If like most of us at What Hi-Fi? you are curious about open design earbuds, which have become something of a vogue item over the past 12 months, you’ve likely been watching our homepage, waiting for our reviewers’ final verdict on the Sony LinkBuds Open (WF-L910).
If that's the case I'm happy to report that yesterday, after weeks of arduous testing, our crack team of earbud experts finished reviewing them. After running them directly against their predecessors, the Sony LinkBuds, plus the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds and their regular tip-design siblings – which are detailed in our wider best Sony earbuds buying guide – we published our final verdict.
If you’re after the answer as to whether they’re worth it, I have good and bad news for you.
The good news is, the new LinkBuds Open (WF-L910) are a clear upgrade on their predecessors and earned a four-star rating. During testing, our reviewers reported the subtle design and hardware changes Sony has made mean that they offer a more balanced midrange reproduction and better bass than their predecessors.
The bad news is that, at the time of publishing, they’re a lot more expensive than the original. So much so that they don’t justify the increased outlay, which is why, as stated by our senior staff writer, Harry McKerrell (who helped test the LinkBuds), we haven’t updated our buying advice.
"There’s no question that the LinkBuds Open make sonic progress over the 2022 progenitors, especially with regard to their more impressive bass reproduction, but the difference is hardly night and day. Instead, we’ve not-so-scientifically quantified a roughly seven per cent improvement from the old model to the new, and while that will be more than enough for some, we’d remind you that the 2022 LinkBuds are still on the market at a significantly lower price than their recently-reviewed counterparts. That said, improvements in other areas, such as fit, comfort and feature set, justify the Open’s significantly higher price tag. They’re a newer, more feature-laden pair after all, offering decent touch controls, a better battery life (22 hours total over 12 hours), comprehensive app support and significant usability improvements over the original LinkBuds. If those sorts of benefits matter to you, the newer buds make a lot of sense."
So if you want the best Sony open earbuds available holistically, especially from a performance-per-pound perspective, you will be better off going for the older model.
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