Bluetooth speakers. It seems like every company is cranking them out for your consumption. With each one putting its own unique feature(s) on board to help them stand out. Sony has been a brand synonymous w/ good quality (from Walkmans to TVs now headphones). We're shifting focus to their wireless speakers.
Sony's SRS-XB line of speakers touts extra bass & a light show w/ your music. More specifically, we're talking about the SRS-BX41 (I hate the name too) which is their top of the line Bluetooth speaker. As the weather begins to cooperate to give us good summer vibes, you may need a good speaker for backyard cookouts, the beach, and other scenarios. We've been rocking w/ this for a few months now time to dive in to see if this should be your next wireless speaker.
Despite serial number name of the speaker, it has a solid look & feel to it. The XB41 has a rectangular build meant to only sit vertically so no multi-directional action here. It has an IP67 dust/water resistant body that is comprised of a nylon mesh. It also shockproof as it can handle a drop from up to 4ft. This is thing claims to be even rustproof - which is first that I've seen from the various spec sheets on speakers.
On the top shows off Play/Pause buttons, volume controls, Power, Bluetooth, Live buttons, & NFC. It does offer a bevy of ports w/ a stereo jack in, standard USB, micro USB, and AC adapter underneath a rubber flap. They made sure to make it stand out more than your average wireless speaker w/ lights. There is a line of light that covers the front of the speaker along w/ 2 flashing strobe lights & 2 speaker lights. But more on the lighting in a little bit.
Now that we talked about its rugged design, time to talk about what you came here for: the sound (& for some you: the lights). The XB41 is armed w/ dual full range 2.28inch speakers that offer some tricks up its sleeve. For a non-360 speaker setup, this packs a lot of punch in regards to both sound & bass. We've played older R&B tunes from Silk, S.O.S. Band, & Maxwell to get great bass & clarity. Then you get the same quality w/ newer tunes from Kendrick, J. Cole, & Pusha T. Loving that sound Sony is putting out here. Hell, you can daisy-chain up to 100 of these speakers to really shake the block.
This speaker supports Sony's LDAC high-end solution. This offers a higher quality Bluetooth audio w/ higher transfer & bit rates. So in plain speak, you get higher quality music for Bluetooth streaming. Not quite the Hi-Fi DAC quality but closer to than your standard or aptX experience. The Live Sound mode gives you a virtual 3D sound at the press of a button. This utilizes new DSP technology to widen the area of the output of the sound. I found it that it works well when you have music that's mixed well w/ great fidelity. Songs that are subpar don't sound as good in Live mode.
Although I didn't care for the Party Booster feature, the rest of the lights didn't bother me as much.
All of the lights on board isn't as bad as I thought it would be. They all flash in sync w/ the beats in the music. The line light changes colors throughout the playback of a song as the 2 speaker lights illuminate to the music, and the 2 strobe lights flash on and off to the music as well. Although you do have the options leave line light one color, make custom colors or turn it off - you can turn off the speaker & strobe lights too. As far as Party Booster, I just didn't care for the feature but I'm sure there's a niche crowd that would enjoy it. But it is definitely not for me. More or less my only caveat about the speaker and you can just turn it off and never use it.
Sony quotes the XB41 w/ a whopping 24-hour battery life -depending on usage & if the lights are involved of course. This thing really lives up to it. I've used it mostly on weekend mornings over the past few months and only had to charge it once thus far. On days, where I really used it to the max (full light show, Party Booster mode, etc.), I got closer to 10 hours. Easily the best battery life I've experienced on a Bluetooth speaker - w/ the lights off. You can even use the speaker to charge your phone.
The XB-41 Speaker: Heavy on the sound, battery, bass, & lights.
TG 2 Cents
For a small-ish & portable speaker, this things knocks. But not just being bass heavy but full sound as well. The app isn't the best but other customizing the lights, for the most part, you won't really need to use it. The blinking lights were better than I thought. I was sure that they would annoy the hell out of me after a while but they worked w/ the beats so I was good w/ it.
The only things I didn't care for here were the name & the Party Booster feature. Other than that, this is a great investment for sound at $250 (or cheaper at Amazon) - especially for those traveling this summer. Hopefully, they can add some Google Assistant support via software update later down the line to make this more complete. This being my 1st Sony audio product we've reviewed, color me impressed - pun intended.
