Sony SRS-XB13 Wireless Portable Compact Bluetooth Speaker, 2021 Model, Black

Got this because I needed a new small portable Bluetooth speaker I can easily fit in my bags for trips to the park or staying over in hotels etc. This definitely ticks the portability box nicely.Aside from this I also have a Sony SRS-XB10 and a HomePod Mini around the house. The HomePod Mini is similarly small but not designed for portability (no battery) and of course only works with Apple products. But I’ll use both as comparisons for sound quality as they’re both small wireless speakers, keeping in mind the other Sony cost around the same as this one being a previous version of the same model, while the HomePod Mini costs £100.Photographed in this review are both the black XB13 and the white XB10 for a visual comparison. The main change you’re likely to notice is the strap which is now a more rugged material on the XB13 whereas the XB10 has a thin cord connected to a piece of plastic. The casing of the speaker itself feels more “solid” as well, more substantial. It’s not so thick that it’s heavy - not at all - but it still feels better suited to brave the elements. So if you plan to travel outdoors with one of these, the XB13 is certainly an improvement over the XB10.The XB13 cost me just a little over than £40 here on Amazon brand new. The sound, and in particular the bass response, is noticeably better than the XB10 although definitely sounds more “muddled” than the HomePod Mini and can be described as “tinny” at higher volumes.This is to be expected however as not only are both much cheaper, but the XB13 is limited to SBC or AAC codec only. No others are supported. It would have been nice for Sony to add support for their own LDAC codec which would allow much better support for lossless music and I doubt the hardware would need much if any change to add this support as it’s a simple receiver. I’m guessing they reasoned it wasn’t worth adding for a low budget speaker. Still it’d have been nice to have with all the streaming services releasing lossless options and all modern Android phones having LDAC support built in.Connectivity - the XB13 has no AUX support, so it’s Bluetooth via AAC only. Ditto for the HomePod although it uses WiFi rather than Bluetooth and will soon have lossless support. The XB10 does have AUX input as well as Bluetooth. However the XB13 and HomePod Mini both use modern USB-C for power while the old XB10 uses micro USB. With USB-C rapidly becoming the latest universal standard used by everything from Android phones, iPads, laptops, and indeed Sony’s own latest Bluetooth headphones, this is a welcome addition. It means if you’re travelling with an Android phone, iPad, laptop, or other device that uses USB-C you can use the same charger for this speaker too. Fewer cables to lug around is always welcome and most other low budget Bluetooth speakers and accessories of all types are still using outdated micro USB so Sony did good here.Battery life seems good for the XB13. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to show a battery life indicator on the unit itself or on my phone like my Sony headphones do. Neither does the XB10. Seems like a strange omission given how easy it is to transmit battery level via Bluetooth to the paired device. But at a guess I’d suggest it does roughly live up to claimed 16 hours of battery life depending on how loud you push it.For an experiment I tried playing Dolby Atmos music from my iPhone. As you’d probably expect it didn’t sound like spatial audio. It still played fine but didn’t produce the effect it does on Atmos supported devices like the HomePod Mini. I can’t really give the XB13 a ding for this as it doesn’t claim to have such support to begin with.I also connected it to an Android phone and a Sony Walkman A45. Pairing was easy, fast, and flawless with no lag or disconnection. I would have liked to use the LDAC support on my A45 when connected to this speaker but that’s the only small complaint I have.Overall impressions: this is a great little speaker that does the job well. I’d like to see support for LDAC added to a future model as it’s Sony’s own codec and it’s very good at playing lossless audio via Bluetooth. Other than that I don’t have much to really complain about. Initial pairing is fast and easy. Bluetooth connection is reliable. Sound quality is much better than you’d likely expect from a small low budget bluetooth speaker such as this.If portability is a top priority this is your go to. If you plan to keep it in one place, perhaps look at the HomePod Mini if you use Apple gear. If you don’t mind lugging around a big speaker, larger higher end models can offer louder, high quality sound with better codec support.But if you want exactly what this is - a cheap small speaker you can throw in your bag and play music anywhere - it’s the best in its class.

This is a great speaker. The sound quality is superb and clear. The volume does to a decent level and you can clearly hear throughout a room. It is easy to set up, charge and connect phones to. I think it is great value for money and would highly recommend. I take this away on holiday or weekends away and it’s brilliant. It’s very small so easily fits into luggage

Overall a good speaker, pretty powerful for the size, not as much outside which was expected being so small. Great for travelling and love the handle which makes it easier to carry around or hand somewhere especially on the beach to avoid sand. Very easy to pair and it switches off when not used for long to save battery.

Good sound

Very good bluetooth speaker, I've had it a few years now, I use it in the bathroom because it's waterproof whilst having a shower. Good sound quality and design, very lightweight.

I carry this around at work and for this it's great. Sound is as u would expect from Sony for a tiny speaker. If u want good bass u need a bigger speaker. But if u can go with average bass this is perfect. If I'm working in one area for a bit I set it down to get better sound. Battery is good. Price is good. Connection was easy.

Exelent sounds

Speakers sound good, I bought two, to pair together and it is reasonably simple, just hold the blue-tooth button each device at the same time for 3 seconds or until the white light turns solid. Sometimes the sound will start to glitch so you have to turn it off and on again and it will be fine again. The volume is sufficient for an average room size or to play music whilst you shower. Overall, apart from the occasional glitch, it is fine, not on the sound level of a bose but the sound quality is good, bass is deep and you can hear 50hz and the kicks bump quite hard.