{"id":173598,"date":"2023-10-29T07:36:27","date_gmt":"2023-10-29T07:36:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techweekmag.com\/?p=173598"},"modified":"2024-06-04T17:06:59","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T17:06:59","slug":"sony-srs-xb100-review-great-sound-in-a-small-package","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/speakers\/sony-srs-xb100-review-great-sound-in-a-small-package\/","title":{"rendered":"Sony SRS-XB100: Great sound in a small package"},"content":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0Sony SRS-XB100\u00a0is a very portable and affordable Bluetooth speaker, which is an incremental upgrade over the\u00a0Sony SRS-XB13\u00a0, bringing to the table richer bass and better microphone quality while retaining the compact and rugged design of the original, not to mention its spectacular autonomy of 16 hours.<\/p>\n

Sony SRS-XB100 Review<\/h2>\n

The design of the Sony SRS-XB100 is the opposite of innovative, offering only a few modest changes from its predecessors in Sony’s portable line, but there are some interesting new elements.\u00a0In this sense, the XB13’s hard matte exterior has been replaced by a softer exterior that feels more comfortable in the hands, while the Sony logo has a more minimalist vibe.\u00a0And like its predecessor, the speaker comes in bold, muted colors \u2013 these are\u00a0black, light grey, blue and orange.<\/p>\n

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Upon closer inspection, we’ll notice that around the base is a strip of easy-access buttons for playback, volume, power, and pairing.\u00a0Here we will also find a rubber flap that covers the USB-C charging port, helping the speaker achieve its\u00a0IP67 weather resistance rating\u00a0.\u00a0That equates to top-notch dust resistance and the ability to take a quick dip and come out alive and well.<\/p>\n

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They say the best perfumes come in small bottles, and with that in mind,\u00a0the XB100 measures almost 10 centimeters long and 8cm wide\u00a0.\u00a0Equally notable is that it weighs just 274 grams, which makes it all the more impressive that it can deliver sound as good as it does.\u00a0To place the cherry on the cake, it includes a carrying strap to take it with us everywhere, so it is ultra portable.<\/p>\n

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How’s the sound?<\/h3>\n

Internally, the Sony SRSXB100B.CE7 integrates an\u00a0upward-facing 2W driver that\u00a0is partially visible through the grill’s perforations, as well as a downward-facing passive bass radiator.\u00a0Together they offer a frequency range of 20 \u2013 20,000 Hz for mono audio.\u00a0However, it can offer us stereo sound if we get another speaker of the same model and pair them via Bluetooth, but that is not exactly a selling point.<\/p>\n

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In terms of sound quality, it’s not impressive in the grand scheme of things and it also doesn’t have enough power to be used outdoors or during parties, but\u00a0as a personal speaker it’s excellent\u00a0.\u00a0Going into details, the soundstage it provides is not bad at all.\u00a0This speaker has to mix stereo content into mono to play it, so we won’t notice a separation between the left and right channels in stereo music.<\/p>\n

Thanks to its 360-degree design, the soundstage has great directivity\u00a0, so we can place the device in the center of the table and get clear sound everywhere.\u00a0Although yes, we must warn that it can vibrate a little on some surfaces, so be careful with that, as it could distort the sound.\u00a0Speaking of that last bit, DPS generally thins out the bass enough to avoid distortion, but at maximum volume it’s inevitable that we’ll notice some compression and lose precision.<\/p>\n

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On the other hand, the clarity with which it reproduces instruments and voices is something worthy of praise, but we can’t help but feel that\u00a0the bass range is below the quality of everything else.<\/p>\n

Still far from perfection<\/h3>\n

In terms of functions and connectivity, it is a very simple speaker, perhaps more than necessary, as we find it disappointing that Sony has not taken the trouble to cover the shortcomings of the Sony SRS-XB13.\u00a0In this sense,\u00a0it lacks any companion app or sound equalization\u00a0, so there is no way to tune the audio to our liking.\u00a0It also fails to include compatibility with voice assistants and FM radio.\u00a0Considering that today we can find speakers for the same price that do include these functions, it is only natural that we deduct some points.<\/p>\n

What it does have is a\u00a0microphone that we can use for hands-free calls\u00a0, and it is a pleasant surprise that its voice recording quality is decent.<\/p>\n

Battery<\/h3>\n

Finally, the Sony SRSXB100B.CE7 promises up to 16 hours of autonomy, but know that this estimate is with the volume at 50%.\u00a0At maximum volume we can wait 5 hours, but we still cannot recommend using it in these conditions due to distortion.\u00a0If we use it with the volume below 50%, we can wait even more than 16 hours.<\/p>\n

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PROS<\/strong>:<\/p>\n