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So the common thread across all of Sony’s new portable bluetooth speaker line up is that all of these speakers sound significantly better than their predecessors. Which ultimately thats great cause sound is obviously a very important thing to take into consideration when you’re looking into get a bluetooth speaker. But today we’re going to break down the new XB43, XB33 and XB23 cause deepening on your needs one is going to be better than the other for you.
So first off there’s price… the XB23 retails for $100, the XB33 retails for $150, and the XB43 retails for $250. Ultimately I think all of these speakers are fairly priced so if you want to pick any of these speakers up they’ll be linked down below.
Now when it comes to design all three of these speakers have the same basic fundamentals. All three of these speakers have a mostly fabric body so they should be able to stand up to constant bumps and scrapes with no problems and they’re all IP67 rated so you don’t have to worry about getting any of these speakers wet. But if you are looking for a speaker to constantly take on the go with you then my top pick here is the XB33. Now even though the XB23 is a little smaller than the XB33, for a small portable bluetooth speaker the XB23 is still pretty big when compared to other options out there. Where as the XB33 is just a little bigger than the XB23. So for that reason I just say spring for the XB33 and enjoy the benefits that it brings. And then there’s the XB43… personally I don’t really like taking this speaker on the go with me cause it is pretty large and its very dense cause it weighs in at six and a half pounds where as the XB33 weighs in at 2.4 pounds. So personally I would recommend the XB43 to mostly just use around the house.
Now both the XB43 and XB33 have an improved light feature on them. Especially the XB33 cause it now has light up transducers. Now the light features on these speakers aren’t amazing but they are decent. And from Sony’s app you have a few different lighting mode to choose from. But the main ones here are rave chill and strobe.
Now when it comes to tech specs, all three of these speakers charge via a USB C port so if you’re an android user you can charge your phone and speaker with the same cable. But keep in mind that all of these USB C ports are strictly used for charing. You can’t use these USB C ports as a wired connection and you can’t use these USB C ports to charge your own devices. And also keep in mind that only the XB43 comes included with a complete charging cable, where as these other two speakers only come included with a USB C to USB A cable. So you gotta use your own wall adapter.
Now when it comes to battery life, all three of these speakers have two advertised battery lives. One while in stamina mode and another while in extra bass mode. And personally I don’t like to use stamina mode on any of these speakers cause stamina mode makes these speakers sound very flat. If you’re going to listen to music with these speaker you want them in Extra Bass mode.
Now over all the XB33 has the best battery life performance here. Now the XB33 has an advertised battery life of 14 hours while in extra bass mode but thats when this speaker is playing at 50% volume. But at max volume this speaker is good for around 3 and a half hours of play back time and at 80% volume this speaker is good for around 7 hours of playback time. So the XB33 real world battery life is decent.
Then there’s the XB23 that has an advertised battery life of 10 hours while in extra bass mode but when this speaker is playing at max volume it good for around 2 and a half to 3 hours and at 80% its good for around 4 and half to maybe 5 hours of playback time.
And finally there’s the XB43 that has an advertised battery life of 14 hours while in extra bass mode just like the XB33… But at max volume this speaker only last me about 2 hours of playback time and at 80% volume this speaker only last me about four and half to 5 hours of playback time. So if you’re looking for a speaker that can last you a while on a single charge then the XB33 is your guy here.
Now when it comes to Bluetooth connectivity, all three of these speaker can be connected to 2 devices at the same time so you and a friend can both be DJ. And all three of these speakers have zero latency when ever you’re watching movies or video on your phone across the board whether you’re using and iPhone or an android device. And all three of these speakers have support for higher quality audio codecs like ACC and LDAC.
But its very important to keep in mind that only the XB43 has an audio jack, where as these other speakers don’t. Now personally I don’t mind not having an audio jack on these smaller speakers but I think that they should still have one just in case.
But now lets talk about listening to music with these speakers. Now all of these speakers have new set ups. Most notablely all three of these speakers now have passive radiators that shoot out the sides similar to JBL’s speakers. Now both the XB23 and XB33 have dual frontward firing transducers accompanying those dual side passive radiators. But the XB43 has dual frontward firing woofers but more importantly they have bred new frontward firing tweeters which is something that was completely missing and sorely missed on the out going Sony XB41. But now we’re going yo jump into the sound test. All three of these speaker are playing at max volume and all three of these speakers are playing while in extra bass mode.
So the main thing that all three of these speakers have in common is that they all have far better instrument separation and a far better sound stage than their predecessors. And in general all three of the speakers sound really go when compared to their direct competitors. But the XB23 does sound very different from both the XB33 and XB43. The XB23 does but a little more emphasis on the Mids and highs than these other two speakers. Where as the sound signatures on both the XB33 and XB43 are basically identical. But with the XB43 the highs are much better defined than on the XB33 thanks to those new dual tweeters. And also just as you’d expect the XB43 does have more bass than the XB33 cause its larger passive radiators are able to move more air around. But don’t get me wrong, the XB33 does have an impressive amount of bass for it size. Now when it comes to max volume, just as you’d expect the larger the speaker the louder it gets as well. Now both the XB23 and XB33 get decently loud for their size and price. But then there’s the XB43, it gets decently loud as well but I can’t help but feel that I wish it got a little louder and I also wish that we would get a performance bump out of it while you use it while it plugged in like you do with some other speakers out there. So for that reason I kind of still wish the XB43 still charged via an AC port instead of strictly via a USB C port. But the XB43 does get loud enough to get the job done.
But one trick that you can do to make the XB43 sound louder is that you can go into Sony’s app and raise the Mids and treble on this speaker. But then this speaker is going to sound a little brighter. Now both the XB33 and XB23 also have an adjustable EQ so you can make any of these speaker sound how ever you want. But very quickly, I also want to address live sound mode that found on the XB43 and XB33. I just don’t use or care about live sound mode cause all live sound mode does is that it adds a whole bunch of reverb to your music. So just like stamina mode, I never use live sound mode.
But finally theres these speaker’s pairing protocol. Now all three of these speakers are using Sony’s new party connect meaning that you can only pair party connect speakers to other party connect speakers. So you can only pair an XB43, XB33, or XB23 to one another. And this also means that you cant pair any Party connect speaker to any of Sony’s older speakers that are using wireless party chain.
So with all that being said, I do like Sony’s new portable bluetooth speaker line up mainly cause they sound way better than their predecessors. All three of these speakers have very impressive interment separation and wide sound stages. Now personally my favorite speaker to recommend here is going to be the XB33. The XB33 sounds great, it has a decent real world battery life and its also fairly rugged so if you want to take it on the go with you then I think this speaker is a great option. But then there are the XB43 and XB23… now don’t get me wrong, I like how these speakers sound but for me their battery lives aren’t all that great. I think the XB43 and XB23 are great to use around the house but if you need something thats going to last long on a single charge then you’re better off with the XB33.