ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Accessible for preorder for $200, Sony’s new LinkBuds Match are shaping as much as be a gym-goer’s new exercise buddy.
- These earbuds boast a strong ANC function and a snug design that’s second to none.
- Their audio output, nevertheless, is not very {powerful}.
extra shopping for decisions
What’s an important side of a pair of earbuds? My reply adjustments relying on the circumstances. I favor energy and quantity once I’m at house listening to music. If I am on the gymnasium, I want one thing rugged and able to blocking out sound. Sony’s new LinkBuds Match meets my wants.
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I had the chance to check out a pair for the previous week or so, they usually shortly grew to become my go-to exercise buddies. I by no means left house with out them. Earlier than I get into the various the explanation why I really like these buds, I wish to shortly give a shoutout to the charging case.
I acquired the pale inexperienced mannequin with a marble lid and a comfortable rubber backside. Collectively, they appear beautiful. I do not know if these supplies assist reinforce it or something, however I’m an enormous fan of the aesthetics. Sony’s LinkBuds Match have the nicest charging case I’ve ever had the pleasure of holding.
The LinkBuds Match might be seen as an evolution of Sony’s LinkBuds S. Just like the older fashions, these are wi-fi, noise-canceling earbuds with a number of changes. Most significantly, Sony designed its new earbuds to be extra comfy. The corporate informed us it made the casing shorter and lined it with a “silicone supporter.” Inside this silicone is an air cushion.
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In my expertise, this design change does two issues. It permits the earbud to suit higher inside an ear, and the silicone masking protects your ears from rubbing towards the LinkBuds Match’s laborious plastic casing. In brief, you get all-day consolation.
I even fell asleep with them on a number of instances throughout testing, and once I awakened, my ears did not really feel sore. That is one thing I am unable to say about different earbuds, which turn into uncomfortable over time.
Noise-canceling on the LinkBuds Match is strong. It is lively by default, so the second you placed on each, ANC (lively noise canceling) activates. The function routinely disables itself if you take one of many earbuds out.
Double tapping on the skin of the left earbud deactivates the ANC. The auto-disable operate got here in very useful for me, as I do not actually use gesture controls.
The ANC function blocks various quantities of sound, relying on the surroundings. I heard extra ambient sound in my quiet room, just like the visitors exterior my window. On the gymnasium, issues had been a lot quieter. I may hardly hear the weights being slammed down or the music from the speaker system. This auto-optimizer function actually impressed me.
That stated, the ANC will not be omnipotent. Loud sufficient noises will leak by.
Sony says the earbuds final 5.5 hours on a single cost by themselves, and 25 hours with the case. Throughout my testing, I managed to get the earbuds to run for nearly seven hours earlier than I wanted to seize the charger. I had ANC turned on, and was taking part in music at a low quantity, so extending the runtime with a number of tweaks is feasible.
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The earbuds’ audio output was typically good. Instrument separation was beautiful. Acoustic songs and singers sounded great. The one space during which I felt the pair faltered was the bass output. Pop and rap songs lacked that further punch.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
On the time of this writing, Sony’s LinkBuds Match can be found for preorder for $200. They arrive in 4 completely different colours: black, white, inexperienced, and violet. You should purchase further equipment, like a case cowl that goes on a key ring or completely different coloured silicone supporters.
Should you like strong ANC and unbelievable consolation, I like to recommend the LinkBuds Match. The $200 price ticket is a troublesome promote, particularly when different nice, cheaper choices exist, just like the Nothing Ear (a). Should you favor sturdy audio output, I like to recommend the Sony WH-1000XM5 wi-fi headphones.
