The Sony LinkBuds Speaker is a small, portable home speaker that's designed to play nicely with Sony's LinkBuds range of headphones, such as the Sony LinkBuds S Truly Wireless. When configured appropriately, you can experience automatic audio handoff between LinkBuds headphones and the LinkBuds speaker. But is there any other reason to choose this sleek device for your living room? Read on to find out.
Our Verdict
The Sony LinkBuds Speaker is passable for listening to music. It's a small speaker, so it doesn't get very loud, and you don't get much low-end thump out of it, but it has enough high-bass for basslines to still be clearly audible and feel warm. The well-balanced mid- and treble ranges mean instruments are rendered accurately and without any honk or harshness. You can also tweak the sound via a graphic EQ in its companion app. On its own, it downmixes audio to mono, so if you love lush stereo soundscapes, you'll want to pair it with a second unit.
Well-balanced mid-range renders voices and instruments accurately.
Easy handoff between the speaker and LinkBuds headphones.
Doesn't get as loud as similar-sized speakers.
Needs a second unit to produce stereo audio.
The Sony LinkBuds Speaker is sup-par for watching videos and movies. It's too small to reproduce rumbly explosions, and it doesn't get very loud, either. If you do crank the volume, there's a fair amount of compression in the low end, too. On its own, it only produces mono audio, so you won't get a lush cinematic soundscape out of it. That said, its mid-range is very flat, so dialogue sounds natural and accurate. And latency with iOS devices is very low, so you might not notice lip-sync issues when streaming from your iPhone. On the other hand, Android latency is noticeably higher. Regardless, different apps and devices compensate for latency in different ways.
15 hours battery life.
Doesn't get as loud as similar-sized speakers.
Needs a second unit to produce stereo audio.
The Sony LinkBuds Speaker is decent for listening to podcasts. You can pair it with up to two devices simultaneously, and it's light and easy to carry from room to room with you using its built-in carrying strap. Voices sound fairly similar regardless of the angle from which you're listening, so you can wander around an average room without missing what's being said. That said, this speaker doesn't get very loud, so it won't fill larger rooms or gardens with sound. But, if you've LinkBuds headphones, it's easy to pick up what you were listening to on your commute home.
Well-balanced mid-range renders voices and instruments accurately.
Easy handoff between the speaker and LinkBuds headphones.
Doesn't get as loud as similar-sized speakers.
No built-in voice assistant.
The Sony LinkBuds Speaker is middling as a voice assistant because it doesn't have built-in voice-assistant capabilities. That said, you can still use it with your phone's Alexa, Siri, or Google Assistant as long as you don't stray more than about four meters from the speaker when issuing instructions. Still, the speaker's mic does a decent job of picking up your voice against background noise.
Easy handoff between the speaker and LinkBuds headphones.
Doesn't get as loud as similar-sized speakers.
No built-in voice assistant.
The Sony LinkBuds Speaker is satisfactory for outdoor use. It's very portable thanks to its small size and handy carrying strap, while its 15-hour battery life will see you through all-day park hangs with ease. But it's not really designed to withstand the elements. It's rated IPx4, so it'll withstand water splashes, but it's not rated against dust ingress, and its soft cloth exterior feels like it could tear easily. It also won't get loud enough to fill a garden with sound, and you'll need a second unit for stereo playback. This is really an indoor speaker that you can take onto your balcony during a summer's day, but it wouldn't be a go-to choice for camping or longer outdoor sojourns.
15 hours battery life.
Easy handoff between the speaker and LinkBuds headphones.
Doesn't get as loud as similar-sized speakers.
Needs a second unit to produce stereo audio.
Changelog
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Updated Feb 03, 2026:
We mentioned the Amazon Echo Dot Max in the Voice Assistant section of this review.
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Updated Feb 04, 2025:
The Build Quality section has been updated to mention the Minirig 4 for comparison.
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Updated Nov 28, 2024:
We added a reference to the Bose SoundLink Home in the Wired box.
- Updated Nov 20, 2024: Review published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Sony LinkBuds Speaker comes in two colorways: 'Light Grey' or 'Black.' We tested the 'Light Grey' colorway, and here is a photo of its label. If you come across another variant of these headphones, please let us know in the comments.
Popular Speaker Comparisons
The Sony LinkBuds Speaker is a small Bluetooth speaker that's designed for home use. It targets existing users of Sony's LinkBuds ecosystem. If you have a pair of the Sony LinkBuds S Truly Wireless, the LinkBuds Speaker's easy audio handoff feature could be a real boon. Other manufacturers, like Sonos and Apple, try similar things with devices in their ecosystem.
If you're a Sonos user, the Sonos Roam 2 is comparable in size and weight to the LinkBuds Speaker but comes with built-in support for Amazon Alexa and the Sonos voice assistant. However, its battery lasts about a third as long as the LinkBuds speaker. The Amazon Echo Pop is another smart speaker designed for home use. It comes with Amazon Alexa built-in and has a mic that does a better job of picking out your voice from further away in a noisy room. But it has to be plugged in to work.
Check out our recommendations for the best Bluetooth speakers, the best small Bluetooth speakers, and the best home Bluetooth speakers.
Though similarly sized, portable speakers, the Sony LinkBuds Speaker and the Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4 are meant for different purposes. The Ultimate Ears is a great choice for the outdoors. Its 360-degree design means audio sounds very similar from whichever angle you're listening, and it's rated IP67, so you can drop it in a puddle without damage. It also gets a bit louder than the Sony. On the other hand, the Sony has a great built-in mic that you can use with your phone's Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant, and it also comes with a companion app that you can use to tweak its sound to your liking,
The Sony LinkBuds Speaker and Amazon Echo Pop are small speakers for home use. The Sony is a bit more versatile, as it's portable, so it can come with you from room to room and has a long 15-hour battery life. You have to plug in the Amazon for it to work, but it comes with Amazon's Alexa built-in, and it does an excellent job picking out your voice from far away in noisy environments. You can use the Sony with your phone's Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant, but its mic isn't quite as good.
The Sony LinkBuds Speaker and the Sonos Roam 2 are similarly sized speakers that target users of different brand ecosystems. If you're already invested in the Sonos ecosystem, then picking up a portable, waterproof speaker from the brand might make sense. It plays nicely with other Sonos speakers on your network and has an excellent build quality that will withstand heavy rain. On the other hand, if you have a pair of LinkBuds headphones, the Sony speaker is the obvious choice because you can set it up so that as soon as you put your headphones away, audio starts playing back from your speaker. If you're invested in neither brand's ecosystem, here's a simple rubric: the Sonos is a more outdoorsy speaker, and the Sony is more of a homebody.
The Sony LinkBuds Speaker and the Ultimate Ears BOOM 4 have different strengths. The Ultimate Ears is very good for using outdoors. It's IP67-rated and will even float in water, so it'll withstand getting soaked on a rainy camping trip. It also gets noticeably louder than the Sony. On the other hand, the Sony is more of a home device. Its built-in microphone means you can use your phone's virtual assistant with it, and if you have a pair of LinkBuds headphones, you can automatically switch audio between your speaker and headphones.
Test Results
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