Sony LinkBuds S vs Sony WF-1000XM4: true wireless earbuds go head to head

Sony launched its WF-1000XM4 noise-cancelling true wireless in-ear headphones on June 8th 2021, and by the middle of that month, they were acknowledged globally as the best true wireless earbuds you could buy. 

Comfort, specification, control options, noise-cancelling and, most crucially, sound quality all hit the bullseye - and as an all-round proposition, these earbuds proved untouchable. A year after they first hit the market, the Sony WF-1000XM4 remain among the very best pound-for-pound true wireless in-ears on the market.

Sony is nothing if not intrepid, though, and this month launched the second model in its fledgling ‘LinkBuds’ range: the Sony LinkBuds S. They’re designed to fill the gap between the WF-1000XM4 (which launched at £279) and the WF-C500 (which cost £89 when they launched during October 2021). They certainly do so in terms of price - currently the LinkBuds S will set you back £179 a pair. But how do they measure up against their Award-winning (and lately not all that much more expensive) siblings, the WF-1000XM4?    

 Sony LinkBuds S vs Sony WF-1000XM4: price

The Sony LinkBuds S are on sale now and they’re priced at $199 in America, £179 in the UK and AU$349 in Australia. The Sony WF-1000XM4 are more expensive starting at $278 in the US, £190 in the UK and AU$306. 

Sony LinkBuds S vs Sony WF-1000XM4: performance

Both pairs of earbuds use the same admirable ‘Sony Headphones’ control app, and so it’s possible to fiddle with EQ settings and what-have-you quite fundamentally. But leave the EQs alone and there are some quite significant differences in the way the LinkBuds S and WF-1000XM4 present your favourite music.

Mind you, there are quite a few similarities too. Both pairs of earbuds are impressively detailed, teasing even the finest details out from recordings and handing them over. They both create a quite large and easily understood soundstage, allowing singers to occupy the front-and-centre area while integrating them smoothly into the overall performance. And they share a similar tonality, from deep and well-controlled low frequencies to crisp, substantial treble sounds - and the journey from the bottom of the frequency range to the top is convincingly unified in both instances.

When it comes to dynamism, drive and straightforward energy, though, the LinkBuds S give a fair bit away to the WF-1000XM4. The older, more expensive earbuds absolutely relish a big dynamic shift and are more than happy to roll their sleeves up and pile into an aggressive, high-energy recording. The newer model, well, not so much. The LinkBuds S are a rather polite and undemonstrative listen - which is fine when the material you’re listening to suits that attitude, but is no help at all when it doesn’t.

Sony LinkBuds S vs Sony WF-1000XM4: design and features 

Features-wise, both these pairs of true wireless in-ears have pretty much everything you need. As well as active noise-cancellation, they both have an adjustable ‘ambient sound’ mode, compatibility with Sony’s spatial ‘360 Reality Audio’ algorithm, Bluetooth 5.2 with SBC, AAC and LDAC codec compatibility, battery life of around 25 hours (including the power held in the charging case) and plenty more besides.

Both are controllable using voice assistants - and the LinkBuds S have Amazon Alexa built in and are compatible with OK Google too. In either case, interactions are painless and reliable, thanks to effective pick-up mics that work wonders with telephony too.

Otherwise, there are equally reliable capacitive touch-surfaces on each earbud, giving control of all major functions. And the ‘Sony Headphones’ control app, which both pairs of earbuds are compatible with, is one of the best around. It’s logical, clean, simple to navigate, stable in operation and with wide-ranging functionality. Want your headphones to know what you’re doing? Where you’re doing it? Want to ruin the way they sound by messing with EQ settings? Go right ahead.

 Sony LinkBuds S vs Sony WF-1000XM4: conclusion

The fundamental purpose of a pair of true wireless in-ear headphones is to entertain you with music, isn’t it? If you agree, then you’ll prefer the WF-1000XM4 - they’re a more animated, more energetic and altogether more enjoyable listen than the relatively pedestrian-sounding LinkBuds S. And at the moment they’re more or less the same money, too, which makes the decision even easier.

About the only fly in the ointment is the length of time the WF-1000XM4 have been on sale. We haven’t heard anything from Sony as yet, but it tends to operate on a 12-month model cycle where products like this are concerned - so you might want to act sooner rather than later if the WF-1000XM4 fir your particular bill.