Sony’s newest and largest extra bass speaker
is the Sony GTK-XB90.
This is perhaps the largest portable bluetooth
speaker on the market right now.
The XB90 even dwarfs its little brother the
Sony XB60.
So what does the size difference between these
too speakers mean?
We’re about to find out.
Don’t forget to like comment and subscribe
and if you want to learn more about the Sony
XB60 tap here after you’re done watching
this video.
And there will be a sound test at the end
of this video too.
Personally I like to group the Sony Xb60 and
the XB90 together like I do with the Sony
XB30 and the XB40.
They share very similar designs and only have
slight performance differences between them.
The Sony XB90 currently retails for $449.99
and the smaller XB60 retails for $349.99.
Thats a hundred dollar difference.
If you want to pick either of these speakers
up I’ll have links in the description below
and I’ll keep them updated so you can get
the best deal possible.
Sony speakers routinely go on sale so you
might get lucky.
The Sony XB90 uses the same materials as the
Sony XB60 and the older Sony XB7.
The majority of the body is made out of textured
hard plastic and on the back theres some wood
paneling.
There are rubber pads on the bottom and on
it side so you can stand the speaker up right
or lay it flat.
And there are handles on either side that
make transporting this behemoth of a speaker
a little easier.
Just like all other Sony Extra Bass speakers
the XB90 has a metal grill on the front, and
a built in light feature.
The XB90 has a hight of 29.1 inches a width
of 15.9 inches and a depth of 16.3 inches
and weighs in at 36.5 pounds.
Or for my international peoples this speaker
is .74 meters by .4 meters by .41 meters respectively.
And it weighs 16.56 kilos.
And a good chunk of that weight is due to
the rechargeable battery.
It takes a big battery to power this hulk
of a speaker.
Over all the XB90 is 3 times as big and weighs
twice as much as the XB60.
And for those wondering, NO neither of these
speakers are water proof.
Speaker set up on the Sony XB90 is slightly
bigger and different than the XB60.
The Sony XB90 has dual 180 millimeter or 7
inch woofers and 3 60 millimeter or 2.36 inch
tweeters.
But at any given moment you’re only using
2 of those 3 tweeters.
When the speaker is up right you’re using
the top 2 tweeters and when the speaker is
laid flat you’re using the 2 tweeters on
the side.
The light features on the Sony XB90 is also
a little different than the one on the Xb60.
You still get the same full color ring around
the speaker and strobe lights on the top and
bottom.
But the XB90 also has multicolor lights that
illuminate the woofers in different colors.
Where as on the XB60 the woofers only light
up white.
And the theres also infinity mirrors built
in on the top and bottom.
Overall the light feature on the XB90 is a
little more intricate than the one on the
Xb60.
On the top of the speakers you’ll see theres
your power button, volume control buttons,
and thankfully they added a play/pause button.
And this is a big deal because on the XB7
there was no play/pause button so if your
phone or the included remote wasn’t near
by you couldn’t control your music playback.
And for those wondering… the XB60 or the
XB90 don’t have an included controller.
And honestly I don’t care.
And you’ll also find other buttons like
the Function button to cycle between your
audio sources, and the Add and Party chain
button.
You can also use the party chain button to
turn off the light feature by pressing and
holding.
If you have two Sony XB90’s you can pair
them together and have them play in stereo
mode or if you have other XB speakers like
the XB30, XB40, or the slightly smaller XB60
you can pair up to 10 speakers together and
have them all play in sync.
And thankfully Sony streamlined the pairing
process on the XB60 and XB90.
All you have to do is press the Party chain
button on each speaker and you’re done.
Just like JBL Speakers.
A little further up you’ll also see a slit
where you can rest your phone or tablet and
a even more up you’ll find an NFC touch
point.
On the back of both speakers you’ll find
RCA ports so you can daisy chain more speakers
together, a USB port and a mic input.
But Sony did not include a 3.5 millimeter
audio jack which is a bummer.
Through the USB port you can charge your own
phone and play MP3, WMA, and WAV files off
of most devices.
But you cant play music through the USB port
when using Apple devices so you’re stuck
with only a bluetooth connection.
But like I’ve said in the past, Sony does
a really good job of having a really clear
wireless Audio Connection on both their speakers
and headphones.
So personally I don’t really need an Audio
jack on the XB90 but I know for some certain
users it might be a must have.
When it comes Tech specs, both the Sony XB90
and Xb60 are using bluetooth 4.2 and can be
paired up to 3 devices at the same time.
And you’ve got a wireless range of around
40 feet with direct line of sight on either
of them.
And they also do a really good job of keeping
a solid connection through multiple walls.
Concerning battery life, Sony claims the XB90
is good for 16 hours of play back time.
And technically that is true if you use the
speaker at a low volume and with the light
feature turned off.
But real world battery life on the Sony XB90
with the volume at a moderate volume and with
the light feature turned on I’ve averaged
about 9 hours of play back time.
Which is 2 hours more than the real world
battery life on the XB60 under the same circumstances.
But if you play music on the XB90 at full
volume you’ll get about 4 hours of play
back time which is the same as the Xb60 at
full volume.
So if you take these speakers some where remember
to pack your power cord.
New to the XB60 and XB90 is stamina mode and
basically what it does is that it reduces
the output of the speakers.
So there wont be as much bass, they wont get
as loud, and the sound isn’t as crisp.
but you’ll be able to squeeze out about
two more hours of playback time.
And thankfully Sony got rid of the please
charge feature that was on the XB40 and XB30.
When the battery on the XB60 or XB90 get below
20% it’ll simply say please charge and flash
a few times and thats it.
BUT It will no longer nag you to put it back
on the charger or limit the volume like the
XB40 or the XB30.
And for those wondering, if you press and
hold the stamina button the speaker will tell
you its current battery percentage.
Just like the XB60, the XB90 is all about
loudness and bass.
Theres a lot of sub bass and you’re going
to feel it in your chest.
I love it.
And concerning sound quality, both the XB60
and XB90 sound the same.
As in the XB90 dosnt have the widest sound
stage, instrument separation isn’t the best
and vocals do tend to get lost at times.
But I would still recommend it for hip hop
or edm and thats what sony is going for with
this speaker.
But the biggest sound difference between the
Xb90 and the Xb60 is obviously going to be
loudness.
At max volume the Xb60 likes to hover in the
mid 80 decibel range while at max volume the
XB90 likes to hover around the low to mid
90’s range.
And although it might not seem like much in
person the loudness difference is very noticeable.
And at max volume neither of these speakers
suffer from much sound distortion at all.
Both the Sony Xb90 and XB60 connect to Sony’s
music center app.
And like I’ve said in the past… it only
works properly half the time.
Through the app you can adjust the EQ of either
of these speakers.
You can either select from a few pre made
EQ’s or you can even make your own.
Or You also just use Sony’s ClearAudio+
setting which will automatically adjust the
EQ of the speakers depending on what you’re
listening to.
And through the music center app you can also
pick from a few different illumination settings.
You can choose from Rave, Chill, a rave mode
without the strobe lights, Hot where only
reds and oranges will flash, cool where only
blues and greens will flash, theres strobe,
and there are a few calm options as well.
You can also use Sony’s fiestable app to
customize the light feature after you’ve
selected a light mode.
So if you want to have the speaker flash red
in strobe mode fiestable can make that happen.
But like ive said before, I feel Sony’s
app for the XB60 and XB90 should look more
like the 1000XM2.
Its cleaner and its easier to get to each
setting quicker.
although the XB60 and XB90 don’t have the
annoying “please charge" feature like the
XB30 and XB40… both the XB60 and XB90 have
a quirk that I hate.
When ever you plug either of these speakers
to charge even though they are turned off
the speakers will go into demo mode and cycle
through the light modes.
So then you have to wait a few seconds, then
press and hold the party chain button to turn
off demo mode.
If I have the speaker off I want it completely
turned off.
I don’t know why sony does things like this.
So 
to wrap things up, the Sony XB90 is a good
option if you regularly host parties.
Although it does have a built in battery don’t
expect it to last the whole length of your
get together especially if you’ve got it
set at max volume.
If you’re considering either of these speakers
for personal use I recommend you go with the
Sony XB60.
Its big enough that it gets pretty loud and
theres enough wall shacking bass to keep a
bass head happy but its still small enough
that transporting it to other places isn’t
as much of a hassle as the Sony XB90.
I think the XB90 is over kill for personal
use but I think sony hit gold with the XB60.
Personally I just really like the Sony XB60.
