[Review] Sony SRS-XB3 Extra Bass Speaker
As I type up this review I am listening to music on the Sony XB3 Extra Bass Speaker. This is a newly released Speaker by Sony and is supposed to bring out the bass in your music. It even features a button on the speaker itself to turn “Extra Bass” on or off. The Extra Bass will give each track added impact by using a unique digital signal processor. This maximizes punchy bass and loudness.
Upon taking the Sony XB3 Speaker out of the box, I noticed it was a bit on the heavy side. The XB3 speaker weights in at 929 grams, and is a rectangular box shape. This makes it easy to just slot down on the table, almost anywhere, in almost any situation. You could be at a party and can just slot this down anywhere, on its side standing up or sitting rectangular. To give you an idea of how much heavy the XB3 speaker is, the UE Megaboom weighs in at just 877 grams, a mere 52 grams less than the XB3. Mind you the UE Megaboom is a cylindrical-shaped speaker.
The Sony XB3 speaker is water-resistant, but not waterproof. Don’t get them mixed up. Water-resistant is when a device will still be sufficient to work under drops of water. Waterproof is when a device can be fully immersed in water, depth and time considered depending on the IPX rating.
Connecting a device to the Sony XB3 was very simple. It has NFC capability so connecting up my Huawei Mate 8 smartphone to the speaker was a matter of tap and go (no Visa pun intended).
I listen to a variety of music whether it be the latest pop song from Adele, or the more classic jazz from Michael Buble, or even the more bassy Radioactive from Imagine Dragons. Because of the XB3 speaker, I decided to first listen to the more bassy song Radioactive first with Extra Bass mode turned on. The Extra Bass was definitely able to be heard in the speaker thanks to the newly developed 48mm large full-range speaker unit. This has a powerful magnet and long stroke to reporduce deep bass, and the light diaphragm achieves high sound pressure for punchy low end.
While the XB3 speaker is mainly used for listening to audio, it can also be used as a gigantic speaker phone. It has a Call button which you can use to accept a call straight from the speaker. The Speaker also has a built-in mic so you can speak directly into the speaker.
Just like the UE Megaboom, you can get two Sony XB3 speakers to pair up together for a true Extra Bass stereo sound listening environment. Just click the “Add” button on the top of the speaker and you should be away.
I was able to listen to the Sony XB3 speaker for roughly 9 hours (estimated time recorded when turned on and stopped recording when turned off) which is pretty decent for a speaker this compact.
I didn’t like the fact that the XB3 speaker could not be charged with a regular microUSB charger as most things are charged with these days including the UE Megaboom, but in order for faster charging and requiring slightly more power to charge the speaker, a proprietary charging cable is included.
However, I was impressed that the speaker had a USB Out port for charging another device using the speaker’s battery. This will of course drain your speaker’s battery but at least whatever you might need to charge on the go will be worth it.
Overall, the Sony XB3 speaker is another nice portable speaker to take out to a party or perhaps even just around the house for some extra punchy low end-sounding music. The 9-10 hour battery life should be able to last a normal person’s listening habits even when cranked at full volume. Just be sure to not annoy the neighbours!
For more information on the Sony XB3 speaker please visit: http://www.sony.co.nz/extrabass
This speaker retails at major electronic retailers in NZ for $300.
