Gadgetory

today's awesome video is sponsored by Squarespace alright folks the LEDs are really cool and I think they do look better but what I'm really hoping is that Sony improved on its audio compared to last year's model we'll see in today's video folks this is the sony xba-4 a hundred and forty nine dollars but at the time this video I have seen him go for one hundred and eighteen dollars click on my affiliate links down in that video description below that will give you the most updated prices in real time we'll see if that sale is still going on I'm Jimmy with Jim's review room and I'm here to help you guys make that purchase decision welcome everyone to another review so going over the physical features first I'm loving the placement of the LEDs it's a subtle change but one that looks a bit more modern if you don't like the lights for some reason here you can always turn them off and within the Sony Fiesta Bowl app you can change the colors to your liking you don't get real in-depth color selection but they're surely enough though if you want to color coordinate let's say with your room and such now physically the speaker feels great it doesn't feel hollow doesn't feel plasticky and cheap the outside is coated with some sort of thin silicone or what feels to be this rubberized finish the front is that fabric abrasion resistant cover protecting the drivers behind it now speaking of protection soda claims this to be dust proof and also shock resistant perfect to bring this along sandy beaches perfect for your kids to handle they might drop this thing or so but it's also waterproof with an IP seven rating MIDI this can be submerged underwater now with my testing this thing does float though which is a huge plus and it performs perfectly fine today nothing has been compromised one word of caution though the LED light strip right here it is plastic if you were to drop this on the edge or so it does have the potential of potentially breaking cracking letting water in etc that's what happened with my other Sony XP speaker that I previously tested a while ago it's still functioning perfectly fine today the drivers is still pushing out audio but the LEDs do crack the housing was perfectly fine just want to give you a heads up on bats now getting a closer look this is where I was hoping Sony would have in indeed the buns are cliquey and straightforward but some of the essential functions like battery level indicator or pairing to another speaker is hidden behind this flap right here which I'll show in a minute now on a positive note there is a live button which alters the audio to give you a 3d audio experience at least personî will be testing that a little bit later now rotating to the rear under that water-resistant flap this is where I mentioned in last review I wish Sony would have moved some of these features or some of these buttons to the exterior onto the front it simply just wasn't intuitive but here we are again you can turn off the LEDs with a button on here you can also check for battery life and it's awesome that it's a verbal command or a verbal gesture no WP c stands for wireless party chain where you can sync any one of these speakers that have listed on the screen for you guys and have them all play in sync to the right is simply the Add button to add one other speaker just like the affer mention you can play them in sync or in this case you can have two speakers one playing or both playing I'm sorry in stereo sound instead now there's a huge USB port used to charge your devices think of the speaker working just like a power bank micro USB in which was really cool last year I love that I can use any one of my phone chargers card chargers what-have-you and charge this thing no proprietary wires the only gripe now considering we're in the new year new model if you're buying new devices this year USB see the newest connection the newest port is the way to future-proof yourself you don't get that here also there's no quick charging capabilities now last but not least is the 3.5 millimeter port for physical connections now real quick battery life is claimed to be up to 24 hours per Sony but be careful this is with quote standard mode and lighting off Sony does disclose though this speaker can get up to 14 hours with extra bass on and the LEDs blinking away I did the latter test and achieved 13 hours and 37 minutes to be exact now moving on let's get into the features offered through their app the sony xba-40 2 has party booster assuming you need to boost your party even further turn this on through their app and now you can tap on the front sides and the bottom of this thing here to create rhythmic beats along your favorite track of I don't know Taylor Swift or something like that I don't like a tambourine or so I don't know I don't know who's gonna use this feature but it is out there another feature in Sony's Fiesta Bowl app there's motion control with your phone some movements can change how you control your music or tapping on illumination here you can make the lights flash dim and such it works but you have to have that specific app open if you're in any other app it won't work again now thread about this feature to be blunt it's kind of gimmicky as the fire festival and trying to keep this PG for the kids but it is out there alright Bluetooth performance whoa we're sitting at Bluetooth 4.2 I'm not a specs mad but I do like future-proofing myself Bluetooth 4.0 is good don't get me wrong but Bluetooth 5.0 is out there and a lot of headphones earphones and speakers are moving towards that way as well now regardless I did test the Bluetooth performance I'm able to cover about 75 that 80% of my apartment here my apartment about 1,100 square feet and for reference most other Bluetooth 5.0 speakers I'm actually getting about 90 to 100% coverage now testing this with video on both Apple and Android is safe to say I didn't have any syncing issues as well so for video this is perfectly fine I also confirm you can have two devices connected at the same time I have an iPhone and a pixel and can simply press play on either device and the XP 32 will jump to the latest source no need to unpair and then repair which is a huge positive for the speaker also as a side note this speaker does handle l DAC allowing you to playback high resolution audio files to be upfront it's meaningful to those who do own high resolution audio if you're streaming it's not a big deal but the option is out there now let's get into audio test please put on your headphones or earphones to experience 3d audio sound there's going to be a lot of samples in this one since I'll be switching between live sound and extra bass and such for you guys here at last please find me on Instagram or Facebook at Jimmy Lew official that would the world to me and of course like subscribe and light up that comment session with fire emojis alright folks here we go alright folks I'm gonna be switching between live sound and extra bass for you guys so you can experience what that 3d audio sounds like a good time don't need promises honestly no big deal as long as you can show and there you have it folks audio recorded on my end and then play through your speakers are not the best depiction of audio quality but hence my review here to answer the quick question does this sound better than last year's sony xba-1 yes it does not a huge margin but it doesn't sound as muffled and recessed that's really about it as a side note if you want a really quick comparison video let me know down in that comment section below this review is more of a general review on what's on the market instead of a one-on-one or head-to-head but anyways for a midsize portable Bluetooth speaker the Sony Xperia x2 bass is it on the level of say the Harman Kardon onyx studio for that's usually plugged into the wall consumes a little bit more power to get that extra thump no it's not at that level but it is it is on par with other midsize bluetooth speakers there's a bit of thump and punch and it does help quite a bit when you're enjoying Janos a pop EDM and hip hop now is it the busiest portable bluetooth speaker almost but not quite as a pro tip if you were to put this closer to a wall or a corner of a room that rear roofer in the back helps reflect some bass and improves the experience most Janos would do absolutely well with that but for those who are absolutely nitpicky here and noticed there's a slight little flutter in the upper bass levels and very low end of the mid-range it's faint but it sounds kind of like air coming out of a balloon it's minut but it's evident and like I said you gotta be really nitpicky to sense it now turning off the extra bass does make this speaker sound quite flat and that's always an option for you as well the mid-range is indeed better than last year's the bass doesn't spill over as much and again there's less muffled audio and Distortion a big improvement in my opinion at first this did sound a little reset for my liking but go into the Sony Music Center app and push the mid-range and if you want the high frequencies up as well your call and I think it sounds better vocals and instruments in general are pushed a little bit more for they stand out it sounds clearer making this speaker much more enjoyable the high frequencies would never ear ringing or ear stretching some roll off on the higher pitched tones was Evan not a bad thing if anything it was a bit neutral for me but again that's fine at least it doesn't blow out now the interesting features was live sound I don't know how well it translated in the audio sample for you guys but at least in person it sounds like it creates a much wider stage you do lose a little bit of a direct audio which some of you may prefer but you do sense audio that's originating from something a little bit further away from just the two drivers out in the front now which one do i personally prefer i like the direct audio instead turning off live sound for me was a more impactful experience so folks that's it for this review be sure to check out today's video sponsor they're offering a discount with my link and go to Squarespace comm slash Jim's review room to get a free trial and 10% off your first purchase Squarespace gives people a powerful and beautiful online platform to create your website choose from award-winning templates to award winning designers here their templates are modern as well as gorgeous just looking at some of these things here and super-functional as well you can link your social media accounts to your website so you can post simultaneously to all of your accounts you can manage your blog and its comments with your on-the-go mobile app check them out folks with the link in the video description you guys take care and I'll see you guys on the next one