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Even though the new Sony XB43 has some really meaningful upgrades like an all new speaker set up which genuinely does sound better and it now has USB C charging which does make life a little easier. I can’t help but feel that performance wise this speaker does leave you wanting more and its not as big of an upgrade as I would like when compared to the XB41.
Now price wise the XB43 retails for $250 just like how the XB41 used to retail for when it first came out. Now for those wondering… no there is no XB42, for some reason the XB42 just never came out. But regardless if you want to pick either of these speakers up they’ll be linked down below.
So design wise, the XB43 is very different from the XB41. First off I want to point out that the XB43 is very dense and its much heavier than the XB41. The XB43 weighs in at 6 and a half pounds where as the XB41 weighs in a 3 point 3 pounds. And you’ll also notice that the XB43 is noticeably larger than the XB41. Now just like the XB41, the XB43 has a mostly fabric body which can take a beating if you decide to take this speaker on the go with you and the XB43 is IP67 rated meaning that if this speaker gets wet is going to be perfectly fine. But keep in mind the XB43 now has these exposed passive radiators on either side so you want to be mindful about not pushing them in. But personally I do prefer the XB41’s smaller and lighter design cause it just make it way easier to take on the go with you.
Now one of the standout features of the XB43 is its light feature… and its not all that different from the light feature found on the XB41. You’ve got these light strips on either side that flash in different colors and the woofers and tweeters on this speaker each flash independently from one another. And from Sony’s app you’ve got a few different lighting modes to choose from. But the main ones are Rave, chill, and strobe. Now the lighting feature on the XB43 isn’t amazing and it certainly isn’t the best one out there but I does get the job done.
But now lets talk about tech specs, first off the XB43 now strictly charges via a USB C port. Unlike the XB41 which used to charge via a Micro USB port or through an AC port. Now I really like that the XB43 now charges via a USB C port cause if you’re an android user you can charge your phone and speaker with the same cable. But keep in mind this USB C port is strictly used for charging. You can’t use this USB C port a wired connection.
But the XB43 does come included with its own USB C charging cable. Now when it comes to battery life the XB43 has an advertised battery life of 24 hours when in stamina mode or 14 hours when in Extra Bass mode. But just to be blunt, this speaker is really only worth using when in Extra Bass mode. Now real world use with this speaker set at max volume with Extra bass mode turned on this speaker is really only good for about 2 hours of playback time. And at 80% volume this speaker is only good for around 5 hours of playback time. So in general im not all that impressed with the battery life on this speaker.
Now when it comes to bluetooth connectivity, this speaker has been upgraded to bluetooth 5.0. But more importantly this speaker still performs very similarly to the XB41cause it can be connected to two devices at the same time so you and a friend can both be DJ and this speaker also has zero latency across the board when watching movies or videos on your phone whether you’re using an iPhone or an android device.
And when it comes to audio codecs both the XB43 and XB41 have support for SBC, ACC, and LDAC. But if you want to you can always just use a wired connection with the XB43 cause the XB43 still has an audio jack. And it is important to point out that the XB43 still has an audio jack cause the new XB33 and XB23 don’t. And also the XB43 has a USB A out port so that you can charge your own devices if you need to.
But now lets talk about listening to music with this speaker cause this is where things get very interesting. First off the XB43 has an all new speaker set up which I both like and don’t like. The part that I do like is that the XB43 now has dual woofers and dual tweeters which is great cause the highs and vocals are much cleaner and better defined on this speaker. But what I don’t like is that this speaker now has dual passive radiators shooting out the sides. So now you can’t amplify the bass as much on this speaker by placing it up against a wall like you can with the XB41 cause its passive radiators shoot out the front and back. But keep in mind the XB41 only has dual woofers unlike the XB43 which also have tweeters. Now like I mentioned earlier, this speaker is really only worth using when in Extra Bass mode cause when its set to stamina mode this speaker severely reduces its bass which just makes it sound very flat. But also keep in mind even though the XB43 now has this new Stamina mode its nothing new its just the standard mode mode found the XB41 but obviously just rebranded to make it look like the XB43 got a new feature over the XB41. But with all that being said, we’re going to jump into a sound test. But this sound test has both of these speakers playing at max volume so that you can hear their performance difference.
Now first off I gotta point out that yes, the smaller XB41 not only gets noticeably louder than the XB43 but its bass also packs a much deeper punch than the bass on the XB43. Having the XB43 set at max volume is like having the XB41 at like 90 percent volume. So yes when it comes to loudness and bass the XB43 does leave you wanting more. But something that I will not deny is that vocals and highs do sound much cleaner on the XB43 than on the XB41 cause of the new tweeters. One of the biggest problems with the XB41 is that it does sound a little muffled cause those highs are struggling to be heard and everything just sounds very close together. Where as with the XB43 it does sound noticeably more open.So from a quality standpoint yes the XB43 does sound better than the XB41. But I think that your average user is going to be more concerned about maximum volume and how much bass these speakers have. And unfortunately what you get with the XB43 is what you get cause even if you use this speaker while its plugged in you’re not going to get any performance bump like you might with some other speakers in this price segment.
But something this speaker does have going for it is that it has an adjustable EQ so you can play around with the Bass, mids, and treble. But personally I just like to use this speaker in extra bass mode when im going to listen to music and I switch it over to stamina mode when im going to listen to a podcast cause the extra bass can get over powering when people are talking. But over all even though the XB43 does sound better, I think a lot of people are still going to look at this speaker as a down grade cause it doesn’t get as loud or pack as bass.
But finally lets talk about the speaker pairing protocol cause Sony’s new speakers are now using party connect where as Sony’s older speakers are using wireless party chain. So what this means is that the XB43 can only be connected to newer sony speakers using Party connect like another XB43, an XB33, or an XB23.
And this also means that you can’t pair an XB43 to older speakers using wireless party chain like an XB41, XB32, XB22, XB32, XB21, and the list just goes on.
So overall even though the XB43 has some really good things going for it and it is a fine speaker… I don’t think this speaker is worth the upgrade and sony could have done so much more. I really like that the XB43 now has dual tweeters cause it really does help the highs sound much cleaner but ironically this speaker now has less bass than its predecessors cause of its new passive radiators that shoot out the sides. And also this speaker is noticeably quieter than its predecessor as well. I really like that XB43 now has a USB C port for charging, but the real world battery life on this speaker is really lacking. At max volume this speaker is only going to last you around 2 hours when in extra bass mode, which isn’t even a lot of bass to begin with. And also the new party connect on the XB43 is just as a pain in the butt to set up as Sony’s old wireless party chain. So there’s really no need to upgrade here and if you’re looking for a deal, I say pick up the XB41 while you can.