Sony LinkBuds Match: The perfect well being earbuds for people who don’t like earbuds
Sony LinkBuds Match: Two minute evaluation
The Sony LinkBuds Match are the newest addition to Sony’s mid-range true wi-fi earbud lineup. Sony has a steady reputation for making among the many biggest high-end buds, whereas moreover catering to people on a value vary with additional cheap decisions. The LinkBuds fluctuate has already impressed to this point, with fashions just like the distinctive Sony LinkBudswhich have an open-ear design, and the Sony LinkBuds S with a closed design which is likely to be good for smaller ears.
The LinkBuds Match take a barely utterly totally different technique. The determine tends to suggest these buds are centered at well being lovers – they usually’re – nevertheless it moreover hints at their biggest perform, a inconceivable match. They preserve put all by way of rigorous workouts, nevertheless are moreover delicate and cozy enough for all-day placed on whenever you work.
They obtained’t beat the very biggest earbuds within the case of sound top quality or noise cancellation. Sony’s high-end fashions, identical to the WF-1000XM5are considerably increased on these fronts and Bose stays to be ahead of the opponents within the case of ANC, with the QuietComfort Extraordinarily.
Nonetheless although the LinkBuds Match don’t have top-tier choices, they make up for it with an alternative that we predict is a reliable and versatile choice for most people. They’re good for movement, sports activities actions, and anyone who has struggled to go looking out earbuds that match securely with out sacrificing comfort.
Let’s start with the match, which is genuinely wonderful. I’ve reviewed many earbuds on this mid-range value bracket, along with fitness-focused fashions, and these are amongst my favorites. They’re small, lightweight, and versatile, making them highest for almost one thing – whether or not or not you’re working at a desk all day or doing intense workouts on the health heart.
The match stands out for a lot of causes. Each earbud weighs merely 4.9g, so delicate that you just could neglect you’re sporting them. Whereas there are lighter decisions – identical to the value vary Jlab Go Pop ANC at 4.1g per bud – few fitness-oriented earbuds with noise cancellation and durable choices are this delicate. For comparability, the Jabra Elite 8 Energetica couple of of my favorites, weigh 5g per bud, and the Sennheiser Momentum Sport buds can be found at 6.4g per bud, which is a significant distinction for such small items.
The soundness and luxurious are enhanced by two key choices. First, the silicone concepts, which are commonplace with most true wi-fi earbuds. Although there are solely three sizes included, I found the pre-installed concepts surprisingly good for my ears, though I usually measurement down. That talked about, the restricted tip alternative could not go nicely with all people. Second, the earbuds perform silicone fins that match snugly into the cartilage of your ear. Initially, I wasn’t a fan of how the fins appeared, nevertheless they’re very environment friendly at holding the buds in place, which obtained me over.
These earbuds aren’t merely comfortable; they’re extraordinarily safe. I examined them whereas working inside the rain, perfecting calisthenics talents the incorrect manner up on parallel bars, attending a yoga class, and understanding on the health heart. Whatever the train, they stayed firmly in place with out ever feeling tight or uncomfortable.
Aesthetically, they’ve a minimal however playful design, with an nearly bubble-like search for every the buds and the charging case. Their small measurement and lightweight assemble make them look discreet in your ears, with out protruding an extreme quantity of, like some rivals. The design seems aimed towards a youthful viewers, which is smart given they’re marketed as a collaboration with singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo.
The charging case is a bit chunkier and fewer streamlined than these of rival buds. Whereas I personally love its distinctive, barely marble-like finish (obtainable on the white and inexperienced variations), it is probably not as pocket-friendly. If you would like totally different colors, the Sony LinkBuds Match moreover can be found black and violet.
The Sony LinkBuds Match have two noise-cancelling modes: commonplace and ambient. The standard mode isn’t best-in-class. As an illustration, I could hear myself typing at my desk and a toddler crying in a restaurant. Nonetheless, it efficiently blocked out low-frequency sounds identical to the hum of a heater or the rumble of a put together. It seems notably environment friendly at dampening hums and rumbles reasonably than completely silencing all noise.
With that in ideas, if you happen to want near silence, the Sony LinkBuds Match is probably not the becoming choice. They’re designed to reduce noise reasonably than eliminate it completely, which I personally admire as a result of it retains me aware of alarms or emergencies. For these needing to hearken to their surroundings, the ambient mode moreover reduces noise whereas nonetheless allowing bulletins and totally different key sounds to return again by way of.
These settings could also be adjusted inside the Sony Be a part of app, which is crammed with choices. You’ll uncover anticipated decisions, like EQ settings (with an intuitive course of to search out out your favored presets), head-tracking sound, and multipoint pairing. There are moreover additional distinctive choices, akin to a mode that makes your music sound additional like background noise, adaptive sound administration that adjusts based totally on what you’re doing, and a speak-to-chat perform that pauses music everytime you talk about. If this all feels overwhelming, the good news is you don’t have to customize every perform to benefit from an superior experience correct out of the sector.
Connectivity is highly effective, with Bluetooth 5.3 supporting AAC, SBC, LDAC, and LC3 codecs, catering to quite a lot of preferences and items.
You can also customise gesture controls by the use of the app. Sony claims you could faucet the realm underneath your earlobe or between your ear and sideburn to activate gestures, nevertheless I couldn’t get this to work reliably. In its place, I wanted to faucet the buds themselves, which frequently required a company faucet to register.
Battery life is steady, offering 5.5 hours with noise-canceling on and eight hours with out. This matched my testing, though it varies counting on the audio codec and extra choices you’re using. With the case, you’ll get merely over 20 hours in full. Whereas first price by trendy true wi-fi necessities, it’s not distinctive. As an illustration, the additional cheap Sony WF-C510s ship 11 hours of playback nevertheless lack noise-cancelling – so your choice is set by your priorities.
As anticipated for workout-focused earbuds, the LinkBuds Match have an IPX4 rating, making them proof in opposition to sweat. Nonetheless, don’t take them inside the bathe or to the swimming pool.
All through testing, the Sony LinkBuds Match delivered a sound that’s biggest described as extremely efficient and punchy. Whereas I wasn’t blown away by the factor or richness of the audio, the experience was undeniably pleasurable. The buds current a bouncy, bass-heavy sound that’s good for powering by way of workouts.
Do you have to’re a fan of boomy, high-energy tracks, these earbuds will hit the mark. I even boosted the bass inside the EQ settings for added impression. Whereas this turned fatiguing over time, tracks like Armani White’s Billie Eilish and Hanumankind’s Huge Dawgs had an adrenaline-pumping depth. Equally, heavy rock like Queens of the Stone Age’s Sick, Sick, Sick sounded meaty and immensely satisfying.
Dramatic ballads like Lana Del Rey’s Ultraviolence moreover labored correctly, delivering an emotional punch. For work intervals, I found melodic tracks by Ólafur Arnalds notably pleasurable, often pairing them with the background music affect to boost focus.
Nonetheless, these buds sacrifice some factor and subtlety in favor of their bass-forward profile. Sony’s DSEE tech, which upscales low top quality sound, maybe labored some magic. But it surely absolutely felt like one factor was lacking barely after I listened to classical music, and anticipated the richness and expansiveness current in higher-end earbuds. At bigger volumes, superior preparations sounded a bit messy and restrained.
Which is all to say that the LinkBuds Match excel at delivering a powerful, energetic soundtrack for daily actions and workouts. Nonetheless, must you’re making an attempt to investigate every nuance of your favorite tracks, you’d be increased served by a additional refined alternative.
Sony LinkBuds Match: Value and availability
- Priced at £179 / $179 / AU$348
- Launched in October 2024
The Sony LinkBuds Match worth £179 / $179 / AU$348. Although the buds are presently discounted on the Sony website online in some areas. On the time of writing, the value inside the UK has dropped from £179 to £149.
This value locations the buds inside the mid-range class. Cheaper than Sony’s WF-1000XM5 earbuds at $299.99 / £259 / AU$499 nevertheless dearer than the Sony WF-C700N at $119 / £99 / AU$199.
Completely different rivals on this home are the Apple AirPods 4 with ANC at $179 / £179 / AU$299 and the JBL Keep Beam 3 at $199.95 / £179.99 / AU$249. There are a variety of on the similar value which is likely to be moreover considered workout-friendly buds too, identical to the Jabra Elite 8 Energetic at $199.99 / £199.99 / AU$329, and the Beats Match Skilled at $199 / £199 / AU$299.
What this means is that although you will discover good buds which is likely to be cheaper and pays additional for increased audio effectivity and choices, the wealth of choices, the comfy match, the design and the fitness-friendly specs make the Sony LinkBuds Match competitively priced and good value.
Sony LinkBuds Match: Specs
| Half | Sony LinkBuds Match |
| Design | Closed |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.3, LE Audio |
| Codecs | SBC, AAC, LDAC, LC3 |
| Battery | 5.5 hours earbuds; 21 hours battery in full from case |
| Frequencies | 20 Hz – 20,000 Hz (44.1 kHz sampling) / 20 Hz – 40,000 Hz (LDAC 96 kHz sampling 990 kbps) |
Sony LinkBuds Match: Scorecard
| Class | Comment | Ranking |
| Design | Very lightweight, cute aesthetic and intensely comfortable and safe match. | 5/5 |
| Choices | Multipoint pairing, 360 Audio, a great deal of codecs and first price battery. | 4/5 |
| Effectivity | Pleasurable, punchy sound that’s wonderful for understanding. Merely don’t rely on high-end factor. | 4/5 |
| Value | It’s possible you’ll uncover cheaper train buds, nevertheless few even inside the mid-range provide a inconceivable match and wealth of choices that come shut to these. | 4/5 |
Sony LinkBuds Match: Should I buy?
Buy it if…
Don’t purchase it if…
Moreover ponder
How I examined
I examined the Sony LinkBuds Match every day for two weeks. This gave me the chance to trial them in a ramification of varied environments and all forms of situations.
I largely used them to take heed to music and podcasts on my iPhone 14 Skilled with Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube music. I examined them after I used to be travelling on a put together, working in a busy cafe and a quiet library and at home at my desk. I moreover took them to the health heart after I used to be using the cardio machines and lifting weights, to the yoga studio, alongside the seaside for a lot of runs, and to an outside pull-up bar.
I’ve examined many headphones and earbuds over the earlier 12 years, with a consider well being items. I’m concerned in tech that prioritizes comfort and ease of use.
First reviewed: December 2024
