Sony LinkBuds Fit review

The need for better-fitting earbuds that meet the needs of people who interact with the world instead of shutting it out has gone underserved for years. But Sony’s efforts in the last few years have proven that there’s an audience for earbuds that don’t conform to conventional wisdom. Today we’re taking a look at the Sony LinkBuds Fit, successor to the Sony LinkBuds S. Does the radical redesign improve things any? Let’s find out.

Editor’s note: this is the first version of the article. Updates will follow as the market changes.

What’s it like to use Sony LinkBuds Fit?

True to its name, the Sony LinkBuds Fit is built around getting its users a comfortable fit — which it does effectively. However, what this kind of ear tip does not do is guarantee a good seal. I’ve seen a few earbuds with this pop-off all-in-one kind of earbud like that of the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro so far and I’ve yet to be impressed. This type of tip does guarantee is a much more comfortable experience, even if it does sometimes feel like your earbuds are falling out. Unlike the tips of the Buds3, those of the Sony LinkBuds Fit are made of a single piece of silicone, which means they’re not going to tear or get destroyed through normal swapping. But the bad news is that with a completely malleable nozzle, there isn’t as much outward pressure on your ear canal, which can mean a less complete seal. Just remember to yank, not pry and tear the ear tips off and you shouldn’t cause any damage to them.

The latest generation of LinkBuds seems to like the super-flimsy material and I understand the appeal. By ensuring a secure fit — if not a perfect seal — with the least pressure necessary, it’s insanely easy to forget that you’re wearing the Sony LinkBuds Fit. If you can have that and not have to worry about a good fit, then the tradeoffs are a lot easier to stomach. You can also customize the look of these with included accessories, but those come at an additional cost.

If there was one thing I’d change about the Sony LinkBuds Fit it would be the controls. I’m unsure how or why I had so much trouble with the touch inputs, but for whatever reason the already-limited options did not want to trigger for me in the lab or outdoors. While I;m a big fan of the wide area tap means of controls, it just didn’t work well for me on the Sony LinkBuds Fit — though your mileage may vary. It was seasonably cold here in Canada, so that might have had something to do with it.

For those looking to exercise a lot, the Sony LinkBuds Fit has earned an ingress protection rating of IPX4, meaning the buds themselves can handle sweat. Just don’t take these in the shower or swimming and you should be fine. You should have zero issues on a run, lifting session, or other strenuous activity.

Should you use the Sony Sound Connect for the Sony LinkBuds Fit?

Sony’s Sound Connect app may not be an essential companion to the Sony LinkBuds Fit, but it does offer some tangible benefits, like being able to manually janitor your connections, tinker with EQ settings, and toggle some of the advanced features on or off. Though some might be worried about privacy, there doesn’t appear to be much access to sensitive information on your phone.

You’ll need to use the app to enable the Sony 360 Reality audio and follow the necessary steps if you’re looking to consume spatial audio content. Additionally, much like the latest LinkBuds Open, you can toggle virtual sound environments like a cafe, speaker, or your room at home.

How do the Sony LinkBuds Fit connect?

The Sony LinkBuds Fit connects to source devices via Bluetooth 5.3 over AAC, SBC, LDAC, and LC3. While it may not be the most exciting thing to divine connection quality by reading an alphabet soup of codec names, having a higher-bitrate option in LDAC plus a better battery life solution in LC3 means that the Sony LinkBuds Fit is very flexible to meet the needs of a wide range of people. I hope this trend continues because most people who’ve only used SBC for most of their lives probably won’t notice quality differences by swapping to LC3 — but they will notice the battery life improvements. Along with the LE Audio improvements come Auracast, which will be a much more useful feature as time goes on.

Though the Sony LinkBuds Fit can be paired to two devices at once, it’s not quite the Multipoint experience that some might be hoping for. Still, if you only bounce from phone to computer: you’ll never notice something amiss. Use the Sony Sound Connect app to manage paired devices.

How long does the Sony LinkBuds Fit battery last?

The battery life of the Sony LinkBuds Fit can change depending upon which codec you’re using, but for those with an iPhone or computer can expect the earbuds to last 6 hours and 46 minutes, as they did in our standardized battery rundown. You can attempt to prolong this by enabling the LE audio features and using LC3 with your phone. In theory, it should extend your battery life, but I haven’t had the time to prove it yet.

Charging is only accomplished through the USB charging port, and the case does not support wireless charging. Though it’s a bummer, it’s not terribly surprising given the size of the case.

How well do the Sony LinkBuds Fit cancel noise?

Though the ANC is decent, the Sony LinkBuds Fit is a remarkably poor isolator. I’m going to chalk this all up to the rather short nozzle and inability to get a deep insertion into your ear canal, as I was unable to get a fit that I liked in my own use, while the dummy head we use was able to handle this well. Though it’s definitely not the best choice for everyone, the benefit here is that by sitting near the end of your ear canal: it’s going to be a lot more comfortable than most earbuds. However, these earbuds definitely need the use of those ear fins to stay in place — because that ear tip ain’t gonna do it on its own. Even getting the right size won’t net you the kind of isolation you might be hoping for here.

When I was wearing these earbuds, I had no trouble hearing some sounds nearby, which was distracting. I gather that this is somewhat intended behavior from the LinkBuds line, and it can be useful to be able to hear impacts, crashes, and random yelling around you if you intend to take these earbuds out on the town (safety first, right?). At a coffee shop, though, I’d rather not hear the clattering and clanking of the overloaded keyboard warriors trying to juggle plates, laptops, and silverware. No I’m not referring to anyone in particular, why do you ask?

This might be alright on a flight, however, as most engine noise lives in the ranges that the Sony LinkBuds Fit attenuates most effectively. Still, these aren’t among the best ANC earbuds, so you’ll want to look elsewhere if you need something to kill all noise around you.

How do the Sony LinkBuds Fit sound?

The Sony LinkBuds Fit sound pretty good for most, though there are a couple areas that might not be to everyone’s taste.

Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Scores (MDAQS)

The chart below shows how the sound of the Sony LinkBuds Fit was assessed by the Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Score (MDAQS) algorithm from HEAD acoustics.

When put to a virtual listening panel of a couple hundred listeners, most would rate the Sony LinkBuds Fit quite well. Typically, nailing the Timbre score will carry a lot of weight in the overall mean opinion score (MOS), and the same is true here. What is a little surprising is the high marks for immersiveness, but this does reflect my own impressions of the earbuds. Though the lowish distortion score is a surprise, it’s still well within the “not bad” side of things, so it won’t be obvious to anyone but the absolute pickiest of listeners.

Reviewer’s notes

Editor’s note: this review uses a hover-enabled glossary to describe sound quality based on a consensus vocabulary. You can read about it here.

Objective Measurements

All things considered, this is pretty much the response we expect of a set of earbuds aimed at the mass market. Comparatively emphasized bass with a little dip at 500Hz and somewhat normal emphasis around 3kHz is a pretty typical tuning for earbuds. There’s a little bit of wonkiness in the highs, but overall not a bad result by any means. You may not have a lot of luck trying to equalize these earbuds to have less bass, so just keep that in mind before you get too crazy in third-party apps.

Outside of that dip at 500Hz, the Sony LinkBuds Fit shows acceptable compliance with our preference curve until about 4kHz, so there’s not a lot to complain about here. For those of you who like more bass, you might want to keep looking, or use the in-app equalizer to alter your buds’ performance to your tastes.

This will not likely appeal to those of you who don’t like as much bass, as this emphasis is a little bit above what we like. However, you’ll have to look to something else, or get a third-party EQ app to get the best results in toning down the lows, as this response is a little weird.

Can you use the Sony LinkBuds Fit for phone calls?

As the Sony LinkBuds Fit is meant to act as a personal audio companion, it’s no surprise that the product sports microphones for use on calls. Listen to the samples below for a better picture of how well the Sony LinkBuds Fit’s mic works in the real world than I can paint with words.

Sony LinkBuds Fit microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Should you buy the Sony LinkBuds Fit?

As much as earbuds aren’t generally something I’m a fan of, I can definitely see the appeal of the Sony LinkBuds Fit. For those who want something that “just works” and won’t be outdated in a couple of years: the Sony LinkBuds Fit is your Huckleberry. Of course, this is mainly for people who have had poor luck finding earbuds that fit, or want to hear more in the world than just silence sometimes. But maybe you’ve never known anything else, and “hate” all earbuds because you haven’t used any that actually make a more concerted effort to fit comfortably like the LinkBuds Fit.

If you’ve found yourself wondering about open earbuds but you definitely know that you need ANC in your life, the Sony LinkBuds Fit makes for a compelling option. Sometimes it’s nice to have a product that just doesn’t have big sore spots, and works the way you want it to. And that’s what you’re getting with the Sony LinkBuds Fit. It won’t appeal to everyone, but this is a low-risk buy.

What should you get instead of the Sony LinkBuds Fit?

If you like the idea of the Sony LinkBuds Fit but you’re looking for something else, there’s a few other options you should consider. For example, you may be able to nab the Sony LinkBuds S ($148 at Amazon) on deep discount if you’re alright with the change in design. Additionally, the closest product we know to the LinkBuds Fit will be the Apple AirPods 4 with ANC ($159.99 at Micro Center), as that offers a blend of unsealed listening, transparency mode, and ANC that’s an interesting combo.

If you’re not sold on the Sony LinkBuds Fit, but you do like the ear tip design, the AirPods Pro 2 ($189.99 at Amazon) and the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro ($249.99 at Amazon) both offer this, but with better ANC and comparable sound quality. However, the former doesn’t have high-bitrate codec compatibility, and the latter only does if you have a latest-gen Samsung phone.

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