December 5, 2024, 10:47 am | Read time: 7 minutes
Sony is one of the pioneers in the headphone market. Decades before Apple’s AirPods, the Japanese cult brand provided music on the go with the Walkman and in-ear headphones. The manufacturer’s experience is now evident in the new LinkBuds Fit with noise canceling. But how well do the true wireless headphones for active sports users perform in everyday life? TECHBOOK has tested them.
The selection of wireless in-ear headphones is vast and varied. True wireless earbuds are available at price points ranging from just a few euros to several hundred euros. Between these extremes, there’s a mix of low-quality offerings from budget suppliers and occasional missteps from even high-end brands. Sony is one of the mid- to high-priced suppliers of wireless headphones. And the Japanese manufacturer has a legendary reputation in the hi-fi industry. That’s why a new Sony product is always associated with high expectations. TECHBOOK clarifies whether the new Sony LinkBuds Fit can meet expectations and convince active sports users in particular.
Overview
These new Sony LinkBuds Fit are pretty colorful
The first thing you notice about the Sony LinkBuds Fit is the color options. They are available in beautiful green, subtle white, classic black, or bright purple. The compact charging case is also available in a matching color. The upper half of the charging case features a marbled finish, while the lower half sports a matte texture. This looks and feels refreshingly different.
If the color of the LinkBuds becomes a little dull over time, you can add new “fitting supports” to the in-ears for a few euros. These small covers snugly fit into the ear’s concha, ensuring the in-ears remain securely in place. These are available in five different colors. There are also protective covers for the charging case, which come in the same matt colors: ash blue, ash pink, ash violet, green, and black. While aesthetics are subjective, we find the design exceptionally well-executed, with an appealing appearance and a high-quality feel.
Top-level wearing comfort!
One more thing about the look: the Sony LinkBuds Fit come in small plastic-free packaging made from recycled paper. The box’s thoughtful design simplifies the unpacking process and is sure to delight eco-conscious individuals. As soon as you open the charging case and hold the wireless in-ears in your hand, your first impression is: “They’re so small and light!”. The second positive effect is felt once the in-ears are properly positioned in the ear. “These in-ears are really comfortable.”
Although every human ear is different, and therefore, the fit of the in-ears is also different, our test sample with the silicone tips sat comfortably in the ear. Even wearing them for hours on end was no problem at all. The fit is not only comfortable but also secure. This is because special silicone attachments (Sony calls them “fitting supports”) ensure that they anchor themselves in the auricle. This actually ensures an absolutely non-slip fit. If you still have problems with the fit of the in-ears, you can experiment with the other included attachments in sizes L, S, and SS. Nonetheless, they earn top marks from us for both comfort and a secure fit in the ear.
The sound of the Sony LinkBuds Fit can be customized
Like most true wireless headphones, the Sony LinkBuds Fit can be connected to a smartphone in no time at all. As soon as they are removed from the charging case, they appear in the device list in the Bluetooth settings on the smartphone. They are connected with a tap of the finger. However, if you want to get the best out of the in-ears, you should definitely download the matching Sony Sound Connect app. Among other things, this offers a wide range of sound settings to suit your personal taste. The sound quality can also be significantly improved.
The Sony LinkBuds Fit sound pleasantly balanced straight out of the box. The sound is linear without emphasizing certain frequency ranges. However, compared to some of our sound references and best Apple AirPods alternatives, we found the sound lacked a little dynamism and expressiveness. This changes abruptly when the “DSEE Extreme” function is activated in the Sony app. Here, Sony activates an internal improvement of the audio signal with the help of artificial intelligence. This particularly benefits the sound details, dynamic range, and perceived spatiality. A really significant improvement in sound quality!
If you still want to adjust the sound to your own preferences, you can also activate the equalizer. This offers the following preset options:
- Bright (emphasis on treble, less bass)
- Enthusiastic (more bass and dynamics)
- Soft (less dynamics)
- Relaxed (less bass and treble)
- Vocal (emphasis on mid-range and vocals)
- Treble Boost (more treble)
- Bass Boost (more bass)
- Speech (emphasis on the voice)
There is also a manual mode for adjusting the frequency response yourself and two memory options for different sound settings. You can play around with these to your heart’s content. I found the sound to be best without the equalizer, as it was already well-balanced. However, if you like a fun sound with great bass and lots of dynamics, the “Enthusiastic” setting is ideal without drifting into exaggeration.
There is still room for improvement in noise canceling
As befits high-priced true wireless headphones, the Sony LinkBuds Fit also offer active noise canceling. This means they can block out ambient noise. In the Sony app, you can set whether the function should be permanently active or whether the headphones should deactivate noise suppression in certain situations. This means that noise canceling can be active at your desk, and as soon as you stand up, it switches itself off so that you are aware of your surroundings. Or the headphones can amplify certain sounds, such as your voice when you are spoken to. The noise-canceling settings are very versatile and can even be set individually for different locations such as the office, street, or train.
We liked how the in-ears effectively filter out low frequencies, such as humming noises and street noise. However, higher frequencies, such as voices or keyboard clicks, remain somewhat attenuated but still clearly audible. If, for example, you wear the in-ears with active noise canceling at your desk in the office without listening to music, the high frequencies are all the more noticeable because they come to the fore more clearly without the low frequencies. It would be nice if Sony could suppress the high-frequency range even more – or at least offer this as an option in the app.
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Conclusion: Much to praise, with a few minor caveats
To summarize, Sony has succeeded in creating really nice, comfortable, and good-sounding wireless in-ear headphones with the LinkBuds Fit. Thanks to the very secure fit in the ear, they are also ideal for sporting activities such as jogging or other workouts. The matching Sony Sound Connect app offers many options for adjusting the sound and noise canceling. The battery life of up to 5.5 hours on a single charge is completely sufficient. and the charging case offers three further full charges.
There was almost nothing negative we noticed. The only thing we would have liked to see was more noise suppression, especially in the high-frequency range (e.g., voices), and a little less noise. However, low humming frequencies, such as those found on trains, are very well filtered out.
Other useful functions such as Auto Play (music pauses when the headphones are removed from the ear), simultaneous connection to two devices, and reliable touch control directly on the in-ears justify the price of around 169 euros.