I think Sony has been recently killing it
with their headphones.
Their 1000XM3’s are currently the best ANC
headphones on the market and their WH-CH700N
are a really good pair of budget friendly
headphones packed with a lot of features.
But their speakers on the other hand could
use some work.
Namely, their Audio clarity could be better
and their Software and Wireless Party Chain
feature could be more stable.
So let's see what the new Sony XB501G is all
about.
The new Sony XB501G is a google assistant
enabled smart speaker that retails for $300…
Which is just $50 more than what the Sony
XB41 retails for.
But depending on your needs, one of these
speakers is definitely going to be better
suited for you.
So if you want to pick either of these speakers
up I’ll have links in the description below,
and if you use the links its really helps
out the channel.
I highly suggest you check them out cause
Sony speakers routinely go on sale so you’ll
might get lucky.
The XB501G shares the same design and build
quality of the larger Sony XB60.
It has a built in carrying handle, a light
feature, a hard plastic body and metal frame
on the front.
And its pretty durable cause its rocking an
IP65 rating which means a splash of water
shouldn’t be a problem, but you shouldn’t
submerge this speaker.
But unlike the XB41’s fabric body that can
really take a beating, the XB501G’s plastic
body can get scratched pretty easily if you
plan on traveling with it on a regular basis.
Now, even though the XB501G is considerably
larger than the XB41… due to its built in
carrying handle, rounded design, and since
it only weighs 7 pounds, taking it on the
go with you isn’t that bad.
Now, what makes the Sony XB501G very different
from Sony’s other Extra Bass Speakers is
its google assistant integration.
You can use it to control your smart devices,
play music or just ask it questions.
And the mics on this speaker have no problem
hearing you when you say Hey Google all the
way up to 80% volume.
But keep in mind, in order for google assistant
to work the XB501G has to be connected to
wifi.
So thats why I’m very happy Sony made it
very easy to manually toggle Bluetooth on
or off on this speaker… and if you want
you can strictly just use this smart speaker
like a standard bluetooth speaker.
I’m also very happy Sony decided to include
a full set of media controls buttons up top
so you can manually control your music playback.
Unlike other manufactures that omit certain
physical control buttons on their smart speakers
forcing you to use voice commands even when
you don’t want to.
Namely the Google Home Max, and UE Megablast.
But Something that I really don’t like about
this speaker is its port set up.
The XB501G charges via a 12V DC in port but
you can also charge it using its USB-C port.
And I think its awesome Sony is finally embracing
USB C. But I think its less awesome that this
speaker doesn’t have an Audio jack and theres
no USB A out port to charge your own devices.
Personally I don’t mind when smaller speakers
don’t have an audio jack, but I think larger
speakers like these should still have it.
Now you can use the USB C port to charge your
own devices… but unfortunately this USB
C port doesn’t support data transfer so
you can only play music off of this speaker
using a wireless connection.
And oddly enough Sony’s new speaker doesn’t
support LDAC or Apt-X audio codecs.
Cause for comparison, the XB41 does have an
audio jack, USB A out port, and can be charged
using a Micro USB port.
Now when it comes to battery life…
I’ve seen better.
Sony Advertises a battery life of 16 hours
on the XB501G but that’s with the volume
set at 50%, Extra Bass mode turned off, and
with the light feature turned off.
So technically they’re not lying.
But in my testing with the volume set at 80%,
extra bass mode turned on, and with the light
feature turned on this speaker only managed
to average 6 hours of playback time.
But given its speaker set up and the size
of that sub woofer it's understandable.
The XB501G has a single 4.92 inch frontward
firing sub woofer and dual 1 and three quarter
inch satellite speakers.
Where as the smaller XB41 has dual 2.28 inch
frontward firing transducers and dual passive
radiators firing out the front and back of
the speaker.
Now, we’re about to jump into a soundest…
both to the Sony speakers are in Extra bass
mode, and to make things a little interesting
I'm going to be including the JBL Boombox
here.
Without a doubt, one of the
best things the XB501G has going for it is
its clarity.
The new XB501G sounds much clearer with its
extra bass mode turned on than all of Sony’s
other recently released speakers.
Vocalists aren’t as pushed back and they
don’t sound as muffled.
But thanks to that 5 inch subwoofer this speaker
still has an impressive amount of bass for
its small size.
The XB501G has as much bass as the JBL Boombox
even though it's half its size.
But due to its lack of tweeters the mids and
highs aren’t as defined as the Boombox and
its soundstage isn’t as wide as the boombox.
But if you’re somebody who’s just looking
for bass, but doesn’t have the room or the
budget for the Boombox, then the XB501G is
a good option to consider.
And just like Sony’s other speakers, the
XB501G still connects to Sony’s music center
app.
From here you can select from a few pre made
EQ settings or you can make your own.
You can also go in a select from a few different
light modes.
Theres Rave, Chill, Strobe, and a rave mode
without the strobe lights.
But unfortunately, the XB501G doesn’t connect
to Sony’s fiestable app like the XB41, so
you cant directly adjust the colors of the
light mode.
But another thing I don’t like about this
new speaker is that you cant pair it up to
any of Sony’s other Extra Bass speakers
through wireless party chain.
Like I’ve said in the past, Sony’s pairing
method for their speakers is very finicky
but I was under the impression that I would
be able to pair the XB501G with other Sony
speakers.
But you can’t, you can only pair this speaker
with other smart speakers using chrome cast,
which I think is technically cheating and
its not going to work if you don’t have
wifi.
So over all, I feel the Sony XB501G is a bit
of a mixed bag…
It sounds much better than Sony’s previous
speakers and packs an impressive amount of
bass in a very small package.
But due to that subwoofer its real world battery
life doesn’t make it the best portable speaker
to take with you on the go.
But thanks to its google assistant integration
the XB501G is a pretty good at home speaker
that you can take outside to the back yard
and entertain guests with.
And if you’re looking for a speaker to use
mostly at home than I think you’re much
better off going with the XB501G than the
XB41.
But if you’re looking for more rugged speaker
to take with you to the basketball ball court
or skate park then you're still better off
going with the XB41 cause of its tougher body,
smaller design, and longer lasting real world
battery life.
