Sony LinkBuds Clip (WF-LC900) FCC Teardown
The LinkBuds Clip were announced earlier this week, and the lack of LC3 made me wonder if Sony has switched up the Bluetooth chipset from the V2 (MT2833), to something else. The FCC internal photos became available on Friday, so time to dive in to see what they reveal.
The FCC teardowns for the LinkBuds Fit and LinkBuds Open can be found in my post here. Unfortunately they are not very detailed.
This will not be a step by step teardown as the photos in the files just show the components and not the process to take the earbuds apart. For a step by step teardown, we need to wait for 52Audio or iFixit.
We will begin with the case. The lower half of the case looks to be clipped in on the sides, but also possibly glued in as well. I think there is glue or tape on the bottom of the middle section (red arrows). So in order to take the bottom piece off, one may need to heat the front part of the bottom piece to soften the adhesive.
There does not appear to be much empty space in the bottom section, so questionable whether a wireless charging coil would even fit inside the case, without a redesign to the case.
We have no comparison photos of the LinkBuds Fit and Open cases, so it is uncertain how much they share in terms of design and build. The battery compartment is screwed into the middle section with 2 screws. This also holds the case PCB in place.
The reverse side of the case PCB and the battery holder/compartment.
- VDL - model 772130
- Highpower - model 772030
- Springpower - model 772030
Here is closer look at the case PCB.
I have identified one of the ICs (red arrow), as SSP707 from Sinhmicro. This is the power management IC. There is also a self-resetable fuse (yellow arrow). I suspect this is for the USB-C port. A similar fuse is found on the WF-1000XM5 case PCB. The date code on the PCB looks to be 24th week of 2025, or early June 2025. The first certifications for YY2999 appeared around mid September 2025, so the date on the PCB fits with the timeline.
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| SSP707X power management chip (PMIC) by SinhMicro |
I am unable to identify the second IC covered with the sticker, so we will need to wait for another teardown to ID it.
Turning to the earbuds, I will start with the driver side. I am not sure if the 2 halves are sealed with tape/glue, but I suspect they are. So if you wish to open up this section, use isopropyl alcohol to weaken the glue, along with heat to soften it. I would recommend starting from the side with the microphone hole, as the other side has a ribbon cable that could be easily damaged.
We have the 10mm driver on the right, with the first MEMS microphone on the left (red arrow). It appears that the driver is glued into place, as is the small PCB inside the main housing. The flex cable which connects the 2 sections does appear to use a connector, and is not soldered.
This is the left side, identical but just mirrored. Anyone know why the driver connection has the extra circular PCB and not just 2 contacts going to the driver?
A close up photo of the 10mm driver from Sony Japan's website.
Opening up the other side reveals the following.
- Wireless antenna contact
- LDS antenna contact pad
- Unknown IC
- Possible glue/seal for IPX rating
- Second MEMS microphone
- Bone conduction sensor
- Charging pin connections
The unknown IC (#3) is also present in other recent Sony earbud models, so whatever it is, it looks to be important.
A close up of the wireless LDS antenna backside and the connection pad.
The LDS antenna is printed on a separate piece of plastic, which is inserted into the main body. From my quick reading online, it seems that a printed solid antenna is superior than a flexible PCB antenna, as they perform better and are less susceptible to interference.
A close up of the back of the main earbud PCB (right side). The left side of the PCB has the connection for the main ribbon cable assembly. The connector can be seen in the photo below.
The topside of the earbud PCB. The Bluetooth SoC is covered by a metal shield, with the shield and battery both covered by a plastic moulded piece. This is the only photo where the plastic piece if shown.
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| Left earbud (L), Right earbud (R) |
The metal shield covering the end of the PCB differs in shape between the left and right side. I suspect the reason is because of the different component layouts, but why are the PCBs laid out differently? Usually Sony earbuds have the same PCB designs except mirrored. No doubt the reason is probably obvious, so if anyone knows, please drop it in the comments.
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| A close up of the main Bluetooth SoC, the Airoha AB1585M |
We can see that Sony decided against using the V2 (MT2833) in the LinkBuds Clip, and went with the Airoha AB1585M. This cannot be the reason for the absence of LC3 support, as the AB1585 also has LE Audio support. Hopefully Sony will add LC3 support in a future firmware update.
Although not confirmed by Sony, and only through various online information, the V2 may just a variant of Airoha's AB158X platform, the AB1588. There could be additional customization from Sony through Mediatek of the AB158x, but there is no way to know what that could be. Why Sony did not just use a V2 is a mystery.
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| LinkBuds Clip internal battery - Zenipower Z35FH |
Finally the earbud battery. The FCC photos reveal we are looking at a Zenipower Z35FH, 3.85V 54mAh coin cell. The Taiwanese certification has 2 batteries for the earbuds, both Z35FH, but one is 56mAh and the other 54mAh. I have no idea why there are 2 different versions of the same battery. The LinkBuds Fit and Open use the same battery.
This is the only photo of the battery, meaning we have no information how the battery is connected to the main PCB. I suspect the battery is soldered to the board. Therefore a battery replacement would be more difficult and not easily performed at home.
This concludes the FCC teardown. If anyone sees anything I missed, drop it in the comments,
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