iforgot—May 6, 2022
Over a year ago, I looked at these Sony’s SRS-XB43, some JBL’s & Bose Bluetooth speakers around the time I bought the Doss Soundbox pro+‘s but because of the price ($80 vs. $279 & more ) I went Doss. After using the Doss Soundbox pro+ ‘s for awhile I became tired of the lack of sound/volume/bass/features. They kept shutting off automatically when no sound after 10 minutes & the length of battery during use (about 6 hours volume full blast & with lights on). They would shut off automatically after 4/6 hours when in use during a tv show or sports game. These are good for the price but I wanted/needed more volume/features/power. I saw that these Sony’s SRS-XB43’s went on sale for $150 brand new in April 2022 here, there & everywhere. I bought 4. 4 for the price of 2.😁 All in Blue.💙 I use two in my living room & the other two in my bedroom. Sony SRS-XB43 Out of the box the Sound quality is beyond my expectations. Sound is just awesome, Loud and clear, Great at low volumes or high volumes. Booming bass but not if your looking for sub bass. Even better sounding after installing & setting up using the Sony Music App. (Beyond, beyond way better than my Doss Bluetooth speakers) There’s a Sony Music App that you can use with the SRS-XB43’s to really dial in the sound to your ears & hearts desire. Bass boost & Live modes. I can turn them on/off, separately change the volumes on each speaker if in use, change the lights “just with my Smartphones using the Sony Music App” (unlike my Doss or any JBL’s & Bose), The app has an equalizer to boost sound quality and levels. (unlike my Doss), Wireless Stereo pairing feature for pairing two SRS-XB43’s together for stereo sound. Great for loud music or watching movies. A Party mode feature that can link up to 100 other Sony compatible speakers. USB-C charging port Battery life is awesome. About 24 hours. You can use while plugged in to A/C. You can charge smartphones or other small devices using the built in USB-A port on the back. Wireless The Bluetooth connection is great. These also have NFC connectivity. 3.5 stereo Auxiliary input jack. It has a built in microphone for smartphone calls & computer video calls. Great quality solid build. (Built like a rock) They are big and heavy but manageable. Dust proof Rust proof Waterproof. I use with my TV’s (wired from headphone out to the Aux input jack) I use with my laptop & desktop computers (Bluetooth &/or wired) I use with my smartphones (Bluetooth &/or wired) Smaller & better sounding than some of the sound-bars I was looking at. I absolutely love these speakers. I love the lights too. I can’t stop bragging about these enough. I’m extremely satisfied with these Sony SRS-XB43’s & I highly recommended these to any & everyone looking into this brand & model. 💙It’s best to get them when they are on sale!!!!🤓 Read more
IntoMoYouKnow—September 27, 2023
This speaker really shows why Sony is still an industry leader in consumer electronics. After reading reviews of cheaper brands which have poor ratings for battery quality and shelf life, when this very sturdy option went on sale, I figured it was worth the purchase. It has delivered so many times over. First, it provides very loud sound. I’ve used it at several pool parties and it carries through the yard with no issue. It comes with an app to balance out the levels of bass. The battery life is actually much longer than 24 hours in my experience, especially when used indoors. I don’t use the light functions, and so it only requires charging every couple of months when I use it an hour a day. But the proof of is quality is how sturdy it is. Not once, not twice, but on three occasions, it has fallen on the concrete deck and the marble floor in the bathroom, and never once has it stopped performing. It sounds the same right out of the box, no rattling parts inside, nothing. I’m usually very mindful of my things, so I’ve been nearly heartbroken each time it fell, but it looks and sounds brand new still. Buy this immediately and trust Sony to deliver quality. Note, it is a little bit heavier than most portable speakers, but that just means its solidly build. Read more
Cammelspit—September 7, 2022
I was in the market for a new speaker since the one I had seems to drop out when there is silence for any amount of time, makes audio books really hard to listen to. I work somewhere that i am locked up in a car for my whole shift and we don't have access to the audio system of the car as the software on the cars has been heavily modified and that audio system is used for system prompts and such. We are allowed to use Bluetooth speakers though. I have heard some who have speakers that can get louder than this one, but not without very apparent distortion. Most people seem to be of the mindset that louder = better and I am here to tell you that is objectively false. I was first looking at the JBL brand as they came highly recommended only to find out they are almost all MONO now. Like they literally made their whole line up worse!!! You may be someone who says that it shouldn't matter since these speakers aren't separated much anyway. Well, I am here to say this is false, it makes a HUGE difference. This SONY offering has surprisingly wide stereo separation and clean clear delineation between sides. I was actually quite blown away by this. Yes this speaker is kinda big and pretty heavy. If I had known I may not have ordered this model just for portability reasons, but I will tell you here that I don't regret my purchase one bit! The app, well, I can take it or leave it. It doesn't really do anything for you over that what you can do on the speaker itself but it is a convenient way to change settings where the button for it is behind the charging door and a little out of the way to get to. You also do get equalization. If you are like me, I prefer a flat frequency response so I don't use it but it is a nice to have when say, a podcast isn't very well mixed. If I HAD to come up with a cons list for this guy it would probably be that it could use a bigger battery. You can use the speaker as a battery bank which is sweet but not really useful with the run time you get out of a full charge. This having been said it is still longer than most of the very large BT speakers in the same class out there. You can also give it way better longevity by not using the bass boosting mode. Audio books and podcasts also use way less power overall. Anyways, just buy it. Yes it isn't cheap but you won't be disappointed! Read more
