So the new Sony XB23 is a great sounding portable
bluetooth speaker. But if you’re looking
for a small speaker for the summer then the
JBL Flip 5 and UE Wonderboom 2 are two great
options as well. But all three of these speakers
are pretty different from one another so depending
on your needs one might be better than the
other for you.
Now when it comes to price all three of these
speakers retail for $100 which isn’t too
bad. So if you want to pick either of these
speakers up they’ll be linked down below.
Now first off lets talk about the designs
of these speakers. Now all three of these
speakers have mostly fabrics covered bodies
so all of these speakers should have no problem
standing up to constant bumps and scrapes
if you plan on constantly taking any of these
speakers on the go with you. And all of these
speakers are water proof so you don’t have
to worry about getting any of these speakers
wet. But the XB23 is the largest speaker here,
where the flip 5 is a little smaller and then
there’s the Wonderboom 2 that just looks
like a ball. Now like I mentioned in the full
review, the XB23 is very large for a small
portable bluetooth speaker, but you can still
easily take it on the go with you. But personally
I do prefer the Wonderboom 2 here if you’re
looking for a speaker to take camping or to
take to the beach cause it is smaller but
more importantly it doesn’t have those exposed
passive radiators to worry about like these
other two speakers.
But the biggest draw back about the Wonderboom
2 is that since this speaker is the oldest
speaker here, its still using a micro usb
port for charging where as both the XB23 and
flip 5 are using USB C for charging… which
is what we like to see these days. But keep
in mind the USB C ports on both of these speakers
are strictly used for charging. You can’t
use these usb c ports as a wired connection
and you can’t use these usb c ports to charge
your own devices.
Now when it comes to battery life… unfortunately
the XB23 has the worst preforming battery
life here. Now even though this speaker has
an advertised battery life of 12 hours…
thats while this speaker is in stamina mode
playing at 50% volume. And I don’t like
using stamina when I don’t have to on this
speaker cause stamina mode makes this speaker
sound very flat. But this speaker also has
an advertised battery life of 10 hours while
in extra bass mode.
But while in extra bass mode and when this
speaker is set to max volume this speaker
is only good for about 2 and half to 3 hours
of playback time and at 80% volume this speaker
is only good for about 4 and half to 5 hours
of playback time. So I feel the battery life
on the XB23 is very so so.
Where as both the flip 5 and Wonderboom 2
are good for around 4 hours of playback time
while they’re both playing at max volume
and they’re both good for around 8 hours
of playback time when they’re playing at
80% volume.
Now when it comes to Bluetooth connectivity,
all three of these speaker can be connected
to 2 devices at the same time so you and a
friend can both be DJ. But both the flip 5
and wonderboom 2 are strictly using SBC where
as the XB23 has support for higher quality
audio codecs like AAC and LDAC.
But something thats very important to keep
in mind with all of these speakers is that
none of these speakers have an audio jack.
Now personally I don’t mind not having an
audio jack on any of these smaller speakers
but it is something to look out for.
But 
now lets talk about listening to music with
these speakers. Now all of these speakers
have very different set ups. The XB23 has
new dual frontward firing transducers and
dual passive radiators that shoot out the
sides. Now the Flip 5 also has dual passive
radiators that shoot out the side but it only
has a single frontward firing transducer.
And then there’s the wonderboom 2. Now both
the XB23 and Flip 5 are standard frontward
firing speakers where as the Wonderboom 2
is a 360 degree speaker. Now this speaker
has a dual transducer and dual passive radiator
set up but its components shoot out in all
directions. But now we’re going to jump
into the sound test. All three of these speakers
are playing at max volume, the XB23 is in
extra bass mode and the Wonderboom 2 is playing
in its default mode as well.
So
first off I want to say that I think the XB23
is the best sounding speaker here cause it
sounds the most balanced here… the highs
and bass aren’t fighting each other here
for superiority. Where as the flip 5 does
like to put a little more emphasis on the
highs which is what JBL likes to do on all
of their speakers, and the Wonderboom 2 is
the warmest sounding speaker here but personally
I don’t mind that cause the wonderboom 2
does have the most amount of bass here. Now
when it comes to maximum volume, both the
XB23 and Flip 5 get just as loud as one another.
But the Wonderboom 2 does get a little louder
than both of these other two speakers.
Now like I mentioned earlier, the wonderboom
2 is a 360 degree speaker and this speaker
is great to use with friends cause it can
cover a large area with music without having
to crank the volume up super loud. But if
you want to crank the volume up on the wonderboom
2 then you can also do that. So personally
for me I prefer the wonderboom 2 here cause
it gets loudest here, it has a ton of bass,
it sounds good, and also since its a 360 degree
speaker its great to use with friends. But
technically the XB23 is the better sounding
speaker here cause it sounds the most balanced.
But also with the XB23 you can go in and adjust
the bass, mids and treble on this speaker
to your liking. Where as with the Flip 5 you’re
stuck with JBL’s stock EQ. But then there’s
the wonderboom 2 which has an outdoors mode.
Now what out doors mode does it that it reduces
the bass on this speaker and increases the
mids and highs on this speaker so that this
speaker sounds louder and so that it sound
can travel out farther. Now out doors mode
is definitely a welcomed feature but if you
want to get the best sound out of this speaker
you’re better off using it with out doors
mode turned off.
But now lets talk about speaker pairing protocols
cause all of these speakers have some kind
of fragmentation to look out for. Now the
XB23 is using Sony’s new party connect meaning
that you can only pair it up to Sony’s newer
speakers that are also using party connect
like an XB43, XB33, or another XB23.
Now the JBL flip 5 is using JBL’s new Partyboost
meaning that you can only pair it up to JBL’s
newer speakers that are also using party boost
like a Boombox 2, another Flip 5, a JBL Pulse
4, and any other new JBL speakers that are
coming down the pipeline like the JBL Xtreme
3.
And then there’s the Wonderboom 2 which
is using Party UP but you can only pair it
up to one other wonderboom or one other wonderboom
2. And if you want to get stereo sound going
you can only do that with 2 wonderboom 2’s.
So with all that being said, like I said in
the full review the XB23 is a great sounding
speaker. Its has a much wider sound stage
and much better instrument separation than
its predecessor and it also the most balanced
sounding speaker. And through Sony’s app
you can also customize its EQ to your liking.
But I feel that you really gotta watch out
for the battery life on the XB23. So if you’re
looking for a small speaker to take with you
camping or to the beach this summer then the
XB23 wouldn’t be my first pick. Personally
i still prefer to use the wonderboom 2 cause
it has the most amount of bass here, its gets
the loudest, its 360 degree sound is great
to use with friends, but more importantly
it has much better performing battery life
than the XB23 which is crucial for a portable
speaker. The main thing you gotta look out
for on the Wonderboom 2 is that its still
using a micro USB port for charging. But if
you’re simply just not interested in a 360
degree speaker or if USB C charging is a must
for you than the Flip 5 is a good alternative
as well cause remember the XB23’s battery
life jut isn’t the best out there.
