Sony LinkBuds Clip review: I’m not hooked
Open earbuds are growing in popularity by the day — the only thing trendier right now is clip-on earbuds. Companies like Anker, Bose, and Shokz have all gotten in on the action. Now, it is Sony’s turn with the all-new LinkBuds Clip.
They build on Sony’s previous open earbuds releases — the LinkBuds WF-L900, LinkBuds Fit, and LinkBuds Open — blending proprietary technologies into an ultramodern true wireless (TWS) design that has become the industry standard.
The bad news? Not only do the LinkBuds Clip lack the execution and novelty of their competitors, pricing is moderately high for what’s provided.
Sony LinkBuds Clip: Cheat sheet
- What is it? Sony’s introductory clip-on open buds
- Who is it for? Brand enthusiasts that want Sony wireless earbuds in a non-traditional design
- What does it cost? $229/£258
- What do we like? The impressive call quality, long battery life, and sufficient sound (when listening in quiet environments)
- What don’t we like? Their buggy performance, discomfort, MSRP, and short feature set
Sony LinkBuds Clip: Specs
|
Price |
$229/£258 |
|
Colors |
Black, greige, green, and lavender |
|
Frequency response |
Not stated |
|
Battery life |
9 hours; 37 hours (charging case) |
|
Multipoint connectivity |
Yes |
|
Paired devices max |
2 |
|
Connectivity |
Bluetooth 4.3 with AAC and SBC |
|
Weight |
Not stated |
|
Durability |
IPX4 (dust- and water-resistant) |
Sony LinkBuds Clip review: Price & availability
At $229/£258, the LinkBuds Clip fall within the mid-range to premium tier. They’re more expensive than the $169 Anker AeroClip and $199 Shokz OpenDots One, but cheaper than the $299 Bose Ultra Open Earbuds (currently $229 on Amazon). Available colors include black, greige, green, and lavender.
Consumers can purchase the buds at popular online retailers like Amazon and Best Buy. Sony also sells case covers in various colorways for $25 each.
Sony LinkBuds Clip review: Design
- A sturdy and sporty aesthetic
- Sharp-looking charging case
- Tight clamp force greatly affects wearability
The LinkBuds Clip are well-built and can be used for exercise and leisure thanks to some interesting design decisions made by Sony. Both the battery barrel and sound port are covered in hard plastic, and connecting the two components is a soft silicone band, which acts as a control surface (more on that later). IPX4 certification protects the buds from excessive moisture and heavy water splashing.
Color options for the buds aren’t that enticing. However, you can mix and match case covers and cushions to give them a modish appearance.
Sony employs the same compact charging case as the LinkBuds Fit. It is the most attractive TWS accessory out there, though it is slightly bulky. You won’t feel weighed down carrying it in a backpack or denim pockets, it’s extremely lightweight, and the all-plastic exterior isn’t going to crack when dropped on hard surfaces. Strong magnets keep the buds docked and the lid shut tightly.
These are the most securely-fitting LinkBuds I’ve tested thus far… but they’re also the most uncomfortable. I could only wear these buds for an hour because the clip-on design pinched my ears so hard. My wife shared the same grievance. There are tiny cushions that you can place on the bands to form a tighter fit for smaller ears, which are great for working out, however they don’t offer extra comfort.
Sony LinkBuds Clip review: Controls and app
- Excellent touch accuracy
- Restrictive control scheme
- Downgraded app experience
Sony took a page out of Shokz’s playbook and created its own touch capacitive band that registers multi-tap inputs. While it takes a minute to dial in the right amount of pressure needed to activate, the touch accuracy is surprisingly good: Functions assigned to the double-, triple-, and quadruple-tap gestures execute flawlessly.
Compared to earbuds with physical buttons, the Clip’s control scheme is impractical. You can assign each bud only to a series of functions — not individual inputs.
For instance, setting the left bud to Playback Control automatically assigns double tap (play/pause) and triple tap (next song). There’s no way to separately assign triple tap to another function. As if that wasn’t restrictive enough, certain features can’t be set to both buds at the same time.
Digital assistance is fine for hands-free Google Assistant and Siri voice commands, but I wish I could assign voice assistance to multiple control inputs instead of just one.
Something is off about the Sound Connect app this time around. The limited number of features makes it feel stripped down. There’s no reason why staples like 360 Reality Audio should be missing from the LinkBuds Clip’s spec sheet when all other Sony open earbuds support it. The absence of Sony’s smart controls (e.g., head gestures, Quick Attention) diminishes functionality as well.
Sony LinkBuds Clip review: Sound quality
- Neutral soundstage with customizable EQ
- Listening modes serve their purposes
- Not loud enough
- Zero noise isolation
The LinkBuds Clip have a flat sound profile that produces pleasant mixes. The lows are impactful on contemporary tracks with groovy basslines (see: Anything from Sabrina Carpenter) and mids are lively and transparent. There’s enough high end to perceive the sibilant “s” sounds in vocals, which might not help with the ear fatigue.
Sony’s custom Equalizer and preprogrammed presets are essential for raising treble. The Clear preset elevates low-mids, and the Hard preset increases both frequencies, individually. Your best bet for optimal sound is the Find My Equalizer feature that creates an EQ tailored to your hearing preferences; my sound profile delivered more mids and highs.
Another vital sound feature is DSEE. It upscales fidelity on compressed files to achieve near-hi-res results. The uptick in depth and spaciousness was evident on poorly engineered recordings.
Scene-based listening is available if you want the buds to automatically play music based on your activities or location. They can be programmed to initiate playback on select streaming platforms (Amazon Music, Endel, Spotify or YouTube Music) during certain scenarios, like entering a gym or walking outside. The feature is unique and well calibrated (mapping out locations is cool). I just don’t see many people using it.
Sony developed three listening modes for the LinkBuds Clip: Standard, Sound Leakage Reduction, and Voice Boost. All three have their benefits. Standard provides ambient awareness and works with DSEE and EQ. Voice Boost emphasizes vocal capture to hear conversations clearer. Sound Leakage Reduction suppresses high-pitched sounds on the EQ, which does decrease sound quality, but minimizes audio bleed.
These buds don’t passively block out noise, so every peep made in your vicinity will be heard.
While their open nature makes them great for a run, they’re not the best for traveling on public transportation. These buds don’t passively block out noise, so every peep made in your vicinity will be heard.
That’s not entirely a bad thing since the product’s main objective is to keep users connected to their surroundings, however, I don’t recall hearing as much background noise on the OpenDots One or Ultra Open Earbuds as I have with these buds.
Furthermore, those two models pump out audio at louder volumes — the LinkBuds Clip sound low at max volume and are barely audible in rowdy areas. Audio sounded clearer when using the buds indoors, though distractions were unavoidable; household appliances and a crying toddler always broke my attention.
Sony LinkBuds Clip review: Call quality and connectivity
- Shockingly good voice calling
- Finicky connectivity
- Weak wireless range
While sound quality is hit or miss, call quality is wonderful. I was shocked by how loud and clear voices sounded. Sony’s AI noise reduction technology eliminated a lot of ambient sound. Very few people heard background noise during conversations, and that was mostly when answering calls outside in high-traffic areas.
Still, I encountered a handful of connectivity issues on my review sample: The button on the back of the charging case wouldn’t enable pair mode. On top of that, the case’s LED would not stop blinking orange (this went on for over 48 hours).
Enabling multipoint was just as frustrating. One workaround to pair two devices simultaneously is through the app. Enter Device Settings > Connection > Connect to New Device and you should be all set. Once paired, connections never scrambled when switching from my MacBook Pro to OnePlus 12.
Also problematic, Bluetooth range was low and audio often stuttered when walking into different rooms. This mostly happened in multipoint mode, though turning it off only extended range to 30 feet before dropout occurred again.
Sony LinkBuds Clip review: Battery life
- Lengthy playtime
- Powerful quick charging
- No wireless charging
A full charge gets you 9 hours of use. That’s more than some of the best noise-cancelling earbuds and open earbuds, including the Ultra Open Earbuds (8.5 hours). The OpenDots One grant 1 hour more playtime. (Note, however, that power-draining features like DSEE decrease battery life to 6 hours or less.)
The charging case holds up to 37 hours and doesn’t support wireless charging, which is disappointing since the more affordable OpenDots One do. In my opinion, any pair of sub-$200 buds should have this feature. Sony makes up for the omission with super-fast quick charging: a 3-minute charge equals 1 hour of listening time.
Sony LinkBuds Clip review: Verdict
It only made sense for Sony to use the LinkBuds series as a segue into the clip-on earbuds market. Unfortunately, the LinkBuds Clip won’t shake things up much — there’s nothing new or revolutionary about them that can’t already be experienced on rival models. Sony believes its software suite can differentiate the LinkBuds Clip from the pack, but outside of DSEE, there aren’t any gamechangers.
Not everything is a bust. As much as there is to complain about with the unclear audio output, you can get reasonable sound quality…you just need to be in a completely quiet area to get the most out of it. On the brighter side, call quality is arguably the best in this sub-category and both battery life and build quality stand out as well.
Ultimately, it comes down to ingenuity and value, and after my testing, I don’t think the LinkBuds Clip offer enough of either to justify their cost.
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