Sony SRS-XB32 Review
Pros: Good sound quality, waterproof, long battery life
Cons: Large and heavy
Manufacturer: Sony
Our Verdict
Compare to Similar Products
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Sony SRS-XB32 | |||||
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Awards | ![]() | ![]() | |||
Price | $150 List $99.99 at Amazon | $300 List $299.00 at Amazon | $200 List $199.00 at Amazon | $150 List $149.73 at Amazon | $120 List $102.45 at Amazon |
Overall Score ![]() |
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Star Rating | |||||
Pros | Good sound quality, waterproof, long battery life | Excellent sound quality, very loud, long battery life | Excellent sound quality, water resistant, great battery life | Good overall sound, great volume, great battery life, waterproof | Good sound quality, waterproof, long battery life |
Cons | Large and heavy | Expensive, relatively large and heavy | Expensive, relatively heavy | Not the strongest bass, a bit pricey | Not the best sounding nor most portable |
Bottom Line | Sounds good and is waterproof, but weighs enough that it's a bit too noticable in a bag | The exceptional sound quality, high volume, and somewhat heavy weight make this perfect for backyard parties | Top notch sound from a relatively small and durable package | A solid choice for those that want a bit of power in a fairly portable and waterproof package | A good mid point for those that want good sound quality and portability, but don't want to pay a premium price for the absolute best |
Rating Categories | Sony SRS-XB32 | Bose Soundlink... | Bose SoundLink... | UE Boom 3 | JBL Flip 5 |
Sound Quality (40%) | |||||
Portability (25%) | |||||
Volume (20%) | |||||
Battery Life (15%) | |||||
Specs | Sony SRS-XB32 | Bose Soundlink... | Bose SoundLink... | UE Boom 3 | JBL Flip 5 |
Dimensions (in x in x in) | 10.6" x 4.5" x 5.5" | 4.1" x 4.1" x 7.3" | 5.97" x 3.24" x 3.24" | 2.9" x 2.9" x 7.25" | 3.64" x 3.6" x 8.5" |
Inputs | USB charging port, micro USB, 3.5mm auxillary input | Charging port, Micro-USB, 3.5mm auxillary input | 3.5 mm auxiliary input, Micro USB port | Micro USB port | Charging port |
Reported Weight | 32oz | 34 oz | 24 oz | 24 oz | 19.04 oz |
Measured Weight | 32 oz | 34 oz | 24 oz | 22 oz | 19 oz |
Wireless Range (feet) | 32.81 | 30 feet | 30 feet | 150 feet | Not Listed |
Reported Battery Life (hours) | 24 | 16 | 12 | 15 | 12 |
Measured Battery Life (hours) | 18 | 24 | 18 | 24 | 27 |
Warranty | 1 year limited | 1 year limited | 1 year limited | 2 year limited | 1 year limited |
Receive Phone Calls | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Our Analysis and Test Results
The Sony SRS-XB32 sounds good, is relatively loud, and is waterproof, but it's quite heavy and doesn't excel enough in any other category to make it feel worth lugging around the extra weight.
Performance Comparison
Sound Quality
The first hurdle for a Bluetooth speaker to clear is to make you forget you're listening to music on a relatively small and portable speaker. The Sony SRS-XB32 clears that hurdle with aplomb. It's higher ranges sound reasonably clear and lack any of that tinniness you'd fear from a small speaker. Its bass is also defined and deep enough to make the music feel well anchored and rounded. This is probably plenty of sound quality for 99% of those looking to listen to music away from outlets.
The next bar for one of these speakers to pass would be adding some impressive clarity, nuance, and balance to the music. Basically, to make you feel like you were listening to a proper speaker that must be plugged into a wall. The Sony SRS-XB32 stops a bit short here, as it lacks that over-the-top clarity and bass punch that the top-tier speakers have. We wouldn't call this a shortcoming, however, it's just that the Sony SRS-XB32's listening experience falls a bit below premium.
If you're a bass lover, the Sony SRS-XB32 does have a bass boost mode that provides noticeably more low end. However, that extra power is a bit muddled, so we preferred the sound with this feature turned off.
Portability
This is where the Sony SRS-XB32 lost some favor in our books. While it is IP67 fully waterproof, it weighs a whopping 32 ounces (that's a full 2 pounds). That weight is well above average, and is definitely noticeable in a bag or pack. Unless we weren't straying far from our car, we were pretty reluctant to tote the Sony SRS-XB32 along with us.
It should be noted that a lot of that additional heft likely comes from this speaker's "party" features — namely some LEDs that flash along with the music, and the ability to smack the speaker in certain spots to elicit electronic drum noises (a feature we found so laggy that it will likely offend anyone with a decent sense of rhythm). To each their own, but we found these features to be a bit gimmicky. They certainly didn't add anything to our musical experience, so we would have much preferred to do without them if it meant the speaker could be a bit slimmer.
Volume
The Sony SRS-XB32 is quite loud. It has plenty of power to fill a large apartment with sound or keep a campfire dance party raging. However, given its size we expected it to be a bit louder. We've run into much smaller speakers that can produce as much volume, and similarly sized speakers that can produce more sound, so this wouldn't be our first choice for those that place a premium on maximum volume.
Battery Life
In our testing the Sony SRS-XB32 lasted a full 24 hours, plenty for a weekend at the cabin or campsite.
Value
The Sony SRS-XB32's price is a bit above average. Its balance of attributes doesn't fit any specific use case scenarios as many other speakers we've found that cost the same or less. Therefore, we feel that most people will be able to find better ways to spend their speaker money.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, the Sony SRS-XB32 doesn't have any points strong enough to counterbalance its hefty size and weight, so we rarely found ourselves reaching for it anytime we had need for a portable speaker.
— Max Mutter and Michelle Powell