So the Sony Linkbuds S are currently my favorite earbuds from Sony… and they’re also the number 2
best performing anc earbuds… second to only the Sony WF-1000XM4. But if you’re looking
into getting a pair of mid tier anc earbuds… today we’re going to compare the Linkbuds
s to the Galaxy Buds 2, Beats Studio Buds, Sennheiser CX plus, and the Jabra Elite 7 pros.
Regarding pricing, both the Galaxy Buds 2 and Beats studio buds have a retail price of $150,
the Sennheiser CX plus have a retail price of $180 and both the Jabra Elite 7pro and Sony Linkbuds s
have a retail price of $200. But I do expect all of these earbuds to go on sale on a regular
basis. Nonetheless if you want to pick any of these earbuds up they’ll be linked down below,
or you can press on the YouTube shopping button, give it a try.
Now first lets talk about these cases. The Linkbuds s, galaxy buds 2, and Jabra elite 7 pros
all have a decent case for everyday carry. They are all relatively small and thin. But personally
I do feel the Linkbuds s have the most convenient case here. These are the least noticeable
when they’re in your pocket. But then there are the Sennheiser CX plus and Beats studio buds case…
which aren’t as convenient as these other cases. The CX plus case has a decent foot
print… but it is pretty thick. And even though the studio buds case is fairly thin… it has
a large foot print. Overall, both the CX and studio buds are manageable for every day carry,
but they aren’t as convenient as these other cases. Now even though I do prefer the Linkbuds
s case here… one major drawback about them is that they don’t have wireless charging.
And for a a pair of higher end mid tier earbuds, I do feel this Is a major draw back. Cause
for comparison sake, the elite 7 pros do have wireless charging and so do the Galaxy Buds 2.
But unfortunately, both the CX plus and studio buds also don’t have wireless
charging which I also think is a major draw back just given the size of their cases.
Regarding battery life, all of these earbuds have good battery life. With their active noise
cancelation turned off, the elite 7 pro’s have a combined battery life of 30 hours,
the Galaxy buds 2 have a combined battery life of 29 hours, the linkbuds s have a combined battery
life of around 27 hours, and both the Beats studio buds and CX plus have a combined battery life of
24 hours. But overall, I do feel that the Jabra’s have the best battery life to case size ratio
plus, they also have wireless charging. And the Galaxy Buds 2 are a very close second as well.
Where as the studio buds do have the worst battery life to case size ratio cause this
case is pretty big and the top out at 24 hours… plus they don’t have wireless charging.
But keep in mind, if you were to use these earbuds with their active noise
cancelation or ambient modes turned on, that is going to drain your battery life faster.
But now let’s talk about the earbuds themselves. The galaxy buds 2, Linkbuds s, elite 7 pro and CX
plus all fit like your standard pair of in ear earbuds as in they go into your ear canals a
decent amount and they all Offer a decent amount of lock down. Where as the studio buds are a pair
of shallow fitting In ear ear buds, similar to the AirPods Pro. So these earbuds don’t go in as deep
into your ear canals like these other earbuds, making them feel a little more natural and
comfortable… but these like to wiggle out way more than these other earbuds. But the important thing
here is that all of these earbuds come included with silicon ear tips and you can easily wear
any of these earbuds for hours on end without any issues. Unlike let’s say the wf-1000xm4 which only
come included with foam ear tips, and personally I find these foam ear tips to be very uncomfortable.
Nonetheless, all of these earbuds are comfortable, but the studio buds are the most natural and least
intrusive feeling earbuds here thanks to their shallow fit… albeit they wiggle out the most
here. So if you want better lockdown then you’ll want to go with any of these other earbuds. But if
you’re looking for a pair of workout earbuds then I wouldn’t recommend any of these earbuds cause
none of them have ear fins or ear hooks. So they will wiggle out while you exercise.
Now when it comes to connectivity,
with all of these earbuds, each earbud establishes a connection with your phone,
so if you just want to use one earbud at a time, you can use either one it doesn’t matter
and this is the connection setup that we expect to see on all of our earbuds now a days.
However, with the Jabra elite 7 pros, these earbuds can be connected to any
two Bluetooth devices at the same time regardless of operating system. So you can hot swap between
any two devices which is great if youre a power user with devices from different eco systems.
Now the Galaxy Buds 2, Studio buds, and Linkbuds s are also good options for power
users with multiple different devices from different eco systems cause they
will all jump from one device to another if another device asks to
pair with them. Plus you can also hot swap with the galaxy buds if you’re a galaxy
power user. And you can hot swap with the Studio Buds if you’re an Apple power user.
But then there are the Sennheiser CX plus which personally I
feel that these are better suited to be used with just one primary device.
Cause with these earbuds if you want to switch from one device to another,
you either gotta open up their app and do it from there, or you gotta put them into pairing
mode every single time. So I don’t think that Sennheiser’s are best option for power users.
But when it comes to overall performance, all of these earbuds have zero latency across the board
when watching movies or videos on your phone whether your using an iPhone or an android
device… and when it comes to audio codecs… the Galaxy Buds 2, Jabra’s, and studio buds
all have support for SBC and AAC. Now AAC is going to work perfectly fine… but both the CX plus
and Linkbuds S have support for higher quality audio codecs. The CX plus have support for SBC,
AAC, APTX and APTX adaptive… and then there are the Linkbuds S which have support for SBC, AAC
and LDAC which is Sony’s own in house hi res audio codec. However, if you want to take advantage of
APTX or LDAC you do have to be an android user cause iPhone’s top out at AAC… but also if you
do decide to use LDAC then it is going to take its toll on the battery life. Cause with AAC… the
linkbuds S are rated for 6 hours with their ANC turned on… but with LDAC… they’re
only rated for 3 and a half hours. So LDAC better be worth it to you.
But now lets talk about actually listening to music with these earbuds. Now with their stock EQ,
the Galaxy Buds 2 sound very bright cause these things have put an emphasis on
the mids and treble. So personally I prefer to use these earbuds while in their dynamic EQ
cause with their dynamic EQ their mids and treble get relaxed and the bass comes in a
little harder. The only issue here is… if you want to directly change the EQ on these earbuds…
or even just interact with their app in general… you have to be an android user cause their app
doesn’t work on iOS. But then, there are the Jabra Elite 7 Pro’s which is feel are an upgraded
version of the Galaxy Buds 2. But the Galaxy Buds 2 and Elite 7 Pro’s are better suited for people
who like a vocals focused EQ… but the bass on the Jabra’s does hit a little harder than the bass on
the Galaxy Buds 2’s… and the Jabra’s also have slightly better instrument separation.
Plus with the Jabra’s their app works on both android and iOS. But then there are the linkbuds
s which I feel are better suited for someone who like a more bass heavy sound signature
cause these earbuds have more bass than both the Galaxy Buds 2 and Elite 7 Pro’s but their
instrument separation is relatively the same. And if you were to go into these earbuds app and lower
their bass and raise the mids and treble… then the Linkbuds S will sound very similar to both the
Galaxy Buds 2 and Elite 7 Pro’s. But next up there are the studio buds which I feel are a step. Now
these earbuds have a very dynamic sound signature, they have very pronounced mids and strong bass…
but the bass doesn’t over power the mids when it really gets going and these earbuds still manage
to sound more open than the Galaxy buds 2, Jabra’s and Sony. And the bass on the studio buds also
resonates much stronger, cleaner, and deeper than the previous three earbuds that I just mentioned.
But finally there are the CX Plus which I feel are another step up. These earbuds sound a little more
open than studio buds… which means these earbuds have the best instrument separation here. But when
really stands out on these earbuds is their bass. The Bass on the CX plus not only resonates like
the bass on the Studio buds… but it also have a punch to it, which is something none of these
other earbuds have. And personally, I feel these earbuds will be able to please every one. I think
these earbuds sound great with their stock EQ… but if you want a bass heavy EQ… then these earbuds
can do that… and they can have more bass than all of these other earbuds if you want them to. Or if
you’re someone that like a more neutral or vocals focused EQ… then these earbuds can also deliver…
plus they have the best instrument separation here. Overall, I feel that the Galaxy Buds 2,
Jabra elite 7 Pro’s, and sony linkbuds S all sound good enough to get the job done. I think the
Studio buds are a step up cause they have batter instrument separation and deeper resonating bass
and they also offer a more fun listening experience… But the Sennehsier CX Plus are
the best sounding earbuds here cause the have the best instrument separation and they have that kick
in their bass. Plus whether you like a bass heavy EQ or neutral EQ, they will be able to deliver.
Regarding media controls, both the Studio buds and Jabra’s are using physical buttons. And for some,
this could be a deciding factor. Cause with all of these other earbuds they are all using touch pads.
Now these touch pads are all strictly tapped based, they’re very accurate and
they’re all easy enough to use… but physical buttons are always easier and more accurate.
But it is very important to point out that the Studio buds are the only earbuds here
that don’t have wear sensors. So these earbuds will not automatically play and pause your music
if you take them out of your ears or put them back in like all of these other earbuds do. And
personally I do feel that this is a noticeable inconvenience.
Now when it comes to voice assistants… if you’re an iPhone user, than you’re going to have hey Siri
support… but personally I feel studio buds are mainly meant for android users cause they charge
via a USB C port. If you’re a galaxy user, then you’re going to have hi bixby support
with the Galaxy Buds 2. And with the Sony’s you’re going to have
Hey Google support if you’re an android user. With both the Jabra’s and CX plus,
you can only activate your voice assistant with tapping an holding on the touch pad.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these earbuds… and I am
actually really excited to talk about the ANC on the Linkbuds S cause its really impressive. But
I do want to taper expectations here. The ANC on these earbuds isn’t going to block
out nearly as much noise as a proper pair of over ear ANC headphones like the Bose QC45’s,
AirPods Max or Sony 1000XM5’s headphones… which are my top 3 performing ANC headphones.
Now the Sony WF-1000XM4’s are still number one here cause they block out a ton of noise. Albeit
they do have an advantage cause of their itch foam ear tips which personally I am just not a fan of.
But right below them are the Sony Linkbuds S which also block out a ton of noise… but
since they are using silicon ear tips, they’re way more comfortable. So personally I do prefer them.
Now right below them are the Sennheiser Momentum 3’s which also block out a ton of noise.
Right below them are the Jabra elite 85T’s, below them are the AirPods Pro, below them are the Jabra
Elite 7 Pro’s, below them are the Beats fit pro and below them are the Galaxy Buds Pro.
Now below the galaxy buds pro are the beats studio buds, below them are the galaxy buds
2 and below them are the CX plus. So overall, the linkbuds s are just in a whole other league
when it comes to active noise cancelation. Now the Jabra’s do a decent job of keeping up… but
with all of these other earbuds… not so much. And personally for me the, the Linkbuds S are
my top rated ANC earbuds cause they’re way more comfortable than the WF-1000XM4’s.
Now when it comes to the ambient modes on these earbuds, the linkbuds s also have really good
sounding ambient mode for teir ANC earbuds. Plus their microphone array does a phenomenal job of
blocking out wind noise when walking out doors thanks to the mesh covering their microphones.
However, the ambient mode on the Studio buds does sound a little more natural… but these
do pick up a little more wind noise when walking outdoors… plus you can’t adjust it to your liking.
Now all of these other earbuds also have an ambient mode and they all get the job done… but
they sound much more artificial than the linkbuds s and studio buds and they pickup more wind noise.
But finally here’s the microphone test. Now I feel that all of these earbuds
have decent enough sounding microphones for phone calls while in a quite room
But I do feel that both the Linkbuds s and Jabra’s have a warmer sounding microphone
Where as the studio buds have a more neutral sounding microphone
And the microphone on both the CX plus and Galaxy Buds
2’s have a brighter and more amplified sound to it.
But overall, I do feel that the Galaxy Buds 2 have the best performing microphone here.
The Galaxy Buds 2 do the best job of dealing with noise pollution here, cause right now these
earbuds are blocking out a good amount of road noise and my voice still sounds very elevated,
cause for comparison sake, if we were to switch over to my lapel microphone you’re going to
clearly hear all of this road noise, but if we were to switch back over it is reduced.
Now the linkbuds S also try to block out this road noise,
but this microphone is also pushing down my voice.
But then there are the studio buds which are blocking out a little bit
of noise without messing with my voice too bad.
The CX plus are also trying to block out this road noise a little bit
And the Jabra’s are also trying to block out this road noise,
albeit, these do have more interference to them.
And the same thing can be said when it comes to blocking out chatter… the Jabra’s are tryin to
block out this chatter, but there is some interference going on in the back ground.
The CX plus are also trying to block out this chatter
As well are the studio buds
The linkbuds s are also trying to block out this chatter but they are also pushing down my voice
But finally here are the Galaxy Buds 2 which are also trying to block out
this chatter but my voice is still elevated. So overall, all of these earbuds have decent sounding
microphones for phone calls… but with the Galaxy Buds 2 you can get away with some noise pollution.
But with all of that being said, if you’re trying to choose between any of these mid
teir ANC earbuds and if active noise cancelation is your top priority… then the Sony Linkbuds S
are the way to go… no questions asked. Plus these earbuds also have a decent sounding
microphone and they also have really good battery life relative to the size of their case. The main
draw backs about the linkbuds s here is their lack of wireless charging and a so so sounding
microphone for phone calls. The Jabra Elite 7 Pro’s are also a decent pick up if Active noise
cancelation is important to you… plus they have wireless charging and they also have really good
battery life… and they also have physical buttons which could be a preference for some people.
But if you’re more concerned about sound then the Sennheiser CX plus are the way to go. These things
sound just as good as the Sennheiser Momentum 3’s. The draw back with these earbuds is that
their ANC isn’t the best and they don’t have the best case out there for every day carry, but
its still doable. The Studio buds also sound really good and they offer the most comfortable
fit here… but they do have the most cumbersome case here and they don’t have wear sensors.
But finally there are the galaxy buds 2. Now don’t get me wrong, these earbuds are good,
they have all of the features that you might want and they are the most they are very affordable…
but they don’t particularly excel at any thing here except their microphone for phone calls.