In addition to its rugged build and big sound, it features built-in LEDs for a fun light show, and adjustable EQ so you can dial in your audio preferences. It also fills a gap between tiny and massive portable models, earning it an Editors’ Choice for outdoor speakers. The back of the speaker houses a covered compartment with connections for the included power adapter, a wall unit that terminates in USB-C. There’s also a 3.5mm aux input and a USB-A output for charging other devices with the SRS-XB43’s battery.
Callahan’s baritone vocals receive some added low-mid richness as well, but benefit from a high-mid and high-frequency presence that keeps things crisp.
If there’s a complaint here, it’s that the scooped-out sound signature favors bass and treble over mids, and will not appeal to those looking for an accurate portrayal of the mix—but the EQ can tame the sculpting somewhat. Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, definitely get more bass depth than purists will be looking for, but the overall result is still a balanced, crisp sound with solid low-frequency anchoring.
Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 8, we understood every word we recorded, and while there was a little bit of Bluetooth distortion around the edges, the mic signal was strong. The SRS-XB43’s excellent waterproof rating and powerful audio output are marks in its favor, and the LED lighting is a fun added bonus.
Sony SRS-XB43 4.0 Editors’ Choice See It $248.00 at Amazon MSRP $249.99 Pros Powerful audio performance with strong bass depth and sculpted highs
Bulky The Bottom Line The Sony SRS-XB43 is a bass-forward Bluetooth speaker with an outdoor-friendly design, built-in LED lighting, and lots of power for the price.
Customer Reviews: Sony EXTRA BASS Compact Portable Bluetooth Speaker Black SRSXB13/B
PROS: Excellent build quality, aesthetics, portable design, controls, battery life, multiway strap, and audio is crisp and clear for multimedia watching as you can easily hear what people are saying even at 2x speed. CONS: Despite the marketing boasting about EXTRA BASS it is very poor. Sound quality for music is solid but can come across slightly tinny. Voices are forefront, then instruments, and I would say that mids are the most pronounced followed closely by highs and bass being about equal.
Mids and highs sound great and comes across as quite accurate with good texture and depth. I noticed a very mild amount of bloat but no congestion, muddiness, or brightness. All sounds were very crisp, but especially spoken content which again makes it great for vocal centric songs and multimedia. For the most part sounds were natural but slightly processed, especially instruments. When you first power it on, by just tapping the power button, the LED light above the power button will turn green, and then it will automatically go into pairing mode denoted by flashing blue LED’s over the Bluetooth button.
Then you just go into your Bluetooth settings and select the XB13 and it will give a small chime telling you you’re connected.
If you power, it on after it is connected to a device you will see the power LED illuminate, the bluetooth button will flash, and then you will hear a chime when it is connected. If you quick press it will go into pairing mode denoted by flashing blue LED’s.
It creates a good seal and has a rubber string, so it should be breaking easily. All I know is that my Sony SRS-SB43 can connect to the Sony App which gives you greater customizability and adjustable EQ but costs like a lot more and just figured with this being the SRS-SB13 that it would also work the same? The only “issue” and I use that term lightly here is that sometimes there is some mild delay between pressing a button it and fully registering on my phone.
I can’t think of anything they could add to make it better outside of an adjustable EQ since people go crazy for those things.
Sony SRS-XB33 review
While lifestyle images on the company’s website show the Sony SRS-XB33 portable speaker set against white sands and sun-drenched swimming pools, its rugged exterior and waterproof features mean it should keep going in any weather – ideal for winters as well as summers, then. It’s dustproof, so sand, soil and dried mud are of little concern, and it has undergone extensive shock testing for knocks, bumps and scrapes, meaning you can drop it and it’ll keep working. Those include some flashing lights – controlled via the Sony Music Center and Fiestable apps – which can also dance in sync with up to 99 other compatible wireless speakers thanks to Party Connect.
You’ll notice the Extra Bass advertising, which nods to this speaker’s dual passive radiators, but it’s the main driver units that are most interesting. Sony calls this its X-Balanced Speaker Unit, where non-circular diaphragms make for a maximised surface area, and an increase in sound pressure aims for punchier bass. Not that this Bluetooth speaker needs the extra help; we connect our smartphone (NFC is available) and immediately the party starts, the SRS-XB33 throwing its voice across the room with real energy and verve.
This might be a speaker built to shout across busy rooms and fill a space in the infinite outdoors, but we’d still appreciate a little greater subtlety and maturity that would hold our interest better when not in party mode ourselves. There are speakers around this price, such as the Audio Pro Addon C3, that combine expert rhythm and sensitive dynamics with striking richness and clarity, but these are only built to be portable in the sense they needn’t constantly be plugged in.
SRS-XB12 Reviews & Ratings
Inside the box was the speaker and the now fairly industry standard USB charging lead. I have multiple USB mains adaptors so finding a charging source was no issue, however this may not be the case for all purchasors. Certainly the exterior tactile rubber reinforces this capability and offers an easily held surface whilst protecting from minor impacts.
Closer inspection revealed in my opinion a high quality of manufacture with no weak areas.
The sound from such a small unit was jaw dropping, not music concert pressure bass but sufficient to wonder how it was producing it. The microphone also lends itself to conference calls, with the unit in the middle of a table of four people, the dialogue with the the users dialled up was vastly better than the telephones hands free, with nobody asking for the conversation to be repeated.
Sony SRS-XB23 Portable Bluetooth Speaker review
It hasn’t been long since Sony unveiled its updated line of 2020 Bluetooth speakers , but they’ve quickly garnered a lot of attention for their performance and value. The Sony SRS-XB23 will launch this summer– most likely June or July – for $99 (around £80, AU$150) and will be available in five colors: Coral Red, Olive Green, Light Blue, Taupe and Black. Obviously, you’ll need to buy additional speakers to make these modes work, but their inclusion allows you to get pretty creative with your setup. While Sony would never admit to it, it feels like it’s taken a lot of design cues for this year’s entry-level SRS-XB23 from Ultimate Ears’ lineup, especially with the new top bungee strap that allows you to hang the speaker from a carabiner, shower nozzle, tree branch or fencepost depending on where you use it.
Ultimate Ears wasn’t the first to use it and can’t claim any exclusivity over a primarily utilitarian feature, but it’s worth calling attention to the design inspiration for the sake of transparency. Last but not least, the XB23 uses Bluetooth 5.0, the latest standard, and supports three major codecs – SBC, AAC and LDAC, the latter of which you’ll find on newer Android devices and sounds absolutely great.
If you don’t have another Bluetooth speaker in the same room to compare it to, however, you’ll probably be blown away by the SRS-XB23 – it can get pretty loud without a massive amount of distortion and the passive radiators help the bass to sound clearer than it has on any of Sony’s previous models. Connecting it to a Google Pixel 3a XL allowed us to test the speaker with the LDAC codec streaming MQA files from Tidal – all of which sounded full, robust and powerful.
Sony SRS-XB23 rood
Net zo groot als een flesje water en daardoor lekker makkelijk op te bergen in je tas als je naar het strand gaat. Hij staat gewoon aan, koppelen met je telefoon gaat snel en eenvoudig.
Hij is meerdere keren gevallen maar tot nu toe merk ik geen verschil. Dit zou betekenen dat hij ook mee onder de douche kan!
Sony SRS-XB13 Bluetooth speaker review: Sonic goodness on your wrist
Of course, there’s only so much you can do with its diminutive dimensions and a single speaker, but Sony seems to have maximized the potential in terms of audio reproduction. This is usually a recipe for a severe lack of bass, as low-frequency waves are far longer than the interior of the speaker. As you can see above, the standard Bluetooth speaker controls are present, as well as a microphone for use during phone calls and with your voice assistant. The reason I dove into such detail about the button functionality is that the included operation guide seems bent on proving that a picture is not always worth a thousand words.
So, it’s not very sub-wooferish, but the sound from this tiny speaker is as good as you’ll find in the category. The SRS-XB13 can be pair with a second Sony speaker to produce true stereo, but the company didn’t send me a second to test that.
I also managed about 7 to 8 of the 10-meter range offered by the technology in my challenging apartment with its chicken-wire laden walls. As long as you’re aware of the sonic limits of monophonic speakers of this size, then the SRS-XB13 is as good or better than anything similar that’s out there.
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