Sony XB30 Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker Review

There is a lot of demand these days for portable Bluetooth speakers, and that’s is probably why you find more of those in stores than your standard speakers or ever sometimes, headphones. Be it a formal function or an outing with friends, Bluetooth speakers offer the entertainment for the masses and the portable feature is truly the cherry on top. With most OEMs now into the Bluetooth speaker market, its become a task for the consumers to pick the right one. Today, we will be looking at one such contender, and that is, the Sony XB30 Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker. Sony has been the go to brand for entertainment devices since time immemorial, and despite other divisions like the smartphone or even the Vaio, failing to sustain themselves, the entertainment segment of Sony products has stood its ground and today, its right up there with the best in the business. Can the Sony XB30 Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker deliver and keep the Sony flag flying high? Lets find out –

DESIGN –

The first thing you will notice in the design of the Sony XB30 Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker is the squarish body and the rubberised finish. The design is very typical Sony and that’s what makes it so familiar when in use. The body has a bit of a heft to it which is why the tag of robust fits perfectly with this device. The rubber finish to this device might be a bit of an acquired taste to most people but it makes sure that you have your entertainment going even through rough use. Along with the rather new finish, the Sony XB30 Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker also comes with the IPX3 certification, which means it is resistant to both water and dust, which makes it the ideal companion for outdoor parties and meet-ups. Other than the sleek yet practical additions in the Sony XB30 Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker, Sony has also put in four different colour options to choose from – Red, Blue, White or Black. Each of the variants come with an Led ring that has been adjusted to match the casing. You can however, adjust the same through the app.

All in all, the Sony XB30 Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker features a design that is more along the utilitarian side of things, with not a lot of thrills and frills. Sony seems to have takes a more focussed route this time around, and sometimes, its not necessarily a bad thing.

PERFORMANCE –

The most important aspect of any Bluetooth speakers is not the design, but rather performance. The Sony XB30 Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker is an obvious upgrade over the XB20 range of speakers, and this time around, not only is the design more focussed, the performance has been given a few necessary tweaks as well. The new Sony XB30 Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker sounds more controlled, precise and LOUD. Thanks to zero distortion, the speaker can immerse your whole room into seamless music and after that, anything from a solo dance off to a full fledge party will never be the same again. Another compelling feature in the Sony XB30 Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker is the Xtra Bass gimmick. For any speaker to produce that slamming bass, it must first have a lot of air in the speaker cabinet, something you’ll expect the Sony XB30 Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker to falter at due to its compact size. What Sony has done however, is put in a passive radiator in the center. When the driver moves in, the radiator moves out and vice versa.  This way, the radiator acts as a second diaphragm and produces the same bass you would get from a much larger speaker.

Another significant bump up in the Sony XB30 Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker is the battery. Sony seems to have gone back to the drawing board and re emerged with a battery setup that lasts for a full 24 hours ( at least on paper ). The real story will vary with the usage but even then, a full day’s worth of continuous playback is an offer too hard to refuse. The ticks for Sony keep on coming with their next feature, the expanded button layout. Its very common to see brands going for the rather simplistic approach of providing lesser buttons , or rather, multipurpose buttons which perform several operations. Sony however, has decided to go old school with a button for every major functionality in the speaker. Some might call it a hassle, but I call it a masterstroke.

The final component in this section is the Bluetooth connectivity. Sony has included the latest in the Bluetooth technology, and in effect added support for lossless audio, FLAC files and also, Spotify’s “ultra quality sounds”. You also get NFC Support, so if your smartphone has the NFC feature, just tap the top of the speaker and voila !! you’re all set to rumble.

All in all, Sony has put forward a really compelling wireless speaker device and you really have to be a nit picking consumer to find a real fault in the Sony XB30 Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker. Sure, you do require a dedicated app to run this device, but its not a hassle anymore as most new devices today rely on dedicated apps. So, if that is not a hassle for you, I would strongly recommend the Sony XB30 Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker.