I bought these because I have had great experience with other Sony headphones I’ve owned and used regularly, most recently the WF1000XM5. I use those when I travel because, 1. The noise cancellation and sound isolation/suppression are the best I’d ever experienced with buds, and 2. The audio quality with music is top notch. I have many more pluses but those two are invaluable for me as I fly a lot, so buds are best for me. Cans make me hot and uncomfortable on longer flights.

Unfortunately, the advantages of the M5’s for flying, makes them a bit of an issue for me to use regularly for work or home. All that time between flights, I take a lot of virtual meetings and calls in busy places. I need to be able to hear the other side and they should be able to hear me without having to find a quiet space or isolate myself from the environment. Friends have recommended other models and brands, but those were made for runners and I don’t run, so I avoided them. I also didn’t want something too big around my ears so they’d stay on (again, I don’t run). Then I saw these launch. At first, I was skeptical of the style. I wanted open air concept, but I didn’t think these would sit right and would be two far from my ear canal. I have big ears. I figured I’d give them a shot as my experience with Sony buds were always good.

These surprised me and didn’t disappoint. First they fit well, I didn’t need the supplied cushions, but I can see those cushions providing a more customizable fit for some people, maybe those with smaller ears (not me). They sat pretty close to my ear canal. The spacing was great. Close enough to hear the music, far enough to be open ear and allow just enough external noise for me. Audio quality was superb. I thought I was just going to put these in for calls. I’m actually using them and keeping them on longer for music listening because audio quality is great. It sounds like you are listening to speakers in your ceiling or an external sound source. You almost forget that they’re on, which speaks to the comfort. More comfortable then your typical in ear or hook style buds. I even use them when I’m working in the office. Try out the background music feature. Pretty cool effect.

Oh, the reason I bought them is the best part. I use them in the office, at home, and out and about when I have con calls to take. Especially at the airport. This does a great job of isolating my voice so others hear me more than the background. I’m also surprised how well I can hear especially when in busy places like airports.

All the rest is great, 5+ hours is fine for me. My M5’s are 5 hours and good enough for a flight from the Midwest to the West coast. I don’t have 5 hour meetings and I personally wouldn’t want headphones on for 8 - 10 hours working at my desk. I try not to work at one sitting for that long. Feel bad for anyone that does.

All in all, I’m happy with these. I even got my wife to try them. She hates all types of headphones. Cans mess up her hair and buds are uncomfortable for any length of time. She was even more skeptical than me. She’s a fan and I may have a mother’s day gift idea.

My advice would be to try these if you’re skeptical. They may surprise you even more than they surprised me.

I've owned all the iterations of the Sony LinkBuds series that are open ear or are focused on not entering into your ear canal. Many of them have just been "fine" and done the job, but never felt perfect out of the box.

These are the first ones I feel that they have nailed out of the box. They could just produce these with minor tweaks for the rest of my life and I'd be finally happy with an earbud solution out there. They sound great, fit great, still allow me to hear around me, don't create pressure differences in my ear or press on anything in odd manners. As with many of these, you have to figure out what angle works for you, but once you get it, you can replicate it moving forward.

I found it easy to connect, and unlike other previous models the 2-device connecting actually works well.

The quirk I don't love the most is where the actual controls are in the back, however, that is more of a familiarity thing. Once you learn where to press you can get it to work without issue. Sony advertises in their App that you can press below your ear to make it function, I find with these you have to actually press the unit behind your ear.

Overall quality, fit and finish, and feature set are fantastic. They are expensive, but I feel fully worth it and that it is finally a closed chapter on my "searching for earbuds" quest.

I’ve been using this product for a couple of hours now, and I genuinely enjoy it. I originally wanted the Sony LinkBuds because I was tired of my AirPods Pro. The newer AirPods design has been annoying for me, especially when I work out, because they hang out of my ears and often fall out.

These are really comfortable and haven’t fallen out of my ears at all. The sound quality is really nice for both watching movies and listening to music. My only issue so far is the connectivity. I noticed that the Sony app glitches a bit on my phone. Also, there is no noise cancellation, but aside from the app issue, I don’t really have any complaints.

Long story short, 5 stars, I bought a pair for me and then got some for my wife after testing them out….but are they the ones for you? I will lay out the good and the bad in detail – hopefully that helps.

First, I have been looking and trying open back headphones for a while. So I am only comparing apples to apples. And speaking of, I am using an iPhone 16 Pro and have updated my Clips to the latest firmware.

VOLUME:

I hesitated for a day or two after reading another post saying they do not work well with IOS. We let me tell you they work GREAT. I can hear my music and calls clearly in pretty much every situation I have tested them in.

They also sound great with my Windows laptop and my wife's Android phone.

• I will say this amount of openness, when you are coming from closed earbuds, is something that requires a little getting used to. My gym plays music, and I had to turn these up a little more than my closed buds to tune it out. But it was way easier to talk to my gym partner during our sets, and I felt way more connected to everything that was going on around me.

• IMPORTANT – if you look at the pictures – I put these in the way that I saw images of them online – almost horizontal, but what I found was that they sound better/louder when I wear them lower/angled toward my shoulders. I would say start at horizontal and work your way down until they sound right for you.

SOUND:

Sony has a great app, and in there you can choose between Standard, Voice, and Sound leakage – that last one I was not so sure about, but apparently it is for very quiet places where you do not want others to hear you blare your secret love of the Kpop Demon Hunters soundtrack.

New after the update, or maybe I just did not notice it before, is something called Background Music – this I LOVE (see pic)! If I am at my computer working all day, I put it in this mode. It makes your music sound like it is coming from speakers behind you, so it is not so forward… not sure how to describe it… but it takes less of my attention and lets me focus on my tasks while still giving me enough of a boost.

OH, and I should mention that in the app there is also a 10 Band EQ! This is crazy, because you can fine-tune the sound to your liking, you can even set up custom presets…again, check out the app! Most others I have used either do not have an EQ or it's a 3-band or something else that is not as effective.

FIT/COMFORT:

For me and the way I wear them – in the pic on the right, not only do they sound their best, but they are super secure. I have not even taken out the Cushions to try them, because they really do stay put.

Comfort is also very good, a little tight at first they now feel very comfortable, and because you do not have to take them off to hear what is going on around you, I often forget I am wearing them, so I end up wearing them for hours and hours at a time.

• Where are the Cushions? If you want a more secure fit you may want to try the included – Hidden – Cushions. If you check out the other images I provided you can find where they are in the box. I almost threw them out, so please take them out before you throw out the box!

BATTERY LIFE:

I can not remember what the stated battery life is, but I honestly haven't had any issues in my day-to-day. I generally wear them for 5 to 7 hours a day – connected to my phone and laptop at the same time - occasionally taking them off for whatever reason, and I have never run out of battery. I think they also have a quick charge feature, may have something to do with not running out…again battery has been of so little concern that I really do not worry about it.

CASE:

While the case is not the largest among the open-earbuds I have used, it is not as small as my WF-1000XM5. They do not fit into that tiny pocket in my jeans – but they also do not look ridiculous in my front pocket, like others I have used.

So long story now long – I am keeping these for the long haul. Hope this helps you decide.

These are truly open ear, I can hear everything around me perfectly, while I also hear the sound from the earbuds very clearly. Also, if you have earbuds that never stay in your ears, this solved that problem for me. These earclips are super sturdy and comfortable. You barely know you are wearing them. I've forgotten that I was wearing them multiple times. That is how comfortable they are. They are the great sound quality you would expect from Sony, and perform very well. Bluetooth connection is solid, and I've had zero skips since using them. Highly recommended.

I am so disappointed the touch controls are very hard to use and they are not customizable despite the advertising. I chose these specifically because I rely on tap controls and I thought for $220 surely this pair would have usable easy controls. But no, they are as bad as a $75 pair I already have and sound the same too. I'm returning these immediately. They offer nothing more than the cheaper pair does. I used to love Sony products too.

My new favorite ear buds, listen is there other options that give a little more battery or give one extra feature that this may not, yes of course, look at quality, design, features and performance is where these win. I have owned a lot earbuds and headphones over the years.

These are really light, I wore them a whole day without really feeling like they were on, no ear fatigue.

Quick charge on battery is awesome, really fast and useful

Love the compact case

The app is easy to use and activate features

Great phone call quality, sony has a Few features in place to change between for different listening modes based on what your listening to and where you are with surroundings

Music is full, where I notice in other brands the music is flat.

Must buy, sony has Accessory choices too that they make, definitely get,

I wanted to really like these. I have tried various open earbuds, these are mediocre. 1. The battery life is so short, not even a full 8hr day of use. 2. For something that requires so much charging it would be nice if the charging case was reliable. The buds do not always charge, even when the case it full. Or only 1 bud will fully charge while the other stays on 1% They connect to my phone, even while in the case depleting any charge they may get. 3. For all of this, the price is ridiculous. I have had $30 open buds with better battery life and reliability. 4. The touch controls are not intuitive or as responsive as I'd like.

I will say some positives 1. They are comfortable and sturdier then other brands for longer wear. 2. The sound is okay, I like the various sound options for different environments. 3. They are stylish.

Son cómodos y prácticos

Te permiten escuchar tu entorno y tienen buen sonido

No los recomiendo si eres alguien que le guste 100% enfrascarse en la música.

pero son excelentes audífonos, los recomiendo para salir a calle, leer, o hacer otras cosas sin perder lo que ocurre a tu alrededor

Great sound, lightweight, doesn’t irritate my ears even after wearing them for hours. I can still hear music clearly even in windy conditions. Phone calls are clear even outside. I can hear sounds around me and people talking to me while also hearing my music and it’s all clear.

Very great product, the sound feel very high quality considering what the product is

Se escuchan muy bien, me sorprendieron demasiado

First time trying the open earbuds, I choose this style because I am wearing glasses so the ear hook style was applying extra burden to my ear, thought that clip style would be ok but I was wrong. The bigger buds that placed behind the ears are blocking the glasses arm and I have to adjust the rear buds slightly lower, causing the earbuds position not optimal for better sound. I tried multiple adjustments and won’t work for me to get great sound and not blocking by my glasses so I have to return it