Get Them Here:

Sony ULT Field 1: https://amzn.to/3NP3oMm

Sony Linkbuds Speaker: https://amzn.to/40uHtlj

So this is the Linkbuds Speaker… and this is a life style speaker that can compliment your linkbuds earbuds… or it just a speaker that has amazing sound quality in a very compact package and it has a huge battery life… however, this speaker doesn’t get as loud as id expect it to especially considering its price. Nonetheless, lets see what the Linkbuds speaker is all about, and lets see how it compares to the Sony ULT Field 1 which is currently my favorite sounding small portable speaker to use and recommend as of late 2024, early 2025.

regarding pricing, the Linkbuds speaker retails for $180, pretty steep if you ask me especially when you take into consideration that sound performance that you’re getting out of this speaker… but you do get a charging cradle included. And for comparison sake, the Sony ULT Field 1, and remember, this is my baby right now, this speaker retails for $130 but it likes to go on sale for $100. So with the linkbuds speaker, I would wait for it to go on sale. Nonetheless, if you want to pick either of these two speakers up they’ll be linked down below, or you can always press on the YouTube shopping button.

So first theres the design of this speaker. The Linkbuds speaker is pretty small and it has a mostly fabric wrapped body so its going to be able to stand up to constant abuse from bumps and scraps just like the ULT filed 1, and this speaker also has a built in loop so that you can easily attach this speaker and take it on the go with you. However, the loop that found on the linkbuds speaker isn’t as versatile as the ULT field 1’s built in carrying handle. Now the Linkbuds speaker is also rocking an IPX4 ratting, meaning that a little bit of water isn’t going to hurt this speaker, however, the ULT Field 1 is rocking an IP67 which means that this speaker is technically more durable than the Linkbuds speaker. So if you’re looking for something portable and easy to take on the go with you, both of these speakers are good options… but if you need something more durable, then you do want to go with the ULT field 1.

Now when it comes to chargning these speakers, they both charge via a USB C port as they should, but something the Linkbuds speaker has over the ULT Field 1 is that it comes included with a chargning cradle, so you can just drop your speaker on the charger and its going to automatically start chargning, whenever its on the chargning pad you don have to worry about the battery, and when you take your speaker somewhere, you’ll know that its always fully charged. So this easy of chargning your speakers lends itself to the whole lifestyle aspect of this speaker… and I personally, I like that this charging cable is very long so its easy to wire this pad into your desk setup… but the problem here is, this is a USB A  to USB C charging cable… I would have really like to have seen USB C on both ends.

But when it comes to battery life, the Linkbuds speaker has an advertised battery life of 25 hours… which seems like a lot. However this advertised battery life of 25 hours is with it playing at 50% Volume… and 50% volume on this speaker is good for like ambiance… but if you’re actually going to listen to music than you’ll might want to use it at max volume and in that case then this speaker going to be good for 6 hours. And max volume on this speaker is a little quiet for its price.

Because for comparison sake, the ULT field 1 has an advertised battery life of 12 hours, and thats with this speaker playing at 50% volume and 50% Volume on the ULT field 1 is a decent listing volume. And at max volume, which is a lot louder than max volume on the Linkbuds speaker, the ULT Field 1 is good for about 3 hours.

Regarding connectivity, both of these speakers can be connected to 2 devices at the same time so that you and a friend can both be DJ, latency is not an issue for these speakers, so you can use them to watch videos with on your phone, and when it comes to audio codecs, both of these speakers have support for SBC and AAC, but there is no LDAC like with Sony’s other speakers, and these speakers dont have an audio jack, so you can’t use them with a wired connection.

But one connectivity difference between the linkbuds speaker and ULT field 1 is that with the linkbuds speaker, your music will seamlessly transition from the speaker to your linkbuds earbuds and vise versa. Its defiantly very sleek, but I dont think that this should be a main selling point cause you can do the same thing with your phone, its just not as seamless by comparison.

But with all of that out of the way lets talk about sound. Regarding speaker set up, these speakers are actually vey similar. Both of these speakers have a single frontward firing woofer, a frontward firing tweeter and dual passive radiators that shoot out the sides. Except with the ULT field 1, its bigger. But the important thing here is, both of these speakers have a Woofer and tweeter setup which is going to help you with instrument separation cause the woofer is going to handle the mids and the tweeter is going to handle the highs. But let me jut show you.

Tweeter

So like you may have just seen, the woofer handles the mids and the tweeters handles the highs, so this is going to help these speakers have better instrument separation, they are going to sound more open and the highs are going to have better detail. Now with both of these speakers you can also go in and adjust their EQ to your liking, so you can make them sound however you want. However the Linkbuds Speaker is using Sony’s updated sound connect app which is a lot sleeker. But, the ULT field 1 also have Sony’s ULT button which is going to increase the sound pressure for this speaker which means its going to get louder and its going to have more bass. Nonetheless we’re going to jump into the soundtest. Now the ULT field 1 is playing at 75% Volume with ULT turned on, where as the Linkbuds speaker is going to be playing at 75% volume and at max volume so that it can keep up.

Sound Test

So when it comes to sound quality, the linkbuds speaker sound very open and the highs are very well defined thank to the woofer and tweeter setup. And the linkbuds speaker is able to keep its definition and fidelity even at max volume. Sound quality wise, the linkbuds speaker has great definition and it sounds balanced. However the Sony ULT Field 1 does sound fuller and the bass has more kick to it just cause its larger. But where the Linkbuds speaker really struggles… especially considering its price, is max volume. At max volume the Linkbuds speaker has trouble keeping up with the ULT field 1. And I feel that anything below 50% volume on the linkbuds speaker is just going to be good for ambiance. So like I have said multiple times already, the Linkbuds Speaker sounds great, but it doesn’t get loud especially relative to its price. So if sound performance is what you’re looking for, you do want to go with the ULT flied 1.

And when it comes to pairing these speakers up to other speakers, sadly neither of these tow speakers have Sony’s party connect, so you cant pair them up to any of Sony’s other speakers like either an ULT 7, XG500, XG300, XE300, XE200, or to an XB43, XB33, or XB23 or to any of Sony’s larger box speakers that are also using Party Connect. However with both of these speakers, you can get 2 of the same speakers and get them to play in left and right stereo mode, so your music is going to get louder and sond more open.

Mic Test

But with all of that being said, the linkbuds speaker is a small speaker that has great sound quality and thanks to its included charging cradle, anytime that you want to take it on the go with you its going to be fully charged. However for me it is hard to justify this speaker at its full retail price, cause sound performance wise, this speaker doesn’t get all that loud. With the Sony ULT field 1, you’re going to get a much bigger bang for your buck.