Sony XB01 Review: Compact and Powerful

Sony XB01 is the smallest member of the Extra Bass SRS XB loudspeaker series, priced at $33, much cheaper than the senior XB10.

Sony XB01 Review

Sony XB01 is not the next successor to XB10, but this is just a compact version, the design is more portable and the price is more affordable than the XB10.

But do not underestimate its small size, the sound quality that XB01 brings is quite impressive, let’s learn more in details below in this Sony XB01 review.

Design

Sony XB01 has up to 6 color models, however, in this Sony XB01 review, we will only introduce 3 colors: black, blue and red. In addition, the remaining 3 colors are: yellow, green and white.

In the budget segment, the speakers are packed in a simple transparent plastic box that can see the speaker colors right from the outside. The front of the box is highlighted with the words “Extra Bass”, as well as some outstanding features of this speaker such as support for Bluetooth connection, a battery life of about 6 hours, and IPX5 waterproof design.

Sony XB01

The box included the XB01 speaker, manual, strap and a Micro USB charging cable. Unlike XB10, the XB01 strap is removable, you can attach it when needed or remove it very easily.

The colors on the XB01 speakers very youthful and outstanding, with a unique two-tone combination between the speaker body and the metal mesh screen, protect the front speakers, creating accents on XB01.

Both sides of the speaker will have an indicator LED which light when you turn on the speaker and indicator light when charging on the right side. The metal mesh in front of the speaker is very hard and firm to protect it.

Easy music control on the Sony XB01 with optional buttons on the side of the speaker, includes: volume up and down buttons, power button and also a button to turn on the Bluetooth connection to the phone (after turning on the speaker, you touch and hold the power button for about 3 seconds to turn on the connection with the phone).

Sony XB01 Straps

Next to the power button is the multi-function button, which is both for to receive or reject a call, and also a button to control when playing, lightly press once to stop or play music, press and hold 2 times in a row to skip a song, press and hold 3 times to return to the previous song.

Next to the XB01 is a cover, where the 3.5mm audio jack is arranged, a reset button and Micro USB charging port. Sony XB01 has IPX5 standard waterproof ability, to operate effectively, you should note: when the speaker’s battery is fully charged, make sure to close the lid tightly.

The back part of the XB01 has no buttons. Overall the speaker body is a sturdy, lumpy plastic so it feels comfortable to hold. Particularly for the lid of the connection ports and the navigation buttons on XB01, use the rubber layer for a softer feel when pressed.

Moving to a removable strap, you can easily mount the speaker on a backpack, motorcycle or anywhere … a compact strap with colored rope has the same color as the part the speaker, so you can enjoy music anytime and anywhere.

Sony XB01 colors

Color is also one of the main highlights on XB01, still equipped with many colors like XB10 released earlier. Speakers with 6 bright colors, bright towards young people can choose according to their preferences, or you are a simple person, like the family man, black will be very suitable for you.

The compact, lightweight design and the weight is only about 160g, you can hold the speaker in your hand, with a small appearance so you can easily carry it everywhere, on long trips or not where.

Experience

Sony XB01 has equipped with Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity, but this is an affordable version, so there is no NFC connection option like XB10, the connection range is 10 meters. In real experience, with the small room area after connecting the speaker to the phone, we brought the speaker upstairs, or the challenge was more difficult to close the room and bring the speaker to a distance of about 10 meters. The signal between the phone and the speaker is still very good, the music still plays normally without disconnection.

In addition to the Bluetooth connection between XB01 and the phone to play music, you can also use another method, which is to use 3.5mm audio connection port to connect if you want to be more stable or use it for devices without connecting. Bluetooth speakers come with a kit that doesn’t have a 3.5mm cable so that you have to buy separately.

Sony Bluetooth Speaker

According to Sony, the battery life on the XB01 can use approximately 6 hours, actually, we have used the speaker at a volume of about 85-90%, listening to many different genres. Although the appearance of XB01 is quite small, the battery life is very impressive, if you are busy for work, the day spent 45 minutes to 2 hours listening to music, the spare speaker can meet the 1 week of comfortable use.

You can also take it for a long outing without worrying about running out of battery quickly. You can use the micro USB cable to charge it, as announced, it can be fully charged in about 3 hours, but we fully charged it in around 2h30.

With the built-in microphone on the XB01, getting a call on your phone is easy, even if you left your phone on the table and when a call comes in, just touch the speaker to receive or reject it. No need to touch the phone. The sound when receiving a call on the loudspeaker is very loud, but it sounds warm and clear by listening directly to the phone speaker.

Despite being a cheaper version of XB10, the XB01 still inherits its advantages with the IPX5 standard waterproof, loudspeaker protection against low-pressure water for at least 3 minutes. So you can safely bring speakers to travel everywhere without worry.

Besides the beautiful design when choosing a portable speaker for yourself, the sound is an indispensable concern. Whether with a small appearance, how realistic is the sound from XB01? If you are a fastidious person, looking for a high-quality portable speaker with high-quality sound, then XB01 will be difficult to meet your requirements, but you need to find other Sony’s Extra Bass higher models. Because XB01 has a very compact design, it is necessary to exchange sound quality as well as the volume of speakers emitted at a moderate level, of course, the volume emitted from the XB10 speaker will be larger and the sound will be broader and hear better.

 

If you need a portable speaker for the basic tasks that can take with him or her to listen to music anytime, anywhere, or replace the flexible laptop speaker, then Sony XB01 is sufficient. Or you can also compare it to other portable models of Chinese brand, XB01 still score by style, IPX5 waterproof, as well as impressive sound quality in the price range.

Final line

It can be said that Sony XB01 is one of the portable speaker models with a compact design that is quite interesting to care for, users with simple needs, compact speaker to fun when traveling with friends, often used in a small room, or replace a computer speaker, XB01 can respond well. Or this can also be an attractive new year gift for your relatives and friends.

About Ankeet Solanki

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