So this is the Sony ULT Tower 9, and this is a part of Sony’s new ULT series of speakers where they are really focused on instrument separation, sound pressure and battery life. And basically this is a smaller and more portable version of the already great ULT Tower 10. Nonetheless today we’re going to check out the ULT Tower 9 and we’re going to see if it right for you.
Regarding pricing, the Sony ULT Tower 9 has a retail price of $900, but I do expect this speaker to go on sale on a regular basis, nonetheless if you want to pick this speaker up it’ll be linked down below 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 this speaker, now the ULT Tower 9 is noticeably smaller than the ULT Tower 10… but it is larger than Sony’s other box speakers like the Sony XV800 or the XP700. And for those curious, it is larger than the JBL Partybox 520. Now the ULT Tower 9 weighs in at 65 pounds, but it does have built in wheels… so transporting this speaker is still easy enough cause you can just roll it around, and I really like that the Tower 9 has these really chunky wheels, so you’re going to be able to easily roll it in a parking lot, on the side walk or on a thick carpet… unlike the tiny wheels found on the ULT Tower 10. But overall a single person should be able to handle this speaker… but I do feel that it is preferred that you have help if you’re going to take this speaker up stairs or load it into your car if you dont want to damage the walls in your house, the car or the speaker itself. And durability wise, you do have to be carful with this speaker. It has a mostly plastic body which can get scratched very easily and it has a thing metal grill on the front… bu more importantly this speaker does not have an official water resistance rating. So I would be carful to not let this speaker get wet. Also, this speaker does not have a top hat mount on the bottom, so you cant place this speaker on a stand.
But then theres the light feature on this speaker… now the light feature on the ULT Tower 9 gives it a very large presence cause it has floor lights and these floor lights have a very wide area of effect. However this light feature is best used while at night or indoors cause out sides you dont see these lights all that much. But from Sony’s app you can go in a choose from a few different light modes if you want and you can also customize this light feature if you want. Overall this light feature is decent, but if you do decide to use this light feature that is going to take its toll on the battery life.
Now when it comes to battery life this speaker has an advertised battery life of 25 hours… which is a lot, however thats with this speaker playing at 36 percent volume, which is a decent listening volume for when you’re having a get together, but that’s with the light feature turned off but with the ULT feature turned on which is good. But if you were to use this speaker with th light feature turned on, its going to be good for like 12 hours.
But real world use for me with this speaker playing at 60% volume which is already a really good volume, and with the lights turned on and with ULT 2 which is better for out door use, its been good for 8 hours of playback time. But battery life on this speaker really varies depending on how your use it, but if you were to use it at max volume then its going to be good for 2 and a half hours of playback time… and honestly, max volume on this speaker is going to result in a visit from the cops. And anything above 60% volume while indoors is going to require hearing protection.
Now I feel that battery life on this speaker is rather impressive, but if you want you can always extend its battery life even more if you use it while in its stamina mode… but stamina mode is going to really lower your bass so its not going to sound its best… but its an option. And to charge this speaker, it charges via a double barrel AC port, and if you use this speaker while its plugged in, you are going to get a performance boost out of it, its going to get louder and its going to have more bass.
But then there are the ports on this speaker. Now theres a port panel on the top where you can plug in 2 mics for kakroke, or you can also plug in a guitar… but I think mics for kakroke is more important. Now you can also go in and ad an echo if you want so that you can hide how off key you are. However you cant change the sound of your mic. But what you can go is adjust the pitch of your music… and personally I dont think that this is very useful so I never use this feature.
Now like I just said you can plug in two wired mics into this speaker or you can plug in Sony’s ULT wireless mics and get 2 wireless mics going. Now both of these mics and the receiver charge via a USB C port and they both have really good range. And the cool part is, the Tower 9 actually built in holders for these mics.
Now on the back you’ll find a second port panel, and here you’ll find a USB A port so that you can charge your Wireless mics… however I really wish that this USB A port was a USB C port instead… however you can plug in a USB Stick into this USB A port and play music off of it if you want. But also, you can use this speaker with a wired connection cause it does have an audio jack, as you’d expect… but the tower 9 also has an optical port so if you want you can connect this speaker to your tv and use it as a soundbar if you want. Which I do feel helps make this speaker a little more versatile.
But when it comes to Bluetooth connectivity, this speaker 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 this speaker so you can use it to watch videos with on your phone… and when it comes to audio codecs, it has support for SBC, AAC and LDAC which is Sony’s own high res audio codec, but in order to use LDAC you do have to be an android user cause iPhones top out at AAC… but regardless this speaker sounds great with AAC as well.
But with all of that out of the way lets talk about sound. Regarding speaker set up, the ULT Tower 9 has a frontward firing woofer with an exhaust port that shoots out the front, it has dual frontward firing mid range drivers and it has a total of 4 tweeters, two that shoot out the front and 2 that shoot out the back. Now from Sony’s app you can also go in and adjust the EQ on this speaker to your liking… but more importantly this speaker has 2 ULT settings. ULT 1 and ULT 2. Basically with ULT 1 this setting is going to increase the bass of this speaker and this is the setting that I like to use on this speaker if im using it indoors. But then theres ULT 2, and ULT 2 is better when used outdoors cause you’re going to have the same increased bass like with ULT 1… but its also going to increase the sound pressure of this speaker so the mids and highs are going to be more prominent as well. But now we’re going to jump into the sound test, this speaker is going to be playing at 75% volume and we’re going to cycle with ULT turned on and off and we’re also going to use this speaker while its plugged in.
Sound Test
So when it comes to sound quality, in general sony has really been improving this audio products for the last few years and the ULT Tower 9 is no exception. Now since the Tower 9 has a frontward firing exhaust port, its bass is more on the audible side.. you can still feel it, but it doesn’t kick as much as lets say JBL Partybox’s… but more importantly the Sony ULT Tower 9 gives you much better balance and instrument separation. Now like you may have heard, with ULT 1 the tower 9 had more bass than with ULT being turned off… and with ULT 2, the tower 9 had that same great bass but the vocals were more pronounced. And when it comes to max volume performance, the ULT Tower 9 gets super loud, so loud that you never ask yourself what if you get a second speaker… but its not overkill either where you regret your purchase. Now I feel that the tower 9 is going to have no problem with a 50 person party and we’re starting to enter commercial territory here, think small DJ gigs medium sized restaurants or small events. But like I mentioned earlier, if you were to use this speaker while its plugged in you are going to get a performance boost out of it, its going to get louder and its going to have more bass. Overall I think the ULT Tower 9 sounds great and I cant wait for you to watch the comparison video where we compare it to the JBL Partybox 520.
But finally lets talk about pair this speaker up with other speakers. Now the if you have two of the exact same speakers you can wirelessly pair them up and get them to play in left and right stereo mode so you music is going to sound more open and its going to get louder. But you have to have two of the exact same speakers.
But also, this speaker is using Sony’s wireless party chain so you can pair it up to other sony speakers that are also using wireless party chain like a tower 10, to an XV800, XP700 or XP500 and you can get them to play in sync… and you can also pair it up to Sony’s smaller speakers that are also using wireless party chain like either an ULT field 7, ULT field 5, ULT Field 3 or to Sony’s older speakers like an XG500, XG300, XE300, XE200 or to an XB43, XB33, or to an XB23. The only unfortunate thing here is, you can not connect this speaker to an ULT Field 1 cause it does not have wireless party chain.
But with all of that being said, the Sony ULT Tower 9 is a great sounding speaker that give you a very balanced and open sound signature. Thanks to its dedicated mid range drivers and a total of 4 tweeters, this speaker has really good definition in the mids and highs… but it still has a lot of audible bass. And personally I feel that for indoors use ULT 1 is going to be best and ULT 2 is going to be great if you’re having a party out doors. This speaker also gets super louder so you never wonder if you should get a second speaker… but its not overkill either. And if you want you can even use this speaker for commercial use. The built in battery on this speaker makes it very versitial, but if you use it while its plugged in you are going to get more out of it. And I also really like that this speaker also has that optical port so if you want you can use it with your TV if you dont already have a sound bar.