Customer Ratings & Reviews

The Sony SRS-XB41 Portable Bluetooth Speaker is such a fun wireless speaker. It has great sound and awesome light show that goes with the sound of your music. It has several things that other bluetooth speakers do not. First - you can link up multiple speakers to create an awesome experience for your party. No need to haul out crazy heavy speakers. Just link a few of these to suit your needs. You will have your sound system and a bonus light system. The live sound optimizes the direction of the music to help set up your for needs. This is really a cool speaker! It also allows you to hold it and create beats - but I haven't figured out how to do that yet. Would recommend for a fun time!

This is the best portable speaker overall at this size. I have to give it an * because my review is based on the value of being on sale for $100 off during the Christmas season...I would probably have passed on paying full price. I’ve tried almost every medium to large Bluetooth speaker you can name and this one stands out for it’s combination of loudness, clean sound, clean bass, good vocals, great battery, cool light show, and it’s waterproof. This speaker is ranked #1 in battery life for a speaker this size and it gets the loudest so it’s great for music and podcasts. This speaker really only has 2 negatives I can think of. The highs out of the box are just ok and need to be adjusted with the equalizer. The full price is way too steep for a portable speaker so wait for a sale to purchase. Bottomline...this speaker checks every box and is built to be used indoors, outdoors, at home, or on road trips. I’ve tried, bought, and returned 6 different Bluetooth speakers but I can now say my search is over and the Sony XB41 will be my go to portable speaker to throw in my backpack and use away from home and on vacations.

I really like the new Sony lineup of portable, bass-focused, water/dust resistant Bluetooth speakers. The XB41 is the Grand-daddy of them all, boasting the longest play time, most lighting effects and most extreme party modes! Right away, I paired it up and launched into some music from my iphone. The kids came running. I explained this one is mine. I dazzled them with the Fiesta app to produce different lighting effects and some DJ effects. I used the Sony Music Center to further enhance the experience and sent the kids away whining that they don't get it. Ha. Score one for dad! The waterproof design makes it safer to be used near the pool, on the boat, in the bathroom during a steamy shower, etc. The fact that I can connect up to 100 more in a chain means the boat barge parties can really get going! Using it as a power source for my iphone is a wonderful feature as well. Nice job Sony! The light effects are cool - especially if you turn down your normal lights and just let the speaker and maybe some beer signs guide you. If you don't like them, yes - you can turn them off with the app. Overall - just love it. Go big - get the XB41. Here's picture comparing the sized to my desktop mouse.

The Sony XB41 is a unique bluetooth speaker that is set around being able to bring a party vibe no matter where you go. They claim 24 hours of run time with big bass boost for all you lovers of bass out there. Flashing strobes and the ability to add in your own personal beats is a different design that i have yet to see on any other device of this nature. And the ability to fully submerge this speaker in water, can it be true? Can Sony live up to some of its claims and is it really worth the buy? Out of the box this is a very nice looking speaker. The design quality of the speaker shows that it was indeed built with strength and water resistance in mind while still looking very good. I wouldn't expect any less from a Sony product. Out of the box your going to get the power cord and speaker. For some reason on the box it says the speaker is built for Iphone users but the speaker will link to any android device via bluetooth or NFC. On the back side of the speaker you will find the charging port along with a usb port and 3.5mm audio jack. The first thing i noticed was that the ports are covered with a sturdy air tight rubber cover which would prevent any debris and water from entering the unit. There are two claims from Sony that i wasn't exactly eager to try but i'll take their word on it. One being that this is an IP67 rating on the frame design which is similar to a lot of cellphones out there. This basically means you can completely submerge the unit under water with no damage to the hardware, speakers or unit itself. It also means it should have no issues resisting dust or any other debris. This makes this speaker IDEAL for a on the go unit seeing as how sand, water, dirt or any other environmental elements should not cause any issue or concern. The second claim is that the unit is also shock resistant due to the design of the frame and fabric covering it. Sony claims that it can handle about a 4ft drop on to a hardwood floor with no damage to the unit. While i don't recommend giving this test a try it is a nice feature to have as a kind of insurance policy in the event one of your thoughtful guest accidentally knocks the speaker off the counter. There is 24 hour battery life with all the lights turned off and what i can say is with all the lights on full blast and the extra bass mode turned on i got about a little over 18 hours of full battery usage. This is actually not bad when you consider just how much power goes in to running all the light bars and strobes. Lets talk about some of the features that make this unit really unique. First off in order to enable most of the features will you need to download Sony's apps. It's going to require you to actually download two apps. The main app you will need is the Sony music center. The second app you will need to download is Fiestable and it will not appear on your phone but is an additional software app needed to access all the features of the speaker such as lighting effects, party mode, DJ effects and other abilities. Now the app is not needed to run the unit seeing as how the top of the unit houses buttons for volume control, pause/play, live mode, power button and the Bluetooth sync button. However without the app you will miss out on some interesting features. Through the app you can control the lighting effects of the speaker and how you want them displayed. IF red is your favorite color then you can have the light bar display red all the time. You can also control the strobe features of your speaker and how active they are. One of the cool features that i found i really liked alot was Rave mode. In Rave mode the light bar will keep changing colors and both speakers light up along with the strobe lights that flash on the side of the unit. What made it really cool though is that all the lights will light up and flash in unison with the music that is being played. It looks all very well orchestrated and while i was worried about it looking kinda of cheesy it actually worked very well to the beat of the sound. Now if all that flash is not your style don't worry you can turn off all the lights and just have audio. There is another mode that is called party booster. While this mode is turned on you can tap on four different areas of the speaker to produce various sounds. For example if you bang on the front of the speaker you can get drum bass. If you tap on the side of the speaker you can get high hat. The sounds can also be customized through the app so you can add whatever sound you want to whatever sensor you want it to be activated by. This feature allows you to make additional music either while the music is playing or turned off. So if you think that country song your listening to is lacking some more cow bell, well then my friend simply activate party booster and jam along to your song and add as much cow bell that you feel is lacking. There is another feature through the app that allows you to be your own DJ and add in effects to your music such as lasers, people cheering, hype men, etc. You can also slow or speed up the track and even scratch on it. This is a really cool feature that i was actually very excited about because it allows you to basically mix your favorite music and add in effects that you may feel would enhance it. I uploaded a picture to show you what that DJ feature looks like. The problem with this feature that i had was sound control. At least as of writing this review there is no ability to control the volume of your DJ sound effects. And what makes it terrible is that the effects are actually louder than your music that is being played. Lets say your jamming to your favorite tune and want to add some lasers. Well when you hit the lasers they come blaring in louder than the music that is being played that it actually startled me at first. Until they can fix this issue with an app update i found this feature to be very disappointing and pointless at this time. Now lets talk sound quality, after all that is what Sony is known for. First thing you need to understand when buying a Bluetooth speaker is a few things. One, it will never sound as good as a full 7.1 audio system with equalizers. Also second these speakers require some burn time or break in period before they truly start to shine. Right off the bat i noticed the sound quality wasn't that great. Once i tuned in my equalizer i noticed an improvement right away. Now Sony is claiming extra bass to push through these speakers that are supposed to be pretty decent. One thing i noticed right off the bat is the Bass tries very hard to push through and sometimes over compensates. While listening to Anberlin " Feel Good Drag" i noticed that the bass was pushing so hard that it actually sounded as if the vocals were being distorted. Im very picky when it comes to my music and i know sometimes i can tend to pick things out that most people don't find but for my wife to walk buy and even point it out to me only confirmed what i was already thinking. Now im not saying the extra bass is a bad thing im only saying it does not work well for the Rock genre. While blasting Young Jeezy " I luv it" man that bass hit so clean and did not take away from any of the vocals or other effects. One thing i noticed about this speaker is it really shines and sounds good with hip hop and dance music. Im not saying that rock or any other genre sound terrible, i'm simply saying that i noticed a little bit of a better quality of sound coming from those type of genre. Now lets talk about Sony's live feature. The live feature is a design that is supposed to give you a 3 dimensional effect and give you a sense of almost being at a live concert. While this feature does not work well for all types of music i did noticed this is where rock music really shined. While listening to some Shinedown on live mode the sound quality got louder with a bigger emphasis on vocals. I actually saw those guys in concert a few years back and i have to say the live mode made me actually feel like i was at their concert minus all the reverb and bad acoustics of the venue i was in. Now while this isn't a 360 speaker one thing i will say is getting sound quality across the room equally was not a problem. No matter what mode or feature you chose to use i found that no matter where i stood in relation to the speaker the sound quality was good and equal, lacking nothing. . Once i blew past my 20 hour mark i noticed the speakers starting to sound even better as they were finally starting to settle in. If you are looking for a good speaker for work. poolside parties, BBQ's or even camping then this is a must have. Really with the sound quality and punch this speaker puts out there is no bad use for this speaker, especially since you have to option to turn off all the flash and lights.

I was looking for a speaker that needed to sound great with bass like most Bose speakers but was hard finding a speaker that has great sound while being waterproof, until I saw this Sony speaker. This speaker is awesome sounds, great bass and loud with very long battery life. Most speakers that have all that are usually very expensive but this one was very reasonable. It’s waterproof and dust proof and I can attest to that as I’ve already drop in the lake and wind blowing all kinds of dirt on the speaker and it still works like a champ. Outer material is a fabric that you can literally wipe off dirt with you hand easily. Fabric also drys really quickly when it gets wet. The back has a small rubber flap that protects the usb charging area and all connections. When it was dropped in water, opened the flap to check the area and it remained dry. Great speaker!

I love this speaker. Having tried a few different bluetooth speakers coming into this purchase, I was really impressed with the performance of the Sony XB41. It packs a punch for something so light & portable and delivers booming bass and a satisfying blend of mids and highs. The lights can be turned off but you'll have so much fun with this speaker you'll end up leaving them on and letting the party go on! Add the fact that its water-proof, got a 24hour battery life, and you can charge other USB devices like your phone off of it... we've got a winner!

Great looking speaker but at 70% battery life this speaker won’t go higher than 5 of its maximum volume and it does not charge very well I’m returning it cause of it.

This is a pretty nifty wireless speaker from Sony. Out of the box it has the speaker, instructions and a charging cable. In a nifty twist on portable bluetooth speakers, this one seems especially designed with parties in mind. The shape and weight are such that it can be held comfortably hold in one hand. I was able to hold it easily, and then my children took turns with it and didn't have any issues with the weight either. It comes out of the box about 70% charged (your mileage may vary, of course) so you can start using it right away. Set up is pretty easy, as Sony has a QR code right on the instructions. Simply scan this to your phone and it will take you right to the set up page. Download the app and you'll be on your way. The app guides you through bluetooth pairing, as well as finds nearly every app on your phone you'd likely want to use with the speaker. There is an "add app" button as well, in case it doesn't find an app you want to use with it. There are a couple of sound modes, but the one you'll likely want to use is the "clear audio" setting which automatically adjusts. It sounds very good, but you can adjust to a few other "bass boosting" pre sets in case you need more of a "party" sound. Each mode sounds good, and is very crisp and clear. I did note some distortion along the treble lines and had to spend a few minutes fiddling with a balance between my phone volume control and the speaker volume control. If my phone was turned all the way up the speaker sounded distorted in the high ranges, but it corrected itself if I turned my phone volume down and used the speaker volume instead. The speakers niftiest features are the "party" features: the lights and the "party booster" features. The lights have TWELVE different settings (as well as "off") depending on what you have going on. There is a strobe effect, "hot" (which uses the reds and warm colors), "cool" (mostly blues), the "rave" (pretty much all of them flashing on and off), and a number of monochrome settings where the speaker remains one color the entire time. I would think this would be very cool for an outdoor party in the summer, whether it's a wilder party, or you just want to combine speakers with a mood and have them in the background. The lights look great--they aren't dimmable, but they aren't super bright, either so it wouldn't be overwhelming to have them near a table or a spot where people are going to be gathered. The "Party Booster" is a nifty idea...with this mode enabled you can hold the speaker in one hand, then "tap" on it on any side (other then the spot you're holding) and get a specific sound--I included a screenshot below to show the five areas you can hit. One bit of advice--tapping doesn't really work, especially with kids. Striking it with an open palm works best (like playing bongos almost). I had to experiment with a few different ways but once I got the hang of it I had no issues. My kids LOVED this, and I could see it being a big hit at a kid's party, wedding reception or party along those lines. I didn't really get it at first, but Sony has included a handy "how to enjoy Party Booster" link right in the app that demonstrates it very well. The sounds are changeable, but mostly fall into percussion lines. You can go with their presets, or you can do the best thing and customize them so each spot is cowbell--"MORE COWBELL" will never be an issue again!!! You can drum along with the song playing and it responds really well! Another nifty feature is you can set this up to "loop" with other speakers so they're all playing the same song, and all have the same settings. I would think this would be cool even in a teaching environment for teaching basic music and rhythm to children. It would also be a blast at a party with several of these around the room for people to pick up and dance with! The bluetooth has a very long range, I was able to cross my yard and it held the signal. It wasn't until I was on the sidewalk in front of my neighbors house that it lost it. It held a good, solid signal with no cut outs or loss until the signal cut completely. There are also several other connection options including a USB and charging port, though strangely there was no audio RCA jack. The charge seems to hold very well. It was 70% charged out of the box (it has a vocal setting where it will tell you the the charge left when you turn the speaker on)--my kids played with it for at least an hour and it was still 90% charged when they were done. They had the lights on the entire time in various settings, as well as the Party Booster. The speaker so far appears to be very durable--my kids dropped it (onto carpet) several times while trying to take their turn with it (i.e. rip it out of my other kid's hands) and there's not a scratch on it. This is NOT the recommended use for it obviously, but it should hold up okay under adult supervision. It is waterproof and dustproof. They show the speaker sitting in the sand on the box, but the material sure seems like it would hold sand very well so you may want to try and cover it in that environment. Overall this is a fun portable speaker that Sony has designed with some pretty specific uses in mind. If you're in the market for a good portable bluetooth speaker this one works very well. If you're in the market for a speaker with the bells and whistles (literally) then you can't go wrong with this one.

In brief, the SONY SRS-XB41 is built for fun. It’s playful design and abundant features make it a great speaker system for the beach, a patio, a cabin, or just about anywhere else. Oh, and it sounds pretty good too. APPEARANCE & FEEL: The deep red front of the XB41 greets the user as soon as the box is opened. The overall body is a blend of nicely textured surfaces (front, top, sides) and soft-touch plastic everywhere else. The controls are arrayed along a panel (same plastic) on the top, and the many connections are concealed in a compartment in the rear. It’s covered with a watertight “flap” that seats tightly but is easy to open. Surrounding the front and sides is one continuous bright frame that holds a nice surprise. Overall the speaker feels solid and substantial, but not heavy. Quality is the word that comes to mind. AUDIO QUALITY: Assessing sound quality is, of course, mostly subjective and is affected by many factors, including size. While the XB41 feels substantial, it is only approximately 12” x 4” x 4”. The two internal speakers are, according to the manual, about 1-13/20” in size. There are several audio inputs (see next section), but this assessment was made both by a Bluetooth connected to an Android device with highest quality MP3 and also a direct connection via the “audio in” jack. In both cases sound quality was similar. Unsurprisingly, the treble was sketchy and weak. Mid-range was very good. However, the big surprise was the bass which was (again, remembering the speaker’s size) excellent and full. Clearly, SONY engineers did a lot of work to make such a nice bass come from such a small system. There was no obvious stereo separation. Overall, for its intended use (outdoors, casual listening, small party, etc.) this is a good speaker. FEATURES: The (on-line only) manual is 94 pages. Really. This is a clue that the XB41 is certainly fully featured. The box includes an AC charger, warranty information (the usual one year) and a graphic “quick start” insert. SONY strongly recommends downloading two free apps which both enhance functionality and add even more features. (See next section.) Waterproof? Naturally, with good instructions on how to remove excess water. Want to link multiple speakers wirelessly? Of course. By wired connection? Certainly. Need to charge a phone or other device? Use the USB power source. Want to use the XB41 as a speaker phone? Can do, there’s also a mic. The back panel contains about 10 buttons, connectors, etc. One surprising and delightful feature was the reactive lighting that is colorful and spontaneous. The arrays express themselves in the “band” that surrounds the front and sides of the XB41 and in the two internal speakers that seem to illuminate/flash in response to bass inputs. (See photo.) There are several ways to modify or turn off the lighting, either by the control panel (limited) or one of the apps (more fully). Does anyone need such bouncy lighting in the post-disco age? No, but it sure was fun. FUNCTIONALITY: Whether one chooses to use this speaker with minimal features (say, if you don’t need a 100-speaker “Party Chain”) or digging deep into the many enhancements that SONY has provided, this is an easy unit to use, especially with the apps. The lithium-ion battery life is excellent, but declines rapidly as more demands (volume, features) are used. There are several indicators (decreased volume, etc.) as battery life declines. My one “gripe,” is that SONY, like so many other device makers, takes the cheap way and makes button and labels by embossing them into the plastic in the same color. This can be overcome with larger fonts, but currently this one is hard to see and read, especially in dim light. There’s a lot of empty space around the top control panel, so why aren’t the fonts taking advantage of the space (see photo). IN SUM, this is a great supplemental speaker, with above-average sound quality, many functions, and a whimsical feel. Enjoy!

The Sony - SRS-XB31 Portable Bluetooth Speaker is the best wireless bluetooth speaker I have ever had the pleasure of using. The pairing process is quick and easy, it has great sound quality, and it is very durable. With regards to the sound, the Live Sound mode is truly unique and really does an incredible job of spreading out the sound and making it feel like the music is all around you rather than coming straight at you from a speaker. As for the durability, the waterproof, rustproof, and dustproof features are amazing. You don’t have to worry about ruining the speaker if you bring it outside. This especially comes in handy for parties out by the pool or at the beach. Plus, the long-lasting battery means you don’t have to worry about recharging the battery at some point in the middle of your party. The lights are a nice bonus feature but I still would have loved this speaker even if it didn’t have the lights. Overall, this is a great Bluetooth speaker and I highly recommend it!

Great speaker from the new portable bluetooth line from Sony. This is A LOT of bass on this guy. I already had the SRS-XBS31 lower priced sibling, and liked that one, and was really impressed with how much bass it put out. Maybe even too much bass. Well, this larger and heavier XBX41, has even more bass. This XBX41 comes with it’s own charger, unlike the 31, and must have a much larger battery. Like the others in the series, you can also have the speaker charge your phone if you are running low while away from a power source (like a beach). I discovered with this speaker, and some time with the Sony Music Center app (on android for me), that you can tell the charge level via the app. I still however there was something directly on the speaker that would tell you the battery percentage. At this higher price point of this speaker, I wish there was a way to tell you either a percentage, or even more colors on the charging light. You basically only get a charge light, and it goes off when it has reached 100 percent. The sony app really has to be used for this thing, as by default, it might be way too much bass for some. I personally like it, however I really need to take the extra bass mode off, and go into the custom EQ in the app and pull the lows really down when I listen to audio books or podcasts. For music though, I cannot believe how great this thing sounds. It gets a lot louder than the little sister XBS31, and has a lot more bass. Party chaining works as advertised, well at least with my one other speaker. I am not sure how much I will need to use this, personally, but it does work. I am not personally a big fan of the flashing lights, but they can be turned off via the Sony Music Center App. I also am not a fan of the “LIVE” mode. It basically just puts some kind of EQ on all sound coming out to make it sound like it is in an echo chamber. NFC works well too. I set it up after establishing my initial connection to my android phone. I don’t typically leave NFC turned on all the time till I got this speaker. It just just so easy to walk over touch my phone to the speaker top, and it connects and turns on the speaker, establishes connection and you are ready to go. You can also plug in your phone via a 3.5mm audio jack if your phone still has one, and save on battery power on both your phone, and the speaker itself. I do really like this speaker, but don’t kid yourself, this is not exactly super portable, it is quite a bit heavier than the XB31, and physically larger. It has some features I probably would not use often, but the bass is killer!! Love the bass on this thing, but thank goodness I can drop it down when needed.

I have always compared a lot of bluetooth speakers to the higher end models to see how they compare. I will say this does quite nicely. The bass is good, but not obnoxious, the Mids & highs are also clear. I like the fact that you can turn the lights on or off and adjust the colors (In both apps). The Live sound is not good nor bad, its (hmmm) Interesting. It has its application to where it sounds great and then others were it makes you ears bleed in agony. But overall great feature when it works with the song being played. I wish there was a way to turn of the speaker light but leave the top and bottom bars, but just a preference. I put this in party mode with a few of my friends units (Same model) and it was a whole new experience. Really does have room filling sound and offers a great light show for the guest and kids. My children thought that the cool light one looked like TRON, so now they call it my TRON Speaker (Works for me). The gesture mode with the phone to create beats or record scratches is more suited for the younger generations i feel, because i didn't really play with that, but my kids did and had a blast with it. They also did a call thru it and people were able to hear them fine. If you are tired of watching videos on your device but having the sound come out a bluetooth speaker, just to witness that the video and audio are lagging, Glad to report you won't get that with this speaker. My movies and audio via the Sony speaker were in sync. When the actors mouth opened to speak, the audio was right there with it. On some past models (Different manufacture) this use to drive me nuts with the audio and the video being out of sync. This could have something to do with the codec that is being used too (however, big improvement when compared to others). App is pretty intuitive (not perfect, but not difficult to get around in), Over all great concept and product, would definitely buy another one and recommend this to family and friends. However, when they see and hear it i may not have to recommend it, they may just run out and get one for themselves :). Overall the speaker really does offer a little bit of everything for all ages. I found it to be quite awesome experience and would definitely say it is near par with what bose offers. Of course the bose isn't as pretty ;)

A great sounding portable bluetooth speaker. I was amazed by the sound that the SRS-XB41. It has a great sound and puts out some low end bass which I really like. I had a smaller one before and gave it to my daughter. She loves it too. I also like the fact that you can pair 2 or more Sony speakers in a chain. I downloaded the Sony music center app. There you can adjust the EQ to your liking and turn on the very cool lights that are apart of the speaker.

The sound is so versatile for a speaker of this size, and the apps will help you adjust equalizer to your liking. The bass hits hard, and this speaker can be paired with other speakers to really expand your listening experience. The sound is clear, the lights are amazing, and it’s just a conversation starter because of the size and lighting. You can play this in large groups and the music is clear and precise. Well worth the money spent.

Don't like ear buds, plugs or headphones! So, I got this to accompany my phone outside while working in the yard or detailing the cars. My other BT speaker didn't have the range and would cut out a lot. This one has the range and sound quality I wanted. It has enough bass and volume to satisfy me but not so much to bother the neighbors (unless they want a decibel war). Then I bring out the Sony GTK-XB90!

Pros : Bass, Lights, and Battery. I’ve had this for a month of usage and it’s great for hiking, Netflix sound system when using an iPad because one can be too lazy and not use a tv like a real adult would, and the beach where friends took turns hijacking the music choice. Cons: Its on the heavy side? Only if you don’t lift. People might think you are compensating for something because their tiny speaker can’t give the Unce Unce Unce feel with the playlist.

I ended up purchasing this because my Harmon Kardon speaker came with only foreign power adapters (this particular speaker was the Momma Bear of the Baby Bear that I had for years), under the circumstances of the pandemic I couldn't exchange it in store as it wasn't available in store. So, with that being said this speaker is a gem! It has a long battery life, fancy lighting you can turn off, it easily recognizes paired devices and has very good bass! Sometimes I don't need all the bass, it just depends. If you are looking for a speaker to listen to music with a lot of bass this is your go to!

Bought when on sale - when BB drops price $100 - BUY IT. Solid purchase @ $150. Overall good battery life cycle time - decrease of course if use a lot of illumination. If not using illumination you can get close to advertised life (24hrs). Have not pushed the 98' wireless range but no issues at 60-70'. Like most Sony heavier on the bass but you can control that in the app. The Music center app works well. 12 different Illumination settings offer great options. Volume is weak for my 40x60 Barn - I like my rock loud but fine for smaller rooms. For most part SRS-XB41 delivers.

I bought this speaker as thinking it was middle of the road . It has bested my expectations , great sound .. very decent bass , Thankful the lights can be turned off .. I like the fact that the speaker can shoot 360 .. haven’t tried the speaker link up Would love to hear what s sounds like .. charges fast & battery lasts even longer ., Very stoked about this little speaker . Try it out , TRex

I chose the Sony SRS-XB41 over a few options from different brands. I wanted both bass and clarity and I'm happy to say it has delivered on both. Easy connectivity via blue tooth, and battery life seems good so far. Also, very portable without feeling fragile. I might buy another at some point. Important to note that I did buy it on a good sale, so I feel I got more than my money's worth.