Sony’s choice to configure the case’s magnetic stand so that the buds face down the front, rather than the sides, proved a bit irritating in daily use. Almost all of the other clip-on buds I’ve tried face outward, allowing you to naturally attach them to your ears in one motion. The Sony pair forces you to awkwardly bend one hand to put it in and put the other back out. It’s a small thing, but it remained strange for several days.
Photograph: Ryan Vaniata
In keeping with the AeroClip theme, the Clips cleverly borrow the Soundcore’s best feature: touch controls on the loop that connects the two earbud pieces, rather than at the back like many cheaper models. It’s far more convenient and well-implemented, allowing play/pause, song skips and volume control via double, triple or rapid tap. Again, one small dilemma I have is that Sony’s Connect app won’t allow you to program individual controls, only combos, which would inevitably lead to redundancies or controls I didn’t need.
The app unlocks some Sony standards, like DSEE for advanced wireless sound and 360 Reality Audio for spatial audio (if you’re interested in that). It also features a customizable 10-band EQ and three sound modes, including Standard, Voice, and Sound Leakage, designed to keep you from disturbing others. I’ve never really had such a problem with open buds, but hey, it’s there. Other options include multipoint pairing and quick access to Spotify and Amazon Music.
Mediocre calling, solid tuneedge
Photograph: Ryan Vaniata
A lot of cheap open earbuds struggle with call quality, but I expected something more for the money with a clip. The voices on my end often sounded shrill, sometimes even distorted, while a caller on the other end said it sounded as if I was on speakerphone. Sony says its AI voice pickup is designed to isolate your speech, even claiming to add bone-conduction to suppress extraneous sounds, but the system struggled to deliver a satisfying experience for me.
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