The Sony LinkBuds WF-L900 true wireless buds seem to be the company’s newest true wireless offering, and their open design allows you to listen to music while also hearing what’s going on around you without obstructing your ear canals. Doesn’t that sound creative? Except that these earbuds aren’t the first of their sort.Many consider the original AirPods to be first, while others consider the more current Bose Sports Open Earbuds to be the genuine embodiment of the ‘open earbuds’ sub-category. Sony simply took the concept & came up with a more unique method to present it.
Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE), Adaptive sound modes, custom EQ support to enhance sound quality on the file format and Sony’s 360 Reality Audio are among the features of the Sony’s V1 technology (the same strong chip as in Sony’s WF-1000XM4 is used in the LinkBuds WF-L900. It’s astonishing and impressive how Sony crammed so much capability into such a beautiful, micro-sized container. Do these buds meet the expectations? Let us see!
The Sony LinkBuds WF-L900 true wireless buds are available in grey or white, with a $179.99 MSRP at Sony and Best Buy and a slightly lower price (at the time of this writing) on Amazon and its main website. A charging case, USB cord, reference guide, operation instructions, and 5 sets of various size Arc supports are included in the box.
Some people prefer earbuds that do not sit inside the ear because they find them uncomfortable. While you’d class that as a form of heresy, there’s a reason why Apple’s AirPods have become so popular they avoid that sense of discomfort. The LinkBuds are perfect for you if you’re that type of person.
The design is very unique, and I haven’t seen anything like it on any true wireless pair. These LinkBuds have a unique ring driver with an open center to enable sound to pass through, and a driver array around it that blasts sound into the ear.
The concept is how you can listen to the audio you’re playing while still being aware of your surroundings. Wearing the LinkBuds at work makes you more approachable because you’re not wearing enormous over-ears that blatantly say ‘do not disturb me,’ and you’ll be able to hear someone calling your name.
The ‘always on’ strategy doesn’t always work, particularly in crowded situations like the tube, in which the noise of the wind passing by might be overwhelming. The LinkBuds operate best in quieter environments, but that’s not to suggest they can’t handle a crowded supermarket, train, or public space because the level can be adjusted to block out some sounds.
The bulbous component of the headphones can be tapped to operate them, and the Sony Headphones app lets you choose which functions are assigned to which side. You have selected playback and voice assistance for now, but there are additional options available.
Building on the WF-1000XM4’s recycled content, the LinkBuds take it a step further with recycled plastic earbuds and a case – very impressive if you think about it. The earbuds are light and comfortable, weighing only 4.1g each, and the only difficulty I’ve had was due to the earbuds not being positioned properly. They also come with various wingtips, ranging in size from XS to XL, to support the structure.
The enclosure is compact, with a front-mounted LED indication and a USB-C port, and a Bluetooth pairing button. The colors available are plain grey and white.
The LinkBuds have a lot of capabilities, and the Headphones app is a good place to start. That’s where you can set the headphones up to play 360 Reality Audio ‘3D’ tracks with compatible streaming music services, tweak the equalizer to fine-tune the sound, but also enable the automatic pause function so when LinkBuds are taken out of the ear.
You may assign features to either earbud from a list that includes playback, volume control through voice assistant (Alexa or Google), and Quick Access, which is essentially Spotify Tap capability that allows users to continue an earlier played song or begin a playlist in the Spotify app. Two taps accomplish one task (for example, stopping a track), while three touches do another (skipping tracks).
You may also do what you did and utilize Google Assistant to adjust the volume on the fly. Connect the LinkBuds to a Google Assistant app, utter the ‘Ok Google’ command, and voila, no hands!
Because of the advent of the Wide Area Tap feature, there is no way to conduct a hold press. This is a new feature that you’ve never seen before, and it’s quite unique. The earphone can detect vibration between the cheeks & ears with Wide Area Tap, so you don’t have to tap here on the earbud to obtain a response — tap all around the cheekbone instead. It feels strange at first, but it works more frequently than not.
Speak-to-Chat is also available, which pauses music once it detects you’re conversing and resumes when you’re done. Adaptive Volume Control is a novel feature that automatically raises the volume to combat noisy environments before lowering it when the noise level decreases. This must be turned on via the app because it is not enabled by default.
The DSEE technology aims to ‘accurately’ recover high-frequency sounds that have been lost due to compression. Microsoft’s Soundscape feature, which uses beacons to alert wearers to objects in their environment, is also mentioned, but it isn’t included in the app. Nonetheless, it’s a well-stocked offering, as is typical with Sony.
Because the V1 CPU doesn’t support aptX and there’s no LDAC, the LinkBuds’ best Bluetooth codecs are SBC and AAC. You’ve found the direction that included to be consistent with Bluetooth 5.2 connections — a few blips here and there, but they’ve held in areas like London Victoria & Waterloo. Google’s Fast Pair and Microsoft’s Swift Pair are both available to quickly connect to a compatible device.
Splashes of water & sweat shouldn’t be an issue with the LinkBuds, which rates IPX4.
The battery life isn’t particularly long: 5.5 hours per earbud & 17.5 hours with the cover. Even though the battery capacity for the Urbanista Lisbon is a lot better despite the case being roughly the same size, Sony claims that the V1 processor – which is also there in the WF-1000XM4 – has an enhanced battery life efficiency. From a 10-minute charge, you can get 90 minutes of playback.
The great news is that Sony has included a comprehensive set of media controls in the Sony LinkBuds WF-L900 true wireless buds. What’s the bad news, exactly? Only double-tap and triple-tap commands are available. A single-tap input is not available. Furthermore, functions cannot assign separately. Going to set up one bud for Volume Control, for example, will assign automatically the multi-tap commands to increase and decrease volume. It’s impossible to mix and match. Other features, such as the digital assistant, can allow with a double tap and left inactive with a triple tap.
At the very least, Sony provides a variety of controls for the buds. When the user removes the earbuds, Auto-pause activates, Adaptive Volume Control boosts sound when loud ambient noise detects it, & Speak-to-Chat pauses the music whenever the user’s voice detects it. Spotify’s one-touch access gives you immediate access to a streaming service. With hands-free voice control, Alexa comes to the rescue, although Google Assistant, Siri, and Bixby also support it.
Everything is in perfect working order. The touch panels are responsive and there is an ability in the app to increase the sensor area to improve touch accuracy. Because Alexa’s mic intelligence is excellent, you’ll be able to wake her up with a wake-word phrase and manually enable her and carry out typical activities without a hitch.
Remember that Sony designed these earbuds to allow you to enjoy high-quality sound without filtering out ambient noise. Although the results are acceptable, there are other wireless earbuds that provide superior audio and have strong transparency settings via built-in mics.
Sony went to great lengths to ensure that the LinkBuds WF-L900 true wireless earbuds provided a satisfying listening experience. That means incorporating patented technology such as 360 Reality Audio, DSEE, as well as the V1 processor. Though that isn’t saying much, all of those are definitely the best open wireless earbuds available. For music to sound good, you’ll need to be in an absolutely silent environment.
The majority of Sony earbuds have a powerful bass profile. These buds aren’t like that. The thunderous bass riff on Metallica’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” left a lot to be desired, while the heart-pounding lows on Busta Rhymes’ “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See” are gentle taps against the eardrum. Its Equalizer settings within the program didn’t highlight drum and guitar sounds as much as I expected; Bass Boost & Treble Boost somewhat improved the bass and low-mids.
Manual, Bright, Excited, Mellow, Speech, Relaxed, Vocal, and two configurable profiles to manually alter frequencies are among the additional options. To get the finest sound from these buds, you’ll need to fiddle with them and switch on DSEE.
When listening to jazz records with the default EQ, the double bass & cymbals lacked body. But when selecting Bright, the lows balanced out and the highs enhances, providing the double bass & cymbals more substance. All of the other EQs were ineffective. Speech slightly boosted the midrange on movie scores & podcasts, while vocal oddly decreased the beautiful harmony on ballads like Mariah Carey’s “We Belong Together.”
Although DSEE improves the clarity of low-resolution recordings & 360 Reality Audio lets you hear sounds at various angles, spatial audio seems to be more efficient on in-ear & over versions. If you want to use the LinkBuds WF-L900 for at-home entertainment, Sony offers a $60 wireless TV adaptor that allows you to attach these buds, as well as any other compatible Sony Headphones, to Bravia XR TVs for Dolby Atmos sound.
Sony Headphones Link reserve typically for even more strong Sony products. So the LinkBuds WF-inclusion L900 in such an exclusive club is surprising. Let’s take a look at the remainder of the app’s highlights, which include Adaptive Volume Control, 360 Reality Audio, control customization, DSEE, EQ, Spotify Tap, and Speak-to-Chat.
A music player, automated power down, and battery level indicators for every earbud. As well as the charging case, visual directions, and firmware upgrades are all included. Another feature worth noting is the opportunity to choose between sound quality and reliable connectivity. You may also turn off the buds straight from the app, according to Sony.
Active noise cancellation, customizable ambient sound, LDAC (Sony’s own codecs for high-quality wireless streaming), Quick Attention, multipoint and NFC connectivity are among the notable omissions. You can see why these didn’t make the cut because the LinkBuds design could only hold so much power.
There’s no wireless charging, but a 10-minute quick charge can generate 90 minutes of listening time.
The battery life isn’t particularly long: 5.5 hours per earbud & 17.5 hours with the cover. Even though the battery capacity for the Urbanista Lisbon is a lot better despite the case being roughly the same size, Sony claims that the V1 processor – which is also there in the WF-1000XM4 – has an enhanced battery life efficiency. From a 10-minute charge, you can get 90 minutes of playback.
The WF-1000XM3 & WF-1000XM4 were lousy calling headsets, so your hopes for call quality in Sony wireless earbuds were generally low. The Sony LinkBuds WF-L900 true wireless buds , on the other hand, will astound you with their incredible clarity and ability to block out extraneous noise better than many other top-tier wireless earbuds. Sony’s microphones manage to cancel out any background noise and wind throughout our outside chats.
However, because of the always-open architecture, you’ll be able to hear everything going on around you. While trying to hold a discussion in a high-traffic area, the low volume may be a difficulty.
Bluetooth 5.2 manages wireless tasks flawlessly. Before dropout, the variety seems to be standard at around 33 feet. NFC isn’t accessible for tap-to-pair connectivity, however, Android phones can use Google Fast Pair for one-touch pairing.
There is no multipoint technology (the ability to connect to two devices at the same time).
This Sony LinkBuds WF-L900 true wireless buds gets bonus points for pushing the edge in genuine wireless form and design. The amount of technology Sony put into these earbuds still astounds you. The only thing that is more surprising is the call quality. This has always been Sony’s positive point when it comes to headphones and earbuds.
The Sony LinkBuds WF-L900 appears to be a pet project that offers to the public to gauge public opinion on which design path its next flagship buds will follow. As unusual as this product is, its disadvantages are just too significant. Due to the low sound quality of the music and the lack of ability to alter the level of ambiance you hear. It appears that the balance is off for some sense of enjoyment. The short battery life is a source of concern.
Sony gets credit for going outside the box. But even the LinkBuds WF-L900 design isn’t for audiophiles and casual music listeners. You’d be better off investing your money on one of Sony’s other truly wireless versions for that. Both the sporty WF-SP800N and the editor’s choice WF-1000XM4 offer superb long battery life, ANC, and rich sound.
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