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Sony LinkBuds S: LDAC in-ears with ANC will support LE audio

May 19, 2022

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After the new WH-1000XM5 over-ear ANC headphones, Sony is making another announcement in the headphone range: the LinkBuds S. After the LinkBuds (test) with ring drivers for full transparency, the small, light LinkBuds S rely on a closed design with active noise reduction and transparency mode.

“Never Off” with LDAC and Hi -Res-Audio

According to Sony, the LinkBuds S are the world's smallest and lightest in-ear headphones that support Hi-Res audio and offer active noise cancellation. Each earphone, which is protected against splash water according to IPX4, weighs 4.8 grams. Sony promises “Never Off” wearing comfort, which should enable the LinkBuds S to be worn all day. With the audio codec LDAC offered alongside SBC and AAC, the LinkBuds S also support Hi-Res audio with up to 990 kbps, 24-bit and 96 kHz sampling and an extended frequency response of 20 to 40,000 Hz When using the other codecs, this is limited to 20 to 20,000 Hz.

In addition to ANC, the LinkBuds S also offer a transparency mode and support adaptive noise control, which the WH-1000XM5 also offer. With this function, the settings for ambient noise adapt to the respective location. For the ANC, Sony uses the V1 processor in the earphones, which – but there in combination with the QN1 SoC – is also used in the WH-1000XM5.

Speak to Chat, DSEE and 360 Reality Audio

They also feature Sony's Speak-to-Chat, which pauses playback when the wearer starts talking and resumes when they stop talking. Sony's already well-known DSEE Extreme, which adjusts music in real time to recover frequencies lost through compression, and 360 Reality Audio are supported by the new LinkBuds S. The new headphones are also compatible with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.

Bluetooth 5.2, Fast Pair and Multipoint

The dynamic drivers in the LinkBuds S are 5mm in diameter. Bluetooth 5.2 is used for wireless transmission from the smartphone or tablet, with Google Fast Pair also being supported. Microsoft Swift Pair is integrated for quick pairing with Windows 10 and 11. In addition, multipoint is again offered so that you can be connected to two end devices at the same time and switch playback seamlessly between them or, for example, be able to accept calls from your smartphone at any time, even if the headphones are connected to another end device.

LE Audio: Next Generation Bluetooth Audio

However, the headphones are also compatible with LE Audio, the next-generation Bluetooth audio technology that enables transmission with lower latencies, making it ideal for gaming. LE Audio features a completely new architecture to support audio applications over Bluetooth. However, in order to be able to use LE Audio, a firmware update is still required, which will be released later this year. In addition, an LE Audio-capable smartphone must be used.