Sony on Monday (November 21) launched the new True Wireless Stereo earbuds WF-LS900N (Link Buds S) for Rs 16,990 in India.
For a limited time, the company is offering Rs 3,000 cashback and which brings the price down to Rs 13,990. It will be available in Sony-authorised retail shops and e-commerce websites.
As you have already read the headline, Sony's latest earphones are the most affordable Sony TWS earphones with ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) feature in the market and most importantly work finely as advertised. I have been using them for close to a week, here is my detailed review of the WF-LS900N series.
Design and build quality
To start off, Sony WF-LS900N aka Link Buds S should not be confused with the original Link Buds (review). This particular model is very different and better in several aspects.
The latest model has a standard in-ear bud design with normal silicone-based ear tips. They are light and weigh just 4.8 grams a piece. They ensure a strong and comfortable fit at the ear canal opening. Also, the grip is good. I never had any anxiety about earbuds slipping down even during the rush hour on the bus or while walking fast on the footpath.
What struck me the most about the design language is the new beige colour and the matching gold-hued mesh on the top. The earbuds look and offer premium touch feel experience. It comes with a matching case and the latter features an LED light to indicate battery capacity status and the back, has a Type-C port for charging.
And, the earbuds come with IPX4 rating, which means, they can sustain sweat during long gym workouts.
The company offers Sony WF-LS900N two other colours-- black and white. They look visually appealing too.
The earbuds come with touch-sensitive sensors and support single, double, and triple tap gestures. And, users can assign functions such as skip songs, go back to the start of the song, going back to the previous track, or even controlling the volume, in addition, to switching between ambient and ANC modes.
The packaging of Sony earbuds is made from an environment-friendly process and the materials used for the box are recycled.
User interface and performance
Setting up WF-LS900N is as easy any Sony earphones. It barely takes a few minutes to pair them with the companion phone. User can just connect with Bluetooth and for customisation options, he/she has to install Sony's Headphones Connect.
With this users, will get access to Equaliser with options--such as Treble Boost, Vocals, Bass Boost, Speech, Mellow, and Manual in addition to two custom options. With the latter two, users can set the audio frequencies to adjust vocals and acoustics' sound delivery according to their tastes.
The earbuds come with a 5mm driver and managed to deliver a decent listening experience.
I listened to Carnatic classics by M.S. Subbulakshmi (Vishnu Sahasranamam) and even western genres such as blues, R&B (Robbie Williams), rock (Coldplay, Linkin Park), and hip-hop(Eminen) and others. The latest Sony earbuds worked as advertised and pleased with the audio output.
As far as the audio sync with the video played on the phone is concerned, it shows no signs of delay as such. I had a delightful time watching TV series and vlogs on the handset with WF-LS900N on.
There is also speak to chat feature. The sensor earbuds automatically detect the user speaking to a person in the front and reduces the volume and ANC feature so that the former don't have to remove them from the ears. It is kind of hit and miss, as sometimes, when sing-along lyrics with the song, it activates the ambient mode and kind of ruins the listening experience. So, I usually switch it off (via the Headphones Connect app).
The audio quality during the phone call and video conference are good too. The mic picks up the voice clearly and ensures, the person on the other side hears correctly with less distortion.
Most importantly, the ANC feature works fine in terms of drastically reducing the noise of the outside environment. But, I was more impressed with the adaptive sound control. There was a discernible reduction of annoying vehicles' motor sounds while traveling on the bus.
And if you increase the volume, you can almost fully block the audio disruptions from outside, but I advise against this practice, as this will cause long-term irreversible hearing loss issues.
As far as the battery life is concerned, the WF-LS900N series can go for close to 20 hours with the case. Without the latter, the earbuds can last for six hours on a stretch, but I have to note that I never tried fully pushing them to extreme lengths. I used them mostly during the long commute between my office and home and with an average usage of around one and a half to two hours a day. It was able to last a week without the need for charging.
Also, it supports fast charging. With just 5 minutes of charging, it can deliver up to an hour of listening time.
Final thoughts
Though it is of most of the most affordable among Sony's premium TWS earphones, the company has not compromised on the quality of the materials used to build the WF-LS900N.
It has a soft matte finish and exudes a premium hand feel and when using it for long hours, I never felt any irritation. Also, the silicone ear tips work fine in terms of hanging in the ears even if moving fast or even with irregular movements during rush hour on a bus.
As for as the audio quality is concerned, it does a fantastic job. The value-added customisation feature such equaliser and also adaptive sound control works as advertised.
Overall, Sony WF-LS900N (Link Buds S) is a great value-for-money TWS earbuds and also a fine alternative to AirPods for Android phones.
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