The Sony XG500 is Sony’s direct response to the super popular JBL Boombox 2 and my
personal favorite sounding and most used speaker the UE Hyperboom.
And if you’re looking for a larger portable bluetooth speaker to take on the go with you
from time to time then all three of these speakers are great options to consider.
However, I feel all three of these speakers have their own stand out characteristics that
depending on your needs will better suit you.
Regarding pricing… all three of these speakers are in the same range.
The Hyperboom retails for $400, the XG500 retails for $450 and the Boombox 2 retails
for $500.
Now I wouldn’t be surprised to see both the JBL and Sony speakers to go on sale from
time to time… but personally I rarely see the Hyperboom go on sale.
But regardless the hyperboom is under cutting these other two speakers to begin with.
Nonetheless if you want to pick any of these speakers up they’ll be linked down below
and if you want to learn more about any of these speakers please watch their full review
cause we’re only going over the main differences here.
Now first lets talk about the design of these speakers.
Now all three of these speakers have the same principals.
They all have a fabric wrapped body so that they can stand up to constant bumps and scrapes
without any problems.
They all have a built in carrying handle so that you can take them on the go with you
and they all aren’t afraid of a little water.
So if it starts raining during your get together or if you speaker gets splashed on they’re
all going to be perfectly fine.
However both the JBL and Sony speakers are horizontal speakers.
And the Sony is a little larger than the JBL… but I don’t think its a big deal.
But then there’s the hyperboom which is a vertical speaker.
And personally I do prefer the Hyperboom’s vertical design cause it has a much smaller
foot print.
Meaning that its going to take up much less table space or if you’ve got this speaker
on the floor its not going to be as much in the way as these other two speakers.
Overall design is 100% subjective and some people will might not even care… but personally
I have found the Hyperboom’s vertical design is just a little more convenient.
However, something that really makes the XG500 standout here looks wise is it built in light
feature that illuminates its passive radiators.
Now from Sony’s app you do have a few different lighting modes to choose from.
Theres delightful, rave, chill, and strobe.
Now I feel sony threw in this light feature for good measure… but personally I don’t
see myself using this light feature on a regular basis cause it isn’t super visible and I
would much rather use this speaker with its light feature turned off cause it will extend
your over all battery life a little bit.
But hey, if you want a light feature, the Sony’s got it.
But now lets talk about battery life cause this is an area where the XG500 really shines
compared to these other two speakers.
Now the XG500 has an advertised battery life 30 but thats with this speaker playing a little
below 50% volume, with its mega bass feature turned on but with its light feature turned
off.
And under similar circumstance both the JBL Boombox 2 and Hyperboom have an advertised
battery life of 24 hours.
However real world use with the XG500 playing at 80% volume, with its mega bass feature
turned on and with its light feature turned on im getting a very healthy 8 almost nine
hours of play back time before the battery is fully drained.
Now like most other Sony speakers the XG500 will say please charge when the battery is
low, but it only says please charge at 20% volume and again at 10% volume.
It doesn’t constantly interrupt your music or limit your volume like with other sony
speakers, so its still usable.
But thing about the XG500 is that if you use it with its light feature turned off you can
extend its battery life a little bit and if you use it with its mega bass feature turned
off then you can extend its battery life even more.
So if you’re looking for a large portable Bluetooth speaker and you’re looking for
the longest battery life maybe cause you plan on going camping a lot… then the XG500 will
might be the way togo.
Cause for comparison, at 80% volume the hyperboom is good for about 8 and half hours which is
also very good and the Boombox 2 is good for about 7 hours.
So both the Boombox 2 and Hyperboom can hang for long use sessions.
But the XG500 is hitting 8 to nine hours of playback with all of its features turned on…
but if you use it with its light feature and or mega bass feature turned off you can extend
its battery life even more.
But now lets talk about the ports on these speakers.
Most notably the XG500 has a quarter inch mic slash guitar input.
And this alone can be a deciding factor for some people cause maybe they want to plug
in their microphone for karaoke or for hosting small events.
Where as the hyperboom has an optical port.
So if you want the hyperboom can always double as a sound bar for your TV.
Which I think is something worth considering if you won’t already have a sound bar to
begin with.
Now all three of these speakers have at least one USB A port so that you can charge your
own devices if you’re out and about… but the XG500 has 2 USB A ports, and you can also
use one of those USB A ports to play music off of a USB stick.
Which is a pretty big deal if you live or are going to a much more rural area.
And finally all three of these speakers have a 3.5 millimeter audio jack so that you can
use a wired connection.
Now I know this sounds very basic but I do gotta point it out cause some speakers are
starting to remove their audio jacks especially mid sized and smaller speakers.
But when it comes to wireless connectivity both the XG500 and Hyperboom are using bluetooth
5.0 where as the Boombox 2 is using Bluetooth 5.1.
ultimately this isn’t a big deal cause all of these speakers can be connected to 2 bluetooth
devices at the same time so you and a friend can both be DJ… but when it comes to audio
codecs both the Hyperboom and Boombox 2 top out at SBC where as the XG500 has support
for SBC, AAC and Sony’s own LDAC.
But now lets talk about actually listening to music with these speakers.
Both the XG500 and Boombox 2 have a pair of frontward firing woofers, a pair of frontward
firing tweeters and a pair of passive radiators that shoot out the sides.
Where as the Hyperboom also has dual woofers, dual tweeters and a pair of passive radiators…
but its set up is a little different.
Most notably since the passive radiators on this speaker are placed on the rear… if
you simply place this speaker up against a wall or any flat surface you can increase
its bass cause its bass has something to bounce off of.
Where as with both the Sony and JBL you can achieve the same affect but you gotta find
a corner instead, making your options a little more limited.
Now bass aside one very important thing to point out about both the Sony and JBL is that
if you use them while they’re plugged in you’re going to get a little more out of
them.
They’re going to get a little louder and their bass is going to punch a little harder.
Where as with the hyperboom, you don’t get performance bump out of it if you use it while
its plugged in.
Now this isn’t a good or a bad thing, but its worth noting.
But now we’re going to jump into the sound test, all three of these speakers are playing
while they’re unplugged, and they’re all playing with their stock EQ’s.
Which means mega bass tuned on on the XG500 and the Hyperboom is playing with its standard
EQ.
So overall sound quality wise id say we’ve got a spectrum here.
The XG500 is the warmest sounding speaker here as in its got a ton of bass but the mids
and highs are really pushed down here.
Making it sound a little shallow.
Where as the Boombox 2 is the brightest sounding speaker here meaning that there is a slight
emphasis on the mids and highs making the vocalists very prominent.
Now yes the Boombox 2 does have a good amount of bass to it… but its bass is lagging behind
here a little bit when compared to these other two speakers.
But nonetheless the Boombox 2’s brighter sound signature does have its advantages specifically
when used out doors.
Thanks to the Boombox 2’s brighter sound signature its going to sound louder and its
sound is going to travel out farther.
But then there’s the hyperboom which I feel falls right between these two speakers.
The Hyperboom has a good emphasis on the mids and highs so vocals are well pronounced and
we’ve got great clarity but it also has a tone of bass so you can physically feel
your music just like with the XG500.
But then there’s the instrument separation and sound stage.
I feel both the Boombox 2 and Hyperboom sound very open and its much easier to pick out
certain parts of what you’re listening to.
Where as the XG500 does sound rather narrow and at those higher ends things can get jumbled
up.
So over all I still maintain that the hyerpboom is the best sounding speaker here.
It sounds balanced but it also has a ton of bass which you can amplify by simply placing
it up against a wall.
Where as the Boombox 2 also sounds good and it has good instrument separation, but it
does lean a little towards the brighter side and its bass is a little laking compared to
these other two speakers.
And then there’s the XG500 which is a just a bass machine… but sometimes that bass
can get a little carried away and this speaker does sound a little narrow.
However, I do gotta point out that both the XG500 and Hyperboom have adjustable EQ’s.
Now with the XG500 you can always bring the mids and highs out a little bit… but still
this speaker still airs a little more towards the narrow side.
And then there’s the hyperboom like I just said also has a customizable EQ, but personally
I just use it while in its stock EQ cause it just sounds so good.
But the last thing we’ve got to address here performance wise is max volume.
Now first I want to preface that all of these speakers get more than loud enough.
But running off of their internal batteries… the hyperboom is the loudest speaker by a
descent amount.
Where as the XG500 and Boombox 2 are fairly matched.
But like I mentioned earlier with both the XG500 and Boombox 2 if you use them while
they’re plugged they’ll get a little louder and their bass will punch a little harder.
Where as with the Hyperboom you don’t get a performance bump.
But regardless the Hyperboom still manages to inch out both of these other speaker even
when they’re plugged in.
So the Hyperboom isn’t just the best sounding speaker here… it also get the loudest.
But finally lets talk about pairing these speakers up with other speakers and this is
where the boombox 2 really shines.
JBL has a ver wide eco system of speakers to choose from and thanks to Partyboost pairing
your speakers together is easy, fast, and reliable.
You just press one button on each speaker and it just works.
Inperson 19 Now UE’s PartyUp is also pretty good but
you gotta whip out your phone and drag and drop speakers together and plainly said, UE’s
eco system isn’t as large as JBL’s.
But then there’s Sony’s Party Connect which get the job done… but its not as easy
or as reliable as JBL’s Partyboost.
Sometimes it takes forever for your speakers to pair up, sometimes not all of your speakers
get paired, or sometimes they just disconnect from your phone.
However Sony’s Party Connect does allow you to pair your XG500 speaker with Sony’s
larger box speakers that also have party connect like either the XP500 or XP700.
Where as with JBL you can’t pair your party boost speakers to their larger Partybox speakers.
So if you’re someone thats planning on collecting multiple speakers and you plan on constantly
pairing your speakers together… then I’d recommend you go with JBL’s eco system.
You’ve got more options and it just works.
But with all that being said, like I said at the top of this video all three of these
speakers have their standout characteristics that depending on your needs will might suite
you better.
If you’re looking for the best sound quality here then I still highly recommend the UE
Hyperboom.
The Hyperboom sounds very balanced, it has good instrument separation, good clarity and
it has a ton of bass that doesn’t over power the rest of your music.
And not to mention, its the loudest speaker here as well.
The Boombox 2 also sounds pretty good but it does lean a little towards the brighter
side and it just doesn’t have as much bass.
But the Boombox 2’s stand out characteristic is JBL’s Eco system.
If you plan on gettin multiple speakers and constantly pairing them together then Partyboost
makes it super easy.
But also JBL does have more speakers to choose from to fit different budgets and different
needs.
And finally there’s the Sony XG500 who’s stand out characteristic is mainly its battery
life but it also has a few extra goodies thrown in there.
If you’re looking for the speaker with the longest battery life then the XG500 is the
way to go.
But also with the XG500 you can plug in a mic for karaoke, you can plug in a USB stick
and play music off of it, there’s a light feature if you want it, and this speaker has
a ton of bass to it.
Now sound quality wise this speaker gets the job done and its a lot of fun to listen to…
but I would mainly recommend this speaker to someone who really likes bass.