Sony - High Power XB60 Portable Bluetooth Speaker - Black

If you can't make it to the 'club', you can still enjoy the 'club' festivities with this Sony GTK-XB60 High Power Portable Bluetooth Speaker. It is feature-packed as a portable party machine. The sound reproduced in this speaker targets the mid-ranges, and is vibrant at higher tones and at clear voice. It has a full-bodied, robust bass. This speaker is capable of handling large, indoor and, or, outdoor spaces with quality acoustics while playing varied music genres. It can easily accommodate smaller venues as well. But, especially appealing to the younger folks is the illumination of the speaker lights and various DJ Effects. This is what sets this unit apart and above all of the other, plain speaker units. This Sony XB60 is a living, breathing, controllable, 'Party-Animal', disguised as a quality speaker. Its multi-functional array of controls for both sounds, lights, and DJ Effects is absolutely amazing and blew my socks off. WoW! After unboxing this Sony XB60 I immediately began charging the unit with the included five foot long A/C cord. There is an LED indicator light at the top of the power button, which turns Green when A/C power is 'ON'. While charging the power button LED glows Amber, and when fully charged the Amber LED turns itself 'Off'. It took approximately three hours and thirty minutes to fully charge (the first time). That gave me plenty of time to read over the included and comprehensive Operating Instructions, which include detailed illustrations, notes and hints. I also downloaded the Free Sony Music App, which prompted me to download the Free Sony Fiestable App. Both of these Apps are available at either the Google Play or Apple App Stores. You need both of these Apps to fully enjoy the multitude of features offered by the XB60. Functions of the Sony Music Center App Using Your Smartphone: * Access your own personal Music Library (Need to give App permission to access) * Access directly to Pandora, Tunein Radio, etc. directly from within the App (If installed on your Smartphone). * Access the various Lighting Modes and select from Rave, Chill, Hot, Cool, Strobe, Calm Magenta, Calm Cyan, Calm Lime, Calm Cinnabar, Calm Daylight, Calm Light Bulb, and Lights 'OFF' and Random Flash 'OFF'. * Play musical genres from a USB device and set the various 'play modes'. * Balance your speaker sound from preset EQ's: EDM, Hip Hop, R & B, Pop, Rock, Country, Jazz, Salsa, Flat, and, or, customize your own EQ's with seven different ranges. * Change the sound effects through the various DJ EFFECT settings. * Additional Sound Settings – Activate Clear Audio (Sony's recommended sound setting) and adding Extra Bass if you so desire (Grand Kids certainly do). * Control multiple systems using the Wireless Party Chain or Speaker Add function. * Check the batter power levels. * Configure the various settings for the system. Functions of the Fiestable App Using Your Smartphone: *DJ Control allows you to completely customize your music genres using Flanger, Isolator, WAH, and Custom EQ effects and in each DJ mode you can add Drums, Scratch, Audience, Voice (Cool Sayings), Phaser, Reggaehorn, and Rythm by simply tapping or using your finger swirling around on your Smartphone pad. This App feature is absolutely mind-boggling and pure FUN. The more I use it, the more I love it. And, of course, you can turn the DJ effects 'OFF' any time. * Motion Control is another fascinating feature, which allows you to control DJ and Illumination effects with a twist and motion of your hand. My Grand Kids love this motion control and are quite good at it. * Illumination Controls – Yet, another amazing feature, which you control from the pad of your Smartphone. You can change, blend, and even customize the LED color displays on the speaker by simply moving you finger around the color circle on the pad of your Smartphone. There is a Party Flash feature, which allows you to blink the LED lights by tapping the pad of your Smartphone as fast or slow as you wish, and, the lights react, accordingly. NOTE – From the Fiestable App you can access the Sony Music Center App through the link at the top of your Smartphone. If the above features appear too complicated to learn and operate – I am living proof they certainly are NOT. My Grand Kids came over to visit a day after I was enjoying this Sony XB60, and 'learning' the various operations. At seventy-four, I think of myself as pretty tech-literate. However, after only two hours my Grand Kids were showing me the 'ins & outs' of the various Club-FUN features of this unit, and having a ball with the DJ Effects. The especially liked the Hand Motion synchronization. Did Sony purposefully design this Party-Animal Speaker for young folks? You betcha'. But even Grandpa enjoys the multitude of lights and sound effects, too. Prominent Features of the Sony XB60: * Bluetooth pairing is fast and super-simple, and is NFC compatible. * You can Bluetooth pair up to three different devices at the same time. (The last paired Bluetooth device will always be connected first automatically). * At the back of this unit: 120V Power Cord Connection, Party Chain Button with LED Indicator Light, USB Port, Mic Jack and Mic Sound Level Control, Audio Input & Output Jacks, which can be connected to 'other' audio equipment, TV, or another audio system for Wired Party Chain connection, and System Reset Button * Manual top-side control buttons: Power Button – Lights up Green when system is turned 'On', Amber while charging, and when in Bluetooth Stand-By Mode, Play / Pause / Call Button for incoming phone calls, Volume (+) and (–) Control Buttons, Extra Bass Button, Stamina Battery Button – Lights up when activated and saves battery power enabling you to use this speaker for longer periods of time, Bluetooth Pairing Button, with LED Indicator Light, NFC Pairing Mark, Speaker ADD Button, which allows you to connect other Sony speakers wirelessly to your system, Wired Party Chain Button, which enables you to connect other speakers through the audio IN & OUT cables through a wired chain (you can use non-Sony speakers as long as they accept RCA audio cables. * Speaker can be used connected to 120V A/C power or on rechargeable Lithium-ion battery. When volume level is low and lights turned 'OFF' the speaker can last up to14 hours, 3.5 at maximum volume, 5 hours at maximum volume with Stamina 'ON', and 3 hours at maximum volume with lights turned 'ON'. * Sony XB60 can be placed either vertically or horizontally (Tweeters adjust R & L sound). * Hands-Free Phone Calls – When a call is received playback pauses the speaker sound and a ringtone is heard. You can talk into the speakers built-in microphone., and press the Play / Pause Button to reject or end the call. One very important point to keep in mind with this amazing Party-Machine is that it is NOT water proof or weather resistant. Be very careful using it outdoors and around wet locations. Well, after a whole week of use and being fascinated by what DJ, 'Club-Magic' my Grand Kids can conjure up, I am so pleased with this Sony XB60. In fact, it has made Grandpa and Grandma's the new 'IN-PLACE' to be. I highly recommend this speaker for its dynamic sound, extra bass, multitude of functions, never ending colorful light shows, and just because my Grand Kids love it so much. It is pricey, but just look at what features you get, unbelievable. This Sony XB60 is an amazing feature-packed, Party Machine. The Sony XB60 would make an outstanding Christmas, Birthday, or Any-Occasion Gift to a Family Member, or that Special Young Person. You will NOT be disappointed.

When I first got this, it was for a specific need, for an outdoor event that needed some music and the ability to use as a PA speaker. It does that. And it does it really well. Remember this is a SONY product and what SONY product have you ever bought that wasn't a seriously decent item? It is built as solid as a rock, is just under 2' tall, and nearly 12" wide and deep, and weighs just around 17 pounds. This is all about heavy duty construction, great speaker components inside, and a decent battery. This is not a mini speaker, and will excel in ways you never imagined possible. Over the years there were speakers that had some kind of lights. But they were always disappointing. The lights on this speaker are no disappointment - and I can only say you have to see them to appreciate them. There are white highlight lights that provide definition and there are color lights that go around the speaker. More about this later. The sound quality from this is unbelievable. Even at higher volumes, there is no distortion and only top quality music or voice. Bass is strong and treble is decent. Whether you have a party, speaking engagement, or something else that requires big sound, this is your speaker. You can power it via an electrical outlet, or use the battery that is built in. The battery can provide alot of time, or not so much, depending upon the volume. I found that at mid volume I was getting over 10 hours of music from it. Very decent given the light show and decent amount of sound coming from this sound system. There is an app you should download, if you want to take this to its fullest potential. You can go into DJ mode, or change the lighting. Yes, you can do all the hip-hop DJ moves like scratch and echo, and you can pick colors to display on the speaker. Some of these things can be done by flicking your wrist, due to motion control. Very cool! You can link multiple speakers together, for a synchronized playback with lighting and sound, but I didn't have an extra speaker(s) to try this feature. It would be cool I'm sure. You can also pair up to 3 phones via bluetooth, so more than one person can put forward some tunes. You can use NFC to connect, or use USB and plug in your device that way. You can also connect via RCA connectors for input and output. And of course you can plug in a microphone. The speaker has big handles built in so you can comfortably pick this speaker up and take it with you - it is heavy, but it doesn't feel like it because when you carry it it, the handles are comfortable and balanced. If you want a big speaker, give this a try. I love the lights, the sound quality is amazing, and it can be a multi-platform device for meetings, parties, etc. Best Buy has such a decent return policy, if you don't like it you can return it - but I'm sure you'll find yourself wishing you had more than one as I do! Oh yes, I almost forgot, it can be a speaker phone too - so at a party, or if having a meeting, it can be a way to hear whomever you are talking with on the phone so everyone can hear.

I'm not sure it the descriptor of 'Home Audio System' quite fits here, but this is a really big, nice speaker that's perfect for parties. The first thing I have to say about this speaker is that it is huge. It's about 22 inches wide, 10 inches tall, and 11 inches deep. I looked that up before I received it, but you really need to see it in person to appreciate how big that is for a portable Bluetooth speaker. It weighs around 18 lbs. and felt lighter than I expected it to be. It can be positioned vertically or horizontally, and there are hand holds on both sides that make it easy to pick up and move around, though if you're grabbing the hand hold on the side of it that has the buttons I've noticed it's also pretty easy to accidentally press them. There are a good amount of buttons and connections to go through on the XB60. All of the main controls are either on the side or the top of the speaker, depending on how you have it oriented. You have the basic power, play/pause, and volume controls. In addition to those there is also a battery/stamina button for checking the charge and extending the battery, a function/pairing button for connecting Bluetooth devices or switching inputs, an 'Extra Bass' button, and some buttons for adding additional speakers called 'Party Chain'. I found they were pretty easy to get to in the vertical orientation, but they're a little more difficult to reach and see when it's positioned horizontally. Based on how everything is placed and labelled I get the feeling the 'default' orientation is probably the vertical one. Around the back there is the AC power input, a microphone input, USB for flash drive, an RCA input, and an RCA output. I do wish there was a 3.5mm headphone jack, but I can forgive that since the RCA input is there. Once I got my phone paired up to the Bluetooth I tried listening to some music and man this thing gets LOUD. I had it playing at maybe 3/4 volume in one my upstairs rooms in my house and you could hear very clearly in all of my upstairs rooms and even downstairs too. The sound is very rich and full - there's lots of smaller speakers that get loud too, but you can't really match the kind of sound a real big speaker puts out. I would say the clarity and details were maybe not quite as good, but it was still more than adequate and for what most people are going to be using this for I don't think it will be noticed. I did notice when I first powered the speaker on that the EQ by default is set to an EDM one, which makes sense I guess, but the sound definitely improved for me when I changed it to Flat in the Sony app. There are 2 strobe lights and an LED ring light on the front that flash and pulse with the music. This can also be controlled through the app and set to different styles. I do kind of like the lights for a party or something, but I'd rather keep them off for the most part. The speaker can be plugged in or battery powered. The battery life is rated at 14 hours on Sony's website, but this is a best case scenario and it varies wildly depending on what volume it's set at and whether or not the lights are on. According to the manual battery life when volume is set at max and the lights are on is only 3 hours. Not a big problem at home, but something to keep in mind if you're going to be using this at a tailgate party. It is also not water/dust resistant like some of Sony's smaller speakers, so if it's going to the beach or on a boat definitely keep that in mind too. The one other thing I do wish the XB60 had for home use was some kind of Chromecast or Airplay functionality built into it. I think I'm probably going to be buy a Chromecast Audio and connect it to the RCA input, but it's shame that or something similar wasn't already built-in. If this is the kind of thing you're going to use at home you shouldn't have to worry about the music stopping because you wandered off too far with your phone. That's my only real knock against this thing though.

The Sony Home Audio System was a breeze to set up. At first I thought it was going to be difficult because the instruction book was rather long and detailed, but in retrospect, I realized that because it can be used with an audio jack, a USB port, or Bluetooth (both manual set-up and direct set-up), the book had instructions for each method. I really got this because the speakers I bought for my iPod Nano were inferior. I had planned on using the iPod Nano and the audio port but after I got it, I planned on getting a new Bluetooth MP3 player so I could use the Bluetooth technology. After I received it, I decided to store all of my music on a micro-SD card that I can plug into my smart phone, so that’s what I ended up doing. That’s part of the beauty of this audio system; you have so many options! After I copied all of my music from my laptop to my smart phone’s SD card, I plugged in the audio system. Then I opened the Bluetooth list on my phone and immediately found the GTK-XB60 listed and clicked on it. Then I opened one of my music files and it began playing through the Sony speaker. I realized that the manual said that only mp3 and wma file extensions are supported using a USB device, but since I was using my Bluetooth connection, my m4a files were fine. The speaker was just acting as a speaker for my phone, so I tested it to see if I could listen to other file extensions. I played an mp4 movie and could hear it just fine. The I tried Pandora and it also worked. My music files on my phone are organized by artist, but inside each artist’s folder are folders that have the name of the album and the songs are in those folders. I installed the Sony Music Center app and found that my music was organized similarly. If I click on “Artist” I can see the artists’ names alphabetically. For example, “Beatles, The” is located between “Beach Boys, The” and “Beck”. Inside the Beatles tab are the albums (Abbey Road, Magical Mystery Tour, etc.). Then if I change to the “Album” tab, Abbey Road is alphabetically arranged where it should be in the “A’s” and Magical Mystery Tour is in the “M’s”. I can also switch to the “Songs” tab if I want to find a specific song to play. I can also set up Playlists using this app. However, I only included this info about the app since it was recommended in the manual with the Sony Home Audio System. Back to the review of the system: The unit can be plugged in the wall and played that way, or once it is charged, it will play for up to 14 hours on battery. It takes about 4 hours to charge up the battery. The unit will turn itself off after 15 minutes of non use. You can also reduce the power consumption by using the STAMINA mode. The unit will only play for about 3.5 hours on maximum volume, and 5 hours on maximum volume with the STAMINA mode turned on. The 14 hours is if the volume level is set at 17. Turning on the speaker lights will decrease the battery time. The unit has a button you can use to give the Bass an extra boost. Another feature of the unit is that you can install the Fiestable app to control the party lights on the front of the unit. Different colors and strobe lights are features of the speaker. You can also set up multiple audio systems if they are Bluetooth. You just set one of the speakers as a Party Host and the other speakers as Party Guests and they will play simultaneously. This unit also has a microphone jack so you can listen to music and use a microphone at the same time. When using a microphone while in the Party Chain mode, the sound from the microphone only comes through on the speaker that it is plugged in to. Because this speaker can be used as your smart phone’s speaker, you can use it for hands-free telephone calls or with other apps that you have on your phone (such as Pandora.) In addition, you can plug another device directly into this speaker. Devices such as a smart phone, Walkman, TV, DVD player, or other similar device can be plugged into the speaker and the sound will play through the speaker. Once you plug in the device, press the Function-Pairing button repeatedly until the “Audio In” indicator lights up, adjust the volume to your liking, and you’re done. Summary: I’m really going to enjoy this audio system. The sound is wonderful and there are so many ways to connect to it which makes it multifunctional.

A couple of times a year, we have a family get together at our house. These gatherings usually involve several people and we spread out around the house. When we do, it makes it harder for people to enjoy music that we have streaming from our house Bluetooth speaker. We have several smaller speakers that work great for smaller areas, but we really wanted a larger speaker to keep more people happy, more of the time. The High Power Home Audio System with BLUETOOTH by Sony ended up being the perfect answer. The speaker sits about two and half feet tall and provide easy options for connectivity. Sony’s speaker can be connected to through Bluetooth or even NFC (if your phone is compatible). It arrives in a Sony branded box and doesn’t require any assembly. You simply life the speaker out of its box and packaging and plug it in. One of the really cool features of this speaker is that it can be 100% wireless. The speaker has an internal battery that provides up to 14 hours of run time. Out of the box, it did have a charge to it so I was able to turn it on and immediately start listening to music through the powerful speaker. In addition to wireless connections, the High Power Home Audio System also supports analog audio through RCA. There is one USB port available and a microphone input. Even though I didn’t attempt to use this as a PA system, I could see that being a wise use of the speaker since it does project sound well and it’s very lightweight. The big claim to fame for this speaker is the fact that it can be chained together with other High Power Audio System speakers. I only had a single unit so I wasn’t able to test this out, but knowing that for $500 I could have a decent pair of paired speakers — especially for our home gatherings - is really a strong benefit to me. I really love the sound this speaker produced. It was a clear and the bass boost really does a nice job of amplifying the depth of the sound. My fiancé said that some of the highs were a little muddy, but it wasn’t enough to regard this speaker as a ‘bad’ audio system. The lighting effect is a neat addition, but it’s not the reason I would recommend the speaker. It’s sort of the icing on the cake though. I did attempt to use the High Power Home Audio System as a speaker phone, but that wasn’t very successful. The speaker doesn’t have a built-in microphone so the person I was calling was getting my voice through the microphone on my phone and even though I could hear them just fine through the speaker, they had difficulty hearing me. All in all, this is a really nice option for a ‘party’ speaker. I also would recommend it as an inexpensive field monitor or portable option for DJ’s to use for events.

Just call it a party in a box. That's the best way to describe the Sony GBK-XB60. They call it a home audio system but that's a bit too mundane. It's actually a hefty black speaker cabinet with party lights built in and an interesting collection of features that allow you to take it to where ever you want to party, and then amaze your friends with a few interesting tricks it has up its sleeve. First off, this thing is BIG and quite heavy. Almost 2-feet tall and nearly 18 pounds. So it's not one of those cute little bluetooth speakers that you drop on a tabletop next to your laptop. This thing is clearly clearly designed for people who want to fill a room with sound, something it can do quite well. The sound IS big, if not the cleanest thing you have ever heard coming from a bluetooth speaker system. Four speakers in the cabinet provide a pretty decent blend of highs and lows. And if you turn on the EXTRA BASS feature, you get a pretty good tump out of it too. Just be aware the sound quality drops off pretty dramatically if you crank it up extra loud. You can do that with the speaker plugged in to a power outlet or running off of the built in batteries. Even at high volumes, Sony says it will last 3.5 hours, which is pretty good. Five hours if you are willing to settle for a little less, enabling the "stamina" feature. And an amazing 14 hours at what some might call normal listening levels. Pretty darn good. Recharging takes four hours. Like most bluetooth speakers, you can run this off your laptop, tablet or smartphone. Pairing is especially fast if you have a phone with NFC built in. Just lay the phone over the N emblem and pair using the NFC phone menu. Sound quality is pretty good for bluetooth, but much better if you have something you can plug in via the USB port on the back. If it's just a USB flash drive, however, you have no control over the song mix, or even the ability to skip songs, unless you also download the Sony Music Center app. Then you can actually see what's playing and skip songs. The same app also works in conjunction with another oddly named app called "Fiestable," which allows you to control the light show colors and pattern, to some degree. Even stranger are some "DJ" options that allow you add stange sound effects, drum beats and do other odd things just by waving your smart phone one way or the other. Crazy. Speaking of lights, yep, those are built in and are what help this to add some flash to your next party. Strobes at the top and bottom and an oval ring of light cricling the speakers that can be any color, or multiple colors at the same time. You dont have a lot of control over it though, beyond choosing between a frenetic RAVE setup for high energy music or more placid color shifts for more mellow tunes. The strobe lights flash in time to the music while the color lights sort of just do their own thing. But its still a pretty cool show. You can turn them off (or run them without an music at all). But that's half the fun so why would you? Oh, I forgot to mention there is the cabability to hook this up with other speakers, either using dual RCA jack cables or wirelessly. The wireless option, however, requires another Sony device that supports the companuy's "party chain" setup. That could get expensive. And as if that is not enough, you can plug in a microphone and turn the thing into a PA system. Or even do hands free phone calls via bluetooth. It's an odd collection of functions but one suspects most people who buy this just want the party in a box. And even if you only use if for that, you probably are getting your money's worth. It may not be cheap but it can be a lot of fun.

So for me the neutral parts are the apps. They just don't feel like it bridges a connection for me between my visitors and having to have people get the app to join the party is sort of a funk. Now the color changing application is cool! I like to tailor all of my tech to fit my mood which brings me to the next subject of porting music over. Perhaps I am not a big fan of the music application but the ways to play music is insanely cool. I can Bluetooth music, use an auxiliary cord, a USB, audio input and output jacks, and I can also use a MIC all the while I'm playing music.  The speaker is a nice height with a lot of power to pack a punch. I've had it a week so far and I haven't had to recharge it (it's wireless)!! So I can keep it plugged into the power cord or I can take it with me to meetings and play music over the speaker and not have to be attached to a wall which I love. The aesthetic of the speaker is very updated in the sense that it has fun lights that will start a conversation and it's versatile by being able to lay it on it's side or stand it straight up.  The top three new things I found neat were the boost button for bass, the actual amount of sound it outputs (I am excited for when I get to max out the volume but I also don't want to upset a neighbor ha), and the audio enhancing feature which just comes with the speaker. I didn't realize the loss of crisp acoustic tunes until I compared the music to my other Bluetooth speaker and found that there's something here that I am loving.  Overall a wise addition to the family and when I'm ready I will definitely invest in a separate speaker to create a party chain where I can link the two speakers together. This is going to come in handy during work presentations when I have previously had so much trouble having my team be able to listen to my audio before. Well done Sony, the recent product lineup continues to amaze me. Two thumbs up, way up. 

The Sony High Power Home Audio System GTK-XB60 has good sound but seems plagued by a few undesirable problems. I should start by being clear up-front that this is really more of a party speaker system - designed to have strong thumping bass and capable of some serious volume without too much distortion. The term “Home Audio System” might be a little misleading since it isn’t really like a home audio bluetooth speaker that you would keep in your living room. But as a party speaker, I think it does pretty well. But even though the sound is fine, there some strange design “features” (flaws) that are aggravating: (1) The system comes with colorful flashing party lights inside the speaker and even though there are several lighting modes you can choose from, none of the modes is music dependent (the lights don’t respond to the music in any mode). (2) The speaker lights are turned ON by default so you have to deactivate them every time you use the speaker (rather than simply just turning them on whenever you want them). And every time the speaker is plugged in to charge, the lights begin to flash as well. Sony must have realized that might be a problem because they included a single page addendum with the documentation that only shows how to deactivate the lights. (3) Unless I am missing something, you can only turn the system on but it has to turn itself off after a time-out with no signal. Depressing the power button for several seconds only seems to restart the box but won’t turn it off. (4) This is more of a personal dislike, but much of the instruction manual is dedicated to elaborate schemes to add additional speakers (either adding just a second speaker to give true left/right separation or creating a chain). I guess I’m not clear about why you would combine multiple weaker speaker systems rather than start with a stronger system. Why is that such a strong selling point? (5) Sony has an app called “Fiestable” that works with the system to give the user some DJ-inspired special sounds and effects. I had no problem getting the app to work but the sound effects were pretty lousy and I can’t imagine them being anything other than annoying at a party. I really think Sony could have done a much better job with the overall design here. But, again, as a party speaker, the sound is pretty solid.