TechAudioSpeakersSony SRS-XB13 review: a budget Bluetooth speaker to use outsideThe Sony SRS-XB13 isn’t perfect but it is very cheapWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Future)T3 VerdictThe Sony SRS-XB13 is a small portable Bluetooth speaker with upsides and downsides. It’s cheap, waterproof and the battery lasts for ages but the sound quality leaves a lot to be desired and it takes ages to charge.Reasons to buy+Very small and portable+Waterproof and dustproof+Pair 2 of the speakers togetherReasons to avoid-Sound could be improved-Long charge time-Poor microphoneWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
TechAudioSpeakersSony SRS-XB13 review: a budget Bluetooth speaker to use outsideThe Sony SRS-XB13 isn’t perfect but it is very cheapWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Future)T3 VerdictThe Sony SRS-XB13 is a small portable Bluetooth speaker with upsides and downsides. It’s cheap, waterproof and the battery lasts for ages but the sound quality leaves a lot to be desired and it takes ages to charge.Reasons to buy+Very small and portable+Waterproof and dustproof+Pair 2 of the speakers togetherReasons to avoid-Sound could be improved-Long charge time-Poor microphoneWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
The Sony SRS-XB13 isn’t perfect but it is very cheap
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Future)T3 VerdictThe Sony SRS-XB13 is a small portable Bluetooth speaker with upsides and downsides. It’s cheap, waterproof and the battery lasts for ages but the sound quality leaves a lot to be desired and it takes ages to charge.Reasons to buy+Very small and portable+Waterproof and dustproof+Pair 2 of the speakers togetherReasons to avoid-Sound could be improved-Long charge time-Poor microphone
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
T3 VerdictThe Sony SRS-XB13 is a small portable Bluetooth speaker with upsides and downsides. It’s cheap, waterproof and the battery lasts for ages but the sound quality leaves a lot to be desired and it takes ages to charge.Reasons to buy+Very small and portable+Waterproof and dustproof+Pair 2 of the speakers togetherReasons to avoid-Sound could be improved-Long charge time-Poor microphone
T3 VerdictThe Sony SRS-XB13 is a small portable Bluetooth speaker with upsides and downsides. It’s cheap, waterproof and the battery lasts for ages but the sound quality leaves a lot to be desired and it takes ages to charge.
T3 Verdict
The Sony SRS-XB13 is a small portable Bluetooth speaker with upsides and downsides. It’s cheap, waterproof and the battery lasts for ages but the sound quality leaves a lot to be desired and it takes ages to charge.
Reasons to buy+Very small and portable+Waterproof and dustproof+Pair 2 of the speakers togetherReasons to avoid-Sound could be improved-Long charge time-Poor microphone
Reasons to buy+Very small and portable+Waterproof and dustproof+Pair 2 of the speakers together
Very small and portable
Waterproof and dustproof
Pair 2 of the speakers together
Reasons to avoid-Sound could be improved-Long charge time-Poor microphone
Sound could be improved
Long charge time
Poor microphone
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
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ThisSonySRS-XB13 review comes to the conclusion that if you want the perfect portable speaker, you’ll need to spend a bit more cash. In comparison to some of thebest Bluetooth speakersyou can buy, the Sony SRS-XB13 falls down in a number of areas, but it is very cheap so that’s inevitable.
Despite that, this would still make a good gift and it’ll be a good buy if you’re on a tight budget and you want a small wireless speaker. It’s also very easy to carry around with you. It’s also both waterproof and dustproof so you can pretty much use it anywhere.
If you’re not too worried about your budget, take a look at thebest JBL Bluetooth speakers, while most of them are a lot pricier than this one, they also sound a lot better.
Sony SRS-XB13 review: price and availability
You can buy the Sony SRS-XB13 now starting from $48 in the US, £38 in the UK and AU$96 in Australia. Take a look at the widgets on this page to see where you can buy it in your region, and the best deals on it from across the web right now.
Sony SRS-XB13 review: design and battery
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Small enough to fit in your hand, the Sony SRS-XB13 only weighs about 253g. It’s a tiny wireless speaker that will be very easy to take out and about with you, and it’lldefinitely fit in your luggage when you go on holiday. Shaped like a tumbler, it has a speaker grille across the top, gaps in the bottom to let the sound out and a strap to help you carry it around and hang it up.
You can buy it in six colours: if you prefer something more toned down, you could go for the black, taupe or light blue or if you want something more funky it also comes in turquoise, lemon yellow or coral pink. Whether you’re buying for yourself or someone else, one of the colours is bound to be just right.
You’ll get up to 16 hours of music from the Sony SRS-XB13 at a time. That’s pretty good going, it’ll certainly be enough for a day out.
There’s a USB-C port to charge it hidden behind the flap on the back. It’ll take about 4 hours and 30 minutes to get it back up to full battery which is absolutely ages, you’ll probably need to remember to plug it in overnight rather than before you head out.
Sony SRS-XB13 review: performance and features
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
When it comes to sound quality, you can only expect so much from a speaker that is this cheap, but what the design of the speaker does do well is give you the same sound no matter where you stand in relation to it - it comes from every angle.
When you dial the volume right up to 100%, it’s not actually that loud. It’ll be fine for listening in small groups but it won’t be powerful enough to soundtrack a party. I also noticed that the sound got a little distorted at the highest levels with an audible hiss behind the track.
The Sony SRS-XB13 has a single 43mm driver and despite being labelled as having ‘extra bass’ it won’t be shaking any walls, let’s put it that way. You do hear a punch in bass-heavy songs and vocals come through very clearly but it’s a long way off some of the verybest Bose Bluetooth speakersyou can buy, for example.
To make the sound bigger, you can pair two of these speakers together for stereo sound. I only had one so unfortunately I couldn’t test this feature out.
Another handy feature is that the Sony SRS-XB13 has a microphone built-in so you’ll be able to take your calls through it. I wouldn’t expect too much from that though, people on the other end might struggle to hear you clearly, especially if you’re somewhere noisy.
Sony SRS-XB13 review: verdict
(Image credit: Sony)
(Image credit: Sony)
To sum things up, the Sony SRS-XB13 is far from perfect. In fact, there are a fair few problems with it. The sound isn’t very powerful nor is it particularly accurate, the microphone doesn’t do a very good job when you’re using it as a speakerphone and it takes ages to charge.
Sony SRS-XB13 review: also consider
Another tiny and cheap speaker to consider is theJBL Go 3, it’s even smaller than this and even cheaper. While it does have fewer features and quieter sound, the actual quality of the audio is better.
Willing to push your budget up just a little? You’re better off with theUltimate Ears Wonderboom 2which is just under double the price but it is worth it. Or if you can go a little higher than that, theJBL Flip 6could be worth considering because it will be powerful enough to listen to music in bigger groups.
Sony SRS-XB13: Price Comparison
16 Amazon customer reviews☆☆☆☆☆
16 Amazon customer reviews☆☆☆☆☆
☆☆☆☆☆
$33.99View$39.99$33.99View$44.92$34.99View$34.99View$49.99$44.99View
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$34.99View
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$49.99$44.99View
$49.99$44.99View
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