Sony LinkBuds WFL900/H

The LinkBuds are a one-trick pony, but it's a pretty useful trick if you need to hear the world around you. Just don't expect them to sound great or last long.

The sound is the big surprise here, and not in a good way. Our database puts these at the 29th percentile for sound quality, which translates to 'underwhelming' in plain English. The open design means bass just leaks out into the void. You get a 20Hz-20kHz frequency range on paper, but physics is undefeated. The V1 processor tries to compensate with some EQ trickery, but it can't conjure low-end thump from a driver with a hole in it. On the flip side, the mic setup is actually decent for calls, landing in the 68th percentile. Precise Voice Pickup does a solid job separating your voice from background noise.

Against the Technics EAH-AZ100, the Sony gets absolutely smoked on sound quality and battery life. The Technics are a sealed design with real bass and longer runtime. The Apple AirPods Pro 3rd Generation also crush these on ANC and overall polish, though they cost more. The Soundcore P31i and EarFun Air Pro 4+ both offer better battery and sound for less money, but they're sealed buds that block ambient noise. That's the trade-off. If you want open-ear awareness, none of those competitors do what the LinkBuds do. Nothing Ear (3) comes closest with its transparency mode, but it's still a sealed design at heart.

At $139 USD, these are priced like mid-range earbuds but deliver a very specific niche experience. If you need open-ear awareness, this is one of the few true wireless options that does it without bone conduction. But if you just want good sound and long battery life, you're overpaying. The 17.5-hour total battery with the case is weak even for budget buds. You're paying for the design concept, not the specs.

The Sony LinkBuds WFL900 are a weird little experiment that mostly works if you know exactly what you're signing up for. These aren't earbuds for drowning out the world, they're for staying plugged into it. The open-ring design literally leaves a hole in the middle of the driver so ambient sound flows right through. That's either a feature or a flaw depending on your commute. For office workers who need to hear their name called, or runners who want situational awareness without bone conduction, this is a genuinely clever solution. Just don't expect them to sound like $200 sealed earbuds.

If you want deep bass, long battery life, or active noise cancellation, these aren't for you. Go grab the Technics EAH-AZ100 for better sound or the EarFun Air Pro 4+ for better value. The LinkBuds are for people who specifically need to hear their environment while wearing earbuds, and that's a smaller crowd than Sony probably hoped.

Buy the Sony LinkBuds WFL900 only if open-ear awareness is your top priority and you're willing to sacrifice sound quality and battery life to get it. For everyone else, there are better-sounding, longer-lasting earbuds at this price. These are a specialty tool, not a daily driver for music lovers.