Sony LinkBuds Fit review: Links up nicely with your ears

's been playing name games with their LinkBuds series, first with those donut-shaped originals, then the not-so-linked LinkBuds S, and now these marshmallow-looking Fits. These buds are a different beast from their namesake predecessors, trading the original LinkBuds' donut-shaped drivers for something that promises to actually stay in place without stabbing your ear cartilage.The word "fit" here is doing some heavy lifting, much like those air-filled silicone fins that anchor these buds into your ears.Spoiler alert, they do fit well. Sony’s throwing their hat into the comfort-first ring, where the battle isn't just about sound quality or battery life anymore, but about whether you can forget you're wearing them in the first place. But comfortable ears don't automatically mean happy ears, especially when there's music involved. So do they sound as good as they feel? Let's find out.I wasn't kidding when I said these things fit well. The LinkBuds Fit are essentially Sony's answer to the age-old earbud dilemma: how do you make something stay put without feeling like you've jammed a foreign object into your ear canal? Their solution comes in the form of those peculiar "Air Fitting Supporters,” hollow silicone fins that nestle under your ear ridge without the rigid pressure that makes some sports buds feel like ear torture devices after an hour. These disappear from your awareness during extended listening sessions.Although, with the ear tips only available three sizes, finding your perfect fit might be more challenging than it should be for earbuds that literally have "Fit" in their name. I, myself, tried each of the ear tips sizes, at least thrice, before settling down on one. The short silicone ear tips don't delve deep into your ear canal, which enhances comfort but, as we'll discuss later, comes with some acoustic trade-offs in passive noise isolation.At just 4.9 grams per bud, they're featherweights that don't drag your ears down during extended listening sessions. The buds themselves are shaped with a subdued, rounded aesthetic and comes in three understated colours, black, white, and also green.The Fits are far less clinical looking than Sony's own WF-1000XM5s.The touch controls deserve special mention, though not always for the right reasons. The LinkBuds Fit feature Sony's "Wide Area Tap" technology, which uses accelerometers to detect taps not just on the buds themselves but on the area around your temple. It's clever in theory, but in practice it’s quite its frustratingly unresponsive at times. You will eventually find yourself tapping on the earbuds, and might even go stronger taps (it takes a while to figure out how the controls work), which only serves to jam the buds further into your ears, somewhat an irony for their name.Double taps control play/pause, triple taps skip tracks, and four taps adjust volume, a control scheme that works but lacks the intuitive simplicity of some competitors' offerings.The charging case is something refreshing to see from Sony. It’s satisfyingly small with a marshmallow-like quality to its soft white finish, and on the lid has marbled effect (even the earbuds). The best part? It fits perfectly in the coin pocket of the bottoms. One thing that I couldn’t get past is wireless charging, somewhat standard feature at this price point that Sony has oddly omitted.Sonically, the LinkBuds Fit deliver a warm, bass-forward signature that's become something of a Sony calling card. The 8.4mm drivers (the same "Driver X" transducers found in Sony's XM5s) handles the range pretty well.Cueing up Radiohead's "Everything In Its Right Place," the LinkBuds Fit deliver Thom Yorke's haunting vocals with respectable clarity, though the synth-heavy arrangement feels slightly thicker than intended. The bass has a forceful, hearty quality that works brilliantly when I switch to something more assertive like The Prodigy's "Breathe" or Kendrick Lamar's “DNA," tracks that benefit from that extra low-end oomph. It's a presentation that energizes rather than analyzes, filling your head with sound rather than dissecting it.When I shift to something more delicate like Nick Drake's "Pink Moon," the piano maintains decent glossiness, but there's a sense that the LinkBuds Fit are flexing muscles they don't need here. They're perfectly serviceable for acoustic fare, but that's not where they excel. The soundstage isn't particularly expansive either, more intimate living room than concert hall. Instrument separation remains adequate rather than exceptional, and while you won't struggle to pick out elements in simpler arrangements, densely layered tracks like Radiohead's "Idioteque" start to congeal a bit in the mid-range.What's particularly noticeable is how the LinkBuds Fit's semi-in-ear design affects the listening experience. Without that vacuum-tight seal that fully in-ear monitors provide, you lose some bass impact and detail. Sony's tried to compensate with EQ, which mostly works, but creates a slightly artificially enhanced low-end. It's not unpleasant, in fact, many will prefer this tuning for everyday listening and workout sessions, but audio purists might find themselves reaching for the equaliser in Sony's Sound Connect app to dial back some of that enthusiasm in the lower registers.The noise cancellation on the LinkBuds Fit lives in that nebulous territory between "decent enough" and "nothing special." The semi-in-ear design that makes these buds so comfortable becomes their Achilles heel when it comes to blocking external noise. Without that deep seal, passive isolation is mediocre at best, leaving the active noise cancellation system to work overtime.In practice, the LinkBuds Fit handle consistent low-frequency noises reasonably well, subway rumbles, air conditioner hums, and the drone of office chatter get noticeably diminished. But anything with a dynamic character or higher-frequency signature cuts through with minimal resistance. A suddenly raised voice, keyboard clatter, or the clinking of dishes will all make their way to your ears without much trouble. It's not terrible, you'll still get enough noise reduction to make your commute more pleasant – but if you're looking for that vacuum-sealed cone of silence that top-tier ANC buds provide, you'll need to look elsewhere or crank up the volume to compensate.Sony has completely reworked its companion app, now called Sound Connect, and it's now more intuitive than before. The five-band equaliser offers genuine customisation rather than just presets, letting you tame that bass emphasis if it's not to your taste. The app also includes Sony's 360 Reality Audio setup, which creates a personalised spatial audio profile after taking photos of your earsa gimmick to some, but impressive tech nonetheless.Multipoint connectivity works flawlessly, allowing you to stay connected to both your laptop and phone simultaneously. The wear detection is equally reliable, automatically pausing when you remove a bud. Sony's Speak-to-Chat feature remains divisive, it pauses music when it detects you speaking, which is either incredibly convenient or incredibly annoying depending on your habits. I found myself turning it off after it paused music one too many times when I was just mumbling to myself.One new feature that LinkBuds Fit introduce is the "Background Music Effect,” which artificially increases the perception of space around your music. With settings like "My Room," "Living Room," and "Café," it simulates different acoustic environments, essentially creating the opposite of noise cancellation, it makes your music sound like it's coming from farther away. It's a niche feature, but for those who want awareness while still enjoying their tunes, it's a thoughtful addition that works surprisingly well.At 5.5 hours with ANC enabled (extending to 8 hours with it off), the LinkBuds Fit offers respectable but not the best run you could get on a pair of earbuds. The case adds another three full charges for a total of around 21 hours of listening time. A quick 5-minute charge yields an hour of playback, handy for those moments when you've forgotten to charge and need to dash out the door. The lack of wireless charging is a notable omission at this price point, especially when other earbuds have it as standard.The Sony LinkBuds Fit occupies a sweet spot in Sony's lineup, more comfortable than the WF-1000XM5, more feature-rich than the budget ones, and less quirky than the original LinkBuds. At Rs 17,990, the LinkBuds Fit sits in a highly competitive segment where small compromises can make or break a recommendation. If comfort is something you want over absolute noise isolation, or if you've struggled to find earbuds that stay put without causing discomfort, these should be high on your list. These excel at what they were designed to do: provide a secure, comfortable fit without sacrificing too much in terms of sound quality or features. Their muscular sound signature, wealth of features, and genuinely comfortable design make them an excellent choice for general use.However, if you're looking for the most effective noise cancellation or the most audiophile-friendly sound signature, you might want to look elsewhere. The LinkBuds Fit doesn't excel in those areas, but then again, it doesn't need to. It's designed for people who want earbuds that stay comfortable throughout the day while delivering good sound across various environments. For that specific purpose, they fit just right.