Sony is here with a new pair of open earbuds, the LinkBuds Clip, which introduce a fresh form factor that doesn’t obstruct the wearer’s ear canal. The new open earbuds move to the clip or C-shaped design popularized by brands like Motorola and Bose, leaving behind the ring-shaped design of the previous Sony LinkBuds Open. By comparison, the new Sony LinkBuds Clip address common critiques of the old design, including comfort, sound quality, and noise leakage.
The company officially announced the LinkBuds Clip today, Jan. 21, and they’re now available for $230 in the U.S. This price point positions the LinkBuds Clip as a more affordable option compared to the Moto Buds Loop and the Bose Ultra Open earbuds, which both retail for $300. After a few days of testing the Sony LinkBuds Clip for myself, it’s clear that the price is just one way this pair makes open earbuds more approachable to the masses.
The case is a taller than the competition when laid flat, but it’s narrower, and I find this makes the LinkBuds Clip easier to fit in a pocket. These earbuds definitely have character and leave room for customization. The buds themselves are available in black, green, greige, and lavender colors. I tested the greige colorway that you’ll see pictured throughout this article.
You can take the customization a step further by purchasing a case cover for an extra $25, and those are available in coral, green, blue, lavender, and black. The unique aspect of the case covers is that you can pick different colors for the top and bottom portion of the case. They include “fitting cushions” — I’ll explain those later — that match the top cover color of the case.
In theory, that means you could have earbuds in one color, fitting cushions and one half of the case in another, and a third for the bottom case. That’s a pretty trendy way to personalize your earbuds.
Take a look at the LinkBuds Clip compared to the Moto Buds Loop in the photo above — they’re much more compact and simplistic, and to be clear, that’s a good thing.
The Sony LinkBuds Clip work like most other pairs of open earbuds. The large, pill-shaped portion of the earbuds rests behind your ear lobes when in use, with the orb-shaped portion resting above or inside your concha. They way they fit will depend on your ear shape. I found that without the fitting cushions, the audio drivers sat inside my concha, which was a bit uncomfortable.
Adding the silicone fitting cushions to the upper band of the LinkBuds Clip fixed everything. With this tiny pad adding a bit of space between the LinkBuds Clip and my ear, the audio drivers felt like they were levitating outside my ear canal. That’s exactly what you want from a pair of open earbuds. You hear the sound coming from the drivers, but also hear ambient noise in your surrounding to maintain awareness without any pressure.
Speaking of sound quality, the Sony LinkBuds Clip are fairly balanced for their category. Open earbuds won’t sound as good as traditional earbuds because there is no isolation, and the drivers don’t fire directly into your ear canal. Usually, that results in weak bass and a tinny sound. However, the LinkBuds Clip impressed me in that regard, delivering strong bass under the circumstances.
The earbuds support multipoint connection and the SBC or AAC codecs. There are no lossless or high-fidelity codecs here, but they would be redundant anyway due to the sound quality limitations I’ve mentioned. Instead, what’s notable is the three sound modes on the LinkBuds Clip. You’ll probably use standard mode most of the time, but there is also a voice boost mode that might be preferable for listening to podcasts or watching videos.
Most importantly, there is a “sound leakage reduction mode” that changes the sound signature as to not bother others around you. Like any open earbuds, the Sony LinkBuds Clip can be heard by those nearby when they are set to medium-to-high volume levels. The sound leakage reduction mode cuts the mids and the highs, which are easily perceptible by those around, to limit the intrusion. It works well, but the sound quality takes a noticeable hit.
For calls, the LinkBuds Clip use AI for noise reduction and leverage a bone conduction sensor to pick up your voice as you speak.
The earbuds last up to nine hours on a single charge, and that can extend to 37 hours with the charging case. That should be enough for the longest listening sessions. They have IPX4 liquid-resistance, making them sweatproof for working out.
I’ve only listened to the LinkBuds Clip for a few days, and it’s too soon to give a final verdict. However, I like what I’m seeing (and hearing) so far. These are minimal open earbuds that keep things simple while undercutting the price of the competition. They’re more approachable to newcomers than the older Sony LinkBuds Open, giving the new LinkBuds Clip an advantage.
Stylish open earbuds
The Sony LinkBuds Clip are simple, reliable open earbuds that let you listen to music while being aware of your surroundings. They are packed with software features, from a Sound Leakage Reduction feature to a 10-band equalizer.
