So both the JBL Xtreme 4 and the Sony ULT field 5 are great large portable bluetooth speakers to consider. They get loud enough for lets say a 10 or more person get together, but they are small and durable enough to take to the beach with you. However, for less than either the JBL Xtreme 4 or Sony ULT Field 5, you can get yourself the Soundcore Boom 2 Plus… So today we’re going to compare the Soundcore Boom 2 plus to both the JBL Xtreme 4 and the Sony ULT Field 5, and lets see if its even worth going with these other two options.
So first theres pricing, now the JBL Xtreme 4 has a retail price of $380 and the Sony ULT Field 5 has a retail price of $330… but then theres the Soundcore Boom 2 Plus which has a retail price of $250… heavily undercutting these smaller options. Nonetheless if you want to pick any of these speakers up they’ll be linked down blow or you can always press on the YouTube shopping button, and if you want to further support the channel then you can always pick up some merch.
So first theres the design of these speakers. Now the Soundcore Boom 2 plus is considerably larger than these other two speakers. But the Boom 2 plus is still relatively easy to take on the go with you cause it comes included with a shoulder strap. Now these other two speakers also come included with a shoulder strap… and I will add that these shoulder straps feel more premium as well, and the JBL Xtreme 4 also has the added benefit of having a built in bottle opener. But overall both the Sony and JBL are more conviente to take on the go with you cause they are smaller and they also feel a lot more premium thanks to their fabric wrapped bodies, where as with the Boom 2 plus, it has a mostly plastic body so its going to get scratched up way easier. But more importantly, all three of these speakers are water proof, so therye all good options to take to the beach, but both the JBL and Sony are smaller.
But something that makes both the Soundcore boom 2 plus and Sony ULT Field 5 stand out from a lot of other speakers on the market is that they both have built in light features. And I actually think that both of these light features look good and they are both worth using. However the light feature on the Soundcore Boom 2 plus has a more localized affect to it, where as the light feature on the ULT field 5 has a more flooding affect to it. Overall, if you’re looking for a light feature, then both of the speakers are a good option. Just keep in mind that if you do decide to use the light feature on either of these two speakers, that is going to take its toll on the battery life.
Now when it comes to battery life, the Soundcore Boom 2 plus has an advertised battery life of 20 hours, the JBL Xtreme 4 has an advertised battery life of 24 hours and the Sony ULT Field 5 has an advertised battery life of 25 hours. And real world use with the Soundcore Boom 2 plus playing at 80% volume and with the light feature turned on and with the bass up feature turned on, its good for about 7 hours of playback time, but you can always extend its battery life if you use it with its light feature turned off.
Where as with both the Xtreme 4 and Sony ULT Field 5 playing at 80% volume, and this is with the ULT Field 5 playing with its light feature turned off and with its ULT feature turned on, the Sony ULT Field 5 is good for about 12 hours of playback time and the JBL Xtreme 4 is good for about 14 hours of playback time. But just keep in mind, the Soudncore Boom 2 plus is louder and has more bass than these other two speakers while they’re all playing at 80% Volume.
And to charge these speakers, they all charge via a USB C port, now I expect both the JBL and Sony to charge via a USB C port… but personally I am surprised that the SOundcore Boom 2 plus charges via a USB C port just cause of its size. And with all of these speakers you can also use their USB C ports to charge your own devices, which I think is super useful especially if you plan on taking these speakers to the beach… but you cant use any of these USB C ports as a wired connection. However both the Sony and Soundcore Still have an audio jack.
But something that makes the JBL Xtreme 4 really stand out here is, you can actually remove the battery on this speaker. So if you want you can get multiple batteries and keep the party going, or if you get to the point where your speaker can no longer hold a charge, instead of buying a new speaker, you just need to get a new battery.
However, removing the battery on the Xtreme 4 isn’t as easy as removing the battery on the Partybox 320 or 120. With the Xtreme 4 you’re going to need Alan keys, and the Xtreme 4 has this set up so that it can keep its IP68 rating. So swapping out the battery on the Xtreme 4 is doable, but its not super convenient. But it can be done.
And finally when it comes to bluetooth connectivity, all three of these speakers can be connected to 2 devices at the same time so you and a friend can both be DJ, latency is not an issue for any of these speakers so you can use them to watch videos with on your phone. But when it comes to audio codecs, both the JBL and Soundcore only have support for SBC where as the Sony has support for SBC and AAC.
But with all of that out of the way lets talk about sound. Regarding speaker set up, both the JBL Xtreme 4 and Soundcore Boom 2 plus have dual frontward firing woofers, dual frontward firing tweeters and dual passive radiators that shoot out the sides, except on the Soundcore, its bigger. Where as with the Sony ULT Field 5, it has a single frontward firing woofer, dual forntward firing tweeters and dual passive radiators that shoot out the sides. But now we’re going to jump into the soundtest. All three of these speakers are playing at 75% volume, the soundcore boom 2 plus is playing with its bass up turned on and the Sony ULT Field 5 is playing with ULT 2.
Sound Test
So first we need to talk about max volume performance. Obviously since the Soundcore Boom 2 plus is larger than these other two speakers, the Soundcore Boom 2 plus is going to get louder and its going to have more bass just cause its able to move more air. Overall I think the Boom 2 plus is going to be good for like a 15 person get together… where as both the JBL Xtreme 4 and Sony ULT Field 5 are good for like a 10 person get together. Overall both the Xtreme 4 and Sony ULT field 5 get more than loud enough for their size, and if you were to use either of these two speakers while they are plugged in, you are going to get a performance boost out of them, they are going to get louder and they are going to have more bass… but still the Soundcore Boom 2 plus is just going to get louder.
However, even though the Soundcore Boom 2 plus gets noticeably louder than these other two speakers, its doesn’t sound as open and it doesn’t have as good instrument separation as these other two speakers. So with both the JBL Xtreme 4 and Sony ULT Field 5, you are going to get more quality sound. And in general I do feel that the Sony ULT field 5 sounds better than the JBL Xtreme 4 cause this speaker has more pronounced mids and it also has more bass, so even at its max volume, this speaker continues to sound full. So if you’re just looking for more volume and bass, then yes, the Soundcore Boom 2 plus is the way to go. But if you want better sound, then peronsally I do recommend the Sony ULT Field 5.
But finally, lets talk about pairing these speakers up to other speakers. Now with all of these speakers, if you have two of the exact same speakers then you can wirelessly pair them together and get them to play in left and right stereo mode.
But with the Soundcore Boom 2 Plus, since this speaker is using Partycast 2.0, you can pair it up to other Partycast 2.0 speakers like the Boom 2 and get them to play in sync and you can pair up to 100 speakers together. However you can not connect your Soundcore Boom 2 Plus to lets say a Soundcore Rave 3S which is using Aura Cast.
But then theres the Sony ULT field 5, which is using Sony’s party connect. So you can pair it up to other Sony speakers that are also using party connect like either an ULT Field 7, XG500, XG330, XE300, XE200, XB43, XB33, XB23 or to another ULT Field 5 or ULT Field 3 and you can pair up to 100 speakers together and get them to play in sync.
But also, you can pair your smaller Sony speakers to any of Sony’s larger speakers that are also using Party connect like either an ULT Tower 10, ULT Tower 9, or XV800, XV500 or to an XP700 or XP500. The only unfortunate thing here is, you cant connect your ULT Field 1 to an ULT Field 5… and I really think that this is unfortunate cause this is my favorite small portable bluetooth speaker…
And then theres the JBL Xtreme 4 which is using Aura Cast, and you can pair it up to other JBL speakers that are also using aura cast like either another Xtreme 4, or to a charge 6, flip 7, clip 5 or go 4… and you can also pair it up to JBL’s partybox that are also using aura cast like either a Partybox encore 2, partybox 120, 320, 520 or Partybox ultimate and you can get them to play in sync.
But also, something that makes the JBL Xtreme 4 very special here is that you can also pair it up to JBL’s older speakers that are using Partyboost like either a Boombox 3, Boombox 2, Xtreme 3, Pulse 5, Pulse 4, Charge 5, flip 5 or flip 6. And this is a big deal cause the Xtreme 4 is currently the only JBL Auracast speaker that can also connect to JBL’s older party boost speakers. So if you have any of JBL’s older party boost speakers, then you’ll might want to go with the Xtreme 4.
Overall, if you plan on growing your collection of speakers then you’ll might want to go with the JBL Xtreme 4 cause its using aura cast and cause it can connect to JBL’s older party boost speakers… and you can also pair it up to other non JBL speakers that are also using aura cast… however, I do find that Sony’s Party Connect is more stable than Auracast, but with Sony’s party connect you’re stuck inside of Sony’s eco system.
But with all of that being said, the Soundcore Boom 2 Plus is a very impressive speaker that gives you a really big bang for your buck. The Soundcore Boom 2 plus gets louder and has more bass than both the JBL Xtreme 4 and Sony ULT Field 5. The Boom 2 Plus also has an impressive looking light feature and I like that you can use its USB C port to charge your own devices. However if you were to go with either the JBL Xtreme 4 of the Sony ULT Field 5, first off you are going to get better quality sound cause both of these speakers are going to have better instrument seperation and they are going to sound more open. And overall I do feel that the Sony ULT field 5 is the best sounding speaker here cause it has the best definition in the mids and more bass. But also, both the JBL and Sony are more portable, and they both have longer lasting battery life… they just dont get as loud as the Soundcore Boom 2 plus… but that’s fine cause they’re way smaller.