Sony Announces 'LinkBuds' With Open Design to Let in Ambient Sound

[KurtMann]

Sometimes it sounds like people have forgotten that we had bluetooth before Apple removed the headphone-jack. They didn't give us anything, they only took away.

I realise that people like the idea of wireless, but it is far from perfect. Skipping all the highly technical sides I myself don't fully understand (bluetooth protocols, how it affects sound quality, the way phone and headphones must match to give full sound and how it's almost impossible to find these things in writing), it's truly sad that headphones, that once could be a lifetime buy, now is a throwaway item. The battery will die, and even if you replace the battery, the environmental tax is still high (probably to the point that it doesn't matter if you buy completely new).

Apples first argument was, I believe, to make it more water resistent - I guess they couldn't, like Samsung, make a waterproof phone with a headphonejack?

I honestly think they knew they were never going to beat third party sellers, who specialised in headphone. They were never going to beat Sennheiser at their game. So they changed the game. Smart as hell. Not good for the environment, not good for sound quality, not good for choice; but smart as hell. You don't become the biggest company in the world if you are not smart.

 

[DeepIn2U]

I will buy ANY headphone or speaker that is NOT apple branded... Thank you for posting this... Apple will get my buck when they give us the headphone jack. Until then... NEVER!!!!

^ This statement doesn't make any sense as these don't plug into a headphone jack, right?!

This products is very similar to an early sony headphones a few years back:
Open-ear Bluetooth® Stereo Headset SBH82D

https://www.sony-asia.com/electronics/accessories/open-ear-bluetooth-stereo-headset-sbh82d

 

[DeepIn2U]

Sony today announced the launch of the LinkBuds, which are the company's latest true wireless earbud product. The LinkBuds have a unique open air design that's not quite like any other earbud on the market.

Available in black or white, the LinkBuds have a donut-shaped earpiece that goes in the ear. As with the AirPods 3, there are no foam or silicone tips included with the LinkBuds, with the naked earpiece fitting directly inside the ear.

The hole in the LinkBuds, which is an open ring driver, lets users listen to music while also hearing the ambient surroundings, which is similar to other headphone products like sound-equipped sunglasses and bone conduction options.

Because Sony's LinkBuds do not obstruct ambient sound, they are ideal for situations where listeners might need to be aware of their surroundings, like walking, running, biking, and riding public transportation.

The earbuds are held in place by a secondary bulb that has a little fin, and Sony describes them as ultra-small, light, and able to stay in the ears. They are IPX4 splash and sweat proof, plus an Adaptive Volume Control feature optimizes music to the sound in the ambient environment. The battery in the LinkBuds lasts for 5.5 hours, and there is a charging case that provides a total of 17.5 hours of listening time.

Sony's LinkBuds can be purchased from Amazon for $178.

Article Link: Sony Announces 'LinkBuds' With Open Design to Let in Ambient Sound

0:20 seconds in I noticed in the video the girl tapped her earbone NOT the headphones to activate an action. interesting!

Full introduction video:

LMAO oh wait we totally forgot something ... Sony ACTUALLY used a name for an audio product, a name NOT some complex code! Whomever at Sony came up with such a name SHOULD get a huge bonus!

 

[Ankaa]

I realise that people like the idea of wireless, but it is far from perfect. Skipping all the highly technical sides I myself don't fully understand (bluetooth protocols, how it affects sound quality, the way phone and headphones must match to give full sound and how it's almost impossible to find these things in writing), it's truly sad that headphones, that once could be a lifetime buy, now is a throwaway item.

People who care this much about audio quality won't be listening to audio from a phone. On the go 9/10 times. They have the set-up at home. Or the studio. They have the equipment that allows proper headphones to be plugged in. Those headphones won't be airpods.

Similarly, the 'once a lifetime buy' headphones don't cost $100 (or $200). The cheap headphones you'd think you only by once would have broken cables or otherwise just mysteriously stopped working after a while.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I just wonder if people will still be defending the removal by Apple if they ever do go fully "port less" and you can't even use a dongle to plug in some headphones.

That would be really a bridge too far for me anytime even remotely soon.

 

[Chrjy]

That would be really a bridge too far for me anytime even remotely soon.

Do you mean a 'dongle' too far!

 

[adrianlondon]

it's truly sad that headphones, that once could be a lifetime buy, now is a throwaway item. The battery will die, and even if you replace the battery, the environmental tax is still high (probably to the point that it doesn't matter if you buy completely new).

For home use, I had a pair of Plantronics bluetooth headphones (don't recommend) which lasted 3 years before the circuitry died and couldn't be repaired. I was thinking about the stupidly-expensive (imo) AirPods Max but instead bought a nice long cable to reach from my AVR (or laptop) to anywhere in my living-room and the Philips Fidelio/X2HR headphones. They sound amazing.

 

[DeepIn2U]

Bring back the crackly pocket scum hole!

Bring back getting tangled up with your sunglasses!

Bring back trying to run and fight some snakes at the same time!

Bring back having a built in fishing rod for when you drop them down the toilet!

Ok I'll give you the last one.

As for Sony's product here, having dealt with many Sony products over the years, the more moving parts they have the less reliable they are. Also they will no doubt sound "Sony branded" like food does when it has too much MSG on it when it didn't even need any to start with.

Bring back flying, giving panick instructions to landing while fighting 'Snakes On a Plane'!

Not sure what you mean by the last paragraph.

This is great innovation, not Sony's first attempt actually as I posted a product from 5yrs earlier before in this thread. Still this brings us closer to more seamless audio experiences without being silo'd into 1 sound use vs another.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

I was fortunate enough to test these and to be perfectly honest I wasn't expecting too much but was more than pleasantly surprised. After just 5 minutes I completely forgot I was wearing them and was shocked by how good the audio was and how the external environment sounds hardly any different to when not using earbuds. The design is very clever and I'd suggest giving them a test run if you think you'd find them useful in your activity. WAY WAY better than bone conduction or similar.

I'm curious, with that ring driver sitting in the outer ear like that, can other people hear what you're listening to at all???

 

[KurtMann]

People who care this much about audio quality won't be listening to audio from a phone. On the go 9/10 times. They have the set-up at home. Or the studio. They have the equipment that allows proper headphones to be plugged in. Those headphones won't be airpods.

Similarly, the 'once a lifetime buy' headphones don't cost $100 (or $200). The cheap headphones you'd think you only by once would have broken cables or otherwise just mysteriously stopped working after a while.

I hear you. And, as everyone else, I stream music now most of the time, which in it self is a loss of quality. But the loss of quality multiplies. And a cable is cheap and easy to replace. My Sennheisers started to crumble at the headband, but sounded as good as ever... Until my dad got a new puppy (who is only alive because she is cute: a cute monster).

For 200-300 you could get quality headphones that lasted. I admit I was dramatic.

 

[Mug_narwhal.0m]

Those look like overpriced earrings made of recycled garbage. (literally)

 

[Chrjy]

I'm curious, with that ring driver sitting in the outer ear like that, can other people hear what you're listening to at all???

That was one area I was curious about, sound leakage. Does sound leak, yes but nowhere near as much as you might think. You have to have the volume up at a high level to detect it. I would compare sound leakage similar to AP.

 

[Chrjy]

One thing that might be worth noting and this may sound strange considering they're bluetooth but they were not connected to my own device, they were connected to a different iPhone. Anyway, a call came through on my own device so I took the call and held the phone to my ear (whilst the Sony's were still in my ears) as I was outside in a busy environment and was able to chat and hear the other person perfectly.
Of course, I appreciate that if they were connected to my own device I wouldn't have done that but I'm just highlighting how good the transparency was.

 

[DocMultimedia]

Still don't like anything that has to stick in my ear. I use AfterShokz for running and nothing the rest of the time. I just don't have a need for things the rest of the day.

 

[Wildkraut]

Wouldn’t it be interesting to plug some extra earbuds on top through these holes? Double POWAH with E.g. the Airpods Pro without the rubber tips…

 

[A.wang28]

I will buy ANY headphone or speaker that is NOT apple branded... Thank you for posting this... Apple will get my buck when they give us the headphone jack. Until then... NEVER!!!!

Never it is.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

Weird flex. I'm all for voting with your wallet, but you're saying you'll buy any non-apple branded wireless headphone before AirPods because Apple removed the headphone jack in what... 2018? Earlier?

Are you also boycotting Samsung for removing the jack on some of their phones? Does the fact that iPads and MacBook Pros, iMacs and MacMinis still have headphone jacks matter?

Personally I love the convenience of not having a cable running from my ears to my pocket. These seem interesting, but my AirPods are totally serviceable so I'm not sure I'd make the swap.

The thing with the jack though, is if it still existed, you would still be able to use your wireless earphones, your convenience of not having cables would not at all be compromised. All it would mean is that people who want to use their wired earphones, still can. You would simply have choice. And for audio professionals or audiophiles, this is a particularly annoying feature to have removed.

And let's face it, the real reason it was removed is so that everyone goes out and buys highly expensive, disposable, AirPods. It has certainly been a highly successfully profitable strategy for Apple, but it does leave that sour taste. And if you're an audio professional, or an audiophile at all, it is a super annoying version of corporate greed.

And just to be extra clear, when Apple removed the jack, they justified it for the reasons that it is old tech. And yet, as you point out, the jack still exists in every single one of their Macs. Why is this "old tech" still being put into their brand spanking new, new tech, M1 Macs? Because audio pros don't really use their iPhones to do their work, but they do use their Macs. This "old tech", is forever tech, it is a robust and highly effective connector, and is universal in the audio world. It will never be removed from Macs.

And just to be extra extra clear. Other arguments for removing the jack are:
- Waterproofing. Rubbish, the jack is easily waterproofed, same as every other port. Other phones have it, and are fully waterproof.
- Space. Rubbish, it's tiny. Especially compared to the chunky and heavy ring of magnets added to iPhones for the MagSafe charging (yet another campaign that is mostly about selling high priced wireless chargers (NB: the chargers still need wires).
- You would need a DAC. Ridiculous, every iPhone already has a DAC to drive the speakers. You don't need a second DAC for the jack, it uses the same one, and the audio is simply re-routed to the jack instead of the speakers automatically as soon as something is plugged into the jack, and automatically re-routed to the speakers as soon as the headphones are unplugged from the jack. Same with the microphone. The phone's external microphone, and the headphones microphone, both route through the same ADC.

I would love to see Apple put out an iPhone Audio Pro, that simply has a jack, a higher end DAC, and a mic port w high end ADC. I highly doubt they'd do it, as everyone would want one, as it would be seen as super cool. And then there would be a fad of wired high end headphones, and it might kill off a lot of Apple's AirPods golden egg. However, if Apple were clever, they'd also put out their own line of high end wired headphones. Including models with a removable cable, and also doubled as wireless. They could call it Audio Pro Max. They could even put out a line of high end microphones. And to be honest, I think everyone is so used to the beautiful convenience of AirPods, that they would still keep buying them even with this phone. I for one, would love this phone, and would use both AirPods, and wired high end earphones for different use cases.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

Bring back the crackly pocket scum hole!

Bring back getting tangled up with your sunglasses!

Bring back trying to run and fight some snakes at the same time!

Bring back having a built in fishing rod for when you drop them down the toilet!

Ok I'll give you the last one.

As for Sony's product here, having dealt with many Sony products over the years, the more moving parts they have the less reliable they are. Also they will no doubt sound "Sony branded" like food does when it has too much MSG on it when it didn't even need any to start with.

No one will be forcing you to use wired headphones if the jack is there, your wireless headphones will still work, it will simply mean choice.

 

[Syk]

Not gonna lie. I'm curious about these. I may have to give these a shot at replacing my Pros.
Wonder how they'd do for gym work. The Beat Buds I got aren't good at all, they fall out where as the Pros stay in for the most part so I wonder how this design will work

 

[Syk]

Seems bLackjackj really doesn't like me for whatever reason! ?

I just about to post asking what did you do that blackjackj poster...
You giving straight answering and trying to be helpful yet you're getting downvoted.
Thought I was on reddit for a moment?

 

[tridley68]

These look awesome and the quality and price is much better than Apple ear pods and best of all they come in Black.

 

[0924487]

I'm all in when it comes to ANC, so this is my nightmare.

 

[iDento]

I will buy ANY headphone or speaker that is NOT apple branded... Thank you for posting this... Apple will get my buck when they give us the headphone jack. Until then... NEVER!!!!

That will never happen. Computers & phones are getting so thin even the iMac had the headphone jack on the left side.

 

[incoherent_1]

I love the speed of innovation in this space. Crazy to think 6-7 years ago reliable, high quality ear buds were a niche product.

 

[Mr.Blacky]

As dumb and unnecessary as audio sunglasses. ?‍♂️