TLDR: (that’s Too Long, Didn’t Read) This is a really novel and unique product that fills a niche for a device that creates ambience with both audio and lighting. It sounds good and looks good, but at this price point there are many other portable bluetooth speakers and separate lighting options that would work just as well if not better. If you have a lot of romantic dinners or want to set a mood, this is for you. Everyone else might want to move along. Pros: * Excellent build quality * Heavy enough base that it won’t easily tip over * Light and glass tube give it a unique appearance * Good sound quality Cons: * Tricky buttons * Missing Play/Pause button * Glass tube makes it semi-fragile * App works but is not very easy to navigate * A tad confused about what it wants to be Summary: I have many battery-powered bluetooth speakers; some are rugged for outdoor use while others are more portable for travel use. This Sony speaker is battery-powered meaning that it is not intended to be stationary or near a power outlet. It has a unique feature of a glass tube that not only is used to enhance the audio, but also light up a room with a candlelight flicker or a consistent light of various intensities. It looks like a sci-fi version of a camping lantern. Setup was as straightforward as any Bluetooth speaker these days; press the “Bluetooth” button to enable pairing and then add it to your device of choice (phone, etc.). There is a companion app from Sony to adjust settings which isn’t necessary for typical use. There are individual buttons for Power, Volume Up/Down, and answer/end calls. A capacitive strip for controlling the LED lamp’s intensity and modes is not labeled at all which is why there is a removable sticker to indicate its use. By the way, I’m not sure why this has a dedicated button for answer/ending calls as I don’t see that a typical thing you’d do with this, but that’s Sony for you. On the bottom of the unit is a button to enable/pair Bluetooth and a button to set the sleep timer. What is missing is a play/pause button. The unit is significantly heavier than one might expect; presumably to keep it from tipping over and damaging that pretty glass tube. At 2.5 pounds, it’s quite heavy. The main housing is solid metal that feels really well-made. Between that, the glass tube and the cloth surrounding the buttons, this really looks like a high-quality statement piece. I’m guessing the main intended use is as a music and light source to set the mood for a romantic dinner or fun afterwards. Sure, you can also use it a standard speaker, but again, there are so many less expensive and better sounding options out there, you’d probably only do that as an afterthought. The sound quality is quite good for its size with deep bass, nice middle and clear highs (thanks to the glass tube being used as a resonator) as one might expect at this price. Due to its shape, the sound does fill the room. You can even buy more of these and link then as stereo pairs or as multiple units in a large room. The LED is a nice gimmick but I wouldn’t buy this unit for just that. Battery life is a respectable 8 hours with the LED on bright or longer at lower volumes and without the light on. Recharging is done via USB-C on the side. BTW, Sony really should work on their Quick-Start guides. They have all the necessary information but are just not as friendly and approachable as other brands. Overall, this product is a nice speaker and has some unique features. It definitely is a conversation piece that can set the mood, but it’s not for everyone nor is it a replacement for a more “standard” portable bluetooth speaker.

The Sony LSPX-S3 is a unique looking speaker with one of the best sound quality I've heard in a bluetooth speaker. The aesthetics of this speaker is entirely unique and a design choice that makes it stand out amongst the competition. The original S1 reminded me of old nixi tubes and this new S3 generation looks like they combined that design with a modernized lantern. This look is even more present in the lighting feature the glass tube has, which has different options and settings like simple lighting and candle flicker (my favorite is candle flicker set to match music rhythm). The only thing I wish that Sony would do to change the aesthetics is adding more color options. The brushed silver is currently the only available color and it looks great, but the lantern design makes me want to see it in copper/rose gold and matte/iron black. The sound quality on the LSPX is nothing short of magnifique. It is such a clear and crisp sound that I'm hearing things I didn't hear before in songs I've been listening to for years. It such an awesome sound quality that I've found myself running it all night just to listen to music when I sleep. The glass tube gives it the power to put out a 360° sound coverage and it fills a room. The bass is a bit underwhelming, but it has a bass boost options that you can control, however it is limited to just On and Off. I would like to see in future models more control over this setting, but it's still an awesome sound. The speaker is also able to connect to another LSPX-S3 and turn your mono to stereo sound. The speaker is easy is set up and use. The lightning, sound, and music is controllable all through the Sony Sound app. There are only two negative things I can say about the speaker. The glass tube is the center of the sound quality, but this means if it gets damaged then you compromise the speaker. The glass isn't tissue paper weak, but I don't think you could drop it from a counter onto the ground without cracking it or shattering it. So if you have pets or kids that knock stuff over alot or you're a clumsy type then be warned you might ruin your speaker by damaging the glass tube. Also the price point is pretty steep when compared to other bluetooth speakers on the market. This price point reflects the sound quality so I'm not surprised it was going be high but still it's not something that I could easily overlook. Overall, I love the speaker. It's a pricey purchase but the old saying goes "you get what you pay for" and the LSPX-S3 is a premium quality bluetooth speaker for the money.

Very unique design. I’ve been waiting for it’s launch for a while, glad that it has type-c port!

I really wasn’t sure what to expect because I haven’t seen this or any previous versions displayed anywhere. Packaging gives the appearance of a larger unit than it actually is. It was super easy to set up. Just charge the unit and sync your devices bluetooth and you’re ready to go. So anytime you turn on the unit, it should auto sync to your device and play whatever is playing. Just beware that if you open a voice text or play a video on your device, everyone will be able to hear it. So you have to disconnect from the sync to go back to private. It’s a beautiful piece and that’s where I believe it shines. It’s more of an aesthetics type of speaker but I can’t deny that for such a small speaker, the bass response is pretty darn good. For its size, the sound is clear, responsive, and does fill the room to an extent. If you have a large open space, It’s still effective, however having another one on the opposite side would be great. It has the ability to link to compatible Sony speakers. The highs, mids and lows are great. I truly can’t complain about the sound. Sony hit the mark on that note. I wouldn’t go playing heavy metal music or anything similar on this device. That’s just my opinion. I would save that music for one of their larger speakers. But for me it sounded best with Smooth Jazz, oldies, classics, earlier to mid hip hop, pop, and other similar genres. Surprisingly enough, for its stature, the base of the unit is heavy. Which I like, so that way it’s much harder to tip over around normal instances, such as bumping into furniture moving to another location, handling when in operation and even kids. The light feature is cool, but slightly gimmicky. It’s the easiest to operate as it’s a touch feature, instead of pressing like the other buttons. You can slide your finger left or right to change intensity. Hold your finger on it to change flicker settings. I was most excited about the light music sync feature but i don’t think it actually works. I spent way too much time trying to get that to work. The light never flicked to the beat of my music. It is a nice soft campfire-ish light. It won’t light the house but this would be amazing to have if the lights ever go out. Something to note is that Sony is etched into glass so placement is important when close to walls and lit at night. You shouldn’t have the back of unit facing front anyways but I figured I should mention it. There are a few missed opportunities to make this an even better speaker… There are NO Play, Pause, Skip, Go Back buttons. Which I get because we can use our phone. However, not everyone will be attached to their phone while operating the device once they choose and set their music. If you put your phone down and are doing other activities and a song or ad comes on that you would like to skip, you have no choice but to locate your phone instead of touching the unit itself if you’re nearby. Another huge disadvantage is it is not a smart device. For a speaker with this price point it should be smart, especially if there’s lack of control buttons. I would prefer to speak to my assistant and control my music that way. “Hey _____, skip song.” There is an app that can be used alongside the speaker but I don’t see myself using it much. You are able to adjust a few things with the speaker. It’s not needed to operate. We don’t need to answer calls from this. They have a phone button but no play and pause. That baffled me. Once again, I would have to walk up to it to answer it. The buttons are located on the backside. You have to turn or pick up the unit to press the button to answer. I don’t see this feature being of much use to most people, unless it’s placed in the middle of a coffee table, nightstand or side table. It would be great to be able to control the music from my phone, but still able to use my phone to watch a quick video or listen to a message or have a call without it interrupting or broadcasting on the device. That forces me to disconnect the Bluetooth connection. Also, I have to turn on/off the unit manually not just to conserve battery, but anytime I want to listen on this device. I have other speakers I never have to touch, unless to charge, I can just play a song anytime and cast it to certain speakers. I never have to disconnect from them. I’m able to have calls and do other things on my phone without interruption. This should be able to do this. For visuals I like that the buttons are placed on the rear of the unit. However, this isn’t a speaker you want to handle all of the time. The fragile glass makes it more of a decorative piece, we shouldn’t have to constantly touch/move to operate. Implementing some sort of tap commands or feature for operating would’ve been great, IMO. The best use for this speaker is for more relaxed vibes. Saturday or Sunday mornings, eating with your beau or yourself, romantic evening were this is unobtrusive and disappears into the background. This is not a party speaker. I listed several things that should be addressed or even considered for their next release, but even with those drawbacks, I still believe it deserves 4 stars. It’s a darn good speaker. It’s loud and audible. Each sound and note is clear. The added light is a bonus, especially in dark situations. It’s a set the mood speaker. It’s easy to use. It disappears into your surroundings and it’s a great convo piece, that produces amazing 360 degree sound. I like how speakers no longer have to be a big black rectangle oddly placed, taking up space in a room. I appreciate these new speaker designs that are more like art, in a sense, or decorative accessories that seamlessly fall into place.

This Bluetooth speaker is a very stylish product that not only looks great, but delivers very good sound. There is no assembly; I thought the glass tube might need to be attached, but that wasn't the case, the speaker was ready to go right out of the box. It was quite a bit heavier than I was expecting, but that's to keep the unit from tipping. I placed the speaker on a table in the middle of a small table in the living room and was pleased with how well it looked. It doesn't look like a speaker, but more like a modern oil lamp, so it fits right in with other home decor. Pairing was simple, and using the Sony Music Center app, I was able to control every aspect (volume, lighting, sleep timer, power) of the speaker. All of the features can also be controlled by buttons on the speaker itself, except for, surprisingly, a set of buttons for play/pause/skip ahead/skip back. The sound from this speaker is quite good, especially for the size of the unit, and the sound is equally impressive in a 360 degree circle around the speaker. Initially, I was impressed with the clarity of talk radio over the speaker, but I wasn't that impressed when playing music. However after turning on bassboost in the app and using equalizers in streaming apps, I was able to get very nice sound with good bass and crisp highs. The 'candle' feature is nice, especially as mood lighting, but as stated earlier, I would liken it more to a flame from an oil lamp than a candle. In short, I really like this speaker. It might not be for everyone, but if you're looking for a stylish speaker with good sound, that doesn't really look like a speaker and fits into the decor of any room, you should try this product.