Sony LinkBuds Speaker Review - WF-1000XM5 users NEED this...
The LinkBuds Speaker’s main superpower is being able to seamlessly switch the audio to and from your Sony earbuds and headphones. So when you’re watching your favorite YouTuber on your WF-1000XM5, just put the buds back into the case and the audio automatically plays on the LinkBuds Speaker.
This feature is called “Auto Switch’’. To use it, you’ll need to link your earbuds to it in the Sony Sound Connect app. It works with the XM5 earbuds, the LinkBuds Fit, LinkBuds S, and other Sony products. It also has multipoint which lets you connect it to two devices at once, and its multipoint is very seamless. Devices instantly takes over the audio, you don’t even have to pause switching playback.
The speaker can be taken anywhere since it’s got up to 25 hours of battery. There’s a loop you can use to hang it up, or you can just leave it docked in to power on the included charging dock.
Microphone Pick Up
It has a built-in microphone
It also got a built-in microphone so you can use it as a handsfree. As for the mic quality, I’ve tested it at various distances, and I have to say, it’s not bad. It picks up and amplifies my voice quite loudly, and I don’t even have to raise my voice. However, my voice does sound quite bloated, and a bit muffled, although overall quite intelligible.
👉 Have a listen to the mic pickup samples.
Sound Quality
What about its sound quality as a standalone speaker? It is a two-way speaker, featuring a front-facing setup of one tweeter and one X-balanced speaker unit that they’re calling a “woofer”. However, it’s more like a high-excursion midrange driver, because that by itself, cannot possibly move that much air for thumping low bass. That’s why you have passive radiators at the sides to make the most out of that internal air movement.
Two-way speaker
Still, this being a small speaker, it’s more focused on the mids and highs rather than bass. On its default setting, songs with heavy bass, like Me vs Me, those bass drops had little to no extension, and I could hear just a shell of it. But if we’re talking about heaviness in the sound, the vocals do have that, at least.
👉 Have a listen to the sound samples.
Overall, it’s a nice sounding speaker with decent track separation, vocals do sound loud, crisp and clean. For what it is, it sounds quite nice for background music or setting the mood at a dinner party. It isn’t very loud, so it’s best for a small apartment, bedroom, office. They can be outdoors too, but for best enjoyment you should be right beside the speaker. Casual listening is the name of the game. Nothing serious, or too critical.
For me, I would definitely use this for podcasts. One moment I’ll be listening on the XM5, next moment, BAM, on the LinkBuds Speaker. Because of its big emphasis on vocals, it’s perfect for that.
EQ Settings
Now, can you improve the sound with the EQ settings in the sound connect app? Well, yes and no. The app doesn’t have any presets for it, so you’ll have to tweak the sound yourself with the manual EQ. Personally, I wanted to boost the bass and slightly reduce the upper mids a little to make the sound smoother. I could do that for the mids, but for bass, the clear bass dial did almost nothing, maybe there’s a bit more bass but only in the 200hz region. So, this speaker is somewhat customisable in terms of sound.
Customisable EQ settings
Button Scheme
One thing that I find a little weird is the button scheme. On top, you have volume controls, play/pause, and the power button is placed at the back… But where’s the Bluetooth pairing button? Turns out, it’s at the bottom, along with the button to call out battery level. Granted, you don’t often need to pair a device. You will only need to pair once and forget about it, but I just find this design choice quite interesting. I mean it would be making more sense if they could have put it at the back. What they should also have put in the back is a 3.5mm audio jack. Or at least let it take USB audio, so that I can use as a wired speaker with my laptop.
Final Thoughts
Anyway, for anyone who daily drives Sony headphones and earbuds that support Auto-Switch, this speaker is a no brainer. Previously, I had to pair my phone to a speaker, or AirPlay whatever I was listening on the earbuds, this solution is a lot more seamless because no taps on the screen required. Audio quickly flows from buds to speaker and back again. Seriously, Sony bringing this feature to even more Sony speakers would be a great business move.
Anyway, link as below if you want to check its latest prices on Amazon.
Check latest price:
Sony LinkBuds Speaker - https://amzn.to/4gvLCts
Sony LinkBuds Fit - https://amzn.to/4g0uGvT
Sony LinkBuds Open - https://amzn.to/4iysf5c
Sony LinkBuds S - www.loudnwireless.com/linkbudsspricecheck
Sony WF-1000XM5 - https://amzn.to/4g3dXaJ
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