Sony has an abundance of Bluetooth speakers, some of which are enormous in size and sound quality. On the opposite end of the scale, the $48.00 Sony SRS-XB13 is small enough to be carried around in a bag. It is waterproof, has a detachable strap, and provides adequate bass depth and volume for its size. Other than that, it’s quite basic, but that’s to be expected at this price. The SRS-XB13 is an outdoor-friendly speaker that will serve you well on your upcoming vacation/summer trip/camping excursion.
Users who wish to listen to music or take calls while on the go or in the great outdoors will find portable Bluetooth speakers very useful. Here, the Sony SRS-XB13 is a suitable option. This speaker is rated IP67 for dust and water protection, so it can withstand a reasonable amount of exposure to the outdoors, and you can even rinse it under a running faucet or submerge it for brief periods of time.
On the side of the speaker are the controls. There are power, Bluetooth pairing, playback, and volume controls. The Bluetooth button is used for pairing with source devices and setting up wireless stereo coupling if two Sony SRS-XB13 speakers are present. The playback button can also be used to answer calls in addition to playing, pausing, and skipping tracks. The microphone of the SRS-XB13 is located directly beneath these buttons, and the device can be used for hands-free calls.
The Sony SRS-XB13 speaker weights 253g and contains a single 46mm driver. The speaker uses Bluetooth 4.2 for connectivity and supports the SBC and AAC codecs. It has a charging USB Type-C port. Short charging cord and instruction and safety brochures are included in the product’s packaging. There are six color possibilities for the speaker: black, light blue, pink, powder blue, taupe, and yellow. Especially at lower volumes, the direction in which the speakers are oriented makes a notable effect. However, the strap that permits quick and easy configuration changes makes this component manageable.
The strap also provides space around the speaker, which improves its sound quality when it is slack. Due to the small size of the speaker, it is simple to press it against corners and walls, where the sound quality is poor. The battery life is exceptional. We played it at approximately fifty percent volume and it lasted well over a day of continuous playback, significantly longer than the sixteen hours listed on the box, which we think are at higher volumes.
This is the kind of battery life you need for hikes, but since it won’t be on continuously, it’s safe to assume that this speaker can easily last a weekend without being recharged. Although we think that the battery life may diminish with time, it looks to last forever out of the box, which is exactly what customers want from outdoor equipment. On the device’s side are signs for low battery life.