Rarely do small speakers sound good, let alone great. Or can weather anything thrown at it for long periods of time. Sony clearly has a winner in its bag with the SRS-XB13 Bluetooth speaker, which offers value for money and appears to be a rough-and-tough addition to any collection of personal gadgets.
We have seen a lot of the features this tiny but tough soldier offers but on costlier models. There are two clear advantages — pricing and sound. Frankly, I was sceptical when the speaker arrived in a tiny box but oh boy, the sound hits hard, thanks to Sony’s Extra bass technology. But that doesn’t mean it’s all boom-boom; everything you stream on the SRS-XB13 appears crisp. The passive radiator works with a full-range speaker to highlight low-end tones, boosting the bass.
Lately, we have been listening to a lot of Doja Cat and her laid-back disco-pop, which is always summery. Her new album, Planet Her, is breezy and that comes through on the Bluetooth speaker. We changed gears to The Doors, a band that has been all about lyrics and, of course, Ray Manzarek’s delicate piano and keyboards. The energy in their songs is not dampened by the small speaker.
In case you do get this speaker, you have to remember that it projects sound upwards, in other words the sound is directional, easily filling up a room. Once the situation improves and life has some semblance of freedom to move about, the speaker will be a good poolside addition. If you hang it from a tree or a beach umbrella, point it towards you and voila.
There is a sturdy strap that comes attached to the speaker, which doesn’t feel cheap and is a clever addition to an inexpensive speaker, something most pricey models don’t offer. You can loop it around the strap on your bag or thread it through the bottom and hang it from anything. Rated IP67 means you don’t have to bother about light rain or dust. We dropped it into an empty aquarium that we have to test devices and surprisingly the speaker floats instead of drowning. This means if it falls into the pool, you can easily collect it.
If you get two of these units, they can be paired for stereo sound. Battery life too is impressive if you don’t go over 60 per cent volume. At 80 per cent volume you will drain the battery in around 10 hours but we played it at around 70 per cent, which gave us around 11-12 hours. But charging takes time, going from dead to full in 4.5 hours.
Given the size, sound and practical design, Sony SRS-XB13 is genuinely good value for money. The company is clearly onto a winner.
More about the wireless speaker
Device: Sony SRS-XB13
Price: Rs 3,990
Colours: Pink, blue, taupe and black
High notes
• Sturdy, water and dust resistant
• Outstanding sound for a small speaker
• Can be paired with a similar unit for stereo sound
Muffled notes
• Charging takes time
