Sony LinkBuds S Review: Tiny Earbuds Built for All-Day Wear

Sony launched the LinkBuds S in May 2022 as the sealed, conventional follow-up to the open-ring LinkBuds. Where the original left the ear open with a donut-shaped driver, the S — model WF-LS900N — closes the ear off with silicone tips so noise cancelling can actually work. This review pulls together Sony's own specifications, published reviews from SoundGuys and Tom's Guide, and Amazon owner ratings. JudgeAny runs no test lab of its own, so every measurement and listening impression below belongs to one of those published sources, not to this site.

Sound: close to the target curve, with thin treble out of the box

The LinkBuds S uses a 5 mm dynamic driver with Sony's Integrated Processor V1, plus LDAC for Hi-Res Audio Wireless and DSEE Extreme for upscaling compressed files, per Sony. SoundGuys, which spent a week with the earbuds, found the output closely follows its in-house target curve up to around 2 kHz, with bass and mid-range well represented — though the 200-700 Hz range sits a little lower than it likes. Treble is the weak spot: under-emphasized high frequencies mean harmonics and high-pitched sounds come through less prominently, and on The Stooges' "Search and Destroy" the cymbals sounded comparatively muted against clear vocals, guitar and bass. The app holds the fix: SoundGuys found the Treble Boost EQ preset brings the high range much closer to its target curve without over-emphasizing it. Tom's Guide heard a similar mixed picture, praising engaging bass on Milky Chance's "Stolen Dance" but finding acoustics and mid-tones blurred together, and judging the AirPods Pro more sophisticated in layering on the same track.

Noise cancelling and ambient sound: strong on drone, weaker on sharp sounds

SoundGuys measured low-end attenuation of up to 35 dB around 200 Hz and called the active noise cancelling excellent for true wireless earbuds, enough to render low droning sounds like a car engine or lawnmower roughly one-eighth as loud. Higher-frequency, incidental noises still come through to a degree, and decent passive isolation from a good tip seal does most of the work there. Tom's Guide, testing at a college graduation, found the ANC battled rowdy crowds and traffic outside the stadium but let select loud frequencies through, and judged the AirPods Pro better at combating ambient noise in the same environment. Tom's Guide is warmer on transparency: its Ambient Sound mode is called a highlight, convincing enough to follow side conversations and graduate names being called over a band playing "Pomp and Circumstance." SoundGuys is cooler on it, calling the mode fine for the job but not nearly as natural as simply hearing the world through the original open-ring LinkBuds.

Comfort and controls: 4.8 g buds that stay put, with fussy double-taps

Each bud weighs 4.8 g and the case 35 g, per Sony, and four sizes of ear tips come in the box. Tom's Guide wore the LinkBuds S through a normal routine for several hours at a time and found them comfortable enough for all-day wear, without budging during workouts or commutes. SoundGuys likewise found the ergonomic shape sits comfortably in the ear, but warns the matte textured plastic picks up dust, dirt and grime quickly — ear tips included. Controls are taps on the flat outer sides: right for playback, left for ANC and transparency, with profiles customizable in the Sony Headphones Connect app. SoundGuys documents two limits: you cannot set individual controls per tap pattern, and double-taps are not terribly sensitive, with roughly half of its double-taps to skip a song registering as a pause instead. Tom's Guide, by contrast, called the controls among the most intuitive it had reviewed. The IPX4 rating covers splashes and sweat, per Sony, so workouts and rain are within its brief, but it is not a swimming rating.

Battery: about 6 hours a charge, and a case that adds 14

Sony rates the LinkBuds S at up to 6 hours with noise cancelling on and 9 hours with it off, with the case adding 14 hours for a 20-hour total. SoundGuys, testing with constant real music peaking at 75 dB(SPL), measured 5 hours 41 minutes on a single charge, close to the claim — and more than enough for almost any extended listening session. Tom's Guide landed on the other side of the rating, at about 6 hours 15 minutes without phone calls, but just over 5 hours once a 45-minute call was in the mix. A 5-minute quick charge gives up to 60 minutes of playback, per Sony and SoundGuys. Wireless charging is the gap in the package: the case charges over USB-C only, per audiofi's review, so a wireless charging pad will not refill it.

Calls and the app: good in a quiet room, and an app worth installing

Sony pitches Precise Voice Pickup Technology with a noise-reduction algorithm trained on over 500 million voice samples, per its product page. SoundGuys found the microphone decent for true wireless earbuds in ideal conditions, but noted apparent processing artifacts in its street-noise test, with voices suffering as a result: fine at home or in a quiet place — but not much more. Tom's Guide agreed in outline, finding voices fuller than on the original LinkBuds but still thinking call performance could be better, with ambient voices from a TV or radio announcement interfering. Per SoundGuys, the Headphones Connect app is close to essential here: firmware updates, per-earbud and case battery levels, EQ presets plus a custom EQ, 360 Reality Audio setup, and Adaptive Sound Control that adjusts ambient sound to what you are doing. Bluetooth is 5.2 with SBC, AAC and LDAC, per Sony, and multipoint pairing with two devices arrived with firmware update 2.0.2 in November 2022, per SoundGuys, which also notes head tracking and LE Audio support added by later firmware.

The conflicting evidence, and why the verdict still holds

The published record splits most sharply on noise cancelling. SoundGuys calls the ANC excellent and measures up to 35 dB of low-end attenuation, while Tom's Guide lists mediocre ANC performance among its cons and found the AirPods Pro better in the same environment. Battery shows a smaller spread: Sony's 6-hour rating against SoundGuys' 5 hours 41 minutes and Tom's Guide's 6 hours 15 minutes without calls, dropping to just over 5 hours with a long call. Both sides are really describing the same earbuds from different angles: the ANC is genuinely strong on low, steady drone and ordinary on sharp, high-frequency intrusions, and the battery lands within about 20 minutes of its rating in two independent tests. Nothing in the negative findings contradicts the core claim. Every outlet that criticized the ANC or the treble still recommended the LinkBuds S as a reliable, comfortable pair of earbuds, and the case for buying it rests on size, fit and all-day wearability, not on being the best at any single thing.

Who should buy it

Buy the LinkBuds S if you want small, light earbuds you can wear for hours, with solid noise cancelling, a genuinely useful transparency mode and an app that lets you fix the treble with one preset. It suits commuters, gymgoers and anyone who wants Sony's feature set without carrying a bigger, heavier pair. Skip it if you want the strongest noise cancelling available, wireless charging, the longest battery life in the class, or a microphone that holds up in street noise. Owner ratings tell a more mixed story: an Amazon India listing snapshot showed 3.8 out of 5 stars across 5,169 ratings, with counts varying by region and snapshot. Check the current price on Amazon before deciding.