at all.
I have also some issues with WF-1000XM4 falling out, but nothing dramatic.
 
Feb 17, 2022 at 12:05 PM Post #4 of 77
I'm waiting on mine. It should arrive sometime today. Currently, I'm using Oladance for my daily use because battery life is excellent and sounds great too for an open earbuds. My only complaint with Oladance is that it does have distortion on lows when I crank up the volume. I'm sure Linkbuds will sound batter but 5.5 hrs of battery life is not very ideal for me.
 
Mar 1, 2022 at 5:27 PM Post #5 of 77
I bought a pair and tried to be as objective as possible. Will answer all questions here. If you weren't sure about these, hopefully I've covered off everything. Also, I waited to review once I got the new firmware, and in addition the Sony headphone app got updated to support them, which I covered off with recommended settings.

 
Mar 1, 2022 at 5:36 PM Post #6 of 77
I got mine and used for about 10 days now and I think I will return mine. It does have impressive sound but battery life is too short. It doesn't even last 4 hours if you have DSEE and active on. And it partially blocks my ear. I only hear outside about 60% and that bothers me. I think Xperia Ear Duo was much batter on open feeling.
 
Mar 2, 2022 at 9:41 AM Post #7 of 77
Mar 2, 2022 at 9:50 AM Post #8 of 77
BGGAR vid...
 
Mar 2, 2022 at 10:28 AM Post #9 of 77
I think to be fair, some people like myself get good bass and some people like BGGAR do not. When I tried them out of the box the sound was thin, but once I adjusted the positioning, found the sweet spot and used the right size supports then it was all good. People compare the LinkBuds to IEMs or other earphones which direct the sound into the ear canal like AirPods. These are truly unique because they are TWS flat head earbuds. Of course some people have no problem with fitting and sound from flat head earbuds and some do.
 
Mar 4, 2022 at 10:04 AM Post #10 of 77
I was fascinated by the concept and I tried these today - but unfortunately I seem to belong to the ones that get absolutely no bass with these, to a point where it sounds almost broken. I fiddled around a lot with the position and fit - but no change. :weary:Don`t know if it has to do with that I have super small and short ear canals, but it really seems like it is not working with everybody`s ears. So trying these out before buying seems to be a must!
 
Mar 5, 2022 at 12:07 PM Post #12 of 77
As someone who can't wear the sealing IEMs, these are interesting to me.

For those that have them, is the "fit" secure enough to go on a long run without them getting loose after getting sweaty?
For me they kind of wedge themselves in your ear very securely. But how well something fits depends on the shape and size of your ears. I don't have a pair of hereistommy's ears on me to test with (it would be weird if I did, no?).
 
Mar 5, 2022 at 12:52 PM Post #13 of 77
As someone who can't wear the sealing IEMs, these are interesting to me.

For those that have them, is the "fit" secure enough to go on a long run without them getting loose after getting sweaty?
I played 2 hours of 3 on 3 basketball a couple weeks ago and they stayed in my ears. Talk about getting sweaty, play some basketball where you're doing short burst hard running and you will get sweaty. Well if you do get them, I hope you're in the group of people that get good fit and sound quality.

Here's what @regancipher had to say after doing a 5k run with them.
 
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Mar 6, 2022 at 12:18 PM Post #14 of 77
Just for kicks I impulse bought a pair of these; they should be here tomorrow. Curious to see how they sound. None of the usual headphone reviewers I watch have reviews for them, so I'm kind of going in blind. Not expecting much, but if they sound better than my Tin T3s (which sound like junk) I'll be pleased.

I've generally avoided IEMs, and wireless ones in particular, but a properly open one really catches my interest. Being able to wear them while working will be nice, and if the soundstage is bigger than a single dot in the middle of my head I'll be extremely pleased.
 
Mar 7, 2022 at 7:47 PM Post #15 of 77
These are very nearly fantastic. I'd describe them as being "very good", and have certainly beat my expectations.

The sound signature is way more warm than I was expecting. I was expecting a sound that leans toward the treble-heavy side, but it's quite the opposite: treble is very tame, with mids and bass boosted. The treble does seem to have decent extension, it's just down in level.

Bass is more boosted than I anticipated, but extension is pretty poor. It ends up giving the bass the ol' fart cannon sound. Easily the biggest flaw of the headphones, but not a deal breaker for me.

Soundstage is fantastic; to my ears it's somewhere in the ballpark of a Koss KSC-75. It might seem like an insult to compare it to a $15 headphone, but given the difference in form factor this is miles beyond what I was hoping for, so it's a major win in my book.

I'm also digging the wide-area tap; being able to tap on your cheek for pause/play is super handy.
 

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