At $250 this is not the cheapest Bluetooth speaker you can buy, but in fact it’s on par with a range of similarly priced speakers from JBL, UE Boom or Bose making the SRS-XB3 from Sony one to consider.
Without question this speaker’s best feature is the sound, but before we get to that you’ve got to consider the 24 hour battery life. Yep, pair this baby to your smartphone and start pumping out the tunes and the speaker will probably last longer than your phone.
As is common with similar speakers if you buy two you can pair them left and right for some serious sound but I think in reality the majority of buyers would be buying a single speaker.
Weighing just 930 grams its portable enough to take inside and out without thinking, or pack it in the beach bag for your day out.
Plus, it can sit flat or upright depending on your need.
But the real proof is in the pudding – the sound.
What I heard from this speaker is outstanding volume and clarity – a somewhat thin by default but I think that’s because I opted more often than not to push that Extra Bass button.
One push and after a quick flicker the sound is beefed up. And it sounds great. A very deep solid bass from such a small speaker.
It did seem strange reverting to the standard sound, but after a while I realised some music sounded better with Extra Bass and other songs not so much – a very personal choice.
Out at the park or beach, you’ve got USB power access to charge your phone on the go – drawing down on that fantastic 24 hour battery life but it’s all for your own good.
At $249 its great value – if you’re in the market, put it head to head and make up your own mind, but the Sony brand and heritage has to carry some weight here.
[schema type=”review” rev_name=”SONY SRS-XB3″ rev_body=”Great sound, excellent battery, a touch of extra bass dffdfwhen you want it and ready to take the splish and splosh of a poolside party” author=”Trevor Long” pubdate=”2016-04-17″ user_review=”5″ min_review=”0″ max_review=”5″ ]
