Sony LinkBuds Open Truly Wireless Earbud Headphones with an Open-Ring Design for Ambient Sounds and Newly Developed Air Fitting Supporters, Black

I primarily listen to Audiobooks, followed by YouTube and podcasts and often want to hear what is going on around me or to easily converse with others without having to remove the earbuds. These allow me to do that and the quality is perfectly fine for what I use them for.While other earbuds have "pass-through" options, I don't like the sound when using that feature, so this open-ear design is really great.I also have the original version, and these are a little nicer - the sound is a bit crisper and the wing really helps hold the earbuds in the ear better than the original ones. I'm happy that I upgraded to these.

So, the fit is both good and bad. They stay in my ear (surprisingly) well, considering there is just a tiny nub holding them in place, but after a couple hours of wear, they can irritate my ears (I may be spoiled, because I normally wear BOSE open ear buds, that don’t even go into your ear, they clip onto the outside, but the volume and mic leave a lot to be desired). Sound quality is above-average; volume level is above average for an open ear bud, mic is above average for an open ear bud; there is no ANC because it’s an open ear bud, but the whole point of an open ear bud is you want to have pass through sound available, and it’s decent at this (again, I may be spoiled coming from the BOSE open ear buds, because you LITERALLY forget you’re wearing those, when not in use, it’s like you’re not wearing ear buds).The app has some great functions, but they have been buggy for me. For instance, they have a “voice recognition” setting, where the buds will pause your music if they hear your voice, so you can talk without sound blaring in your ears. Problem I have is, if I cough, or clear my throat, it will detect my “voice” and pause my music. Likewise, the voice detection allows you to control the ear buds and even link with your phone assistant (like SIRI). Problem here is: to direct the ear buds you literally say “headphones…” and then something like “play music.” This works well. But for your phone you say “assistant…” and then it links to your phone for you. The issue is, if I’m listening to a song, video, or even phone call and a lyric comes up that says “assistant” or even “insist,” “assist,” “this,” etc. the headphones pause and activate my phone. It’s not a huge deal, it actually had me laughing once I realized what was happening and I just disconnected the service, but it’s one of the unique things offered by the app, and I can’t realistically use it without getting frustrated.I’ve only had them a couple days, and they’re better than my air pods, or my Between 3AN’s, and are much louder than my Bose, with better sound quality so, while they’re not perfect, they’re currently the best I have.

Meh.I really wanted to love these. Let's talk about the good first.Good:They are open ear. The sound from outside passes through clear and unobstructed. I could hear everyone in the room clearly and hold conversations easily. I didn't have to listen to myself breath or chew food. It was nice.They stay in the ear better than any other bud I gave tried. I could chew food and they would not fall out. Run? no problem.They are super light. Easy to forget they are in your ears.The Bad:They are too big for my ears. I am not a small man, so I am surprised the fit was so bad. My wife also could not use them as they didn't fit her ears at all.The sound volume is super low. While I could get it to a comfortable listening volume if I cranked the volume and eq all the way up, they are nothing like the volume from my buds 2 pro.Sound quality is below average. I could get it decent if I applied both the sony eq and then wavelet eq on top of that, I could get the bass and mids to sound balanced. These have no bass by default. It is worse than listening to music from my phone.In the end I returned them. I have no use case where I would put up with the ill fit and meh sound quality for the open air sound.

I’m so heartbroken to write this because I desperately wanted to make these work but they hurt. They definitely fall out, they are not snug where it needs to be and too rigid where it should be soft. I am thoroughly disappointed in this product! I enjoy the sound where the environment is quiet but even just grocery shopping or the gym can be too loud to hear the music. Open ear headphones ought to be LOUDER than typical in ear because they have to still be HEARD. The quality seems well enough but I definitely wouldn’t say these are worth the value. The design is a compelling concept but execution is downright disheartening. I’m going to take these back in the morning and look for another option in the same price point. I bought these at full price and noticed the return was $10 less… so another piece for weary buyers…

So far, these are leaps and bounds beyond the original link buds open. I run about 12 miles a week and have not had any issues with them falling out. The only time they fell out was during a circuit that incorporated sit-upsThe sound quality is better than the originals and easier to clean. Plus, no messing with different-sized ear concha tabs.