Hi Friends,
Sony has been my favorite brand and I still got so many products bought from Sony Electronics from iPod Dock to Earphones to Noise canceling headphones to eBook Reader. I even got the Sony's mp3 players along with cassette player called Walkman and also a CD player which is an upgraded version of the first walkman before the MP3 format was introduced. The quality of these products is such that just plug in some batteries and they still work great. My first earphone which I bought from my hard earned money was Sony and they were not high-end model, it was the basic model with little silver lining on the edges of the earplugs and it cost me R50-60 in India and lasted me some years and I gave them to my wife when I left for London. Now this time when my father came to Johannesburg in 2019, I saw those in his iPad pouch though only one side of the earphones is working that's the quality of Sony's Electronics products.
Sony sent me their newly launched Bluetooth speaker during the holidays season in Dec 2018 for review and it was with me for a month or so. I even took the same to 2 of my trips in Dullstroom and Umkomaas, Durban. My son totally fell in love with the dancing lights on Sony's XBR31 speaker as he is a fan of dance and music since his birth till now when he is 15 months old. He totally adored the Bluetooth speaker and it was so easy to feed him food with these speakers on Party mode lights switched On. The Line light changes colors and the flashing strobe brings the disco feel and party vibes. I really didn't want to return the speakers and thought of buying the same if required.
There is no necessity to introduce and explain the audio quality of Sony products because it's always great but as this is product review let's see what's hidden behind the mesh of the speakers. The device has 2 full range speakers of 48mm producing sound output to suit to your tastes with Live Sound and Extra Bass feature for those who want stronger drum beats. Sony says that the sound quality in these speakers is because of the Mica-reinforced cellular rigid and light-weight speakers. I am not a fan of bass too much but I really like the natural sound or rather voice to be clearly heard in some of the songs. Bass effects which Sony devices can produce are awesome and there is no other audio products brand which can do the same.
Live Sound mode is a feature that brings the unique three-dimensional sound experience for all the listeners. It doesn't matter which side of the speakers you are sitting or standing, you will be indulged in the festival vibes kind of music and it definitely reaches a bigger wider audience. Also, if you many other compatible speakers of the Sony stable or even this one, then you can create something called as Wireless Party Chain where all speakers are synchronized in Music and lights so that everyone can experience the same beats of music. The capacity goes till 100 speakers but it needs some of the superstores to open up their boxes to install that kind of effort or some 100 consumers make a music festival night of their own collaborating via Facebook or any social media platform.
The speaker only weights 890 grams and NFC pairs the same with any smartphone instantly else you can always use Bluetooth feature. The battery life as told on the specifications sheet is from 14-24 hours and when I used the same in Dullstroom, I was able to play with lights mode on for about 10-12 hours but never played the same in one day in a single go. The device can be charged using the micro USB cable from your old smartphones. There is no charger supplied with the box only the Micro-USB cable. The charging takes at least 4-6 hours to fully charge the device.
You can also charge your mobile phone using the extra USB terminal provided at the back of the device. Aux In cable can be used if you are streaming music from iPod shuffle or something which is not NFC or Bluetooth enabled. The Bluetooth speakers are waterproof with IP67 rating and dustproof and rustproof too which means they can take seawater splash too but don't drown it, please. The speaker volume and other controls are on the top of the device whereas Party mode and other features are on the back of the device.
If you really want to bring a little bit of party vibe on your desk or home, these are the speakers to buy and they are going for around R2500 in the market. The unique feature will be the lights that run from one edge to the other making a full infinity circle. The strobe light flashes with the music beats and it's drool-worthy when your music is being played on
Sony SRS-XB31 Bluetooth speaker. Go for it!
Cheers!!!
