Sony LinkBuds Clip Review: Hooked on Convenience, Clipped by the Cost

Sony was one of the first mainstream brands to really push open ear audio into the spotlight with the original LinkBuds, which were these donut shaped earbuds that looked more like accessories than an actual earphone.

Fast forward a few years and the lineup has expanded once again, this time with the Sony LinkBuds Clip. The design is different, but the philosophy remains the same: staying aware of your surroundings while keeping your music playing.

This style of earphone is not entirely new. Huawei turned heads in 2023 with its FreeClip series, introducing a C bridge design that connects an acoustic module at the front to a counterweight at the back. Huawei has since followed up with the FreeClip 2 in early 2026.

The LinkBuds Clip attach to the ear in a very similar fashion, hooking onto the helix and resting part of the body in the conch while directing sound toward the ear canal without actually sealing it.

What Is It?

The Sony LinkBuds Clip are open ear wireless earphones equipped with 10mm dynamic drivers. Instead of sitting inside your ear canal, they clip onto your ear like an ear accessory. One end houses the driver and sits near the conch, firing sound in the direction of your ear canal, while the other end acts as a counterbalance to keep the whole structure stable.

The charging case is fairly standard, with a USB C port and pairing button at the back. It is compact enough to slip into a pocket and comes colour matched to the earbuds. You can choose between Green, Greige, Black and Lavender. Our review unit came in Lavender, which looks surprisingly playful and pairs well with the lifestyle angle Sony is clearly going for.

Sony claims up to 9 hours of playback on a single charge, with a full charge taking about one and a half hours. During the entire duration of my testing, I’ve yet to charge the LinkBuds Clip even once and will gladly take Sony’s word for it. The earbuds are IPX4 rated, so they should be able to handle light rain and sweat without breaking a…well, sweat.

Codec support is limited to SBC and AAC, so there is no LDAC or high resolution playback here. That said, Sony includes DSEE through the Sound Connect app to upscale compressed audio files, which does help smooth things out a little when streaming lower bitrate tracks.

Sound Connect App

Like most of Sony’s recent audio products, the LinkBuds Clip are controlled through the Sony Sound Connect app. It’s the same app used for headphones like the WH-1000XM6, so the interface will feel familiar if you’re already in the ecosystem.

There are three listening modes to choose from: Standard, Voice Boost and Sound Leakage Reduction. Standard is, of course, your default tuning. Voice Boost pushes the mids forward and raises perceived loudness, making podcasts and spoken content easier to follow, especially outdoors. Sound Leakage Reduction tones things down and slightly muffles the output so people around you are less likely to hear what you are listening to.

You also get a customisable EQ, although it is not the most granular. There is a 10 band equaliser and a Find Your Equaliser function that guides you through a few sound samples to generate a profile based on your preferences. Personally, I found the default tuning acceptable for casual listening and left the EQ off most of the time.

There’s also a feature called Scene-based Listening which plays music automatically when you start running or have voice cues for app notifications, as well as have the date and time read out.

Touch Controls

Control customisation is handled in the app as well. You can assign double and triple taps to each side independently. I set double tap on the left to play and pause, and triple tap to skip tracks. On the right, a double tap cycles between the three listening modes.

One thing I appreciate is that you don’t have to tap precisely on a small touch panel. You can tap the back of the band portion and it still registers. That reduces the risk of nudging the earbuds out of position, which is important for this type of design. In daily use, the touch controls worked reliably and responded quickly enough.

Fit

Hooking the LinkBuds Clip onto your ear is straightforward, but finding the sweet spot takes a bit of trial and error, at least initially. As they do not seal inside your ear canal, small shifts in position can noticeably change the sound. You might need to adjust them slightly to get the fullest, ideal presentation.

In terms of comfort, they are generally easy to wear for extended periods. However, depending on where the band rests against your ear, you may start to feel some irritation after a few hours. Sony includes small rubber guards in the box, which help improve grip and reduce pressure for more active use.

When walking, they stay in place fairly well, though I did notice minor shifts that required occasional readjustment. For running or more vigorous activity, installing the aforementioned rubber guards is recommended to keep them more secure.

If you’re worried about sound leakage, unless you’re listening near maximum volume, it’s not as noticeable as you might expect. Even in a quiet room playing music at around 60%, those around me said they can only slightly hear that something is playing if they lean in close.

How Does It Sound?

If this is your first time trying open ear earbuds of this style, you might be surprised by how full they can sound despite not sitting inside your ear canal. The 10mm drivers do a respectable job pushing air toward your ears, and at moderate volumes around 65 to 75 percent outdoors, they remain more than usable.

That said, this is still an open ear design. There is close to no sound isolation at all. You will hear traffic, conversations and ambient noise clearly, which is the entire point. The trade off is that fine detail, especially in the treble, takes a hit compared to traditional in ear monitors.

Bass

Sub bass is largely absent. You will not feel deep rumble or low end extension. Mid bass, however, has more presence than expected. There is decent weight and punch, enough to give pop and hip hop tracks some body.

The downside is that the mid bass can sound a little bloated and occasionally bleeds into the lower mids. This is likely a deliberate tuning choice to compensate for the open design and to prevent the sound from feeling too thin. It does give the overall presentation more warmth, but at the cost of some clarity.

Mids

Vocals come through with a generally natural tone, but they are slightly affected by the bass warmth. Male vocals benefit from the added body and sound reasonably full. Female vocals, on the other hand, can feel a bit distant and darker than expected.

For podcasts and spoken word, especially in Voice Boost mode, clarity is good enough for daily commutes and casual listening.

Treble

Treble is serviceable but lacks sparkle and crispness. It sounds somewhat blunt, which again is not surprising given the open ear format and the fact that the drivers are not firing directly into a sealed canal.

The upside is that there is virtually no harshness. You are unlikely to experience shoutiness or fatigue from sharp peaks. It is a relaxed top end that prioritises comfort over detail retrieval.

Is It Worth It?

At RM899, the LinkBuds Clip sit in a rather niche position. Open ear earphones are already a specific category, and at this price, they compete with alternatives like the Huawei FreeClip 2, which retails for less while offering a similar concept and comparable battery life.

From a purely value perspective, the RM500 to RM600 range would have made the LinkBuds Clip an easier recommendation. However, if you prefer Sony’s ecosystem, appreciate the design and colour options, and want something that integrates seamlessly with the Sound Connect app and other Sony devices, they may still be worth considering, especially during promotions.

It’s worth noting that the LinkBuds Clip are not meant to replace traditional IEMs or ANC earbuds. They are lifestyle earphones for people who want to stay connected to their surroundings while enjoying background music, podcasts or calls. In that role, they do exactly what they set out to do, albeit at a cost.