Sony didn’t just drop their 1000XM2 headphones
last week, they also released two new portable
Extra Bass speakers.
THIS is the Sony GTK-XB60, if you’ve ever
thought hmm….
Like the XB40 but I wish it was larger and
much louder then the XB60 is your answer.
So, how does this new speaker preform?
We’re about to find out.
Don’t forget to like comment and subscribe
and you can watch some of my other videos
here after you’re done watching this video.
And there will be a sound test at the end
of this video too.
Like most Sony speakers, the Sony GTK-XB60
come in multiple color ways.
You can either get it in black or blue.
The Sony XB60 currently retails for $349.99
and its just $100 more than the XB40.
But unlike the XB30 and XB40 which also have
a hundred dollar price difference between
them but only slightly minor performance differences…
the jump from the XB40 to the XB60 is much
bigger.
If you want to pick this speaker 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 XB60 uses the same materials as the
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
really make transporting this speaker much
easier.
Just like all other Sony Extra Bass speakers
the XB60 has a metal grill on the front, and
a built in light feature.
The XB60 has a hight of 21.73 inches a width
of 10.39 inches and a depth of 10.71 inches
and weighs in at 17.64 pounds.
Or for my international peoples this speaker
is .55 meters by .26 meters by .27 meters
respectively.
And it weighs 8 kilos.
And a good chunk of that weight is due to
the rechargeable battery.
But for those wondering, NO this speaker is
not water proof.
So don’t get it wet.
Concerning speaker set up, the Sony XB60 has
dual 50 millimeter or 2 inch tweeters in the
center… and dual 130 millimeter or 5 inch
woofers.
You have a ring of full color LEDS, strobe
lights on the top and bottom and there are
single color lights that illuminate the woofers
themselves.
On the top of the speaker 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 Sony
XB5 and 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 does not
have an included controller.
But 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 XB60’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 larger XB90 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 the speaker 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 on
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 XB60 but I know for some certain
users it might be a must have.
Concerning Tech specs, the Sony XB60 is 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.
And it also does a really good job of keeping
a solid connection through multiple walls.
When it comes to battery life the Box says
its good for 14 hours with an Asterisk.
You can get 14 hours of playback with the
lights turned off and at a low volume.
But real world use with the light feature
turned on and the speaker at a moderate volume
I’ve averaged about 7 hours.
But when the volume is at max and with the
light on I’ve averaged 4 hours of playback.
So if you plan on taking this somewhere remember
to pack the charging cable.
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, it wont get
as loud, and the sound isn’t as crisp.
but you’ll be able to squeeze out about
to 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 gets 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.
Concerning sound quality, this speaker is
all about bass and loudness.
At max volume this thing averages about 82
decibels.
But its also a very directional speaker, if
you stand off to the side or behind it all
you’re going to get is sub bass.
So placement is very important with this speaker.
For the most part, I like how this speaker
sounds.
But I think theres still room for improvement
concerning instrument separation and the highs.
It just sounds like everything is too close
together and it hard to pick instruments apart
and the highs like to resonate a bit.
But this speaker has almost zero distortion
at max volume which was a problem with the
XB7.
But through Sony’s Music center app you
can either select from a few pre made EQ’s,
make your own or you can just use Sony’s
ClearAudio+ setting.
And what ClearAudio+ does is that it automatically
adjust’s the speakers settings depending
on what you’re listening to.
There are also some DJ Effects but all those
do is distort the sound so I never touch those.
Through Music center you can also adjust the
light mode on the Sony XB60.
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.
But I dont know whats going on with Sony’s
App development teams.
Sony’s headphones App is solid… it works
most the time, the UI is good enough and its
easy to toggle the settings of the 1000XM2’s.
Sony’s Music center app only works half
the time, and from a UI standpoint it takes
to many steps to get the the EQ, or get to
the light settings or even just check the
battery life.
I don’t know why the app layout for the
XB60 isn’t like the 1000XM2.
And then theres fiestable which is just an
eye sore but you can adjust the color of the
light feature on the XB60 after you’ve selected
one of the previously mentioned light modes.
So if you want blue strobe lights fiestable
can make it happen.
But regardless, Sony needs to step up their
app game.
The biggest pet peeve I have with the Sony
XB30 and XB40 is that when the battery on
either of those speakers get below 20% the
speakers will abruptly lower the volume, repeatedly
say please charge and wont let the volume
go above 20% so you have no other option than
to put the speaker back on the charger even
though you still had 20% battery.
Thankfully the XB60 dosnt do that, but it
still has a weird quirk.
Everytime you plug the XB60 to charge after
you’ve used it even though the speaker is
off the speaker will go into demo mode and
continuously cycle through the light modes.
So every time you plug it in to charge you
have to wait a few seconds and then press
and hold the party chain button to turn off
the light feature even though the speaker
is off to begin with.
Its just annoying, if I have the speaker off
I want it completely off.
I don’t know why Sony does things like this,
its like they actively sabotage their own
products.
So whats the verdict on the Sony XB60, if
you’re all about bass and loudness then
for its size its pretty good.
But like I said the Highs and instrument separation
could be better.
Its pretty versatile, if you want to take
it with you on the go or hook it up to your
tv you can do either of those things.
Even though there is a built in battery, don’t
for get the power cord.
For a $350 portable blue tooth speaker the
XB60 is all about sound and looks.
Its not as durable as lets say the JBL Extreme
and it is teetering on the edge of “is this
thing too big to lug around” But its small
enough that it will fit in most places and
the carrying handles make lugging this 18
pound brick easy enough.
Personally I think this speaker is perfect
for campus life if you’re in college.
And heres the sound test.
I’m going to cycle through some speakers
of the same size.
As always the all of the speakers will be
playing at the same decibel level streaming
from the same device and the same distance
away from the same mic so hopefully the only
difference 
is 
sound quality.
