Sony’s new portable Bluetooth speaker is ready to get wet

Sony has introduced a new portable Bluetooth speaker alongside its substantial new SRS-XV800 get together speaker. The SRS-XB100 is a light-weight wi-fi mannequin for music followers on the transfer, and it’s designed to convey better-than-average loudness via Sony’s use of a passive radiator.

Available in blue, orange, mild grey, and black coloration choices, the SRS-XB100 is priced at $59 (round £47 / AU$87), which places it in the identical worth vary because the Tribit Stormbox Micro 2, TechRadar’s present prime price range decide in our greatest Bluetooth audio system information. Like the Tribit, Sony’s portable is a light-weight possibility at 0.6 kilos, and it measures a mere 2.9(w) x 3.7(h) inches. Also just like the Tribit, Sony features a multiway strap, letting you lock the speaker to a backpack, bike handlebars, or no matter else is helpful if you’re out and about.

Along with that passive radiator, Sony’s new portable packs a Sound Diffusion Processor that makes use of DSP to create a extra expansive sound subject, indoors or out, and it may be paired with a second SRS-XB100 for stereo playback. The speaker’s built-in microphone helps you to make hands-free calls, and it has an Echo canceling characteristic that improves name readability when each events are talking on the identical time.

Sony says you’ll be able to count on 16 hours of battery life from the SRS-XB100 when the speaker is set to a modest quantity degree. That’s sufficient to maintain it taking part in all day lengthy with out a recharge – one thing you’ll do utilizing its USB-C port – and it’s additionally a four-hour energy benefit over the Tri-bit Stormbox Micro 2.

When out on an journey, you’ll need to your portable speaker to be weather-resistant, and the SRS-XB100 manages that with its IP67 ranking. That mainly means Sony’s portable can face up to a dunking in a one meter depth of water for up to half-hour, and it’s additionally dustproof.

Opinion: Sony’s reasonably priced portable – the new Bluetooth speaker worth champ?

Summer is approaching (right here within the US, at the least), and we’re greater than ready to get outside and absorb the solar. With its compact design and basically weather-proof construct, Sony’s new SRS-XB100 portable speaker seems to be like the right companion for a day-long outing, and with a 16-hour battery life, we received’t have to fret about it operating out of juice.

As for sound high quality, Sony is making robust claims for the SRS-XB100. Passive radiator or not, we don’t count on this compact speaker to have the opportunity to contact the wealthy, full sound delivered by the also-portable Sonos Move, the best choice for premium sound in our Bluetooth audio system information. 

But the Sonos additionally connects through Wi-Fi and can be utilized because the out of doors possibility in an prolonged Sonos whole-home system, so it’s not an apt comparability. A greater one can be the Sonos Roam, a considerably smaller and extra light-weight mannequin that Sonos designed for extra wide-ranging portability. But the Roam is priced at $179 / £179 / AU$299, making it a dear Bluetooth speaker possibility for most individuals, and its 10-hour battery life is simply common. If Sony’s considerably cheaper SRS-XB100 can ship even a slice of the Sonos’ sound high quality whereas providing a mainly weatherproof construct and day-long battery life, it is going to be a formidable competitor for that mannequin, not to mention the Tribit Stormbox Micro 2.

There’s just one means to discover out, and it is going to be to get our palms on an SRS-XB100. Sony’s new speaker is obtainable for pre-order at the moment and could be bought beginning on May 22, so it will not be lengthy earlier than we’ve got a verdict.