The newest offering comes in the form of the Sony SRS-XB32, which is packed with features ranging from high-quality Bluetooth codecs to strobe lights (seriously). Editor’s note: this Sony SRS-XB32 review was updated on April 14, 2021, to include a content menu, technical details, information about the mobile app, and more.
If you’re a hardcore outdoorsy person who counts every gram, get the JBL Clip 3 or the UE WONDERBOOM 2. The SRS-XB32 is made of hard plastic with a rough fabric that covers the speaker grill and dynamic drivers.
Enabling the “Party Booster” makes kick drums, snares, and cowbell sound just by tapping it to the beat. You can connect via the standard Bluetooth procedure, or by tapping your smartphone to it (so long as NFC is enabled).
Sony claims a battery life of 24 hours of constant playback, but that’s only if you turn off all of the lights and Extra Bass mode. All of those things are turned on by default, so I tested the battery life with everything enabled; Sony claims the speaker will last 14 hours under these conditions. While they don’t sound bad, the extra emphasis on the lower notes is a bit much.
Then again, it does have a real benefit: the bass emphasis makes it easier to hear music outdoors. Lower notes tend to dissipate quicker into your surroundings if there’s a lot going on in your area, and that extra emphasis helps you hear them outside. Treble notes were similarly lacking in clarity with the cymbals and hi-hats in Generator ^ Second Floor by Freelance Whales.
Listen to the audio sample below and please rate it, doing so really helps our other readers understand how the microphone performs across a wide array of devices. Particularly if you like the idea of having a speaker that can party as you do when you go to the beach or to the pool this isn’t a bad option. But if strong bass, flashing strobe lights, fun features, and a tough waterproof build is what you’re looking for then that person might be you.
Sony SRS-XB32 review
Het merk Sony is tot nu toe onderbelicht op deze website. Het merk heeft met de Sony SRS lijn bluetooth speakers van klein naar groot. Door de serie nummers in plaats van een naam per speaker, zoals bij merken als JBL en Ultimate Ears, is er niet echt een lijn te ontdekken in het verschil tussen de speakers. Wat we in ieder geval alvast kunnen vertellen is dat als je op zoek bent naar een bluetooth speaker met lange batterijduur en een diepe bas, je zeker even deze Sony XB32 review moet lezen.
Dankzij NFC en Bluetooth is het eenvoudig om de speaker met een smartphone of tablet te verbinden. De bluetooth verbinding is stabiel en heeft een bereik van maximaal 10 meter.
Hiermee kan jij of iemand anders eenvoudig en snel verbinding maken met de speaker. We moeten wel opmerken dat in de Extra Bass modus lage frequenties erg worden benadrukt, maar deze bass modus is ook weer eenvoudig uit te zetten als je hier geen fan van bent. Volgens Sony is dit de manier om het feest tot leven te brengen met een unieke driedimensionale geluidservaring en te zorgen voor festivalvibes. De Extra bass blijft ook in deze modus behouden en verder lijkt het volume iets te worden verhoogd, waarbij de midden tonen worden verbeterd, maar verder voegt deze functie niet heel veel toe naast de Extra Bass modus. Een heel groot pluspunt aan deze speaker is de batterijduur. Met een gewicht van 900 gram neem je de speaker eenvoudig mee.
De speaker is onder meer verkrijgbaar in het zwart, blauw, groen, rood en wit. Zo kan je deze instellen op verschillende sferen, waaronder ‘Calm Daylight’, ‘Strobe’, ‘Cool’ en ‘Hot’.
Bij een normale verlichting zal deze feestverlichting het feest niet op gang brengen.
Dit zou sfeer verhogend moeten werken tijdens een feestje.
Wellicht dat ze dit in Japan een gave functie vinden, ik kan me niet voorstellen dat er Nederlanders zijn die deze app ooit gebruiken. Je kan de speaker dus ook eenvoudig in het water onderdompelen om schoon te maken.
We hebben dit uiteraard getest en het voeren van een gesprek ging prima. Via de speaker is het ook mogelijk om Google Assistent op je smartphone te gebruiken.
Hiervoor zal je een echte slimme speaker moeten aanschaffen.
De XB32 is iets breder, maar het is nauwelijks een verschil te noemen. In het design is wel een groot verschil aan te wijzen. Maar mocht je al in het bezit zijn van een XB31, dan is er op dit moment geen reden om de nieuwe XB32 aan te schaffen, daarvoor zijn de verschillen te klein.
bij 10,5 neem je de speaker minder snel mee op vakantie.
Sony SRS-XB32 Review
The bass depth here is rich, there are dual listening modes, and the Sony Music App allows for even more granular EQ adjustment. Available in black, blue, or gray models, the somewhat cylindrical SRS-XB32 measures roughly 3.4 by 9.4 by 3.4 inches (HWD) and weighs about 2 pounds. The free Sony Music app (for Android and iOS) could be more graceful, but it’s easy enough to figure out, and the user-adjustable EQ is an excellent feature that allows you to dial in your preferred level of bass richness and crispness. Sony estimates the SRS-XB32 gets roughly 24 hours of battery life, but your results will vary with your volume levels, your LED usage, and your mix of streaming and wired audio playback.
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the SRS-XB32 delivers some solid bass depth for its size, but at top volumes, the DSP (digital signal processing) kicks in and thins out the deep lows dramatically. The drums on this track get some solid thump, but most of the bass depth seems relegated to Callahan’s baritone vocals, whether in Live mode or not.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, get some added bass presence that may not appeal to purists, but this does lend the recording a little more body. The higher register brass, strings, and vocals remain bright and the focus of the mix, but this is a sculpted sound with plenty of added bass depth.
Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 8, we could understand every word we recorded, but the audio was somewhat fuzzy and garbled at times, and the mic sounded distant. The Sony SRS-XB32’s ruggedized build, paired with its ability to project powerful audio from a relatively modest frame, make it an ideal outdoor wireless speaker. Sony SRS-XB32 4.0 See It $149.99 at Amazon MSRP $149.99 Pros Strong, sculpted audio performance with rich bass depth and crisp highs. The Bottom Line The wireless Sony SRS-XB32 speaker delivers a solid audio experience and a modest light show from its outdoor-friendly frame.
Sony XB32 Bluetooth speaker review
As a portable Bluetooth speaker with a ruggedized frame and powerful drivers, the Sony XB32 does the job of being a versatile playback option for indoor and outdoor situations. As a portable Bluetooth speaker with a ruggedized frame and powerful drivers, the Sony XB32 does the job of being a versatile playback option for indoor and outdoor situations. It may not be reinventing the wheel by adding some extra oomph to the low-end and tacking on a neat LED light show, but those features do help it stand out in an increasingly crowded field.
Even better, while this speaker was made for the pool and beach crowd, it sounds good enough to play tunes anywhere you find convenient. Not only is it relatively durable, but the built-in LEDs create a light show of sorts during playback, though we never noticed any set pattern or corresponding activity to go with whatever we played. The rubberized frame includes four distinct legs underneath, plus an array of buttons at the top — all in keeping with the XB line’s traditional layout.
Those include play/pause, volume up and down, power and a distinct one called Live, the latter one is essentially the speaker’s bass boost function. When on, tapping five different parts of the speaker triggers sound effects meant to add some hype to the music playing from it.
That includes some of the additional tech Sony put in, like the digital signal processor (DSP), for instance.
When we played Between the Sheets by the Isley Brothers, the bass was thick, though we were pleasantly surprised at how full the mids sounded. Highs and mids were relatively warm on both (and similar) tracks, letting us enjoy music from different genres without having to tinker with the EQ all the time. Unsurprisingly, the XB32 doesn’t showcase a great deal of depth across the spectrum, so while music sounded good, instrument and vocal clarity was commensurate with volume.
Sony says the DSP is there to not only amplify performance, but also keep the speaker from proverbially falling off an audio cliff. As a portable Bluetooth speaker with a ruggedized frame and powerful drivers, it does the job of being a versatile playback option for indoor and outdoor situations.
Customer Reviews: Sony SRS-XB32 Portable Bluetooth Speaker Blue SRSXB32/L
The colored LED lights that surround the speaker are bright and truly add to the enjoyment of the music experience. And, surprisingly, the white strobe lights seem even brighter than the full-sized party speakers in the same product line (specifically the GTK-XB72).
I was Extremely pleased to find that the party chain can also include other Sony speaker models. The light colors synced up – there was no audio delay (or mismatch / echo) – It was absolutely spectacular.
Outside I found that I could easily walk 50+ feet from the speaker (with perfect line of site) before the music cut out. 2) This speaker does not accept a Micro SD card, or playback from a USB memory stick. Generic Bluetooth speakers from china almost always let you play music from a Micro SD card. Since this speaker is essentially water proof (IPX7 which means 3 feet for 30 minutes) – it would be nice if it could play music from a memory card so that the user never has to worry about wireless range, their phone getting wet, or the chance the speaker will answer a phone call while they’re trying to play music.
Weirdly this speaker has a drum kit sound effects mode (which they call “Party Booster”). Then you can hit the top, bottom, front, left, or right of the speaker to hear different drum noises.
The Party Booster mode doesn’t work particularly well as you have to hit the speaker pretty hard to play the noises. + Waterproof to 1 meter (3.28 feet) for up to 30 minutes (IPX7 rating) + Audio remains crisp & clear even at high volumes + Decent bass compared to the physical size of the speaker + Live Sound mode works well making the audio feel more wide and hollow + Can be used as a back-up battery to charge other devices (using the rear USB port) + NFC (Near Field Communication) feature makes Bluetooth pairing very easy + 3.5 mm audio input + Built in pin-hole microphone works decently for answering phone calls + Rubber feet on the bottom keeps the unit from sliding around and protects from scratches + LED lights are not hidden behind the speaker grill + All lights are bright and clear – they truly look fantastic + Lights are easily controlled via Sony Music Center App (both color & flashing options) + Multiple speakers can connect wirelessly via Bluetooth + Can connect to other Sony Speaker models.
+ Light colors sync up when multiple speakers are linked + Can play in stereo when synced to a 2nd speaker + When the unit is hit on different sides it makes drum kit sound effects (this mode must be turned on by holding Vol + & – buttons until the power indicator flashes) + Rubberized exterior for easy grip (even when wet) Cons: – Is NOT able to play music from a Micro SD card, or USB memory stick – There are no physical track forward/backwards buttons. – Heavy (but the 24 hour battery (that can also charge other devices) is worth the weight) – The instruction manual does an awful job at explaining product features – Limited salt-water resistance – Gesture Controls within the Fiestable app do not work well at all – Fiestable App is fairly cumbersome and tricky to learn – Voice prompts are only available in English – Battery status only functions when the unit is powered on.
Sony SRS-XB32 Bluetooth speaker review: Flashy lights, fun, amazing sound—and it’s waterproof!
The name tells you exactly what the company is aiming for with the sound, and the SRS-XB32 fulfills the mission nicely—there is indeed, quite a bit of bass response. The speaker’s main controls are on top, including the Bluetooth pairing button, volume up and down, play/pause, and Live.
My only complaint about the controls, which also handle phone calls, is that there’s no dedicated button for the Extra Bass effect. The XB32 brings the bling in the form a ring of colored LEDs lining the sides and front of the unit, as well as two flashing lights behind the grill. Sony also provides a Party Booster mode, invoked by pressing and holding the up/down volume buttons for three seconds. The run time for the 2700mAh battery is about a full day unless you employ the Live mode and Extra Bass.
Sitting in front of me as I type this review, listening to Toto’s “Africa” at a modest level, I find it hard to imagine a more pleasant-sounding portable speaker. Loud and from a distance, I wasn’t as quite as enamored, as the low mid-range didn’t quite hold up, but the bottom line is—this is the best darn waterproof speaker of its size that I’ve ever heard. Of the three Extra Bass products I’ve heard—which includes the larger SRS-XB41 speaker and the MDR-XB950 headphones—the SRS-XB32 comes the closest to my ideal—with thump that’s apparent, but overwhelming. I have yet to hear another price- and size-comparable speaker that matches it for audio quality at reasonable volumes and it has all the fun features the party requires.
Sony SRS-XB32 Review
The Sony SRS-XB32 sounds good, is relatively loud, and is waterproof, but it’s quite heavy and doesn’t excel enough in any other category to make it feel worth lugging around the extra weight. The Sony SRS-XB32 stops a bit short here, as it lacks that over-the-top clarity and bass punch that the top-tier speakers have. We wouldn’t call this a shortcoming, however, it’s just that the Sony SRS-XB32’s listening experience falls a bit below premium.
It should be noted that a lot of that additional heft likely comes from this speaker’s “party” features — namely some LEDs that flash along with the music, and the ability to smack the speaker in certain spots to elicit electronic drum noises (a feature we found so laggy that it will likely offend anyone with a decent sense of rhythm).
It has plenty of power to fill a large apartment with sound or keep a campfire dance party raging. In our testing the Sony SRS-XB32 lasted a full 24 hours, plenty for a weekend at the cabin or campsite.
Its balance of attributes doesn’t fit any specific use case scenarios as many other speakers we’ve found that cost the same or less. Unfortunately, thedoesn’t have any points strong enough to counterbalance its hefty size and weight, so we rarely found ourselves reaching for it anytime we had need for a portable speaker.
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