Customer Ratings & Reviews

I wanted to like this speaker, but the sound quality is just lousy. Size is well enough. Looks slightly more stylish than the competition. But man, that's where yhe compliments end. Downloaded the Sony Music app, updated the software. Only has a 3-slider EQ. Can move bass up, but then everything else gets washed out. Theres no balance. When you lower mids the music sounds underwater. When highs are bumped up, it makes everything sound shrill. This speaker manages to mangle music into noise. It might work for others, but it just sounds hollow. Mediocre effort.

Sony never ceases to amaze me with their audio tech. This latest XE300 bluetooth speaker is no different. First listen and be blown away. Pros: *Big sound in a little package *Competitively priced in this premium segment *Full featured *Battery protect mode that only lets you charge to 90% Cons: *Must use phone app for most of the features *No rubber feet to prevent marring *Limited buttons Don’t be caught off guard at the small-ish form factor. It’s not comically small and not enormously cumbersome. I would consider this to be the best size for both portability and stationary bluetooth speaker. Even with the small-ish form factor, it weighs in at a respectable 3lbs. Out of the box, the speaker came pre-charged for immediate use. Comes with just a USB-C cable. To fully unlock all the features, you will need to download and use the app. It came with a flat EQ and mono. After tinkering around with the semi-intuitive app, tuning your EQ to your liking and enabling “stereo” should be the first two things you do after pairing. What this speaker does well is the sound and connectivity. It pairs with my iphone 13 pro almost immediately and rarely without hiccup. After fine tuning the EQ to my liking, the bass is very respectable for the size and nearly zero distortion on full volume. Full volume is loud for inside the house but can be lacking outside if you’re 20+ feet away. The speaker touts its ability to be water and dust proof. That insinuates that it’s a “go anywhere” speaker but the fit and finish is more for indoor use than outdoors. The soft touch plastics can easily get marred and especially when it doesn’t come with little rubber feet to keep the sides from making contact. The speaker can be placed either vertical or horizontal. The unique shaped woofers lead to a very wide soundstage. This innovative design works great and I hope future iterations include the design. Do note that with a vertical orientation, the side buttons are very hard to press without two hands. The speaker does sound slightly better horizontally. In summary, I do recommend this speaker to anyone in the market for a mid sized bluetooth speaker that sounds and looks great. The long battery life is enough to satisfy most needs but why advertise water and dust proof if the speaker doesn’t have “feet” to keep your speaker looking pristine? I guess just place it on tables and grass and not on concrete or uneven rocks.

It’s honestly not any significant amount better than a simple wonderboom speaker that is cheaper and smaller.

Bass could be better, my XB 41 has better sound I think

The first thing that you notice is that this speaker is BIG. But it does perform admirably. The sound is great, and the battery life is amazing. There is even a USB type A port for charging your phone if you need it. Sony claims 25 hours of battery life on a moderate volume, and I can believe it given my experience so far. This speaker is also true stereo, but given that the separation is only a few inches, you cannot expect great stereo separation in a unit this size. But that sound is still wonderful, with bass ports on either side that can keep the house thumping! There is a USB-C port for charging, and a 3.5mm jack for wired input. Included in the box is a wired 5V USB-C wall wart, but you can use any type-C charger that you have lying around. This speaker also advertises water and dust resistance, and it certainly appears plausible, especially given the big rubber door covering the ports on the back. One final feature that I have never seen before is the option to limit the battery charging to only 90%, which means that the battery will not wear out nearly as fast. Kudos on Sony for including this feature. I wish that more devices with rechargeable batteries did this. But as good as this speaker is, there are a couple of tiny nits to pick. First is that there is no NFC paring option. Other, less expensive speakers from other manufacturers have this feature, and it would have been a nice option to have. Second is that, while there is a "light" feature, it is very dark and battery life takes a hit while in use. The bass ports on the side are lit by an RGB LED, but because the speakers themselves are black, most of the light is simply absorbed. The lighting effect is close to invisible during the day, and disappointing at night. But I don't actually care about lights, so I just leave them off. According to the manual, the "25 hour" battery life drops by hours when the lights are turned on, so I would just leave them off. Another thing to be aware of that you will NEED to download the app to change many of the settings. The option to limit battery charging to 90% can only be activated by the app. There is a button to turn the lighting effects on or off on the back, but if you want to change which lighting effect is used, you need the app. The final curious thing is that this speaker is supposed to be rugged, and has water and dust resistance. However, the entire unit is covered in a nice-feeling fabric. While it looks and feels great, I can't help but feel that the fabric will easily hold dirt and sand. This won't hurt the speaker at all, but it might shed dirt every time you move it once you bring it back in the house.

It sounds okay, but not as good as the sales person said

Excellent sound and useful features make this an easy-to-recommend portable Bluetooth speaker. From the initial setup and to the easy-to-use app, this is a great speaker to have around. The collapsible strap makes for easy transportation and the light are nice and subtle and can be turned off if they're too distracting. While I may never be able to fully take advantage of it, the ability to link up with up to 100 other compatible speakers is super cool. This would be a great feature to have if you had friends with them and were hanging outside. The design and material are also very attractive and give a premium feel. The material is a soft fabric that looks very sleek. Add in that it's water and dust resistant, and it's ready to go to almost any place you'd like. It also has the cool ability to act as a power bank for your phone/tablet. It also has a good feature that you usually only find on laptops or similar devices - the option to turn on what Sony calls "Battery Care". This keeps the speaker from fully charging if it's going to be plugged into the wall for an extended time to help prolong the life of the battery itself and prevent degradation. Overall, this is a smartly-designed and sounding speaker. Between this and their headphones, I think Sony is killing it in the audio department. Pros: Excellent sound, great features, sleek design, retractable lifting strap, acts as a battery bank Cons: A bit pricey, may be considered somewhat big/heavy for a portable speaker

The Sony XE200 is one of Sony’s latest Bluetooth portable speakers. This speaker boasts a “line shaped diffuser and X-balanced speakers” to provide a wide sound stage. In addition, this speaker keeps the IP67 rating that many of Sony’s portage speaker provide. After using this speaker, it leaves much to be desired. In The Box: - XE200 Speaker - USB to USB-C Charging Cable - Manuals/Quick Start Guide Setup: Out of the box setup is a breeze if you already have the Sony Music Center App. Open this up with the speaker powered on and the app finds the speaker immediately. Once you go through the few screens to register your speaker, it’s ready to go! If you want to pair this via Bluetooth, you can do this too by going through your devices Bluetooth settings and finding the XE200. Either method is very simple. Since this speaker supports BT 5.2, this allows you to enable faster connecting/pairing with supported devices. I would recommend using the Sony app so you can get the most out of this speaker in terms of setting, EQ, and power options. The speaker has dedicated buttons on the side for most tasks but this doesn’t allow EQ adjustment. Speaking of the buttons, they are very tactile and are easy to read/use. You’ll find buttons for power On/Off, BT Pairing, Play/Pause/Phone, Volume Up/Down, and Battery Saver? and Mute Mic. The speaker design is fairly nice with a flap on the back for USB-C charging. The cloth strap feels robust and the overall build quality seems up to Sony standards. Here is where the disappointment starts. Sound Quality: Given I have had MANY encounters with Sony portable speakers over the years along with headphones of all types, I had an expectation with this speaker. Well, this is the first time that expectation was not met and actually I would go as far to say this has a disappointing sound quality. Now let me preface this with the fact that I understand this is not part of their XB series speakers which offer Extra Bass but even given this fact, the speaker sounds extra flat. I have tried EQ adjustments and different streaming methods with no avail. The speaker holds pretty true to Sony’s claims of very little distortion but as the volume exceeds that 60% threshold or so the speaker loses what little bass it has. The speaker volume is acceptable although I would say it’s not overly loud but because this is their entry level X series product it more than acceptable in that department. Because sound quality did not meet my expectations (and is the primary function of speaker like this) I would highly recommend looking at Sony’s XB series. The XB33 is right around the same price and should offer sound just like my XB31 which is far superior sounding. The only downside is it might be missing a few features this speaker has but offers others that this one doesn’t have. It’s a tradeoff. Features: The XE200 has enhanced microphone technology called “Echo Cancelling Technology”. This allows two people to talk at the same time without cutting one of them off. It also has multipoint connection to allow two devices to connect at the same time. The microphones seemed to perform fine in my testing with the device. The speaker features quick charging capabilities and battery care. There is a setting to limit charging to 90% of capacity in hopes of the battery lasting longer. I turned this on because 90% of the 16hr claimed battery life is plenty for me as I always charge up before 0%. The quick charge gives you 70 minutes of playback in just 10 minutes of charging. The IP67 rating means this speaker is dust and water proof and offers shock resistance. The carrying strap should help with transportation as does the small size. Overall: This was the first Sony product I can recall in many years to not meet my expectations in sound quality. Even though this is the entry level speaker in this lineup, it doesn’t compare to the similarly priced XB33 in terms of sound quality. When you compare those two speakers, the size, weight, and price are so close that I would happily loose one or two features for better low end sound quality. Hopefully this helps anyone looking into the XE200 that might want some low end tones in their portable speaker. The XE200 just doesn’t offer that like the XB series even in the same size speaker. Pros: - Compact, light - Design, Build Quality - Buttons, Carrying Strap - IP67 Rating - Microphones - BT 5.2 Connectivity Cons: - Sounds Extremely Flat (Even for it’s size) - No Reverse Charging (Powerbank function)

This Sony portable speaker is a winner. It easily connects to bluetooth after charging with a USB-C charger. Once it is turned on the quality of the sound is noticeable immediately. Full Bass, clear sound quality are evident. Sony calls it "X-Balanced Technology". I call it supreme clear sound quality. I am no audio expert, but I own other portable speakers and can tell you this one has the best sound quality. You can stand the unit vertically or horizontally. The unit has a solid hand strap. The outer layer case has a solid feel. The coating has a rubber feel. The speaker is waterproof and can accept phone calls as well. The microphone seems to work very well as I tested it. The full charge lasts and lasts. I used it a good part of 2 and a half days before recharging it. They say charge can last up to 24 hours. The unit has a quick charge function that can give you about an hour of use on a 10min charge. The charging technology keeps the charge just under 100% to keep a longer battety life. Again, all great features that Sony put into this speaker. The speaker is also waterproof. If this were not enough the Sony app works great with the speaker. An app is not necessary to use this speaker, but it is another added feature that enhances your listening experience with many features built into the app. Sony did a great job in this product build. I am sure that I will get many years of great use from it.

Looking for great sounding audio from a portable Bluetooth speaker? I found a great option from SONY, the XG300. Not only is it portable with its own self contained battery, it can even share that power to keep your phone charged and running while at work or play. SOUND: that's all I really care about in a speaker. The XG300 delivers. Free apps make it more versatile, but aren't required for out of the box connecting and usage. Phone connected and need to make a call? Your covered with the built in microphone. Answer the phone with a press of the button on the left side next to the power ON/OFF button. The unique hourglass shape gives this little speaker pair some awesome bass. If you have a compatible SONY Bluetooth speaker, you can join them wirelessly and be surrounded by your music. I love it while working in the garage or on the job. It even has its own toolbox. The unit is rated for water and dust so harsh locations won't bother it. The speakers have cool LEDs when I'm using them for down time. The charger is super fast giving hours of playback in a few short minutes of plug time. The unit's carrying handle folds into the top between the easy to actuate buttons. Clear and large enough to see without glasses. They also have a raised surface to touch recognition. The charging port is SUB-C for high power fast charging. Zero to FULL in less than 5 hours.

This is a very nice Bluetooth speaker. I will start out by saying I really thought Sony marketing the Line-Shape Diffuser design would be a gimmick but it turns out that’s it’s best feature. It’s similar to most others in this range sound wise. It definitely is very balanced and I couldn’t detect any distortion even at full volume. The clarity is excellent and the design really does spread out the sound and allows the speaker to be positioned and stable in any position. Bass is adequate for it’s size and portability. They make larger models if you want to thump around. I plan on picking up the SRS-XE300 also for those times where I want something larger with more bump. The case has excellent grip also. It’s a soft plastic and of course there is also a strap. The app is nice to manually adjust the sound and for future software updates but otherwise it really isn’t necessary or anything you will likely use much. I ran it 7 hours and 3/4 volume and it used about 40% battery so Sony’s estimates seem to be right on at 16 hours. I also like that none of the speakers are exposed. Makes for a cool look but more susceptible to damage. This thing looks and feels rock solid. This is a winner but I would recommend purchasing the bigger one if you need more kick. Live life loud out there.

As someone who has had a lot of experience with Sony products across the technology board, including many speakers, headphones, and AVRs, I have to admit, my expectations were not met with the XE200 as far as sound quality OUT OF THE BOX. I say out of the box, because with a little tweaking and knowledge, you can get a better quality, albeit not up to my personal standards but plug and play is barely good. That said, it’s important to remember what this speaker is; the entry level of a series with a rugged, portable, IP67 party speaker design. This isn’t marketed as your high quality full range home speaker, (Sony makes those too and I highly recommend them!) but this speaker is aimed at being a quick grab, easy set up and long lasting pool/beach side speaker. And it’s worth noting it does that very well. The IP67 rating means water or dust doesn’t stand a chance and you can enjoy music on the go in almost any environment. With a very easy pairing setup, you are technically ready to go. But this is where I start to nitpick and have some issues. SETUP The fact that it is advertised and easy on the go means most people won’t bother to do any fine tuning and therefore won’t get the best quality of audio. I myself was actually about to write a more critical review before I realized the Sony app Sony suggests you use IS actually useful. Once I was able to make some EQ adjustments and quality control options, I did notice a better overall sound. However, I still could hear the issues I noticed out of the box. SOUND The sound quality is just too muddy for my taste. Again, some EQ adjustments help here, but overall it sounds like a small speaker they tried hard to get as much low end out of that they could, resulting in a muddy mid range and lack of clarity. One other way to combat this is to actually turn it up, helping the smaller speakers to crank out the mids and highs more and balance out the sound. But it doesn’t change the fact that I opened a Sony branded speaker and had a very specific Sony quality in mind and was disappointed with what I heard. I actually walked away from it for a day because it was so disappointing. But then I saw Sony’s suggestion to use the app and take more control of the sound and it got me past buyers remorse and closer to “this will work in a pinch.” And like I said, I think that’s Sony’s goal here; for a little cheaper price, you can get a darn good speaker, built for any occasion; but it won’t blow away a picky audio ear. (check out their larger XG300 for some serious upgrade in quality …and price) Another note on audio quality that’s a bit odd to me, the speaker is very directional. I assumed it was designed to be placed in a corner of a room and have equal quality sound throughout, but it is definitely most clear sounding right in front but gets more muddy to the sides. This is more noticeable listening up close, if you turn it up and place it in a corner and step back, it does fill the room pretty equal, but that also means don’t expect this to be a great speaker at low levels and close proximity to the listener. OVERALL In the end, like any audio device, my opinion is subjective based on how I prefer my audio to sound. If you really want to know, head to a local best buy and give it a demo listen to know for sure its the quality for you. What I CAN say in this review is that it is very strong build quality, has a convenient carrying strap, easy to set up, an accompanying app that actually is useful, and IP67 rating to last in the elements and battery life to keep the party going. What it lacks in audio quality it gains in build quality. No matter what you’re looking for, Sony has the right one for you, hit up a best buy and give them all a listen. As far as this speaker goes, I would recommend it to my friends I know don’t have as trained an ear as me, but I would not recommend it to friends I know have audio demands like me. In the end, I’m still happy with the speaker and will love using it while working outside or in the garage.

First off, the controlable ring lights are what sold me on this speaker! They are amazing! Paired with the great sound of the Sony XG300, you are your own DJ. It is perfect for listening by the pool, house party, at the beach, or just in your home. The speaker has: USB Type-C device charging, wireless Bluetooth connection, Battery Care Protection, and Robust IP67 Waterproof and Dustproof protection. 25 hours of battery life on a single charge! Upon unboxing the Sony XG300 Portable X-Series Bluetooth Speaker it was basically ready to pair with my phone or computer. I downloaded Sony's Music Center and Fiestable apps from the Google App Store. The Music Center app is used to link to your favorite music, like Amazon music, Spotify, YT music etc. You can also open the Fiestable in this app. The Fiestable app is used for DJ Control, Party Lights, Voice control and many other features. I also love how the end of the speakers thump to the music. This Sony XG300 is a top of the line speaker and compatible with other top rated speakers! Highly recommend!

This is my third Sony portable Bluetooth speaker, and I am always impressed. I got a slightly larger version than my previous one. This does come with a rubber type grip so you have hold it when wet or when your hands are greasy from sunscreen etc. I did not throw this in the water, but I believe Sony when they say it is IP67. There is a flap on the back for the power cord, close this of course. Sony suggests their Music Center app and Fiestable. If you have multiples of these you will need the app to sync them. If you have older versions, they will not sync even with the app. If you just have 1 speaker, you can probably skip the apps. I could just sync mine like I would any Bluetooth speaker.There are no longer LED lights to sync to the music. The sound is very good, I liked the bass. It was not overkill. You can direct the sound, lay the speaker flat or have it stand upright. I tossed it in my backpack and took it to the park. It was pretty good and people liked it. It is large but not too heavy to carry around.

If you like listening to music for hours, this is the speaker for you. Great base and sound quality. Also, good battery life. My favorite part about this speaker is that it gives you about a 30 minute warning before the battery dies, so you can finish listening to your favorite without it randomly dying on you or finish that last task. The handle size allows for a nice grip , like you are toting an old stereo. It can supply sound to an entire apartment ( small trailer) or a large master bedroom. The lights coming from the speakers are a nice touch and make you feel like you are in the middle of a party. However, I think you can turn them off but they are pretty subtle.

## Design The Sony SRS-XE200 speaker has a new, unique design where it is not obvious where the actual speakers are located. Instead, Sony is using a new “line-shape diffuser” on this speaker which helps distribute the sound more evenly around the speaker. The speaker has a modern design with a mostly plastic exterior and some fabric accents behind it, that for some reason makes me think of the Cybertruck when I see it. Aside from some small LED indicator lights, there are no “party lights” on the XE200 as compared to something like Sony’s SRS-XB32. There is a carrying strap attached to the speaker that is almost too long as it sometimes gets in the way of setting the speaker down on a flat surface. Towards the back of the speaker, you’ll find the power button, Bluetooth button, play/pause button, volume buttons, battery status button, and (not found on many Bluetooth speaker) a dedicated mute button for the microphone. The USB-C charging port can be found under the flap on the back of the speaker. ## Performance Coming from the Sony SRS-XB32 speaker, I did notice that the bass is not as strong on the XE200 out of the box. However, you can increase (or decrease) the bass (or mids or treble) through the equalizer in Sony’s Music Center app, but there is no dedicated “bass boost” function. Still, sound quality is great and the speaker gets loud enough to fill a medium to large-ish sized room, making it great for indoor or outdoor social gatherings. The new Line-Shape Diffuser does indeed help distribute the sound from the speaker to not only directly in front of the speaker, but to the sides of the speaker as well. So you don’t need to be sitting exactly in front of the speaker to get the best sound. ## Features Line-Shape Diffuser: Looking at the speaker, you’ll see a narrow fabric area on the front between larger plastic panels. If you’re like me, you would think this would limit the sound coming out of the speaker, but it instead helps spread the sound out to about 60-70 degrees on either side. Battery Care feature: This isn’t on by default, but in Sony’s Music Center app, you can enable the Battery Care feature to limit charging to about 90%. This helps prolong the lifespan of the speaker’s battery because, like our smartphones, we should not keep lithium batteries charged to 100% all of the time. You can, of course, disable this feature if you do indeed want the battery at 100% for a long camping trip, for example. IP67 water and dust resistance: This speaker is ideal for travel or using pool-side with its IP67 rating, so you don’t need to worry about splashes, sand, or dust (just make sure to keep the charging port closed tightly). Echo Canceling microphone: You can also use this speaker for work calls as it has an echo canceling microphone. In testing the speaker in an empty room by recording myself, I did indeed notice that the speaker seemed to eliminate any echo from my voice as long as I was facing the front of the speaker directly. ## Battery Life The speaker can achieve up to 16 hours of battery life on a single charge, and uses a common USB-C cable for recharging. A quick 10 minute charge can get you just over an hour of playback time when time is of the essence. As noted above, you can enable the Battery Care feature in the Sony Music Center app to help prolong the lifespan ## Summary The Sony SRS-XE200 speaker is an ideal outdoor musical companion thanks to its great sound quality and IP67 water and dust resistance. The speaker can also be used as a speakerphone for work calls with its echo canceling microphone.

I’ve been using the Sony XE2000 for a few weeks now, and it has genuinely exceeded my expectations. For its compact size, the sound quality is surprisingly rich and powerful—clear vocals, punchy bass, and no noticeable distortion even at high volumes. The 360 Reality Audio and X-Balanced Speaker Unit make music feel immersive, especially when used in smaller rooms or outdoor settings. Build-wise, it's sturdy, lightweight, and easy to carry around. The IP67 rating for water and dust resistance makes it ideal for poolside or beach use. Plus, battery life is excellent—easily lasts 15–16 hours on a moderate volume setting, and the quick charge feature is a lifesaver. Bluetooth connectivity is seamless, and the Party Connect feature works flawlessly if you have other Sony speakers.

Sony's new SRS-XG300 Portable BLUETOOTH speaker was everything I expected and more. I've owned a few SONY portable speakers, and they all have excellent sound quality- but this one sounded even better. The speaker filled a good-sized room (200-300? square feet) with loud, clear, and deep bass sound. (By clear, I mean at maximum volume I noticed no distortion in the sound). Every song I played sounded decent on this speaker, whereas some other speakers I've tried only sound good with certain types of sound. The speaker is a little on the heavier side, but it's not inconvenient to carry and you won't typically hold onto it while listening. Its carry handle almost made me want to take it on one of my exercise walks around town, but then I had second thoughts when I realized not all the neighbors would appreciate the sound coming from it. The Waterproof/Dustproof thing should help extend the life of your speaker, I wouldn't have any reason to throw it in a pool for example, but I could see myself using it (Or accidentally leaving it) out in the rain. I could imagine if you had a pool deck, the speaker could fall in the water, and this speaker would have a better chance of surviving that. I've seen a lot of speakers (SONY and Other Brands) now have color changing lights that try to move with the music, these ones aren't so "in your face" like some other speakers. These lights are off on the far edges and looking at the speaker head-on you don't see them. They look best in a dark room or at night. The SONY Music Center app allows some control over the lighting settings. Reading some of the included documentation, I noticed this is one of the first portable speakers like this that I've seen including a microphone for making calls. I did try it and it worked well, though I wasn't sure it sounded as clear as (for example) a Bluetooth headset with dedicated mic. But the fact that you could take calls is a big plus. I can see myself using this feature, notably when calls come in while I'm listening to music outdoors. The Battery life of 25 hours is terrific, I'll never use that in one sitting, however the idea that I can usually not have to worry about whether I charged it recently is a plus. An even bigger plus is 10 minutes of charge gets about 70 minutes of usage (I'm certain volume level for example might affect actual battery life). Even better, if the battery is low, it seems to function while plugged in (and USB-C Chargers are easy to find) - though not closing off the charging ports may affect water resistance. The USB-A port on the back will let me keep my phone (which may be powering the music) charged and near the speaker for as long as the speaker has power.

When I read the specs, I thought I'd found the perfect outdoor party speaker. 2 Tweeters, 2 mid-range X-balanced drivers and 2 passive radiators. It is a reasonable package, weighting in at 6.96 lbs. Don't get me wrong this speaker sounds great, turned all the way up the sound is crisp, un-muddled and decent bass; even without Mega bass. As soon as I got it I took it out to my pool. And played Boston's first album. The sound I was expecting to hear was there, but not like I was hoping for. There was no perceivable stereo separation. I was expecting to hear sounds from the right and left. The sounds were full and crisp with some low end presence, considering I was in a large outdoor space. I moved from left to right while the speaker was playing and I heard good consistent sound but not stereo. I moved to the other side of the pool, about 20' from the speaker, which was on a table about 2' off the ground. The sound was very good, turned up all the way there was no distortion, good. I engaged the mega bass and it did more than kick-up the bass, it modified the mid-range so the more booming bass was.... smoother; but honestly outdoors I don't think it "helped" the sound. I'm pretty sure in a enclosed space it would have a better effect (more on this later). Except for now realizing this speaker had dual drivers, but was a mono speaker, I did more listening. Foreplay-Long Time breezed in but the L/R separation had the initial low vocals getting somewhat lost. As the beat built, it was pleasant, easy to listen to, but at the transition to Long time I was again struggling to hear some of the subtleties. I attribute this to the complex R/L stereo mix of this track/album. The more I listened, and looked at the Sony Music Center app, the more I hoped to find the missing "Stereo" option. After further reading the only way to get Stereo is to connect 2 X-Series speakers. They also have a mode called Party-Connect that allows up to 100 X-Series speakers to be synchronized together - sounds interesting, if these Sony Speakers REALLY catch on (but in Party mode you again loose Stereo functionality). This speaker looks like a roll of paper towels that's been squeezed in the middle. Passive radiators are on each end of the speaker with LED lights surrounding the passive radiators. Even at night the led lights are pretty dim, not really illuminating anything. There are many programmable light flashing programs, none are "highly visible". This speaker claims to over 25 hours of playing time, it's chargeable via a USB-C connector, and you can add 7 hours of play time with only a 10 minute charge (and it can play while it's being charged). It also has a USB-A connector that can be used to charge your phone or other devices from the batteries inside the XG-300 (no specifications on the battery size, or amp size). One other neat feature it has is a microphone with echo-cancelation so you can take an incoming call on your phone and talk hands free (music is muted, when the call is answered). This worked very well, I could hear my caller clearly and they said I sounded very clear, they could not tell I was outside (well when the birds were quite)). I took the speaker inside to my family room (16x30). I listened to Pink Floyd Animals, the speaker had filled the room fairly well once it was off the floor. I again prefered the Mega-bass disabled, with Clear Audio enabled (there is also a Custom EQ, that allows you to set Bass, Mid and High emphasis) - I thought the Clear Audio did a good job on it's own. There are DJ effect settings and Bluetooth Quality connection setting in the Music Center App. The music center app allows you to access may popular streaming apps from it's control panel (a nice shortcut, but it missing SiriusXM, but Sirius can still output to the connected BT speaker). And you can set battery optimization options. There is another app called Fiestable than can customise sound or be used by multiple people/phones. The speaker does not have a USB input port to support a USB stick/disk as the previous version of this speaker had, but I'm sure that this has to do with the IP67 rating for water and dust resistance. I have to say I like this speaker, BUT it does not have all the functionality that my 80's boom box had, I really think it's too bad that it does not support stereo output on it's own. I think they missed a real opportunity. I can understand two small speakers needing to be paired for stereo output, but this speaker is plenty large (with multiple drivers) to have decent stereo separation. I have smaller smart speakers that support stereo output.

The Sony SRS-XE200 Portable Wireless Speaker is the smallest version of Sony’s new line of portable speakers. This one is about 9” tall, 3” wide, and 3” deep. It’s pretty lightweight and can accompany you just about anywhere. That’s aided by the strap attached to it. It’s pretty nice because you can cinch it up to make sure it stays on your wrist or wherever you want to anchor it. From a design perspective, the charcoal gray coloring is sharp and the combination of mesh and rubber adds to it. That combination is not only for appearance as it also plays a role in the new speaker design and audio quality. It’s called a Line-Shape Diffuser and it’s supposed to push the audio out farther and wider for all to enjoy. I can say that I was slightly disappointed out of the box because I thought it was lacking compared to previous Sony models that I own. However, that’s not to say it’s awful either. It definitely carried throughout the room and even down the hallway. I just thought the sound was lacking. That’s where the Music Center App came to my rescue. Coupling that with the speaker, I was really able to thoroughly enjoy what I was listening to. From the calling side, I didn’t experience any issues there either. My callers were able to hear me well and I could hear them clearly. What more could you ask for? One thing that I am looking forward to doing is picking up another to do the Party Connect. I really like that they are allowing us to connect to multiple units to really ramp things up. This was on previous models and I am a big fan of it. From a simpler connectivity standpoint, I found it super easy to connect the SRS-XE200 to my phone and smart devices. I didn’t have any issues at all and certainly appreciate that. The Bluetooth and Google Fast Pair connections helped out greatly there. Lastly, the Sony SRS-XE200 feels like it was built to be easy to work with while being built to last. The control panel is nice, big, and convenient. The charging area is covered to keep things water and dust free. The unit itself is noted as going through extensive shock testing. It’s also built with sustainable efforts and I applaud Sony for that. Ultimately, I think this is a winning speaker once you have it set up with the Music Center app. I look forward to using it for years to come.