The $199.99 Sony SRS-XE300 is the middle child of the company's latest X series Bluetooth speakers, joining the SRS-XE200 and the SRS-XG300. The speaker gets quite loud for its size and we like its highly durable design. A companion app with a decent array of EQ and battery customization options also adds appeal. That said, an unconventional driver setup doesn't live up to Sony's promise of improving sound dispersion. We wouldn’t mind paying a premium for an experimental design that clearly enhances performance, but that simply isn't the case here. As such, the JBL Charge 5 ($179.99) remains our Editors' Choice winner in this price range because its traditional driver setup leads to a more consistent sonic experience.
Vertical Drivers in a Durable Shell
The 2.9-pound SRS-XE300 is available in black, gray, or teal. It looks like an oblong, rounded pentagon and measures 9.4 by 4.1 by 4.7 inches (HWD). You can use it either in a vertical or horizontal orientation, but, for reference, most of the press shots from Sony show it sitting vertically.
Upon first inspection, it's not obvious where the audio emanates from. That's because Sony opts for a so-called line-shape diffuser here. The vertically arrayed drivers are larger than the thin band of fabric-lined grilles indicate—audio travels through a narrow aperture rather than an unobstructed covering. A tough silicone material covers the bulk of the device, but there's a vertical control panel on the right side.
Note that dimples in the soft silicone material are occasionally visible: They are most apparent when you look at the speaker from above and less obvious in more diffuse light. These spots are likely where Sony fastened the outer material to the internal components, but most manufacturers manage to avoid any such dents in their designs.
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Dual 1.9-by-2.8-inch full-range drivers sit behind the grille in a vertical stack. The oval shape, which provides more surface area on the speaker cone, ostensibly enables more sound pressure and less driver excursion. Sony claims this design choice should lead to punchier bass, less distortion, and a wider soundstage. Passive radiators are at both ends, but that means one is at the base when you position the speaker vertically. Although the radiators can fire forward or upward, we suggest trying the horizontal orientation first to ensure that neither radiator faces obstructions. Intriguingly, this speaker produces mono audio by default, but you can switch to stereo sound via the app.
It's compatible with Bluetooth 5.2 and works with the AAC, SBC, and LDAC codecs, but not AptX. LDAC support means hi-res streaming is an option for Android users. In the app, you can group other X series models with it for a multi-speaker setup. Google Fast Pair is an option on Android, too.
From top to bottom, the control panel houses buttons for power, Bluetooth, multifunction (handles playback, track navigation, and calls depending on how many times you press it), volume, battery (provides an audible readout of the remaining percentage), and mic mute/unmute. They're easy to operate, but we noted a slight delay between pressing a button and hearing confirmation of said action. An LED between the power and Bluetooth button indicates when the speaker has an active power connection or is charging. Another light below the battery button shows when Stamina mode is active (we discuss this in more detail later).
An IP67 rating means the speaker is fully dustproof and can survive submersion at depths of up to a meter for 30 minutes at a time. Neither rain nor poolside splashes should be an issue. This rating, of course, doesn't apply when the cover for the USB-C charging port isn't in place.
Sony estimates that the speaker can last roughly 24 hours per charge, but your results will vary depending on your volume levels and codec choice. The company also claims that 10 minutes of charging should get you 70 minutes of audio playback time. You get a USB-C-to-USB-A charging cable in the box.
Sony SRS-XE300 App Experience
The Sony Music Center app (available for Android and iOS) offers plenty of features, but some are unnecessary and the important ones aren't easy to find. Moreover, the app is as visually appealing as a Word doc; it's mostly just text on a white screen.
An image of the speaker fills the top section of the app’s home screen, along with a battery life readout. Below this, the My Library section incorporates your local music library, though it likely isn't better than your device's default player. Scroll down to see a link to the Fiestable music app (a separate download with party features) and a Music option that opens your default playback app.
The settings menu houses the most useful options. Here, a Device Connection section shows you any devices that have an active connection with the speaker, while three additional submenus cover everything else: Sound, Power Option, and System (which merely tells you what speaker you’re using).
In the Sound area, you get a customizable EQ with simple bass, mid, and treble faders. We would have preferred five bands for more granular adjustments but still found these quite effective for some genres. You can't save settings as a preset, which is unfortunate, but the app keeps your changes intact even after you restart the speaker. This menu also includes the ever-important Mono and Stereo audio switch, the amusing DJ Effect section (Isolator, Notch, Jet, and Noise faders let you apply various sound effects), and the Bluetooth Connection Quality section (which lets you prioritize sound quality or connection stability). ClearAudio+, which Sony recommends for listening to music, is on by default and we couldn't find a way to turn it off.
The Power Option submenu allows you to turn on the battery-saving Ambient Noise Sensing setting, which uses ambient mics to cut those frequencies that are more difficult to hear outdoors. Meanwhile, Stamina mode turns off that setting and puts the system into a battery-preservation state that limits sound quality. Sound purists should leave both settings off. The Battery Care option caps charging to about 90% to ensure the battery's long-term health. You can also toggle various auto-standby modes to preserve power.
Back on the main page, a Bluetooth Audio bar at the bottom opens a page with volume controls and a useful pull-down menu. From the latter, you can quickly power off the speaker; add a selection of apps to the home screen (we're not sure for what reason); and access Info, About, and Help sections. The About section lets you opt out of sending Sony data for improvement and product development.
Directional, Detailed Audio
For testing, we left the EQ at the default settings and turned off all of the battery-saving modes, though we switched between stereo and mono audio modes at times. Stereo mode doesn’t provide much separation for a speaker of this size, so which mode you should choose really depends on your preference. That said, mono mode does make sense for when the speaker is in a vertical orientation, because obstructions might otherwise prevent the bottom radiator from working to its fullest extent.
We think the line-shape diffuser has the opposite effect that Sony intends; instead of dispersing audio more broadly, it seems to output the audio in a more localized direction. As a result, the speaker sounds very different in a vertical orientation than in a horizontal one. This is normal for a speaker, of course, but the difference seems more intense here than with competing models. We don't have any complaints about the volume output, but we're just not sure whether the special diffuser offers any particular advantage. If we didn't know any better about the internal configuration, we would simply remark that it has a clear sweet spot (aimed directly at the listener). On the other hand, the greater sense of directionality is useful in multi-speaker setups—it enhances the sense of stereo separation.
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” we hear a palpable thump at moderate volumes and serious low-frequency depth at top volumes. In the latter scenario, the bass depth sounds like it's on the edge of distortion, but the digital signal processing (DSP) keeps things from hurdling over that cliff.
Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass in the mix, better reveals the rich, crisp sound signature. The drums on this track get some additional bass heft, but the speaker isn’t quite large enough to provide a subwoofer-like feel. Callahan’s baritone vocals get plenty of low-mid richness, while the sculpted high-mids and highs retain plenty of detail.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “No Church in the Wild,” the kick drum loop receives plenty of high-mid presence, allowing its attack to retain its punch. The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat come across lightly, however—we hear their raspy top notes, but not much of their deepest lows. We don't expect serious bass depth from a speaker of this size though.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, sound rich, with a slight preference for the lows. Everything remains largely in balance, though the mids are a bit scooped.
The speakerphone mic offers solid intelligibility. We understood every word from a test recording on an iPhone and didn't notice any Bluetooth audio artifacts. The signal even has a bit of low-end emphasis.
A Flawed, But Intriguing Sound Design Endeavor
The Sony SRS-XE300 delivers a quality audio experience and we like all of its available app options, but we’re not sold on its unconventional driver setup. We simply don’t hear the magical separation Sony claims its line-shape diffuser can produce. Since this is a central focus of the design, the asking price thus seems a bit high. To be clear, the SRS-XE300 is a solid speaker, but we recommend the JBL Charge 5 more highly for around the same price because it offers a similar amount of power from a more traditional driver configuration. And, at the more affordable end of the outdoor speaker category, we're also fans of the Anker Soundcore Motion Boom ($89.99), which offers stereo audio in a floatable design.
The outdoor-friendly Sony SRS-XE300 Bluetooth speaker outputs loud, clear audio, but its odd driver configuration doesn't do it any favors.
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