Sony LinkBuds Open (WF-L910) review

The design and styling of the Sony LinkBuds Open is its biggest selling point, thanks to the unique fit and hollow section which allows you to hear your surroundings even with the earphones on. That said, it isn’t radically different from the design of the original LinkBuds, save for a difference in the fin design. The new stabiliser fins are made to ensure a more secure fit, and it does make a bit of a positive difference.

The earphones don’t fit in your canals and sit just outside, thus making for a less intrusive fit which many will prefer. This also means that there is absolutely no passive noise isolation whatsoever, but that’s the point here. The Sony LinkBuds Open are meant to provide you with your music and audio while letting you listen in to your surroundings freely, and the design achieves this exactly.

 

 

 

 

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With a sphere-like main unit, the Sony LinkBuds Open (WF-L910) get a bit of fit stability, and the outer sides of the earpieces are sensitive to touch controls. Usefully, you can also turn on wide-area tap through the Sony Sound Connect app, which lets you tap your cheek for earphone controls in the same way as you’d tap the earphones themselves. It works well, and is a bit easier to manage that actually locating the earphones to tap.

The charging case of the Sony LinkBuds Open is quite small and convenient, making it rather easy to slip into a pocket or compartment of a backpack. I found the hinge of the lid a bit flappy, but otherwise there’s nothing else to complain about with the case. Charging is via USB Type-C, and there’s no wireless charging for the case, which is a bit disappointing given the price of the headset.

The design of the Sony LinkBuds Open (WF-L910) obviously means that there is no active noise cancellation. You do, however, get decent specifications, including 11mm dynamic drivers and IPX4-equivalent water resistance. The Sound Connect app lets you control the equaliser settings, speak-to-chat mode, background music effect for comfortable listening, multi-point connectivity, and tap controls, among other things.

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For connectivity, there is Bluetooth 5.3 with support for multi-point audio (up to two devices can be connected simultaneously), and there is Bluetooth codec support for the SBC, AAC, and LC3 codecs. While there aren’t too many devices which support the LC3 codec as of now, it’s likely to be a big deal in the coming years, making the LinkBuds Open a bit future-proofed from that perspective.

The design of the Sony LinkBuds Open (WF-L910) is its main feature and selling point for those who want this type of fit and hear-through ability. However, it’s also a big factor in how the LinkBuds Open sound and work, affecting how the headset performs in different environments. The lack of passive noise isolation makes a big difference to the sound, and you’ll ideally want to use these earphones only in relatively quiet environments where there isn’t much distraction, so to speak.

While the previous LinkBuds weren’t really tuned for music and suited calls and voice audio better, the LinkBuds Open are better tuned for various listening requirements, including music and calls. The earphones are a bit louder as well, which is needed to cover for background noise which isn’t blocked out. 

The sub-bass frequencies continue to be a bit on the weak side - understandable given the design and fit, but the mid-bass covers for this to some extent and helps you get somewhat workable bass levels from the earphones. Mids and highs were decent enough, making for good sound with most genres - as long as I was in a relatively quiet space such as at home or in the office.

ALSO SEE: Sony WF-1000XM5 review

Too much background noise, and the sound of the Sony LinkBuds Open becomes a bit harder to work with. In a noisy Mumbai local train and while walking on a busy street, the music needed to be at almost the highest volume level to even be reasonably heard over the background noise, and served more as silence-breaking score rather than providing any actual listening. Taking a call was near-impossible in the train, and I had to switch to the phone’s earpiece to actually hear what was being said.

None of these concerns applied in quieter spaces, and bing able to hear my surroundings - such as doorbells at home or co-workers speaking in office - was a big benefit, along with decent sound quality. That said, there’s little beyond this design on the LinkBuds Open in terms of features and capabilities, and I’m left wondering if that’s really worth the premium price.

ALSO SEE: OnePlus Buds Pro 3 review

Battery life on the Sony LinkBuds Open is excellent, largely thanks to the lack of features such as active noise cancellation and power-draining Bluetooth codecs. I managed to get around eight hours of battery life on a single charge, and the case added almost two additional charges for the earphones. The case charges quickly enough when plugged in, but disappointingly there’s no wireless charging for it.

The Sony LinkBuds Open are a step up from the original LinkBuds, but this is still a niche headset that isn’t for everyone. It works well in relatively quiet environments where you need to have your ears open, and it’ll help those who don’t like the fit of in-canal earphones. The open fit is admittedly quite comfortable for all-day use. Bluetooth LC3 codec support will also help going forward.

That said, the lack of features on the Sony LinkBuds Open (WF-L910) is a bit disappointing. Not having ANC is understandable given the design, but other premium features such as wireless charging and LDAC codec support are missing. The LinkBuds Open is therefore a worthwhile option to consider if you want the open fit and natural hear-through capabilities, but it’s perhaps a bit expensive for what’s on offer.