Price: $148
Sony is a household name when it comes to audio products, and I’ve been testing its latest SRS-XE300 X-Series rugged Bluetooth speaker since it was announced earlier this summer. For $199, I had moderately high expectations. And while it’s a decent speaker with strong bass and a sturdy design, I have mixed feelings.
This portable Bluetooth speaker has all the ingredients for a great product. It’s rugged, water-resistant, has great controls, fast charging via USB-C, and even doubles as a speakerphone. But how does it sound and should you buy it over the competition? Keep reading for the full commentary.
Here’s what we like
- Solid battery life
- Durable and robust
- Stereo and multi-speaker pairing
- USB-C fast charging
And what we don’t do
- Bulky design
- Narrow and uneven soundstage
- Max Volume Struggles
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What’s in the box?
Sony’s rugged new XE300 comes in a small, unassuming recyclable box, and there’s not much to it. Inside you’ll find a standard USB to USB-C cable for charging, user manual, setup instructions, and that’s about it.
Keep in mind that it doesn’t come with a wall charger, just the cable, so you’ll have to plug it into something else to take advantage of fast charging. Most of us have a wall socket these days, but it’s odd that Sony chose to omit it.
Build quality and design
Sony’s new X Series is available in three different sizes and models. There’s a small XE200, the XE300 we’re reviewing, and a bigger expensive XG300.
The Sony XE300 has excellent build quality overall and feels very solid. The company uses your typical fabric finish for the grill, with all other surfaces coated in a soft-touch rubberized silicone. As a result, it is shockproof, IP67 dust and water resistant, and a durable device. You can take it camping, outdoors during a barbecue, and it will fit perfectly by the pool. Sony says it’s waterproof up to one meter of water for 30 minutes. It is even salt water resistant. You’ll also find the USB-C charging port behind a large rubber flap, which is nice.
While I like the durability of this thing, the pentagon shape is a bit odd. The shape makes it quite difficult to hold with one hand compared to most speakers of this size and price range. It is also quite large. At first, I wasn’t sure whether to stand it upright or lay it horizontally to listen. However, it is designed as a standing speaker.
I also wish the design had more fabric for the sound output rather than almost the entire device covered in rubber. However, Sony claims it doesn’t need a big grill thanks to its “Line-Shape Diffuser” technology which claims to provide a wide listening area along the full length of the front of the speaker and 180 degrees, but more on that in a minute.
Sony says the pentagon design makes it easier to hold, but it’s about twice the size and weight of many cylindrical portable Bluetooth speakers I’ve used over the years. It will take up a lot of space in your backpack or beach bag, that’s for sure.
How does it sound?
Perhaps the most important aspect of any speaker is audio quality. So how does it sound? Well, that sounds pretty good, but it sure could be better.
The Sony SRS-XE300 contains two “X-Balanced” non-circular drivers and two passive radiators for less distortion and more sound pressure, which delivers plenty of bass and high-quality sound. And while the bass doesn’t rumble or shake a table, it’s a good level of solid bass. Sony explains the balanced speakers and its “Line-Shape Diffuser” technology as follows:
“Inspired by sound systems used at professional concerts, Sony’s unique line-shaped diffuser creates a line source and distributes sound energy evenly, across a wide sound front, to better fill your space with audio. “
The unique non-cylindrical design and small speaker grilles are by choice, but I’m not sure I’m sold on that. For me, the speaker has a pretty narrow sound and you can hear a big difference in sound quality when walking past the speaker. Honestly, it sounds a bit flat, without much of a soundstage, unless you’re standing right in front of the speaker.
That said, as long as you’re not standing behind, you’ll still enjoy the sound experience. The XE300 delivers great bass for the size, solid mids and highs, and it has a fairly balanced sound profile out of the box. Then you can customize everything in the app, from toning down the treble, adjusting EQ levels or enabling the ClearAudio+ feature which adjusts the output to its surroundings.
The speaker sounds best as long as you don’t exceed about 75-80% volume. On the high end things start to struggle, there is some audio compression and the experience suffers. This wouldn’t normally be a problem, but I find myself turning the volume up almost to maximum every time I use it.
While the XE300 gets decently loud for a small room, my aging Ultimate Ears Megaboom 3 I bought in 2018 gets louder and sounds better on top as well.
Music controls, battery life and charging
My favorite aspect of the XE300 is the easy-to-use textured buttons on the side. There are LED lights for all the crucial bits, a button that will tell you how much battery life is left, and a microphone mute switch. That said, I wish the volume up and volume down buttons were bigger or on top, as I accidentally pressed the wrong button a few times, even though they are clearly marked.
The third button has several functions. You can pause/play music, answer a phone call, double tap to skip a song, and even press and hold to activate the Google Assistant. I really like the LED lights that flash when pairing with Bluetooth, the power button flashes when you reach maximum volume, and you get a flashing light when the battery is low.
I didn’t read the manual, of course, but by accident I found a “stamina mode” if you press and hold the battery level button. This will reduce bass and extend battery life. Speaking of battery life, Sony promises up to 24 hours from a single charge.
Of course, battery life will vary with listening levels, and I used it for several hours three days in a row over a long weekend and still had 46% battery left. If you blast it to around 75% volume, crank up the EQ and add more bass with the Sony Music Center app, don’t expect it to last more than 20 hours. Still, it’s better than many others at this price.
With USB-C fast charging, you’ll get 70 minutes of playtime after 10 minutes on the charger, perfect for last-minute adventures. I’m just glad more speakers are finally coming with USB-C charging.
Should you buy one?
The Sony XE300 is undoubtedly a solid portable Bluetooth speaker, but it could be better. For example, my four-year-old Ultimate Ears Megaboom 3 (pictured above) has a higher maximum volume, sounds better at those higher levels, and can easily fill a room with sound. The Sony does it too, but not as well. My old speaker is also smaller, more portable, and has massive volume controls that are easy to press.
However, the Megaboom 3 doesn’t last as long and has an ugly angled micro-USB charging port, and most cables don’t fit. Despite that, it’s still my favorite speaker. Honestly, if I had to pick a speaker for the day, I’d pick the Boom 3 or my JBL Charge 5 over the XE300.
Bluetooth speakers at this price have plenty of competition. There are tons of great options if you’re looking to spend over $200 on a portable Bluetooth speaker. At the end of the day, the Sony SRS-XE300 is relatively small and features a rugged design that can handle just about anything and still be good enough. It will be a great option if you can catch it on sale.
That said, the Sony XE200 offers a similar experience that’s smaller and more affordable, so you better grab it instead.
Here’s what we like
- Solid battery life
- Durable and robust
- Stereo and multi-speaker pairing
- USB-C fast charging
And what we don’t do
- Bulky design
- Narrow and uneven soundstage
- Max Volume Struggles