There’s also a six-band EQ with a variety of settings, and the DSEE settings are stored on the earbuds themselves, so any changes you make will carry over to any other device you pair them with. DSEE Extreme is an AI-based upsampling function that’s meant to restore data from compressed audio. It works directly on the earbuds, so it’s just upsampling the data coming from the phone, not the actual audio itself. It only works with codecs that are 48kHz or lower, like SBC, AAC, and LDAC set to 44.1kHz or 48kHz. It doesn’t work if you use LDAC at 88.2kHz or 96kHz.
This means that even if you’re playing 64kbps MP3 files, DSEE Extreme won’t be activated if you’re using LDAC in its default 96kHz mode. That’s because Sony says DSEE Extreme is for “upscaling compressed digital audio files in real-time”, but it’s actually just upscaling the Bluetooth data coming from the phone, not the source files.
The app includes a feature that allows you to set up HRTF for Sony’s 360 Reality Audio. This process involves taking pictures of your head and ears to create a personalized HRTF, or head-related transfer function, which helps to accurately map 3D audio sources for your unique head and ear shape. While this may be a cool feature, the truth is that 360 Reality Audio is a less popular format that is only supported by a limited number of streaming services for a limited number of tracks. Given Sony’s tendency to embrace proprietary standards, it might be time to switch to a more widely supported format like Dolby Atmos.
The touch sensors on these earbuds are super customizable. You can assign different functions to each one, like ANC, playback controls, and volume control. By default, the left earbud controls ANC and the right earbud controls playback, but the volume control isn’t assigned by default. You have to choose between a set of options for each earbud, rather than being able to assign specific gestures to individual features like on other earbuds. It’s a bummer, to be honest.
Battery Life
The LinkBuds S offer a claimed battery life of 6 hours of continuous playback with ANC enabled and a quick charge of 1 hour after just 5 minutes of charging. It’s worth noting that using the DSEE Extreme feature with AAC can reduce the battery life to 4 hours and 47 minutes, a significant decrease for a feature that does not significantly improve audio quality. Charging for these earbuds can only be done via cable, as the case does not have wireless charging capabilities.
Conclusion
