Sony LinkBuds Clip Review: Solid Buds, Premium Price

Pressing the top reveals more sheets of gloss and matte plastic in the form of snap buttons that wrap around the back of your ears. As someone who’s tried dozens of open buds over the past few years, it’s hard not to be slightly underwhelmed by their basic aesthetic, which is somehow remarkably similar to Soundcore’s Aeroclip (and several other pairs) but still less striking. Their 6.4-gram weight is heavier than my favorite pairs, but still light enough for all-day wear, and the beefy rear barrel packs an impressive nine hours of battery playtime, with 27 more in the case.

Sony’s choice to set up the case’s magnetic stands so that the knobs face the front instead of the sides was a little awkward in day-to-day use. Almost all other clip-ons I’ve tried face outwards, so you can naturally attach them to your ears in one motion. Sony’s pair forces you to awkwardly twist one hand for insertion and the other to put them back. It’s a small thing, but it remained uncomfortable over several days.

Photo: Ryan Waniata

In keeping with the Aeroclip theme, the Clip smart borrows Soundcore’s best feature: touch controls on the loop that connects the two earbuds instead of on the back like so many cheaper models. It’s worlds more convenient and well executed, allowing play/pause, song skipping and volume control via double, triple or quick taps. Again, I have a small quibble in that Sony’s Connect app won’t let you program individual controls, only combinations, which inevitably led to redundancies or controls I didn’t need.

The app unlocks some Sony standards, like DSEE for enhanced wireless audio and 360 Reality Audio for spatial audio (if you’re into that). There’s also an adjustable 10-band EQ and three sound modes, including Standard, Voice and Sound Leakage, designed to avoid disturbing others. I’ve never really had that problem with open buds, but hey, it’s there. Other options include multi-point pairing and quick access to Spotify and Amazon Music.

Mediocre calling, solid voice

Photo: Ryan Waniata

Many cheap open earbuds struggle with call quality, but I expected a little more bang for the buck with the Clip. Voices on my end were often tinny, sometimes sounding distorted, while one caller on the other end said I sounded like I was on speakerphone. Sony says its AI Voice Pickup is designed to isolate your speech, and even claims to add bone conduction to suppress outside sounds, but the system struggled to deliver a satisfying experience for me.