At a look
Knowledgeable’s Ranking
Professionals
- Light-weight and compact
- Nice sound
- Lengthy battery life
- Mic for calls
Cons
- Sound varies relying the place it’s sat
- Could possibly be louder
Our Verdict
Pretty little speaker that may kick out some nice audio, as long as you place it on the correct floor.
Value When Reviewed
$59.99
Greatest Costs At present: Sony SRS-XB100
$38
Sony has a stable monitor document relating to compact Bluetooth audio system. I’ve owned just a few myself through the years, so when the corporate introduced a brand new mannequin it instantly went to the highest of my assessment listing. The not-so-catchy named SRS-XB100.
However, does this little speaker have what it takes to obtain the composer’s baton from its predecessors? Time to crank it and discover out.
Design & Construct
- Light-weight
- Good chunky buttons
- IP67 water and dirt score
- Makes use of sustainable supplies
Once you first take the SRS-XB100 out of its packaging, which is non-plastic for a welcome change, the fast shock is that the speaker itself is so mild within the hand. At 274g, it’s not rather more than most smartphones, so you’ll be able to positively see how that is the sort of machine you’ll be able to throw in a bag and even the pocket of a jacket if you wish to take it with you.
The 75 x 95mm cylindrical form additionally makes it simple to carry within the hand in the event you desire to hold it that approach, with the textured plastic giving a great grip. Sony features a removable wrist strap so that you gained’t have to fret about dropping it within the pool throughout these summer season BBQs or any clumsy mishaps with onerous flooring.
Martyn Casserly
Ought to the previous occur, then the XB100’s IP67 waterproof score means you’ll have the ability to fish it out as soon as extra with out lacking a beat. The waterproofing is useful in one other approach, because the physique does tend to select up marks from the oils in palms and fingers, which may take a little bit of effort to take away.
The design is easy and considerably utilitarian, not less than within the darker liveries, however seems to be trendy and tidy
The highest of the XB100 is residence to the speaker unit and grill, whereas the decrease part has cutouts to permit the passive radiator to emit its tones. Above this can be a collection of controls, together with energy on/off, Bluetooth pairing, play/pause, and quantity. They’re all raised symbols that give a satisfying clicky response and are giant sufficient to ensure you discover the correct one rapidly.
On the finish of the controls is a lined panel that homes the USB-C charging port. The field features a cable, however no adapter, so that you’ll want to make use of the one out of your smartphone or in any other case.
The design is easy and considerably utilitarian, not less than within the darker liveries, however seems to be trendy and tidy. The XB100 is available in Orange, Blue, Gentle Gray and Black, so you’ll be able to add a little bit of sparkle with the lighter tones if that’s extra your factor.
Sony additionally claims that the XB100 is partially comprised of sustainable supplies, in order that’s a great factor or reasonably {a partially} good factor.
Martyn Casserly
Sound High quality & Options
- Sound diffusion processor
- Passive radiator for bass
- Microphone for hands-free calls
For such a small and light-weight machine, you’d be nicely inside your rights to anticipate a sound that was a little bit skinny. That’s actually not the case with the XB100, though there may be some context to grasp.
The way in which the unit is constructed, you’ve the primary speaker firing out of the highest, aided by a sound diffusion processor to steadiness the output frequencies. On the backside, there’s a passive radiator. Mainly, this works by reverberating to the sounds kicked out by the speaker, which it amplifies by transferring that power into the floor beneath.
It’s a design that’s been round for some time, however the upshot is that the tones that come out of the XB100 are closely influenced by what it’s sat on. For instance, once I listened to the speaker with it on my wood desk in the lounge, the bass actually rumbled. This was as a result of the passive radiator pushed the power down into the wood high, which then traveled down the legs into the slate ground.
This resulted in loopy ranges of bass at instances, and I may really feel a mild throb within the ground itself. Ought to I decide up the XB100 and maintain it in my hand, almost all the low frequencies disappeared as that they had little to work with.
So, one can find which you could fine-tune or tame the frequencies that the speaker places out by merely transferring it to a different floor. That is good, as there aren’t any EQ controls or sound profiles out there, even within the accompanying app that Sony provides.
Martyn Casserly
Normally use, the speaker can sound superb, relying on the music you select (and the floor it’s on). Apparently, I discovered that trendy rock tracks, which normally are fairly compressed throughout the combination, sounded quieter and fewer wealthy than singer-songwriter or basic jazz tunes.
For instance, the brand new Nita Strauss album with its guitar gymnastics and hard-driving songs, truly felt a little bit smaller than the most recent Elephant Revival album with its light harmonies and folkish instrumentals.
I’m guessing it is because there’s more room between the frequencies, which is less complicated to deal with with the one speaker setup within the XB100. If you need a extra highly effective and wider frequency scope, then I’d suggest attempting a bigger unit with an array of audio system for larger and decrease frequencies.
That’s to not say you’ll be able to’t take heed to trendy mixes on the Sony SRS-XB100. They do sound respectable, however I positively really feel that the unit provides extra spacious and rewarding audio when coping with much less busy songs.
There’s the choice of shopping for two XB100s after which pairing them for a stereo setup. This may be a good suggestion in the event you and a good friend have been every contemplating choosing one up, in any other case a single, however higher speaker would make extra sense.
As a conveyable speaker, it’s a fantastic little machine to have in your bag. You gained’t have the ability to energy a celebration with it, because the sounds don’t actually carry that nicely outside. However, in the event you’re sitting round with buddies having a picnic or drink within the backyard, then the XB100 can add some good-sounding background music with out annoying the neighbours.
It’s additionally a fantastic choice for individuals who get pleasure from, as I do, audiobooks and podcasts however need larger volumes than these supplied by a smartphone. There’s additionally a microphone built-in, so you’ll be able to take calls hands-free whereas utilizing the speaker. In my assessments, the recipients mentioned all of it sounded good, which is all you’ll be able to hope for with this type of characteristic.
Fortunately, you gained’t should cost the XB100 too usually, because the 16-hour battery life will get you thru fairly just a few albums earlier than it runs dry. Charging time is round three hours, so that you’ll wish to plug it in nicely earlier than you propose to pack for a time out.
Value & Availability
Sony provides the SRS-XB100 for $59.99/£54.99/€64.99 and it’s also possible to buy it by means of numerous retailers together with Sony, Amazon, Currys and Argos within the UK.
Within the US you should buy it from Sony, Amazon, Adorama, BestBuy, Dell and B&H Picture.
On the time of writing, these costs had been dropped by the corporate to across the $40/£40/€40 mark, so it seems to be like this may be the true value on the road. For that cash, you’re getting a stunning little journey companion that’s able to some nice sounds.
Alternatively, you would possibly strive the cool JBL Clip 4, which prices round $50/£50/€50, is compact, sounds good however doesn’t have a built-in mic for hands-free calls. There’s additionally the Edifier MP100 Plus which is one other extremely moveable speaker that’s waterproof and may spin a great tune for across the similar value because the Sony XB100.
Don’t neglect to take a look at our greatest low-cost bluetooth audio system for extra concepts.
Must you purchase the Sony SRS-XB100?
As a conveyable speaker which you could tackle vacation, round the home or out into the backyard, the Sony XB100 is a really good choice.
Sound high quality is nice (though you’ll must be cautious the place you place it) and the straightforward pairing and battery life imply you’ll be able to simply get on with listening to your audio with none faff.
An EQ setting would have been good, as would extra quantity to be used exterior, however this little speaker stays a fantastic selection for individuals who desire a compact and well-built method to hear on the transfer with out breaking the financial institution.
Specs
- Full vary, off-centre diaphragm speaker
- Sound Diffusion Processor
- Passive radiator
- Bluetooth 5.3
- Helps SBC and AAC codecs
- A2DP, AVRCP, HFP suitable profiles
- 20Hz – 20,000Hz frequency transmission vary (sampling frequency 44.1kHz)
- 2.4GHz frequency vary
- Constructed-in microphone
- Onboard controls
- IP67
- USB-C charging port
- Included wrist strap
- 76mm x 95mm
- 274g