Outlined Review: Fantastic sound and lots of features
Who are these for:
Anyone needing big sound and wanting to interact with your speaker.
The Plan:
I wanted a Bluetooth speaker that could get louder than my phone and tablet with bass.
First Look Impressions:
This is heavy, but in a good way. I know it’s going to be able to handle the usage. I downloaded the apps needed before it arrived so I paired it quickly to my phone and started exploring my options. I wasn’t sure which of the two apps it has was the one I needed to set it up with. I wish there didn’t need to be two apps. I get that they do different things, but I see no reason for splitting into two apps. Maybe I’m missing something. I plug it in to charge and start my music.
Listening:
I was blown away at first. No really, I didn’t realize the volume was maxed out. It was so loud that it was impressive. I start randomly pushing buttons on the speaker to turn it down. I did, but I also apparently turned on the “Live” setting. I was dumbfounded at how crisp the sound was and made it almost as if it were surround speakers. I really and loving the way this sounds. With Live it’s unbelievable, and with the bass button on it was perfect. I like strong bass and this has it. And it isn’t punchy bass where it doesn’t need to be either. This is one of the best Bluetooth speakers I think I’ve ever heard.
Feature, RGB Lights:
These are nice. I played around with all of the options for them and I didn’t hate any of it. Some I’ll probably never use. But a couple that more to my taste as I don’t like the strobe effect or fast moving lights, I just like the lights. Even if I am not listening to music, I keep the speaker on and the lights going.
Feature, “DJ” App and options:
I opened the app, I tried all the different things it has to offer, I closed the app. I’m not really sure what made Sony throw in all these different gimmicks, but they would have to be for a small curated audience I would think. Personally, I’m not looking to interact so much with the speaker. I just wanted it to play and look cool while I’m doing other things. So the DJ features just aren’t for me.
In conclusion:
This speaker has a really fantastic sound. I love that. It sort of pulls you towards the music while it’s playing. I just didn’t expect it to sound so full when needed and bass heavy when needed. It truly does sound remarkable.
Pros:
- Music quality and volume are wonderful.
- Long battery life.
- Nice RGB lights
- Waterproof.
- Quality materials used.
Cons:
- Battery takes forever to charge past 70%.
- Second DJ app is unnecessary and should be all in one app.
- Slightly loud connection sound once paired (Not sure if this is adjustable.)
- Included power ac cable is short.
I highly recommend these... For some reason, every now and then, these go on sale down to 2/3 of the price, which is a great deal considering the price for this. I would watch these for a sale, then it’s a steal.
Thank you
After researching a ton of portable, mid-tier options, I bought a pair of XB31s to use in stereo mode. Once synced, they provide clear stereo separation, and the light show feature (if activated) links up as well. I was a little nervous about the range, because the documentation I found online says the speakers need to be within a meter of each other to work in stereo, but that's true only during the initial set up. Once they're synced, you can put them as far apart as you like (within reasonable Bluetooth range, of course) and continue getting the stereo effect.
Overall, I'm absolutely delighted by their sound quality: clear, crisp highs, mids, and bass, and I appreciate the ability to switch between "extra bass" and "live sound" modes; the latter mostly just weakens the bass a little to bring the highs and mids to the front. One of these two modes always sounds slightly better, though the one to choose depends on the genre and your personal preference. You can also tweak the equalizer settings in the app to configure them more precisely, if you prefer.
The light feature is cool and attractive; I appreciate that it doesn't look cheap or tacked on, yet when deactivated you wouldn't guess that the thin white bars around the grill are lights. My one complaint about the lighting feature is that I wish there were more options that didn't involve the little strobe lights at the edge of the interior grills; I find them a little obnoxious and attention-seeking. I'd prefer if this were a separate toggle, independent from the settings controlling the colors of the side bars. As it stands, there's only one lighting option, called "random flash off" that responds to music without including the strobes. You can also set the lighting to "calm" with 5 different color settings, which uses a steady color scheme for the surrounding LEDs without flashing the strobes.
The "party booster" mode - the thing that turns your speaker into an electronic percussion instrument - works as intended, though I turned it off after a couple minutes and never see myself using it again. I don't exactly want to encourage my friends to grab and hit my speakers.
All in all, though, I adore the hardware, in terms of aesthetics, build quality, and sound. The reason I rated it 4/5 stars, though, is that it would be difficult to overstate how awful the Sony Music Center app is. It's poorly explained, awkward to navigate, and malfunctions constantly. For example, when you initially set up two speakers, you need to set each one up independently while the other is turned off to avoid confusing the app. After you do this, when you want to use them in stereo mode, you need to establish a Bluetooth connection with only one, then turn the other one on and add it to the first. I initially tried (foolishly, apparently) to pair my phone with both speakers. This confused the app, and only by telling my device to forget each speaker and re-pairing them afterwards could I get it to work. Even once I set everything up correctly, the app still shows 5 different "devices" when I have the two speakers on: 1 for each speaker, 1 for the stereo pair, and 1 phantom copy of each speaker that says it "needs setup" (don't click on this! it's a trap! it will break all existing pairings until you reset everything!).
The good news is that once you've set up a stereo pair, that pairing will naturally remain for future uses. The bad news is that the app randomly stops working and fails to connect to or control that pairing unless you turn everything off and back on again. This almost always happens if you leave the speakers idling for a few minutes without playing anything through them, even if you have "standby" mode turned off. It also happens when changing music sources (i.e., from your music library to Spotify to iHeartRadio). Sometimes it happens for no apparent reason whatsoever; you'll be in the middle of playing an album, decide to open the Music Center app to tweak the equalizer or light settings, and hey, guess what, the app can no longer see your speakers (even though your music is coming out of them!). Once the app tries and fails to connect, it'll disconnect your device from the speakers entirely, and suddenly you're playing music out of your phone despite the fact that your phone is still connected to the speakers via Bluetooth.
In short: I love the speakers. I hate the app. I would happily change this review to 5 stars if Sony would make the app even half the quality of the speakers.
I’m editing to add two things. 1) In response to the person who commented to ask what device/OS I’m using for the app: most of my use is with iOS devices, an iPhone 7 and a 6th-generation iPad, though my friend testing it on his Android phone had an identically irritating experience. 2) After about a month of testing, I can state that the battery life is fantastic. I’ve gotten at least 15 hours with the lights on and more than 24 without, playing the speakers at around 30-40% volume. Personally, I find that that’s as loud as I want them for listening by myself or with a few friends on my balcony. Of course, my using two speakers together means I’m likely to set each one to a lower volume than if I were using only a single speaker, but my experience with the XB31’s battery life has been great.
Heck yea worth every preorder penny!!! Love this little dude like I love all of my JBL's!!! This thing is epic it's literally like A mid sized all-in-one speaker! Has always been curious About buying one of Sony's speakers just to give it a shot but last year's models styling was just not my taste! But when I 1st laid eyes On this on CES video on YouTube It caught my Eyes, I said this is it this is going to be my 1st Sony speaker! Man am I glad I ordered this it stole first place for my favorite mid sized Bluetooth speaker but JBL charge 3 is still on its tail in second place. Referring back to the statement all-in-one having a light show being a portable battery bank as well As the durability In really good stereo sound with the nicely spaced apart drivers! The speaker is described by Sony is a fun speaker and they are right in the dark with the lights flashing it's really cool and also what they mean by phone they are probably aiming at in audience that likes party music R&B hip hop and EDM trap, It please them all like they're supposed to be heard especially in the live sound mode which Definitely seems tailored to these specific gen' Definitely seems tailored to these specific Genre's. The app works well with it for changing the lights and music settings works A-OK on my S8 plus! Awesome large room filling sound while managing to keep bass present is excellent for a speaker this size! I thought I would have to wait for JBL charge 4 but nope this took the spot at least for now!
Point is if u like lively party music or even something chill this is one of the best stylish/good sounding options out there! U cant go wrong with this purchase!!!
Ok so i did my reseach and watch a lot of reviews for this speaker and if you are a person that likes to hear that bass in different kinds of music this is it! please buy this speaker and you will not be disappointed trust me. Plus, the lights feature is just something basically I use to show off to my friends haha. I use this speaker for my Ipad Pro, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Roku Smart TV, Macbook Pro 2017, and I have noticed that it really makes your life better with the extra bass and LOUD speaker. I have noticed that when it comes to the apps that you are going to be using, they are more optimized in android I don't know why. But overall, great speaker.
This speaker is awesome. There are a few things which I like and dislike in this speaker. First and most important to me is how this speaker looks like. Those light features are incredible and the material which speaker was made from is very comfortable and durable. Second thing is Sound quality. I like how this speaker sounds in EXTRA BASS mode. It has very deep bass. I used to have JBL Xtreme and the bass was not that deep as in XB41 with EXTRA BASS mode. Sound quality is not as good as I wished. If I compare JBL Xtreme and Sony SRS XB41 in sound quality, I would choose JBL Xtreme. The sound is cleaner on JBL Xtreme than on XB41. Another thing which I do not understand is LIVE mode. To be honest, I do not use it at all. Another good thing which I didn't see on any speakers so far is you can charge XB41 with AC cable and Micro USB cable. The battery can last almost forever. It lives for about 20 hours (without lights and with 50% volume), but it also takes almost forever to charge this speaker through AC cable. There is one more thing which I don't like is when the battery drops less than 20%, it will decrease the volume to 50% and there is no way to increase the volume level, unless you charge the speaker. So, if you're looking for good-looking speaker with nice bass and long-life battery, you should go with Sony SRS XB41, if you need cleaner sound quality, I would probably go with JBL Xtreme.
Feature Product
- Feel the power of EXTRA BASS with Live Sound Mode for an immersive 3D sound experience
- Waterproof and dustproof IP67 design for worry-free usage
- Listen all day and night with up to 24 hours of battery life. Pick it up and play with the lightweight, portable design
- Connect and add more speakers (up to 100) with Wireless Party Chain
- Build energy with a multicolored line light and flashing strobe
- Add an extra speaker for stereo sound. In the box: USB Cable
Description
Give your party a boost with the Xb31 wireless speaker. Give the party a boost with extra bass. Live sound mode uses unique speakers to give a three-dimensional music festival atmosphere. Party booster adds more fun to the occasion, and the IP67 Waterproof1 design takes the party anywhere. Note-do not use or leave the system in an extremely cold or hot environment temperature outside the range of 5 to 35 degree Celsius. If the system is used or left in outside the above range, the system may automatically stop to protect internal circuitry. At high temperature, the charging may stop or the volume may reduce to protect the battery
I bought this after visiting a frys electronics and saw the display version. They lights matched rather well in the store and don’t seem to match the music that I like. It’s a better light show to club or pop music. Anything slower or more mellow you can the lights no longer match. It does sound decent for the size of it but I wouldn’t push it past 80 percent. There is a larger version for a more volume. Or you can get another one and pair up to 10, supposedly. I have not done this or seen it done.
Just opened and paired my to phone immediately without charging to make sure it worked. Let it play for about 30mins noticed the bass level dropped, but i'm sure that's the battery save feature, but the sound quality and clarity remained.
I've owned many bluetooth speakers and this by far is the best clarity i've ever heard. Going to update with the battery life and full blast test later, but initially i've never been this impressed over such a small speaker.
update -- 11/1/18 still going strong! holds a charge as stated. even standby time is very good. didn't charge it for a week and was still at 70% from when i last used it. sound quality is still very excellent.
GREAT SPEAKER! bought this for my husband to use outdoors and for our main TV speaker. It connects to devices easily, love all of the different color settings, and it has great battery life. It tells you through the speaker when you turn it on what battery percentage its on, which is very helpful. The only thing is it gets finicky when you have two phones or devices connected to it, it's like it gets confused what one to stay connected to and will jump around from phone to tv to phone. Minor detail but still, slightly annoying.
Do you like your bass deep? This speaker is for you. Do you enjoy customizable light shows? This speaker does that pretty well. Different approach from some of the other speakers out there, and once the lights are off you wouldn't even know it has a "Rave" light mode. I am using the XB-31, I also picked up the XB-41 for someone else and they both sound great. The latter is marginally louder and works with the second app, Fiestable, whereas the first only works with Sony's music app. The Wireless Party Chain could use some work, wasn't able to get the two to sync up and play together. For its main purpose, the XB-31 is the right size, waterproof, and LOUD. I am going to enjoy this thing for years - and if I don't I'll update the review to reflect that reality.
For the money this unit has the best all round sound reproduction
Not heavy bass, not a tinny sound on the highs - best all round sound
I had the Bose minilink? Nice, well made but not the substance to create sufficient bass.
I also had the XB40 - too much sound - its easy to reproduce loudness but very difficult to provide a well balanced sound-just enough base and just enough highs its called "Balance"
Feature that really set's it off is the surround sound and RGB LEDs - lights are nice but you do not know they are there after a while
Great sound with no sacrifice on sound because of other features which by the way are prettty significant to inlude IP rating-yes you can drop in pool and it wil survive, if you want to step up the volume for outdoor backyard party use
buy 2 that allows true stereo as they are able to link to eachother wirelessly as one unit - as it will will all Sony SRS series of Speakers.
Rechargeable battery life is accurate as stated
I cant say you will be thrilled but I can say I am - Sound is such a personal experience
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