Sony's hole earphone "LINKBUDS" is a new sense that can hear both music and surrounding sounds.

Sony “LinkBuds WF-L900”

While listening to music or having an online meeting at telework, it is common to notice the voice of a family member calling you or the sound of an intercom when you cannot hear the surrounding sounds. Based on such a social situation, Sony's new concept complete wireless earphone "LinkBuds WF-L900" (Sony store price: 23,100 yen) that can hear outside sounds was released on February 25th. [See all photos] As a completely wireless earphone type device that can also listen to outside sounds, there is a product called "sound earcuffs AM-TW01" from amie, an affiliate of Sony. On the other hand, Sony's new "LinkBuds WF-L900" is a new style that has never existed before, adopting a "ring-shaped driver unit" with a hole in the middle of the diaphragm that produces sound. We will check the actual machine of such a novel complete wireless earphone "LinkBuds WF-L900".

It's not the best sound quality

The driver unit, which normally blocks the ear canal, has a donut-like hole, so you can hear the sound from the earphones as well as the surrounding sounds. structure

As a product category, it is definitely a completely wireless earphone, but it has a unique shape in which the driver unit that produces the sound and the base are connected sideways. The driver unit, which normally blocks the ear canal, has a donut-like hole, so you can hear the sound from the earphone as well as the surrounding sounds. It's a little hard to see, but the "ring-shaped driver unit" side is in the ear canal, and the base part fits perfectly in the same position as a general earphone. By the way, it is worn in the groove of the ear, and there is no earpiece, so there is a slight gap. Fitting supporters are included in 5 sizes, but they are made of silicone and are not strongly fixed. Compatible with SBC/AAC codec via Bluetooth connection with smartphones. There is no high resolution support. The battery is 5.5 hours for the main unit alone, and a total of 17.5 hours including case charging. It also supports quick charging that can be played for 90 minutes with 10 minutes of charging. 5.5 hours of continuous playback on the main unit alone is not very long nowadays, and the continuous talk time is only about 2.5 hours, so be careful. The concept of "LinkBuds WF-L900" is "live together all day by playing music and holding online meetings while wearing it". So, I tried it at home first, but I felt that the way I could hear music and the surrounding sounds was very good. When silenced, ambient sounds are heard almost normally through the hole. And when you play music, depending on the volume, you will be able to hear the sound flowing from the earphones mixed with the surrounding sounds. It's nice to be able to see what's going on around you, such as when a parcel delivery service arrives or when your pet is playing a prank while concentrating on the video. If you are interested in the sound quality, pair it with your iPhone and check it out. When I listen to Hikaru Utada's "Anata," I feel that the sound floats, but it's also the type that conveys information over a wide area, as if it's wrapped in a natural sound space. You can also feel the rhythm of the bass in moderation. However, rather than high-quality earphones, it sounds like an inner-ear earphone that listens to music in a natural way. BrunoMars' "24K Magic" also develops the bass as a sound space and reproduces the atmosphere well. The ambie "sound earcuffs AM-TW01", which we tested before, emits sound from the outside of the ear through the sound tube, so it felt like BGM was playing in the distance, but this "LinkBuds WF-L900" is a general earphone. Stop by. However, it seemed closer to the inner-ear type that is placed on the ear, rather than the canal type (earplug type) that has become mainstream recently. And the way it works is unique. It corresponds to "wide area tap" that taps not only the earphone body but also the face with a finger two or three times. By default, two taps play/pause both left and right. It's a strange feeling that music starts playing when you tap your ear twice. You can change the operation contents from the app. Tap operation to volume, Quick Access setting to Spotify Tap, etc. are possible. However, after using it for a while, I felt that it might be unreasonable to leave it on. Even though you can hear the sounds around you, wearing earphones feels uncomfortable and makes you want to take them off. Also, 5.5 hours of continuous playback and 2.5 hours of talk time is a short day. I'm worried about "sound leakage", but when I tried it on the train, there was no sound leakage to the surroundings, I could hear the noise of the train, and I could almost notice the announcements inside the train. If you want to attack the limit where sound does not leak, the iPhone volume is about 6 or 7. If you want to hear the announcement content, it would be nice to lower the volume about 1 or 2 more. And of course, the earphones have holes and don't have noise cancellation, so the sound of the train rushes in. However, it didn't interfere with my music listening. Another interesting usage scene is online conferences that are paired with a PC. I tried Zoom by connecting it to my MacBook Air, and it seems that the other party's call sounds directly, and the clarity and ease of listening are outstanding. The sound quality of the microphone is also good, and the "high-precision voice pickup technology that utilizes AI technology" does not pick up ambient sounds, making it an excellent business tool. And I felt that it was compatible with content that felt space, such as music, videos, and games. It is also a certified model of Sony's spatial audio "360 Reality Audio" that can be used with Amazon Music and Deezer, so when I listened to the corresponding music, the effect of spreading the sound around my head was excellent.