blackfriday Our Verdict
As the Sony XB20 didn’t earn an award inside our review, it still carves out a reasonably attractive niche for itself. It offers good sound quality, mostly because of its powerful yet crisp bass. Additionally it is very loud because of its size, so that it is great if you wish something for small parties or even to blast ‘Playing with The Boys’ at the next beach volleyball game. Additionally it is water resistant, so that it won’t get ruined if it rains at said beach volleyball game. If you wish something really durable, however, the JBL Flip 4 is merely as loud and bassy and is totally waterproof. Overall we still think the Bose SoundLink Color is an improved all-around value, but if you wish to save lots of somewhat of money the XB20 isn’t a lot of a step down.
Our Analysis and TEST OUTCOMES
The Sony XB20 boasts powerful bass and lots of volume for a reasonably low price. It isn’t the best speaker at all, but it’s a great choice if you wish something with some power and do not want to spend a lot of money.
Performance Comparison
As you can plainly see in the table above, the Sony XB20 was at the high end of our score sheet. In the next sections we discuss how it performed in every of the tests we used to look for the best Bluetooth speakers.
Sound Quality
Earning a 7 out of 10 inside our sound quality testing, the Sony XB20 was above average however, not exceptional. The most impressive element of its sound may be the bass, which is powerful yet clear and defined without the muddled undertones. Flipping the ‘extra bass’ switch makes the bass a lot more powerful, but still kept things sounding crisp. The speaker also accentuates the bass with a built-in light show that follows a beat. That is a somewhat entertaining feature, nonetheless it can simply be switched off once it gets annoying. It didn’t produce as powerful bass inside our testing as the Bose models and the Beats Pill+, nonetheless it was reasonably close. Plus, all those models cost doubly much.
The XB20’s treble and clarity were also quite impressive inside our testing. As the top models were plainly superior in this regard, the XB20 was still in a position to create a complete bodied sound that may please most listeners. If you are looking for something completely waterproof, the JBL Flip 4 produced a similarly bassy yet well rounded sound, and is IPX7 waterproof.
Portability
The XB20’s is a mid sized model that earned a 7 out of 10 inside our portability testing. Tipping the scales at 21 ounces, it really is fairly average regarding weight. This feels fairly light considering both audio tracks quality and sheer volume this model can produce, with only the JBL Flip 4 (19 ounces) and the Bose SoundLink Color II (19.8 ounces) comparable for the reason that regard. The pill condition makes it simple to slide right into a bag, and the IPX5 water resistance enables you to tote it around regardless of the forecast.
Volume
The XB20 is impressively loud, given its size. It earned an 8 out of 10 in this metric, falling behind only models that are substantially heavier. This speaker was easily in a position to cut through a huge group of folks talking inside our testing apartment, and felt plenty loud enough for a tiny party. It is also loud enough to cause you to the guts of attention at the beach.
Battery Life
The XB20 was average inside our battery life testing, earning a 5 out of 10. It lasted 12 hours inside our test, which was specifically what the maker claimed. This is a good amount of power for a trip to the beach or by the lake, so most users won’t find this limiting. However, there are a few models offering absurd battery lives, just like the Anker SoundCore 2 (42 hours) and the JBL Charge 3 (30 hours) that produce 12 hours sound sort of lame in comparison.
Value
With a list price of $100, the Sony XB20 provides quite a lttle bit of performance per dollar. We still think the slightly better sound of the Bose SoundLink Color II helps it be an improved value, but it addittionally costs $30 more. If you wish to save lots of $30, we doubt you will be disappointed with the XB20.
Conclusion
The Sony XB20 is a loud, powerful speaker that costs only $100. If loud and powerful satisfies your checklist, you’ll such as this speaker.
