Sony SRS-XB33
Frequency: 20 Hz - 20 kHz
Weight: approx. 1.1kg
Wireless options: Bluetooth 5.0
Battery life: up to 24 hours on stamina mode, 14 hours EXTRA BASS mode
Anything else: in-built microphone for calls, hands-free function
Buy now £150, Sony.co.uk
Design
The SRS stands for “sturdy, really sturdy”. It doesn’t, but it might as well. The speaker feels strong and firmly-built, and Sony guarantees that the XB33 has been through rigorous testing to make it shockproof, in case it flies out of your hand during a particularly energetic moment. The XB33 has an impressive IP67 rating, making it dustproof and saltwater resistant, so it’s perfect for taking to the beach or presumably protecting against any drinks spillages.
The design itself is pretty standard, with some nice soft lines and a generally pleasing profile. If that were it, we would be slightly disappointed. However, don’t judge a book – or speaker – by its cover, as once the XB33 is set up and playing, it comes into its own. The in-built LED system pulses and dances to any track you care to play, reacting to the beat and other subtle nuances of the audio to create unique colour patterns. Along with the speaker’s bass capabilities, the light show is the main draw here: bright enough to grab the attention of the room or provide added ambience to an outdoor gathering. The Sony Music Center app also gives you the ability to control the LED patterns, with a number of preset shows to choose from, depending on your mood.
Sound
The XB33 is all about that bass. It makes sense, seeing as the speaker has been marketed as party-ready, and the deep sound certainly goes hand-in-hand with that image (and the LED light show). Sony’s EXTRA BASS series of speakers have been designed to produce as powerful a lower frequency as possible for their size, and the XB33 has done the trick. The woofers on each side are productive and give the speaker a slight look of a mini boombox. The bass can begin to overpower the subtleties of the treble in some tracks – but chances are, you’re not looking to hear the subtleties of the treble while you’re dancing in your living room. There’s also a “live sound” mode, which boosts audio to give more of a party impression.
The shape of the speaker isn’t a random design choice: the non-circular shape adds extra surface area to the speaker diaphragm, increasing sound pressure. Apparently, compared to the previous model, sound pressure on the XB33 has increased by 30 per cent, with distortion down by 25 per cent. This basically means that Sony has been able to keep the speaker as compact as it is while boosting the audio – the XB33 definitely sounds richer than other speakers of a similar size. For more exacting standards, the partner app also gives users the option of manually adjusting the XB33’s EQ.