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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
Sony WF-1000XM3 Truly Wireless vs Sony LinkBuds Truly Wireless
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Sony WF-1000XM3 Truly Wireless
Sony LinkBuds Truly Wireless
Tested using Methodology v1.5
Updated Oct 23, 2024 01:49 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comTested using Methodology v1.5
Updated Mar 27, 2024 07:21 PM
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Amazon.com
TypeIn-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessTruly Wireless
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingYes
MicYes
TypeEarbuds
EnclosureOpen-Back
WirelessTruly Wireless
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingNo
MicYes
Variants
- WF-1000XM3 (Black)
- WF-1000XM3 (Silver)
- LinkBuds (Gray)
- LinkBuds (White)
Our Verdict
Sony WF-1000XM3 Truly Wireless
Sony LinkBuds Truly Wireless
The Sony WF-1000XM3 Truly Wireless are better for most purposes than the Sony LinkBuds Truly Wireless. The WF-1000XM3 have a much more comfortable, stable fit and a better build quality. They isolate you from much more noise, thanks to their ANC feature, and they have a more neutral sound profile that some may prefer. They also support NFC for easier pairing. On the other hand, the LinkBuds are designed to let you hear your surroundings when walking around outside or working at the office.
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Black
WF-1000XM3
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LinkBuds
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WF-1000XM3
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LinkBuds
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Finding storeMain Differences forNeutral Sound
Neutral Sound
Threshold
Neutral Sound
7.5
4.9
Bass Accuracy
8.0
1.0
Treble Accuracy
8.9
4.9
Passive Soundstage
1.2
3.0
Imaging
9.2
7.2
Mid Accuracy
8.8
8.2
Frequency Response Consistency
9.6
7.4
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
In-ear
Earbuds
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Open-Back
Wireless
Truly Wireless
Truly Wireless
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
7.0
6.5
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.04 lbs
0.02 lbs
Clamping Force
0 lbs
0 lbs
Controls
6.3
7.1
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Good
Decent
Feedback
Good
Good
Call/Music Control
Yes
Yes
Volume Control
No
Yes
Microphone Control
No
No
Channel Mixing
No
No
Noise Cancelling Control
On/Off
No
Talk-Through
On/Off
On/Off
Additional Controls
Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant
Breathability
9.1
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
0.9 °C
Portability
9.3
9.6
Portability Picture
L
1.5" (3.8 cm)
1.2" (3.0 cm)
W
2.0" (5.1 cm)
1.3" (3.2 cm)
H
0.6" (1.5 cm)
0.6" (1.5 cm)
Volume
2.00 in³ (32.77 cm³)
0.88 in³ (14.40 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
8.0
7.5
Case Picture
Type
Hard case
Hard case
L
3.2" (8.1 cm)
1.9" (4.8 cm)
W
2.3" (5.8 cm)
1.6" (4.1 cm)
H
1.3" (3.3 cm)
1.2" (3.1 cm)
Volume
10.00 in³ (163.87 cm³)
3.72 in³ (61.00 cm³)
Build Quality
8.0
7.5
Build Quality Picture
Stability
7.0
6.0
Stability Picture
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Side Picture
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Rear Picture
Top
Top Picture
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Sound
Sound Profile
Frequency Response
Bass Amount
-1.25 dB
-18.95 dB
Treble Amount
-1.17 dB
-3.45 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
9.6
7.4
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.09 dB
0.52 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Bass Accuracy
8.0
1.0
Std. Err.
2.68 dB
18.85 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
37.21 Hz
343.96 Hz
Low-Bass
-3.34 dB
-33.54 dB
Mid-Bass
1.47 dB
-17.41 dB
High-Bass
3.55 dB
-6.53 dB
Mid Accuracy
8.8
8.2
Std. Err.
1.55 dB
2.44 dB
Low-Mid
2.11 dB
-2.66 dB
Mid-Mid
-0.78 dB
0.29 dB
High-Mid
-0.02 dB
1.89 dB
Treble Accuracy
8.9
4.9
Std. Err.
1.75 dB
7.22 dB
Low-Treble
-1.1 dB
-3.77 dB
Mid-Treble
-0.58 dB
-9.57 dB
High-Treble
0.1 dB
-14.42 dB
Peaks/Dips
8.5
6.6
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
0.96 dB
2.28 dB
Dips
0.89 dB
1.68 dB
Imaging
9.2
7.2
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.15
0.33
Weighted Phase Mismatch
2.4
22.86
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.46
0.85
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
0.79
2.66
Passive Soundstage
1.2
3.0
PRTF
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
N/A
N/A
PRTF Size (Avg.)
N/A
N/A
PRTF Distance
N/A
N/A
Openness
2.8
9.6
Acoustic Space Excitation
2.1
3.6
Virtual Soundstage
4.1
4.1
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
On/Off
On/Off
Speaker Modeling
On/Off
On/Off
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
No
Virtual Surround
360 Reality Audio
360 Reality Audio
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
8.1
7.1
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.187
0.384
WHD @ 100
0.101
0.342
Test Settings
Firmware
Unknown
1.0.4
Power
On
On
Connection
Bluetooth 4.2
Bluetooth 5.0
Codec
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
SBC, 16-bit, 44.1kHz
EQ
Off
Off
ANC
On
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Silicone (small)
Default
Microphone
Integrated
Integrated
Isolation
Noise Isolation
7.2
1.0
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-19.25 dB
-1.9 dB
Noise Cancelling
Yes
No
Bass
-10.9 dB
0.12 dB
Mid
-21.02 dB
1.25 dB
Treble
-26.91 dB
-6.79 dB
Leakage
8.2
6.9
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
32.31 dB
39.88 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
Yes
In-Line
No
No
Boom
No
No
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
6.9
6.6
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
306.43 Hz
226.27 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
2.98 dB
3 dB
HFE
7,240.77 Hz
6,088.74 Hz
Weighted THD
4.982
7.972
Gain
2.9 dB
-9.86 dB
Noise Handling
6.6
7.1
SpNR
7.62 dB
9.56 dB
Noise Gate
No
Always On
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
7.0
7.5
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
6.0
6.5
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
6.9
7.0
Battery Type
Rechargable
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
6.9 hrs
6.1 hrs
Additional Charges
3.0
2.0
Total Battery Life
27.6 hrs
18.3 hrs
Charge Time
1.3 hrs
1.6 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
Auto-Off Timer
Auto-Off Timer
Audio While Charging
No
Yes
Passive Playback
No
No
Charging Port
USB-C
USB-C
App Support
8.5
8.0
App Picture
App Name
Sony| Headphones Connect
Sony| Headphones Connect
iOS
Yes
Yes
Android
Yes
Yes
macOS
No
No
Windows
No
No
Equalizer
Graphic + Presets
Graphic + Presets
ANC Control
On/Off
No
Mic Control
No
No
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
Yes
Yes
Button Mapping
Yes
Yes
Surround Support
Yes
Yes
Connectivity
Bluetooth
7.7
8.1
Bluetooth Version
5.0
5.2
Multi-Device Pairing
No
2 Devices
NFC Pairing
Yes
No
Line Of Sight Range
295.00 ft (89.92 m)
129.59 ft (39.50 m)
PC Latency (SBC)
227 ms
222 ms
PC Latency (aptX)
N/A
N/A
PC Latency (aptX HD)
N/A
N/A
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
N/A
N/A
iOS Latency
91 ms
70 ms
Android Latency
70 ms
129 ms
Non-Bluetooth Wireless
0.0
0.0
Non-BT Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Non-BT Latency
N/A
N/A
Wired
0.0
0.0
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
No
No
USB Audio
No
No
Detachable
No
No
Length
N/A
N/A
Connection
No Wired Option
No Wired Option
Analog/USB Audio Latency
N/A
N/A
PC Compatibility
Analog
No
No
Wired USB
No
No
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
No
No
PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
No
No
PS5 Wired USB
No
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
No
No
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Base/Dock
2.2
2.2
Type
Charging Case
Charging Case
USB Input
No
No
Line In
No
No
Line Out
No
No
Optical Input
No
No
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
Yes
Yes
Power Supply
USB-C
USB-C
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Black
WF-1000XM3
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LinkBuds
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WF-1000XM3
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LinkBuds
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Sony WF-1000XM3 Truly Wireless
Sony LinkBuds Truly Wireless
Comments
Sony WF-1000XM3 Truly Wireless vs Sony LinkBuds Truly Wireless: Main Discussion
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