If the design changes, the way you interact with music will also change.
The mysterious shape earphone "LinkBuds (WF-L900)" debuted from Sony on February 25, 2022. The price at the Sony store is 23,100 yen.
The concept of this earphone is to listen while listening. The shape does not cover the ears, so you can hear both music and external sounds at the same time. Don't you think, "Can you listen to music properly?" But you hear this. It sounds good too!
It's so small, but it sounds great
The most distinctive feature of "LinkBuds" is Sony's unique ring-shaped driver unit. The part with the hole is pushed into the back of the ear for listening, and a 12mm driver unit is included here. The processor uses the same V1 as the famous WF-1000XM4.
A review on Gizmodo described the small earbuds as loud, and that's exactly what they sound like. The LinkBuds are Sony's smallest and lightest wireless earbuds ever. However, the sound output is never small.
The treble has good graininess and does not sound like a so-called cheap crunching sound. I thought that the bass sound was unsatisfactory, but when I turned up the CLEAR BASS with the app "Headphones", it sounded! I feel that this way of hearing is close to the sound quality of AirPods (the parts that are not canal type are also similar).
By the way, one of Sony's pioneering earbuds is the Xperia Ear Duo from around 2018. I had the impression that the speaker was ringing in my ear, but this time, the "LinkBuds" sound like earphones. Ambie's recently released "AM-TW01" is also an ear speaker type.
I actually wore the LinkBuds at home, but in a quiet environment, they sounded like normal earphones to the point where I forgot I wasn't covering my ears. If you use it outside, you can hear train announcements and car sounds, so you can be aware that it is not blocked. In this case, forgetting that you are listening to music = the feeling of BGM becomes stronger. The degree of sound leakage is about 70% of the volume when connected to an iPhone, and it can be faintly heard by people who can shake hands.
The operation of the earphone is a tap, but the response is good. There is also an interesting function called "Wide area tap", which responds even if you tap the sideburns instead of the earphone itself. People with long hair may find it difficult to touch the earphone itself, but this makes it easy to operate. It's fun to have a little modified human feeling.
The feeling of wearing it has a strong peculiarity...!
"LinkBuds" support the earphone body by pushing the driver into the ear hole and then inserting the fitting supporter into the hollow of the ear. In terms of piercings, it feels like the supporter is at the position of the rook.
I reduced the size of the right ear supporter by one size, and it fits perfectly. It is said that the human body is not symmetrical, but the shape of the left and right ear is not necessarily the same. In the case of "LinkBuds", if you don't wear them correctly, they will fall off, so if you feel that they don't fit, try changing the supporter size! Five types of supporters are included.
Also, even if it was attached well, the position of the supporter could easily shift when the temporomandibular joint was moved. When I was using the LinkBuds while cleaning my house, I didn't notice any lag, but when I had a drink or had a conversation, I almost dropped my earphones. If you can put it on properly, it won't fall off easily, but if your ear canal moves, there is a high possibility that it will slip off.
It is more important to wear these earphones properly than ordinary earphones. It fits in when you need it, so I feel that the size of the supporter is more important than getting used to it. However, the shape of people's ears is infinitely different, so it's possible that some people have ear pits that are too shallow to fit supporters in. If you are interested, try it on.
Let's be open-minded with listening earbuds
The LinkBuds have a cool design and are the first Sony headphones to use recycled plastic for the body and case. The grainy pattern is proof of recycled materials. I like it because it feels like a design that was born because of the SDGs era. Also, I like how they are aiming to develop content that takes advantage of the characteristics of listening earphones while calling it AR for sound. The look and ambitions are groundbreaking.
As an aside, I think that the popularity of listening earphones and bone conduction earphones is the embodiment of the modern desire to be connected to the outside world while valuing personal sensations. Whether it's the Internet or SNS, we are now connected everywhere. Earphones and headphones block the sense of hearing and create a closed space, but by intentionally leaving a connection with the outside world, you can enjoy the content in a closed way while your body is connected to the world. Also, it's just convenient.
Achieving this requires careful tuning to withstand external noise, but the sound of the "LinkBuds" raises the bar for earbuds while listening. In addition, he finds the merit of enjoying content while connecting with the real world in sound AR. This kind of multi-functionality is completely different from that of recent earphones such as noise canceling, and I feel that earphones are breaking new ground.
A third earphone, or sub-earphone derived from an earphone. I felt that "LinkBuds" could be in that position. It seems that the evolutionary tree of earphones that has not yet been seen will start from here.
Photo: Yuusu Yamada Source: Sony