The first time you pick up the Sony SRS – XB20 you’ll notice how comfortable it is to hold in the hand. It has a rubber texture at the top and back that gives you tons of grip.
It’s well made and very durable. It’s bigger than its competition the UE WonderBoom and the JBL Flip4. It’s perfect to carry around in the hand or in a bag.
The XB20 is only splash resistant so it can’t be submerged underwater.
Design & Features
At the top you have your typical buttons for volume, power, pairing, taking phone calls and extra bass along with NFC for easy pairing.
Unique features include Google Assistant and Siri activation with one quick press of the speakerphone button. Phone calls sound very good with no echoes but the loudness of your voice will slightly dissipate from a distance.
You can pair another compatible Sony speaker and have a left and right audio separation for a true stereo sound or you can sync up to 10 compatible speakers and enable what Sony calls The Party Chain. This lets all your speakers play at the same time.
The UE and the JBL allow you to sync 100 speakers or more but I don’t see anyone pairing 100 speakers let alone 10.
At the back, you have an additional speaker for additional bass when the speaker is near a wall. There’s a water-resistant flap on the left side that houses the input for your micro SD charging port and a 3.5mm jack for your analog connection.
Battery Life
Sony claims a battery life of 12 hours but you will get closer to 10 hours with the volume at 50%. It uses Bluetooth 4.0 and has a range of 60 feet before the signal starts to cut out.
LED Lights
The most unique feature of the LED lights. The lights will flash to the beat of the music in various styles. With the Sony Songpal app, you can switch the LED lights to strobe, chill or rave to have different lighting experience. There are no lighting color options though so whatever color your XB20 you choose to buys that’s the color your LED will be.
Sound
You will really enjoy the audio experience from the XB20. It’s very loud in a small or medium room, but for open areas or outdoors I would recommend a larger speaker for entertaining. The mids are where the XB20 excels, with bright mids, forward vocals are clear and articulates detail of instruments. The bass is very punchy very impressive for its size and that better than the UE WonderBoom, but basically the same as the JBL Flip 4. If you’re looking for a speaker that more bassy you have to spend a bit more on a more powerful speaker. View Our Sony XB 22 Review
Finally
The Sony SRS – XB20 is a really good Bluetooth speaker that looks and sounds great, it’s one of the better performing small speakers currently on the market. What makes it different from the competition is the LED lights. The only cons are that it’s not fully waterproof and the LED lights can’t change color or variety. If you can look past those small issues it’s a great splash-proof Bluetooth speaker with LED lights I highly recommend the Sony SRS – XB20. Read Now: Best Sony Bluetooth Speakers
The Sony SRS – XB20 is given an Overall Rating Based on Design, Features, Sound Quality & Value, out of 10..
My Overall RATING: 8.5 out of 10
See Price HERE
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Hi,
Just wondering which is the best sounding device out of the Jbl Flip 3 and 4 and the sony xb20. I like a balanced open sound with good bass, mids and highs. How do they compare with each other? I did listen to a Flip 3 and felt at more than 50% volume the bass went soft and it became a bit harsh in the sound. Cheers Steve
Hey Steve. The Flip 4 is better than the Flip3 it’s much more improved in both sound quality and build quality and is a step forward. When it comes to the xb20 and Flip4 they are quite similar in sound quality when it comes to highs, but the xb20 has better mids which give you more clarity when listening to your music and the Flip4 has better bass. So it will come down to preference. The Flip4 is built like a tank you can take it anywhere and it’s completely waterproof, while xb20 is more of a indoors type speaker, its splash proof not waterproof and has those kool LED lights. Its those minor differences that you should consider. Also, Check out my of the JBL Flip 4
Hi,
I bought the JBL Flip 4 when comparing it with the sony xb20. Tonally the Flip 4 seemed more balanced between the bass, mid and treble and it had better deeper bass. I found the xb20 a bit more mid focused and lacked a bit of bass as the volume went up (a bit tinny sounding compared to the flip 4). However I agree the mids are a bit smoother and nicer on the xb20, the jbl can become a little harsh in the mids/highs as volume towards full. I wish you can have the best of both and combine it into one. 🙂
Cheers
Steve
Hey Steve,
Thanks for sharing. I Completely agree with you. If you mesh them together you would get one awesome speaker, but there still both great option for people with different preferences in sound. Lets see what 2018 has to offer for these great devices.
George
M xb20 suddenly turns off it is so anniying it says 70% but when I start playing the song it suddenly turns off this is so annoying like what the heck
Hi Boris,
Thanks for sharing.
I’m sorry you’re experiencing this annoying issue with your XB20. Have you checked to see if the auto power off function is have activated?
After 15 minutes in certain circumstances, such as when the volume of the audio input is low, the power will automatically turn off. Raise the volume of the connected device for use, or set the auto power function to off.
To see how to switch the auto power feature off, Click the link http://helpguide.sony.net/speaker/srs-xb20/v1/en/contents/TP0001271524.html
Please let us know if this helped to fix your issue.
I recently had my Sony SB 20 fall off a file cabinet and pull out from the outlet. The wires are bent. Is the unit repairable?