Liven up parties with this Sony portable wireless speaker. Its Party Booster responds to touch cues to create dynamic sound effects, and its built-in lights sync to your music to create a fun atmosphere. This Sony portable wireless speaker has a 24-hour battery life, so the party never has to stop.
Liven up parties with this Sony portable wireless speaker. Its Party Booster responds to touch cues to create dynamic sound effects, and its built-in lights sync to your music to create a fun atmosphere. This Sony portable wireless speaker has a 24-hour battery life, so the party never has to stop.
Liven up parties with this Sony portable wireless speaker. Its Party Booster responds to touch cues to create dynamic sound effects, and its built-in lights sync to your music to create a fun atmosphere. This Sony portable wireless speaker has a 24-hour battery life, so the party never has to stop.
Liven up parties with this Sony portable wireless speaker. Its Party Booster responds to touch cues to create dynamic sound effects, and its built-in lights sync to your music to create a fun atmosphere. This Sony portable wireless speaker has a 24-hour battery life, so the party never has to stop.
Last updated at 02/23/2026 12:00:06
Sony Srs-xb31 Red Wireless Bluetooth Waterproof Extra Bass Portable
Delivery $33.84
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you. This helps support our site. Thank you!
originally posted on sony.co.uk
When I turned it on I was totally blown away with the sound quality from this little power house of a speaker. The sound easily filled a large room with some to spare. The wow factor is an understatement. Yes, it was very loud and I enjoyed the base sound, but it delivered exceptional frequency range at the high end as well and easy to identify treble sounds alongside the extra base. No way was this just a Thud, Thud, Thud experience.The speaker is a quality build with easy grip casing and has rubber feet so you can put it on any surface without worrying about any vibration.I set up my speaker using the Sony Music Centre App on my Smartphone. This was very easy to use and controls sound and lighting moods offering a complete spectrum of changing light colour ... MoreWhen I turned it on I was totally blown away with the sound quality from this little power house of a speaker. The sound easily filled a large room with some to spare. The wow factor is an understatement. Yes, it was very loud and I enjoyed the base sound, but it delivered exceptional frequency range at the high end as well and easy to identify treble sounds alongside the extra base. No way was this just a Thud, Thud, Thud experience.The speaker is a quality build with easy grip casing and has rubber feet so you can put it on any surface without worrying about any vibration.I set up my speaker using the Sony Music Centre App on my Smartphone. This was very easy to use and controls sound and lighting moods offering a complete spectrum of changing light colour chain surrounding the speaker with small strobe lighting either side. The strobe lighting could have been slightly bigger in fairness but this is just a small point. You can also use the lighting for background light with no music which gives a pleasant ambience to any room. It’s like having a disco in your room, but you can turn the lighting off if required and just have sound. Great for creating a party atmosphere in the home or for those summer barbeques in the garden.Make no mistake this is a quality speaker that packs a real punch well above its size.It has some other great features as well. It offers a Wireless Party Chain where you can link other speakers around the house via Bluetooth to create a real party feel. I found this a bit fiddly to be honest but would be worth the time spent to achieve sound from multiply speakers in different rooms.Another feature is called Power Boost. I tried this out and it works really well. It’s a bit gimmicky but a bit of fun. Basically as you are holding the speaker and dancing to the music you can tap the sides, top and front of the speaker which produce loud and differing drum kit sounds. This would appeal to the younger generation but can’t say I would ever use it.Overall I found this a quality, well-built portable Bluetooth speaker delivering great sound and a great light show to match and would be a great addition to any party or for just chilling as required.
originally posted on ebay.com
Nice, older model speaker. Very easy to use either via Bluetooth, or via built-in aux port (the make-or-break feature that I was looking for). Has attractive color-changing LEDs, but I keep them off to save battery life. Would recommend this for indoor or LIMITED outdoor use like the patio. Doesn't appear to be something you'd want to take to the beach or camping. Not really weather-proof, although the care instructions indicate you COULD take it to the pool or the beach. I wouldn't risk it.
originally posted on sony.co.uk
I have always been a big fan of 'Bass' since at a very early age my headmistress said you should always listen for the bass in music, as the treble is automatically dominant.. wise words indeed, and is relevant to all types of music.The first thing I noticed about this speaker was the weight, it is a really good weight not like some cheap lightweight speakers, the reason for the weight will be the battery and a really good magnet in the speakers themselves, my wife was impressed too with the weight.I did charge it up for about 5 hours before use, something I always do with any product that has a rechargeable battery.I then turned to my Sony phone and downloaded the "Sony | Music Centre" App from Google Play, this on one of the BEST Apps Sony have produced ... MoreI have always been a big fan of 'Bass' since at a very early age my headmistress said you should always listen for the bass in music, as the treble is automatically dominant.. wise words indeed, and is relevant to all types of music.The first thing I noticed about this speaker was the weight, it is a really good weight not like some cheap lightweight speakers, the reason for the weight will be the battery and a really good magnet in the speakers themselves, my wife was impressed too with the weight.I did charge it up for about 5 hours before use, something I always do with any product that has a rechargeable battery.I then turned to my Sony phone and downloaded the "Sony | Music Centre" App from Google Play, this on one of the BEST Apps Sony have produced !The controls on the top left of the speaker are, from right to left : On/Off, Volume Up, Volume Down, Bluetooth light, and Pause/Forward/Backwards, all of which are on a nice soft rubber strip, although I personally like to turn it on and use the app to control everything else, but the controls are there if you want to use them.Pairing the speaker with my phone couldn't have been easier, as they both have NFC, and after turning the speaker on, it literally took a second to pair. so a really good start.Next for some music, and my personal test for ANY speaker that claims to have good bass is "Free by Ultra Naté", which has what is called "walking bass" and for me that is the pass/fail song... whether or not you like the song (I do), it is an excellent test for bass.There are other songs and maybe you have your own favourite, but I have played this song on literally hundreds of speakers and speaker systems, some with good results and some with poor, but I will say this, the SRS-XB31 was excellent, even without tweaking the equaliser.. but for my own personal taste, I increased the bass up about halfway on the slider, and that was more than enough for anyone, but of course in the app, you can set the equaliser to suit your own taste (under Settings -> Sound -> Sound Mode -> Bass/Mid/Tre), we are all different of course... my wife does like bass increased but not as much as me, and she was happy with the setting as it came out of the box.Right - next the lights, I was a little dubious about this feature, but once again I left it set as it came out of the box.. and I was suitably impressed, it is not a full on 'disco set up' but very pleasant indeed, even the two side 'strobes' were not intrusive, so I will be leaving them on all the time now, as they add an extra dimension to the music.You can alter how the lights react (under Settings -> Illumination -> Lighting Mode) and there are 9 variations you can experiment with.We are not young, although I have a very wide taste for all different types of music (not rap though, that is the one exception) but I did try the 'Party Booster' setting (you need to enable it in the App, under Settings) by tapping the speaker on the side and front etc to hear the effects, they were good and no doubt will be great if you are younger, but I personally turned that feature off, once again, just personal taste.I tend to play all my music from my onboard 200GB microSD card but of course you can stream from Spotify, Google Drive etc, all from within the App, and of course there is : Play queue, Playlists, Artists, Albums, Songs, Genre etc as well.The waterproofing was an added value feature too, now I can safely take the speaker in the bathroom but make sure the rubber flap on the back is closed of course, especially after charging.Summing up, this little speaker is not a compromise for sound in any respect, the sound from the two speakers is excellent and the Extra Bass lives up to it's name.I think the larger one would be too big to comforably carry and the smaller model too small in volume, so this is ideal for a portable speaker - I even bought a little cheapish carrying case for it.In an average sized room there is more than enough volume, if you have a large room pairing a couple together would be a good idea and as they aren't really that expensive, and I would think that they would be a better option rather than buying the larger version (SRS-XB31) as they would give better sound distribution, if put at either end of a big room.Of all the speakers I have either owned or tried, be that Sony or other makes, I think this is the best "all rounder" of them all, and the lights make it really fun too, I don't think anyone would be disappointed, not to mention the long playing time from the battery !Hope you have enjoyed this review :-)
| General | |
| Product Type | Speaker - for portable use |
| Features | EXTRA BASS |
| Hands-Free Function | Yes |
| Microphone | Yes |
Sony Srs-xb31 Red Wireless Bluetooth Waterproof Extra Bass Portable
Delivery $33.84
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you. This helps support our site. Thank you!
When I turned it on I was totally blown away with the sound quality from this little power house of a speaker. The sound easily filled a large room with some to spare. The wow factor is an understatement. Yes, it was very loud and I enjoyed the base sound, but it delivered exceptional frequency range at the high end as well and easy to identify treble sounds alongside the extra base. No way was this just a Thud, Thud, Thud experience.The speaker is a quality build with easy grip casing and has rubber feet so you can put it on any surface without worrying about any vibration.I set up my speaker using the Sony Music Centre App on my Smartphone. This was very easy to use and controls sound and lighting moods offering a complete spectrum of changing light colour ... MoreWhen I turned it on I was totally blown away with the sound quality from this little power house of a speaker. The sound easily filled a large room with some to spare. The wow factor is an understatement. Yes, it was very loud and I enjoyed the base sound, but it delivered exceptional frequency range at the high end as well and easy to identify treble sounds alongside the extra base. No way was this just a Thud, Thud, Thud experience.The speaker is a quality build with easy grip casing and has rubber feet so you can put it on any surface without worrying about any vibration.I set up my speaker using the Sony Music Centre App on my Smartphone. This was very easy to use and controls sound and lighting moods offering a complete spectrum of changing light colour chain surrounding the speaker with small strobe lighting either side. The strobe lighting could have been slightly bigger in fairness but this is just a small point. You can also use the lighting for background light with no music which gives a pleasant ambience to any room. It’s like having a disco in your room, but you can turn the lighting off if required and just have sound. Great for creating a party atmosphere in the home or for those summer barbeques in the garden.Make no mistake this is a quality speaker that packs a real punch well above its size.It has some other great features as well. It offers a Wireless Party Chain where you can link other speakers around the house via Bluetooth to create a real party feel. I found this a bit fiddly to be honest but would be worth the time spent to achieve sound from multiply speakers in different rooms.Another feature is called Power Boost. I tried this out and it works really well. It’s a bit gimmicky but a bit of fun. Basically as you are holding the speaker and dancing to the music you can tap the sides, top and front of the speaker which produce loud and differing drum kit sounds. This would appeal to the younger generation but can’t say I would ever use it.Overall I found this a quality, well-built portable Bluetooth speaker delivering great sound and a great light show to match and would be a great addition to any party or for just chilling as required.
Nice, older model speaker. Very easy to use either via Bluetooth, or via built-in aux port (the make-or-break feature that I was looking for). Has attractive color-changing LEDs, but I keep them off to save battery life. Would recommend this for indoor or LIMITED outdoor use like the patio. Doesn't appear to be something you'd want to take to the beach or camping. Not really weather-proof, although the care instructions indicate you COULD take it to the pool or the beach. I wouldn't risk it.
I have always been a big fan of 'Bass' since at a very early age my headmistress said you should always listen for the bass in music, as the treble is automatically dominant.. wise words indeed, and is relevant to all types of music.The first thing I noticed about this speaker was the weight, it is a really good weight not like some cheap lightweight speakers, the reason for the weight will be the battery and a really good magnet in the speakers themselves, my wife was impressed too with the weight.I did charge it up for about 5 hours before use, something I always do with any product that has a rechargeable battery.I then turned to my Sony phone and downloaded the "Sony | Music Centre" App from Google Play, this on one of the BEST Apps Sony have produced ... MoreI have always been a big fan of 'Bass' since at a very early age my headmistress said you should always listen for the bass in music, as the treble is automatically dominant.. wise words indeed, and is relevant to all types of music.The first thing I noticed about this speaker was the weight, it is a really good weight not like some cheap lightweight speakers, the reason for the weight will be the battery and a really good magnet in the speakers themselves, my wife was impressed too with the weight.I did charge it up for about 5 hours before use, something I always do with any product that has a rechargeable battery.I then turned to my Sony phone and downloaded the "Sony | Music Centre" App from Google Play, this on one of the BEST Apps Sony have produced !The controls on the top left of the speaker are, from right to left : On/Off, Volume Up, Volume Down, Bluetooth light, and Pause/Forward/Backwards, all of which are on a nice soft rubber strip, although I personally like to turn it on and use the app to control everything else, but the controls are there if you want to use them.Pairing the speaker with my phone couldn't have been easier, as they both have NFC, and after turning the speaker on, it literally took a second to pair. so a really good start.Next for some music, and my personal test for ANY speaker that claims to have good bass is "Free by Ultra Naté", which has what is called "walking bass" and for me that is the pass/fail song... whether or not you like the song (I do), it is an excellent test for bass.There are other songs and maybe you have your own favourite, but I have played this song on literally hundreds of speakers and speaker systems, some with good results and some with poor, but I will say this, the SRS-XB31 was excellent, even without tweaking the equaliser.. but for my own personal taste, I increased the bass up about halfway on the slider, and that was more than enough for anyone, but of course in the app, you can set the equaliser to suit your own taste (under Settings -> Sound -> Sound Mode -> Bass/Mid/Tre), we are all different of course... my wife does like bass increased but not as much as me, and she was happy with the setting as it came out of the box.Right - next the lights, I was a little dubious about this feature, but once again I left it set as it came out of the box.. and I was suitably impressed, it is not a full on 'disco set up' but very pleasant indeed, even the two side 'strobes' were not intrusive, so I will be leaving them on all the time now, as they add an extra dimension to the music.You can alter how the lights react (under Settings -> Illumination -> Lighting Mode) and there are 9 variations you can experiment with.We are not young, although I have a very wide taste for all different types of music (not rap though, that is the one exception) but I did try the 'Party Booster' setting (you need to enable it in the App, under Settings) by tapping the speaker on the side and front etc to hear the effects, they were good and no doubt will be great if you are younger, but I personally turned that feature off, once again, just personal taste.I tend to play all my music from my onboard 200GB microSD card but of course you can stream from Spotify, Google Drive etc, all from within the App, and of course there is : Play queue, Playlists, Artists, Albums, Songs, Genre etc as well.The waterproofing was an added value feature too, now I can safely take the speaker in the bathroom but make sure the rubber flap on the back is closed of course, especially after charging.Summing up, this little speaker is not a compromise for sound in any respect, the sound from the two speakers is excellent and the Extra Bass lives up to it's name.I think the larger one would be too big to comforably carry and the smaller model too small in volume, so this is ideal for a portable speaker - I even bought a little cheapish carrying case for it.In an average sized room there is more than enough volume, if you have a large room pairing a couple together would be a good idea and as they aren't really that expensive, and I would think that they would be a better option rather than buying the larger version (SRS-XB31) as they would give better sound distribution, if put at either end of a big room.Of all the speakers I have either owned or tried, be that Sony or other makes, I think this is the best "all rounder" of them all, and the lights make it really fun too, I don't think anyone would be disappointed, not to mention the long playing time from the battery !Hope you have enjoyed this review :-)
The Sony SRS-XB31 is a portable bluetooth speaker with added features to promote it as a party speaker - but the frills aren't really exciting and the sound from the speaker is disappointing.Sony touts their trademarked (?) ExtraBass technology that is supposed to produce enhanced bass during playback - and while the bass is surely enhanced, it gets boosted to the detriment of the rest of the spectrum. In my experience, the bass didn't sound strong and pronounced as much as the music, overall, sounded muddy.To help with the ambience of a party, the speaker sports a colorful line light around its perimeter and includes a couple of strobe lights that flash from the face. According to Sony's promotional information, the lights are supposed to sync to the beat of ... MoreThe Sony SRS-XB31 is a portable bluetooth speaker with added features to promote it as a party speaker - but the frills aren't really exciting and the sound from the speaker is disappointing.Sony touts their trademarked (?) ExtraBass technology that is supposed to produce enhanced bass during playback - and while the bass is surely enhanced, it gets boosted to the detriment of the rest of the spectrum. In my experience, the bass didn't sound strong and pronounced as much as the music, overall, sounded muddy.To help with the ambience of a party, the speaker sports a colorful line light around its perimeter and includes a couple of strobe lights that flash from the face. According to Sony's promotional information, the lights are supposed to sync to the beat of the music but I didn't find that feature to work exactly right. Also, unless I'm missing something, there is no way to turn the flashing feature off so it's party all the time with this speaker.The promotional information also suggested that you could create sound effects though the speaker by interacting with it physically - supposedly you can evoke sounds of a scratch, a snare, a kick drum and (really?) a cowbell by using taps and hits and shakes. I was unable to reproduce any effects at all on my speaker.As with many devices designed for parties, a big selling point is the ability to chain multiple units together to play from a single music source. This speaker is designed for that as well - and is being marketed accordingly - hoping that all of your friends will show up with their own unit to join in the party.The unit is unquestionably solid, though - it feels really well made (and was apparently designed to withstand a lot of hitting and strumming that didn't work out for me). It is also waterproof enough to rinse vigorously. And it sports a battery life of up to 24 hours (even though that would be under ideal circumstances, that still suggests that it has an outrageously good battery inside).
At the beginning I was not very convinced to have a portable speaker with disco lights, but when I had the Sony SRSXB31 in my hands and turned it on, both my wife and my daughter practically pulled it out of my hands.Now I think it is a really cool feature that makes a big difference along all the other Bluetooth speaker available in the market. There are a lot to say about this unique and “small’ Bluetooth speaker, but I will try to focus on the things that make it a remarkable difference from others.I found that beside the lightning feature, there are other features that position Sony as an innovator without a doubt. First, the BASS, it is not that is loud, but is is consistent, deep and harmonious, you would not believe that is coming from that small ... MoreAt the beginning I was not very convinced to have a portable speaker with disco lights, but when I had the Sony SRSXB31 in my hands and turned it on, both my wife and my daughter practically pulled it out of my hands.Now I think it is a really cool feature that makes a big difference along all the other Bluetooth speaker available in the market. There are a lot to say about this unique and “small’ Bluetooth speaker, but I will try to focus on the things that make it a remarkable difference from others.I found that beside the lightning feature, there are other features that position Sony as an innovator without a doubt. First, the BASS, it is not that is loud, but is is consistent, deep and harmonious, you would not believe that is coming from that small thing.Then, we have the 3 dimensional music experience, that has been always offer by Sony with many of its product. However, I was able to experience that sensation with this speaker, I hear the sound spreading vertically and horizontally along in the room.The Sony Music Center App, aka songpal, it is one of the most versatile and dynamic app to control the Sony Products, it is way above of other apps I have seen. With this app, you can control several Sony audio devices which are compatible with “Sony Music Center” using your smartphone, iPhone, Samsung etc. I have a Samsung Phone, once I paired the XB31 Speaker using the bluetooth connection, it should show as SRS-Xb31 device, then you can download and install the Music Center app from the play store, for the android os, and the rest is pretty intuitive.The unit can be paired using NFC, if you have an android OS based smartphone, just tap your phone on the NFC symbol that is located on the left side on top of the speaker, and that is it, the connection is done.You have a lot of different settings that you can adjust for your own convenience, like for example, the lights, it comes with the "Rave" setting by default, but you can enjoy other different combinations, the "Chill" setting if you are in the mood for classical or piano music, which I personally enjoy the most. My daughter likes the "Hot" setting, which gives you more dramatic and emphasize lightning style for modern music.Other Settings available is the Bluetooth, which you can adjust the type of compression you want or power saving mode connection.One of my favorite settings is the add speaker option, with this setting you can have 2 options, you can add a second XB31 as an extension of the first one, or you can set the 2nd as the stereo speaker, the connection is bluetooth.On the same topic, other setting is the “Wireless Party Chain” (WPC) Function. With this one you can connect multiple devices (up to 100 devices) compatible with the Wireless Party Chain function with a list of different Sony Bluetooth Speakers compatible devices.This speaker also includes a microphone, which allows you to use the google app of your phone, this is not an Amazon echo or Google home, but with the mic that this unit has incorporated, and if you have your google assistant or Alexa enable on your phone you can ask or do the same things you do with you google assistant from your cell phone, so it becomes an extension (mic and speakers) of your phone.All these settings can be also adjust or manage the speaker, if you don’t want to use or install the Music center app, you can adjust all the settings we have review before, using a combination of the keys that are located on the speaker, like the play, forward or reverse keys. At the back of the speaker, there is a compartment where you can find a USB connection that will allows you to charge your phone for example, so the speaker will act as a Battery Backup. You have an audio in, and the micro USB for power up the Speaker, and 3 bottoms:- the Batt, which will tell you the Batt %, and you can enable or disable the lights.- the WPC button, where you can link the Sony compatible speakers.- the Add Button, where you can set up a 2nd speaker as a stereo combination.But I have left for the end, that the XB31 can be used like a musical instrument and it can detect tapping from 5 different directions of the XB31 producing different sounds depending which side of the speaker are you tapping, thanks to the built-in accelerometer that generates a sound and lighting reaction.Overall, the speaker is outstanding in so many ways, but the main part, the sound, is impressive, no distortion, clear and crispy, and the extra bass is not disapointing at all.I highly recommend this product.
Bottom Line: Gets surprisingly loud, features good bass but that's offset by lackluster highs and a finicky phone app. Light show feature is gimmicky and doesn't seem to have anything to do with the music that's playing, and requires use of a phone app to turn it off.Background: My wife thinks I'm crazy, but I'm always on the hunt for a better Bluetooth speaker. I've got them all, from tiny keychain speakers to big honkin' party speakers. A speaker for every scenario, right? These speakers get used while I'm working, while I'm working out, or while I'm relaxing by the fire pit. Heck, I used to use them in my car because my car didn't have a working stereo system! I wouldn't say I'm a golden ear by any stretch of the imagination, but I am pretty picky about audio ... MoreBottom Line: Gets surprisingly loud, features good bass but that's offset by lackluster highs and a finicky phone app. Light show feature is gimmicky and doesn't seem to have anything to do with the music that's playing, and requires use of a phone app to turn it off.Background: My wife thinks I'm crazy, but I'm always on the hunt for a better Bluetooth speaker. I've got them all, from tiny keychain speakers to big honkin' party speakers. A speaker for every scenario, right? These speakers get used while I'm working, while I'm working out, or while I'm relaxing by the fire pit. Heck, I used to use them in my car because my car didn't have a working stereo system! I wouldn't say I'm a golden ear by any stretch of the imagination, but I am pretty picky about audio quality.The good: The low end on this speaker sounds pretty darned good, as one would expect from the company that introduced the world to the "Mega Bass" feature. While it can't do justice to the low-end drone from a set of Moog Taurus pedals or reproduce the electronic thud of a TR-808 bass drum, you're in pretty good shape at the low end. The speaker supports a couple of different audio modes which can be set from the phone app, and the 'live' mode sounds especially good - it widens the soundstage and delivers sound that should be able to come from a speaker eight inches long. Bluetooth range is fine. There are several pre-set audio equalization settings available in the phone app as well. Battery life was pretty good, running for eight hours without recharging. Includes a USB-A port for charging an external device, like your phone for longer music sessions. Charges from a standard Micro-USB port, which is a big plus. The speaker is well-made, and the fabric covering feels durable and high-quality.The bad: I've tried a number of Sony Bluetooth wireless speakers over the years, and unfortunately, they've all shared the same shortcoming - lackluster high frequency response. The highs just sound dead and lifeless, even if you run the speaker for 10-15 hours to break it in. This speaker features Sony's light-up party system, which confuses me as much on this speaker as it did on others. Unlike, say, the classic "color organs" where different colors would be activated by different audio frequencies, the Sony speakers (even their larger and more expensive party speakers) do something different...essentially they seem to randomly flash the strobes on the front or change color, but not really in time to the music. The color scheme can be changed through the phone app, but that doesn't affect how the lights are sequenced - still the same, apparently random patterns. The light show can be turned off, but again, that requires use of the phone app; a button on the speaker would have been nice. Finally, the custom/user eq settings in the phone app appear to do...nothing. The preset ones do affect the sound, but the custom eq setting seems not to.
I am a 59 year old woman who was a teenager from NY in the late 1970's; disco was my thing. So, when this speaker plays, I love the color changing effects that circle around the front edge of the speaker and the spurts of white light that go with the musice, it takes me back to those disco days dancing under the glitter ball. Wow!At any rate, the sound is really great, even while playing music really loud. The sound stays true without crackling or any contamination. The size and shape of the speaker is comfortable in the hand if someone wished to carry it around and oh, by the way, while I did not throw it in a bath tub full of water, I did put it under a stream of water from the faucet and there was no ill effect to the speaker, at all.So, I also downloaded the ... MoreI am a 59 year old woman who was a teenager from NY in the late 1970's; disco was my thing. So, when this speaker plays, I love the color changing effects that circle around the front edge of the speaker and the spurts of white light that go with the musice, it takes me back to those disco days dancing under the glitter ball. Wow!At any rate, the sound is really great, even while playing music really loud. The sound stays true without crackling or any contamination. The size and shape of the speaker is comfortable in the hand if someone wished to carry it around and oh, by the way, while I did not throw it in a bath tub full of water, I did put it under a stream of water from the faucet and there was no ill effect to the speaker, at all.So, I also downloaded the music app and it synced to my Samsung S7 cell phone just fine, but when my son, who did not have the app downloaded on his phone, tried to sync his phone to the speaker, he was not successful. Since there is a time deadline to get this review out and I am a CPA currently working 16 hours a day in tax season, I do not have time right now to investigate whether my son's inability to sync his phone was because the app was not loaded or there is an issue with his phone and this speaker. I will say this, when I first took the speaker out to charge it and set it up, I was upstairs in the master bedroom and when I tried to Bluetooth it to my HP Spectre laptop//tablet, I wound up syncing it with my 70 Inch Sony downstairs in the den, quite a distance away. All of a sudden, the sound coming out of the Sony TV sound bar was interrupted and that is quite a distance for a Bluetooth connection.I do not personally know anyone else who has this speaker so making a wireless party chain is not something I can do. It says there is a 24 hour long battery life and I have tested that it is a USB power charging port for my smartphone-great. I have also plugged it into various ways for charging- into the USB port on my desktop computer and into a variety of USB plugs that go into an electrical outlet.The only reason I have currently given it 4 stars is because I do not know why it would not sync with my son's android smartphone. There is a notice "Made for IPod and IPhone" on the lower left side of the back of the box?
I think that finding a perfect Bluetooth speaker is a bit of a white whale. And, even if I found my white whale, it may be entirely different from anyone else’s—and that makes reviewing these things both difficult and sometimes frustrating. For instance, last June I got my hands on a speaker that from a company, little known in the audio world, that I thought was going to blow my mind—and it was, in large, a total dud.It’s no secret here that I get a good amount of stuff that I don’t have to pay for, so for me, reviewing them doesn’t carry any inherent risks; from my point of view, my reviews might help you decide whether or not you want to try something out, which is really, really awesome.That said, I also think that I am (just like anyone else) invariably ... MoreI think that finding a perfect Bluetooth speaker is a bit of a white whale. And, even if I found my white whale, it may be entirely different from anyone else’s—and that makes reviewing these things both difficult and sometimes frustrating. For instance, last June I got my hands on a speaker that from a company, little known in the audio world, that I thought was going to blow my mind—and it was, in large, a total dud.It’s no secret here that I get a good amount of stuff that I don’t have to pay for, so for me, reviewing them doesn’t carry any inherent risks; from my point of view, my reviews might help you decide whether or not you want to try something out, which is really, really awesome.That said, I also think that I am (just like anyone else) invariably influenced by the speakers that I use most, and I use them most because they are the best of what I need them to be. Nary a room in my house isn’t, or hasn’t, been adorned with some kind of speaker technology that I use on a pretty regular basis; my love for technology aside, I LOVE listening to music. And for me, the best all around speaker I have used is the Bose SoundLink Mini II, which I bought a couple years ago.The SoundLink has become my measuring stick for all other speakers; I put it up against similarly sized and priced speakers from the same market, and it dominated in every matchup; I even compared it to speakers in a completely different market, namely a $400 Samsung Soundbar and the latest Apple HomePod. And, while it certainly is not a better sounding speaker than either of those, this little guy has held its own well.At this point, I’ve set up two big things that you might be thinking I’m headed towards: first, the wireless speaker white whale, and second, the speaker that can unseat the current undefeated champion. Spoiler alert—I will make neither of those claims in this review, at least not in that way.Sony is no stranger to the audio market, and I really like their stuff; my first “nice” on-ear headphones were a pair of $20 Sonys that I had for many, many years (wasn’t it nice when prices for good audio gear weren’t so inflated??). A year after I got my SoundLink, Sony released an obviously competing product that had a good sale going, so I picked it up. Sad to say, I was massively disappointed and had to return the product which couldn’t hold its own against the SoundLink. But the audio market has changed a bit since then, and for Sony and their line of Extra Bass headphones and speakers, another product has emerged which I was curious enough to try out.The product is the SRS-XB31, an incredibly Sony-esque identifier. This speaker sits in their Extra Bass line as a competitor (at least in size) to my aging Bose SoundLink Mini II. It has all the minimum bells and whistles—long battery life, the ability to connect multiple devices (up to 100 of them, which seems to be something that no one would ever use), USB power out for charging your devices if necessary, auxiliary input jack, and it’s IP67 certified for water resistance. If the thing looks good and sounds good, we might have a winner.First, the design—Sony jumped on the all-mesh body bandwagon with this one, and it looks great (I have a feeling that many other manufacturers are going to copy this design language). The model I have is all black, but it also comes in blue and white. The black is a classic look to me, very clean. It has a rounded back and a flat front, and there is no question about which direction this thing is supposed to face—so keep in mind this is not a 360-degree speaker. The bottom of the speaker has 4 small rubber feet to keep it stationary while in use, but I would have liked to see an option to set this thing on its side for a more vertical placement as well (since its directional, this should have very little impact on the sound). And if that’s all there was to this speaker, I’d give it a solid thumbs up on design.But, sadly, it’s not everything. This speaker is intended as a party speaker—its goal to apparently liven up the group of rebelling teens who took their Sony SRS-XB31’s down to the beach, to dance around a campfire. No, but seriously, that’s the image they portray in their video. And what rebellious teenage beach party is complete without a strip of LED lights across the top and bottom of the speaker, which animates to the beat of your music? No, I’m not sure either.The light strips are a huge gimmick to me, so distractingly awful that I had to turn them off—which, thankfully, you can do with a button on the back…so you don’t need to navigate through the frustratingly-menu-based app that Sony puts out there for you. Honestly, I was trying to listen to the audio quality and couldn’t stop watching the blinking lights…it was annoying, to say the least. But, for what it’s worth, using the app you can change the light strips to be more or less annoying, even solid colors if you want—so that’s kind of nice, I guess. I’ll get to the app more later.But on to the important stuff: the sound. If you’ve ever used any of Sony’s XB gear, this device will not surprise you at all. Yes, it is a bass-heavy device but that functionality can be turned off to completely flatten the sound profile. But straight out of the box, it’s a device that seems to compete well in the space, as there were definitely songs that I think the XB31 handled better than my tried-and-true Bose speaker. But to be clear, you’re not going to pick this up because you love listening to vocal tracks or orchestral music (although the software-enabled “Live Sound” feature did a good job accenting some of the mids and highs that a typically bass-heavy speaker will leave as garbled mush.For hip-hop, pop, and even some classic rock and roll, this thing is a great little speaker. What makes it better is the Music app from Sony, although I have my complaints about it as well. The user interface is not great. There is a portion of the app that basically impersonates your existing music app, which makes no sense at all unless you really hate the native music player on your device. The menu system is overly complicated, and the mixer (possibly the most important part of the app) is hidden a few menus deep. All that said, functionality like adjusting the lighting, creating quick-launch links to apps like the default music player, Netflix and Youtube, and other small tweaks are all there to help enhance your experience. It’s not a great app, but it gives you access to a mixer, which is always nice to see.Back to gimmicks, I have to mention one portion of the app which is probably worse than the LED light strips—the “Party Booster,” which enables you to turn the speaker into a mini drum kit, adding your own percussion to already professionally-produced songs. Because why not. It really helps that beach party atmosphere.Otherwise, it’s a Bluetooth speaker. There are controls on the device, allowing you to play, pause, adjust volume. It is NFC-enabled, but it doesn’t have the latest Bluetooth 5.0 and doesn’t have USB Type-C charging. It retails at $150, which is really, really accessible for this good of a speaker, and even though it has some tremendously gimmicky features, it does the other stuff well enough to be worth the price…and maybe, MAYBE just a little bit better than my trusty Bose.
So, Sony released this speaker with lightning feature, which is really fun, beside the lightning feature this speaker can be used like a drum instrument by tapping from 5 different angles of the unit delivering 5 different sounds and lighting reaction accordingly. But something that makes Sony stands out of the crowd is the sound, and this unit proves it, first the BASS, is consistent and balanced and high frequencies are very well appreciated as well.It also includes 3 different music experience, vertically and horizontally and the fitting sound room sensationAs always Sony has the Music Center App, before called songpal, where you can control several different Sony audio devices using your iPhone, LG, Samsung etc.If you have an Android phone based with NFC, ... MoreSo, Sony released this speaker with lightning feature, which is really fun, beside the lightning feature this speaker can be used like a drum instrument by tapping from 5 different angles of the unit delivering 5 different sounds and lighting reaction accordingly. But something that makes Sony stands out of the crowd is the sound, and this unit proves it, first the BASS, is consistent and balanced and high frequencies are very well appreciated as well.It also includes 3 different music experience, vertically and horizontally and the fitting sound room sensationAs always Sony has the Music Center App, before called songpal, where you can control several different Sony audio devices using your iPhone, LG, Samsung etc.If you have an Android phone based with NFC, the Speaker can be paired using NFC, just tap your phone on the NFC symbol that is located on the left side on top of the speaker, and the connection will set up automatically.About the lightning, there are different settings for example, "Rave", "Chill" , "Hot", which gives you different lightning scenarios and moods.You can add speakers, with 2 options, either add a second XB31 as an extension, or set as the stereo speakerIt also has the (WPC) Function that allows you to connect multiple devices (100) of Sony Bluetooth Speakers compatible devices.This speaker also includes a microphone, which allows you to use the google app or siri (iphone) of your smartphone. There is a compartment at the back where you can find a USB connectivity that acts as a charger Batt for any USB device including your phone, audio in port, micro USB for power and charge the Speaker.This speaker is guaranteed to offer a lot of fun and great sound
The Sony SRS-XB31brings life to the party. It gets loud and is bass heavy. It wants to be part of the action. This speaker has attitude with its flashing strobe and mesmerizing light display. Turn up the volume and it can easily fill a medium size room.The speaker has excellent build quality and finish. Weighing in one ounce shy of two pounds, the speaker is wrapped in a high quality fabric mesh with protective rubber to seal off moisture and dust to give it an IP67 rating. Despite it's heft, it can easily be handled with one hand and carried in a backpack.Along the top of the speaker are the power/bluetooth pairing button, volume +/-, and a single play/pause/speakerphone button that also doubles as a skip forward and skip reverse button depend on the number of ... MoreThe Sony SRS-XB31brings life to the party. It gets loud and is bass heavy. It wants to be part of the action. This speaker has attitude with its flashing strobe and mesmerizing light display. Turn up the volume and it can easily fill a medium size room.The speaker has excellent build quality and finish. Weighing in one ounce shy of two pounds, the speaker is wrapped in a high quality fabric mesh with protective rubber to seal off moisture and dust to give it an IP67 rating. Despite it's heft, it can easily be handled with one hand and carried in a backpack.Along the top of the speaker are the power/bluetooth pairing button, volume +/-, and a single play/pause/speakerphone button that also doubles as a skip forward and skip reverse button depend on the number of successive presses of the button. Housed at the rear of the speaker behind a rubber cover is the mico usb connection for charging, a usb port for charging a smartphone at 1 amp, battery indicator button that also turns on and off the speaker's light pattern, a button to wirelessly party chain up to a hundred SRS-XB41, XB31 and XB21 speakers, another button to add a speaker for left and right stereo separation, a recessed reset button, and finally a 3.5 mm audio jack. The 3.5 mm audio jack is a welcome feature as we all know it is close to extinction, but I am glad that Sony decided to include it for older audio devices without bluetooth and for greater audio fidelity.Let's get right to the point...The primary reason to consider the Sony SRS-XB31 is the extra bass feature, and boy does it pack a punch! Right out of the box, the extra bass is the default mode from the factory and the bass is powerful, punchy, in your face, bombastic, and unapologetic. This is heaven for bassheads. It's great for rap, hip-hop, and dance music with deep lows and low mids, but will make a mess out of any other music genres as the extra bass feature will pull down the upper mids and trebles in the sound spectrum, losing out on that crispness and sparkle that make some speakers stand out over others. If you're going to be listening to deep bassy music all of the time, then the extra bass is great. However, most people including myself have a broad audio taste. Sometimes we want the extra bass, sometimes we don't. Although the speaker is marketed as extra bass, the speaker is capable of delivering exceptionally crisp, clear audio allowing for a more tame and respectable balanced approach to the audio experience; But to get it, you'll need to install the Sony Music Center app which features controls for adjustments to the audio among other things. The app allows you to select from one of three audio modes: Standard, Extra Bass, and Live Sound. The Standard mode represents the most balanced and flat listening experience. In the Standard mode, bass is still well represented, but more controlled, and mids and trebles flow evenly. The second mode is Extra Bass mode and it is what comes pre-set from the factory and it offers amazing bass as I covered above. Finally, the Live Sound mode replicates the audio experience as if you were hearing it from a live venue. The best way I can describe Live Sound mode is that the audio from the speaker appears more enveloping and louder, with a wider sound stage offering greater separation between vocals the the music, and thereby creating a more three dimensional effect of the music. I thought the Live Sound mode works pretty good. It fooled my ears thinking that the audio was coming from different directions.To fine tune the audio even futher, the Sony Music Center app also offers a three band equalizer for bass, mids, and treble. Turning up the treble in the equalizer in Standard mode allowed me to get the crispness and sparkle that I was looking for while still delivering a strong bass response.Other things the Sony app will do is allow you to change the light pattern or turn the lights off altogether, check the speaker's battery level, and turn on and off the Party Booster feature. Party Booster is a unique feature where you can tap different parts of the speaker to make different sounds such as a snare, kick drum, cow bell, and cymbal. I didn't have any particular use for this feature and just left it off. I couldn't imagine forcefully tapping on an expensive speaker such as this one for fear of damaging it or causing an internal piece to come loose.The light and strobe feature is great for a party and the app allows you to select different patterns and colors, but it easily becomes distracting. Additionally, it will consume your battery faster. Better turn off the light display if you're not showing it off.Speaking of battery, the battery will take up to 5 hours to recharge from the fully discharged state and will last up to a phenomenal 24 hours on a full charge.The speakerphone function on the speaker works well. People on the other end of the phone said that my voice came through clearly.Would I recommend the Sony SRS-XB31? Yes, I would. It is packed full of features for the price, and it is a versatile speaker that gives you excellent low end bass, but can be adjusted and tuned to offer respectable crispness and sparkle.
| General | |
| Product Type | Speaker - for portable use |
| Features | EXTRA BASS |
| Hands-Free Function | Yes |
| Microphone | Yes |
