Sony SRS-XB33 Extra Bass Portable Bluetooth Speaker

Sony SRS-XB33 Extra Bass Portable Bluetooth Speaker

Behind the cloth grille, dual full-range drivers, aided by passive bass radiators on both ends of the speaker, deliver a frequency range of 20Hz to 20kHz. The drivers are also lit up by LEDs and resemble glowing eyes from behind the grille. Rubber feet on the bottom panel keep the 2.4-pound speaker stable on flat surfaces.

A rubber strip on the top panel houses the controls, with buttons for power, Bluetooth, play/pause (which also answers/ends phone calls), minus/plus for volume, and Live, which adds an unnecessary spatial effect to the audio. This area is also an NFC pairing zone and houses status LEDs for pairing mode, battery life, and whether Stamina mode is activated, which is a low-power mode that preserves battery life by essentially eliminating bass response. It’s not great for listening to music but it can be helpful when trying to save battery life and using the speaker for calls or podcasts.

On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the SRS-XB33 delivers notable low-frequency thump for a speaker this size. At moderate volumes, it really seems to be pumping out some deep lows, while at higher volumes, the bass depth gets thinned out somewhat by the DSP (digital signal processing), but not to an extreme extent. At maxed-out volume levels, there’s no distortion, and still a very healthy sense of bass depth.

Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the SRS-XB33’s general sound signature. The drums on this track can sound overly thunderous on larger, bass-forward systems, but here, they find a nice balance between robust, full bass depth and not overdoing it. Callahan’s baritone vocals are delivered with plenty of added low-mid richness—thankfully, there’s a solid high-mid and high-frequency presence to keep things clear and defined. The acoustic strums and higher-range percussive hits are delivered with plenty of high-frequency presence, as well. Generally speaking, this is a sculpted, scooped sound signature, with lots of rich bass depth and crisp high-frequency contour, but the midrange takes a bit of a vacation. This can be remedied to a degree with the app’s EQ.

Enjoy your favorite music wirelessly nearly anywhere with the blue Sony SRS-XB33 Portable Bluetooth Speaker. With Bluetooth wireless technology, the SRS-XB33 can stream audio from your smartphone or tablet, and the built-in battery lasts up to 24 hours in normal mode or up to 14 hours in EXTRA BASS mode. The speaker's IP67 dustproof and waterproof rating allows safe use on the beach, by the pool, or nearly anywhere. The Party Connect function lets you connect to up to 100 compatible speakers to stream the same song all over the house. The party lights can also be programmed and synced up.

X-Balanced Speaker Units Enhance Sound Quality and Power

The X-Balanced Speaker Units are designed to achieve high sound quality and powerful sound pressure for a rich, deep listening experience. It features a noncircular diaphragm, maximizing its area and increasing sound pressure for punchy bass. It also helps reduce driver excursion while maintaining the same sound pressure, resulting in less distortion. The drivers' off-center design and optimized weight balance help further enhance clarity and widen the soundstage.

Dustproof and Waterproof Design

With its IP67 rating, you can take the SRS-XB33 to the beach, forest, desert, oceanside, poolside, or wherever you like. You can even wash it with water.

LIVE SOUND Mode

LIVE SOUND Mode uses an onboard DSP combined with the angled design of the speaker drivers to create virtual 3D sound almost anywhere.

Party Lights

The SRS-XB33 features a speaker light and a multicolor light line that flash in-sync with the beat. You can also change the color of the line light to suit your mood.

Party Connect

Enjoy the same song across the whole house with Party Connect, which lets you connect up to 100 compatible speakers over Bluetooth. You can also sync up the party lights, set up a random pattern, or program the lights to blink in a circle.