This is the review of the comparison between two speakers from the same brand that is popular in the audio industry. The comparison here is between the Sony SRS-XB23 and the SRS-XB33. To know which one is good for you to buy, go to the detailed review.

Sony SRS-XB23	Sony SRS-XB33
BUY NOW	BUY NOW
PROS	PROS
Powerful bass depth and crisp highs in a compact design. Stereo pairing and Party Mode. Very portable and well-built design. Waterproof and dustproof.	Powerful bass. Big sound with good focus. Waterproof and dust-resistant build. Very portable design. Bluetooth 5.0 with advanced codecs.
CONS	CONS
Weaker without Extra Bass option on. Doesn’t get very loud. Unclear battery level alerts. No 3.5mm port, only Bluetooth.	No AptX codec. Doesn’t get very loud. Scooped sound signature, not for purists. Some roughness to treble.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Detail Review:

INTRODUCTION:

Sony SRS-XB23

The Sony SRS-XB23 is the updated version speaker of the SRS-XB22. This speaker is more of a brother of the CXB22. This speaker is offering some great features at quite a budget-friendly price range. This speaker is retailing for around ninety-eight dollars currently. 

Sony SRS-XB33

Sony redesigned the XB33 from the ground up I mean this looks nothing like last year’s XB32. This speaker is one of the great speakers from the line-up. This speaker is retailing for around a hundred and fifty dollars currently on Amazon.

DESIGN:

Sony SRS-XB23

On the sides, we have passive radiators like the JBL and we are not going to get the LED in this model like the XB33. We do have the rope tied on the speaker to hang this anywhere we want. On the back of the speaker we the buttons that include the power button, Bluetooth button, play/pause button, volume up, and down button, and battery stamina button, then the party button, and the last button we have is the stereo button. Then below the buttons, under the flap, we have the USB Type-C charging port.

There are positives and negatives regarding the XB23’s design of choice here, at the positive side, the XB23’s design looks simpler but still stylish compared to XB22’s, also the fabric and hard fiber plastic feel a bit more rugged compared to XB22’s matte material. Don’t get me wrong though, the XB22’s rubber matte material is still reliable enough to be used in a rough environment. As for the disadvantage of XB23’s design, XB23 just feels significantly bigger compared to XB22’s both in terms of length and diameter. So if you often bring portable speakers like these inside your bag XB23 definitely will take up far more space there, compared to XB22.

Sony SRS-XB33

As far as the function of the buttons, on the new 33, we have six buttons they also double as other functions. So first off, we have the power button, the XB33 does have a dedicated Bluetooth button, right next to that is the play pause button and if you hold that down you can actually activate Siri on your iPhone or if you get a phone call while you’re streaming music you can answer your telephone just by pressing that button you can actually talk and hear people through the speaker. Right next to that is the volume up, volume down button which actually doubles as track forward and trackback. Next to that is the live button you can actually switch between extra bass or live mode which is their 3D surround mode, and if you hold down that live button or something new called stamina mode. Last but not least right here that isn’t a button that’s just a Near Field Communication symbol all right.

Around the backside under the flap, we have a USB Type-A this speaker will double as a power bank, right next to that’s right Sony finally upgraded to USB Type-C. Right next to that we have our lights and battery button so turning this on if I press that battery button once it’s gonna give us our battery status and if I hold that battery button down for a few seconds it’s gonna turn the LED lights off so if I hold it back down for a few seconds it should turn the lights back on. Then button right next to it is the party connect button that used to be the wireless party chain button. The button right next to that is a stereo pair button that’s exactly where the Add button.

FEATURES:

Sony SRS-XB23

The speaker actually tells your battery life every time you turn this on and that feature can be toggled through the app. This app is actually called the Sony music center. So once you go into there you can group this with other speakers or you can use these dedicated applications to actually play your music. Going into the settings you can change your sound options, you can add extra bass, you can change your actual bass, your mid as well as your treble, and mono and stereo mode. Coming out of that, you do have your power options in here as well you have auto-standby which I have that on after 15 minutes of inactivity, this is going to shut itself down.

You do have Bluetooth standby, battery level that’s your voice that what you heard when it first came on, and then you have the stamina which will change the settings to channel your power consumption, which I probably won’t be using that because when you buy a speaker like this you want to get the most power out of it. This just tells you about your system and your updates, and there we go nothing else in here to go over. So a lot of your settings can be toggled through here and you can group this with other speakers directly through here or with the button that’s on the back of this device.

All in all, this seems to be a pretty structurally sound, well-built device, waterproof, dust-proof, rust-proof, it actually can survive falls up to a little bit further than a meter I think it can like basically take a hit, two well-built speakers in here for high performance on your bass your mids as well as your trebles, a nice construct minimalistic device, it’s gonna fit down just about any bag, it’s gonna cost you about a hundred dollars, it can also connect to another speaker to do a dual stereo mode or you can connect up to a hundred of these together and do a party mode which is insane. You get a whole pack out of it, so all in all, this thing is a pretty good deal.

Sony SRS-XB33

You might be asking if you’re older XP32 or XP31 could still connect to the XB33 via wireless party chain and then the answer would be no. Sony basically ditched the wireless party chain for party connections. So that means the new Sony XB33 can only connect to the XP23, the XB33, and the XP43. Instead of the add button, this one has the stereo button, so this speaker will not pair to any other speaker other than another XB33. So the only way to pair this to another speaker to get that nice stereo sound is two XB33 and XB33 and an XP32. This speaker doesn’t have a 3.5 auxiliary jack because they added Bluetooth 5.0 that was another big disappointment that I had with, the 32 is it still had Bluetooth 4.2. That’s another thing that they upgrade they finally gave us Bluetooth 5.0, so if they didn’t give us that aux jack there better is no latency from the YouTube video to this speaker.

As far as the battery life, they say has a battery life of 24 hours but the only way to get that 24-hour battery life is with the stamina mode on and the lights off. If you have extra bass on and the LED light show on you’re looking at about 14 hours. I found the battery life on the XP32 to be about 10 to 14 hours that’s what the LED lights show on and about mid-range on the volume, and that’s about exactly the same amount of battery life as I’m getting on this XB33. So with the extra bass on with the LED lights on you’re looking at about 10 to 14 hours based on where you have your volume. Other than Bluetooth 5.0 and USB Type-C, they updated, the diaphragm shape of the drivers to perfect circles.

Sony claims this is IP67 waterproof and dustproof, so that means it is protected against any dust or sand getting in this speaker, and the seven means it is submersible up to three feet for thirty minutes. They also say it’s shockproof and rust-proof, so I looked up in their user manual they say it shockproof for up to four feet. Before you take this near water, Sony recommends that you definitely have the little flap shot in the back closed before you take it to the pool or the ocean.

SOUND QUALITY:

Sony SRS-XB23

The XB23 also tends to have a “better” balance (more proportional) between its high, mid, and low-frequency output. In terms of low frequency, I personally think the XB23 can produce bass which is about as deep as the XB22’s bass. The Bass produced by XB23 is a bit cleaner, controlled, more “being able to stay within its range”, compared to Sony SRS XB22’s. XB22’s bass sounds slightly, just slightly, more resonating and a bit more thumping though. so overall bass-wise, this XB23 hit it enough, and in some songs are not as “resonating” as XB22. So this is all only about preference, for you bass heads, I think you’ll like XB22’s bass output a bit more, as the bass is a bit more resonating, a bit more thumping than the XB23’s but for all of you, most audiophiles out there, or those who enjoy a “more neutral” and cleaner bass, I believe the XB23’s bass output may suit your taste a little bit better. However, for most casual users out there, I’m pretty sure that XB23 can give you enough bass already.

Sony SRS-XB33

Sony calls this the X balance speaker unit why did they do this is because they claim it has increased sound pressure and reduce distortion. It sounds fantastic but it does get a little distorted at 100% volume with extra bass on and that bass EQ all the way up. But honestly, with these new passive radiators on the side, the bass sounds phenomenal, and it does still sound great at 50% and 75% just like the XP32. But just with the simple addition of these passive radiators on the ends here, I think it makes all the difference in the world.

It certainly doesn’t sound as muddy as the XP32 at 100% volume, so they did seem to solve that problem. But the highs did get a little lost in there at 100% volume as I went in there and adjusted the treble a little bit that kind of helped and I always suggest going in there and mess with that three-channel equalizer don’t just put it on clear Audio plus. I think once you get in there and mess with those settings you’ll just get the best sound out of this speaker.

WHICH ONE IS GOOD TO BUY?

In my opinion, both the speakers are worth buying for the price. It just depends on you what you prefer the most, on the basis of your preference and on the basis of your budget you can choose the one for you. If you want a great speaker for under 100 dollars, you can buy the XB23 and if you can afford 150 dollars then you can buy the XB33.

Expert Reviews of Sony SRS-XB23:

By PCMag
Sony’s $100 SRS-XB23 speaker delivers solid audio for its size and price in an outdoor-friendly, waterproof design.

By Tech Radar
The entry-level Sony SRS-XB23 boasts a new design that moves the passive radiators to the top and bottom of the speaker…

By rtings.com
The Sony XB23 is decent for outdoor use. It has a great build quality with an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance, although…

By techguide.com.au
The Sony Extra Bass XB23 ticks all the boxes for durability, design, value, and audio quality and should be the first thing in your bag…

Expert Reviews of Sony SRS-XB33:

By Tech Radar
It might look quite unassuming but the Sony SRS-XB33 Bluetooth speaker packs a punch when it comes to audio performance and is a great addition to any party.

By What Hi-Fi?
There’s plenty for the Sony SRS-XB33 to shout about, and it isn’t afraid to do so in the most extravagant ways

By PC Mag
Sony’s waterproof SRS-XB33 speaker delivers cool LED lighting and some surprising bass depth for its size.

By unwiredforsound.com
If you’re looking for a portable speaker that delivers excellence in the form of high-quality bass, great audio clarity, and…