Possibly record low price for a brand new pair of Sony Link Buds, if you want to pay refurb price, but are worried about getting refurbs and third party ear wax.
AS NEW: This item may have damaged carton. It is an unused & undamaged item in its original packaging.
because the box is not Fine, it is daHmaged
I find the link buds great for sleeping, I feel they don't damage my ears as much as normal buds, plus they sit pretty flush for me so don't scrape my ears.
My experience with these was horrible, luckily at the time they had a 15 day no questions asked return policy.
I got them to use when running or cycling, yes they do a great job at allowing you to stay aware of your surroundings, but I had to have them turned up to maximum volume to hear anything unless I was indoors in a quiet room, which defats the purpose of these headphones designed for outdoors.
There is no way you can reliably listen to a post cast or audio book without missing out on what is said while a car or truck drives by.
Maybe mine were faulty, maybe my ears are the wrong shape, you might have better luck than me, but I do not recommend these.
No unfortunately, that is very much by design - given that these are open back TWS, as opposed to the closed back TWS that most are familiar with.
Open backs let in sound, and can give a more natural representation of sound - but in such a small form factor, a closed back setup should work significantly better.
These are not TWS.
How so?
@poppingtags: Oh, I had in my head that TWS meant each bud is connected to the source device (not one to another.)
I dunno how you expect to both be aware of your surrounding AND be able to hear an audiobook when a truck goes past.
I guess maybe you want the Airpods Pro 2s with the adaptive transparency mode?
Airpods Pro 2s with the adaptive transparency mode
is that a feature only applicable on apple devices?
I have the Ap Pro 2's, but using Android and i can only toggle between full ANC or Transparency - which are both great but it doesnt adapt to anything…
I am not sure sorry. It should be a 3rd option called "adaptive". If you have Airpods Pro 2s then maybe its not on Android which is classic Apple
@theguyrules: yeah nah, am aware of other features missing on Android so it doesn't / wouldn't surprise me.
Definitely have the Pro 2's.
You can only switch between ANC or Ambient, you can't actually switch to normal / passive mode without IOS.
Im likely missing an update or three also, if that's a thing as I don't have any apple device to connect to… good thing I didn't pay for them, but they are good.
i agree such design is a gimmick. earbuds are designed to be portable and used outdoor and/or noisy environment, open back design completely go against its intended purpose.
just like i wouldn't buy a ski jacket with holes all over it claiming "improved air ventilation".
It's kinda preference I think. I have seen people who cannot stand using an earbud because of that sensation of having something in their ears or enjoy knowing what's going on around them. I unironically liked EarPods or Koss PortaPro for that reason when I am going out for a walk.
But then ski jackets do have ventilation…
I'm sure there is a market for this, a lot of runners like bone conduction or Plantronics Backbeat style, I guess these are just another option in that part of the market.
earbuds are designed to be portable and used outdoor and/or noisy environment, open back design completely go against its intended purpose.
You are thinking of IEMs. Earbuds are not sealed, and in no way designed for noisy outdoor environments, hence the need for IEMs and ANC and such.
These clearly have a different intended purpose, and aim to be even MORE open than regular unsealed earbuds.
So yes, if you compare these to a different category of portable audio designed for an opposite purpose, they don't meet the criteria. Very curious 🤔
They also don't have a CD slot, what a failure.
unique design for unique circumstances.
Not intended for noisy environments.
Perfect device for a couple or group that goes for a walk/run/ride through a quiet park while passively listen to some background music/podcast but also wants to be able to hear someone trying to communicate with them.
great for riding. I can still hear if my gears and sprockets working properly, or aware of unusual noises, or when my girlfriend has stopped or wants me to slow down.
Thanks, this was the exact usage case i was thinking of these for. The Shokz bone-conduction headsets also suffer from this when running/cycling outdoors. My go-to for open-air earphones has been the Plantronics backbeat fit 2100 or 3100. They're the only ones that can get loud enough for audiobooks/podcasts while exercising outdoors.
That was my experience as well. I wouldn't buy them again
I bought a previous pair of box damaged wireless earphones and they were dead on arrival. Was a pain to get a refund
I've sold or scrapped all of my other wireless earbuds except for this. This is just the best thing ever for work. Battery life is excellent and the dual connection is good.
Being able to hear everything naturally and still listen works really well. Full volume is enough to drown out conversations. I like that it's light and discrete so it's something that can be worn for long periods.
However the fit is not quite universal so some people cannot physically have them sit right.
Hope there is a mk2 model out one day. Would love for wireless charging on the case and being able to use one bud on either side and not jus the right.
Do they bother other people, especially at full volume?
Yeah, massive sound bleed. To use them on the train, you needed them at full volume, which is about as loud for you as the person next to you.
In the workplace I use these at half volume. There is no bleed at that volume and it's also my comfortable level anyway. At full volume it will be similar to an Apple Earphone, it is an open back design.
I recommend EQ at flat and +10 Clearbass, sonics are reasonable at half volume.
If fit is an issue i recommend those old school earphone socks. Helps with grip on the ear.
Full volume to drown out noise sounds like a terrible idea for long term hearing. Much better to block noise and listen at lower volumes.
It's not very loud to begin with. Increasing the volume beyond 60-70% doesn't exponentially get much louder the same way other earphones do, it might be because the driver is overall smaller due to the hole in the middle but either way it's enough to start blurring out noise for me.
Something I might mention more because I have seen people screwing their hearing over with this (myself included), we are terrible at discerning audio volume. I.e. if you are going past a construction site, you would feel like the song's relative volume has become quieter even though your music player is playing everything at the same volume. It also distorts what we are hearing, and as most noises tend to be at lower pitch, we lose bass.
As open design basically lets all the outside noise in, it screws with our judgment on the volume. As we tend to perceive louder volume as better sounding, I am sure that did numbers on my hearing.
I have heard that Linkbuds shows its volume in decibel in the Sony app, that sounded like something that might be good for monitoring the volume and impact it would have on your hearing.
I lose or damage my pairs every 6 months on average.
These seem great, but for someone as clumsy etc as me… My spend limit is about $50 :)
Thats why i buy mine second hand or on marketplace.
Getting a brand new pair of Samsungs Buds2 i bought from someone for $30 bucks delivered today to replace the $20 Buds live that have cracks and low volume on one bud. Will probabaly discard the buds and sell the charging case for $20.
Should last a good 6 months.
I have a second pair refurb, but as well as that I've duct taped an smart tag to my primary pair so i can't lose the headphones anymore - well at least the case :D
How is the microphone on these? I'd want to use them for meetings.
Yeah same. Need a headset with noise cancelling microphone.
Ok ear buds, the open back design is definitely a unique selling point but your basically have to turn the volume up full blast if the ambient noise is marginally louder than average. Shape is ok, battery life is kinda shit (or has deteriorated to ~2hrs in my use). The fit isn't the most intuitive design for the ear canal to be honest, since the ear buds it self is just smooth plastic - the only thing that hold it in place is the silicone wing tip and its easy for the you to lose a tight fit wearing it hence a lower volume output. I mainly just use it indoors now, for gaming its neat since you can still hear your surroundings.
One thing I don't like about Sony wireless ear buds are how sensitive the sensor is to detect whether the ear bud thinks you are wearing it. What I mean is if your listening to say a podcast and pull out one of the ear buds, the audio track will pause, but say if you merely place the ear bud with the small black ambient light sensor facing down, or even just chucking them in your pocket, the ear bud will think that you have placed it back in your ear and recommence the audio track automatically. This is rarely been an issue in my case for Samsung ear buds where you have to tap the Play/Pause gesture on the ear bud if you take the ear bud out but then decide to listen to it again.
I loved mine but my right earbud had the all too common Sony battery drain issue after one year, which makes them pretty useless now. As such, I can’t recommend these.
Did you attempt to replace under warranty?
Honestly couldn’t be bothered with other life stuff at the time.
Box damaged with Sony usually is not that. It's their way of discounting from the factory in accordance with not upsetting their retail outlets.
Wonder if Sony has extra pair of boxes to repackage and sell it at full price?
I hope they make a second version of these - just to take advantage of if a better bluetooth version comes out or especially better mic codecs… But that's the case with every bluetooth earphones when using the mic or calls.
Otherwise, these are fantastic to use while still hearing around you - Compared to headphones, this will go on top of what is happening around you, so a loud traffic or stuff around you will still over power your music/audiobook.
Great for parents that need to hear if their kids are awake again!
How is this for mic / phone calls? I lost my voyager 5200.
Deal is still available, just use the new code JULSNS.
![[Box Damaged] Sony WFL900H LinkBuds (Grey) $129 Delivered @ Sony eBay](https://files.ozbargain.com.au/n/13/855713.jpg?h=f78847cf)
why the model code is H should be F