This is the review of the comparison between two speakers from two popular brands in the sound industry. The comparison here is between the Sony SRS-XB23 and the Ultimate Ears Boom 3. To know which one is worth buying for the price, go to the detailed review.

Sony SRS-XB23	Ultimate Ears Boom 3
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.	Fantastic, rugged design. Loud, clean 360-degree”sound. Party mode lets buyers connect up to 150 speakers.
CONS	CONS
Weaker without Extra Bass option on. Doesn’t get very loud. Unclear battery level alerts. No 3.5mm port, only Bluetooth.	Beats lack depth. High price. No aux input.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Detail Review:

INTRODUCTION:

Sony SRS-XB23

The Sony XB23 is a waterproof, rustproof, dust-proof speaker, it’s pretty much indestructible. This is more like a brother of the Sony SRS-XB22 as this is an updated speaker of that version. This speaker is retailing for around ninety-eight dollars currently on Amazon. 

Ultimate Ears Boom 3

The Ultimate Ears Boom 3 is an updated version speaker of the Boom line-up speakers. This speaker is also more a younger brother of the Megaboom line-up speakers. This speaker is retailing for around a hundred and forty dollars currently on Amazon.

DESIGN:

Sony SRS-XB23

If we take a look at the back, this is where all of your controls are right there. You have your power button on and off, you have your Bluetooth button right there, your pause and play, you have up and down for your volume, you actually have your battery stamina, your party mode, and your pairing mode right there all on the back. So everything is easily controlled right there on this device. Down the bottom is where you’re gonna actually charge this thing up at, closing that off that’s your little waterproof dustproof hatch right there, and if you notice you do have the holes down at the bottom all around these sides so three sides on the back, no holes on the front right there.

This device actually has two speakers up front, you really can’t see them through that mesh but this is a very fine mesh material. The mesh material on here doesn’t seem to be just half put together, it feels good, it doesn’t feel like it’s going to tear, and it’s almost seamless until you get to these couple of points right back there and then the outer edge if you can hear that that’s plastic. Then you have side passive radiators that are going to allow for clear bass, and you have these two speakers upfront as I mentioned.

Ultimate Ears Boom 3

As far as the physical features, instead of that thicker fabric mesh grille that we have UE has had for a long time, this has a thinner and slightly reflective material. It’s so subtle but it more important to me that feels a little bit more modern. As far as the buttons control, the front head your volume up and down pretty obvious where they’re huge but pressing both of them at the same time graciously gives you your battery life. As far as the buttons up on the top you got power and pairing, and right in the middle is this quote magic button.

The magic button performs basics like pause play and skips your music, oddly you can only go forward you can’t go back on your songs, the magic is really the ability to play your playlist with the convenience of not needing to pull out your phone. Through the UE app, you have to do this beforehand you set it up through there and the next time around you press and hold this button down for three seconds and then your playlist will start playing. Even if your speaker’s off holding it down for three seconds to start the playlist your speaker will automatically turn on and that’s really it for the magic.

FEATURES:

Sony SRS-XB23

When you go to open this up, you’re going to be greeted with the speaker itself, you’re also going to get your standard instructions things like that, and then you are going to get a USB Type-C charging cable. This thing has a 12-hour battery life when it is fully charged, and if you turn it around on the back basically it’s going to tell you everything that you need to know about it. This thing is waterproof, dustproof, and rustproof, and it is also salt water-resistant, so you can take this thing to the beach it can get wet with no issues with the salt.

This device can also be paired with a second device basically to give you a true stereo mode. It also supports a speakerphone, so you can talk on this just like a regular speaker pretty much that’s it. You can use your calls, you can listen to music, anything that you need. As I already mentioned about that 12-hour battery life and that is a big thing because like most people don’t work longer than 12 hours, so this thing is gonna last if you’re at work, if you’re playing, if you’re just having a good time you’re gonna be able to keep this for a majority of the day and use it whenever you need it.

These speakers are X balanced for as much bass as you can get out of this, and if you take up to a hundred of these things, you can actually pair them in a party mode and have a real party. So imagine a hundred of these all playing the same thing at the same time. As a bass, great sound quality, nothing less that we should expect from Sony in this product. Once you actually get ready to use this thing, you’re just going to turn your power wait for your green light to come on then it’s actually gonna search for your device. After you turn this on, it tells you the battery and you can actually toggle that, there we go.

Ultimate Ears Boom 3

This speaker retains the IP67 certification meaning it’s passed the test for being dustproof and water-resistant for up to 30 minutes and up to 3 feet of water. The other mainstream competitors have the same certification as well but one thing that’s big you’ve got to make sure that these things float. With my testing, this Bluetooth speaker is good to bring to the pool or to the lake. With Boom speakers, these things are built like tanks. Every UE speaker I’ve done a drop test with they’ve never broken or failed to keep the number in mind, the Boom 3 the smaller one is a bit more robust though drop-proof at 5 feet or 1.5 meters.

We are still stuck with micro USB for some reason in this speaker. I wish to use the new connection USB-C to have all my devices future-proof. The one feature that is possibly somewhat odd here why they put the charging light indicator located down there in the back recessed in and kind of under this flap and as well why not have it on the power button up top, so it can glow when it’s charging or fully charged, that was my only gripe. The Boom speakers do offer a wireless charging dock that does come in handy but it is sold separately. But the convenience of dropping the speaker down then just picking it right up and just going really comes in handy. The battery life is rated at up to 15 hours for the Boom 3 and with my test, I achieved 12 hours and 50 minutes respectively. Compared to its competitors, the UE speakers actually did the best.

Oddly, I noticed holding down any of the buttons doesn’t pull up Google Assistant or Siri. That’s possibly where you need to look at their Megablast and Blast line but they only have Amazon Alexa built-in. As far as the app, the features UE includes are the ability to pair 100 plus of these speakers and have them all play at the same time, very similar to JBL connect plus. I did confirm for those who have older speakers likely Boom 2, Boom 3, can group these speakers together. The UE Roll and the Wonderboom and such are not able to group with each other. There is a built-in equalizer which you can alter the audio performance for your liking, and also on the app, there’s this feature where you can make these speakers act as a wake-up alarm.

SOUND QUALITY:

Sony SRS-XB23

You can hear the clarity and the crispness in the sound of the music as well as in the voice coming directly from this speaker. It sounds really good when you are listening to it. The music sounds really good, the basses are punching, the trebles are really high and distinct, and the voices sound really good, nothing’s muffled everything just sounds really good. I enjoy the way the XB22 sounds, especially if I use this to play EDM, future bass, hip-hop, and most pop songs. Both XB22 and XB23 can handle these genres really well. However, the story starts to change when I switch to some genres that demand a bit more detail, clarity, and midrange accuracies, like classical music, orchestra, or jazz. Well, for these genres, I notice that the XB23 could handle them better than XB22. So comparing the XB23 to XB22, I would say the XB23 sounds a bit more “neutral”, yet-still-bassy, and less warm, compared to its predecessor.

Ultimate Ears Boom 3

Boom 3 had the same loudness as the bigger Megaboom 3. The only difference though the bigger Megaboom offered more bass as to be expected while the Boom focused more on the mid and high frequencies. This speaker is able to fill medium to somewhat large-sized rooms. The Boom 3 has less bass compared to the competitors as well but enough to still have this speaker enjoyable. The Boom 3 leans towards light punchy bass simply a flatter signature and the bottom end. The mid-range feels to be made for the outdoors because there’s slightly less bass but a stronger emphasis on the mid-range it cuts through the air having music heard in big open fields.

WHICH ONE IS WORTH BUYING?

In my opinion, the Sony SRS-XB23 is worth buying than the UE Boom 3 speakers for less than a hundred dollars price range because it sounds better than the Boom 3, it has almost the same features as the Boom 3, and also, it has reasonable battery life for its price which is better than the Boom 3 for its price range.

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 Ultimate Ears Boom 3:

By The Streaming Blog
The Boom 3 from Ultimate Ears gives off the same excellent sounds as the other speakers from Ultimate Ears, and…

By GootaBeMobile
The Ultimate Ears myBOOM 3 is an awesome Bluetooth speaker that pumps out the sound in 360 degrees, is ready…

By Gadgets360
The UE Boom 3 has some significant shortcomings for a speaker that costs nearly Rs. 16,000. With no microphone, no aux connectivity, no AptX codec support, and…

By gadgetsnow.com
The UE Boom 3 is perfectly suited for both small parties and solo soulful listening with its super-strong build, IP67 rating, and…

By Trusted Reviews
Ultimate Ears’ latest Boom 3 offers adventure-ready rugged features and good, if not class-leading, sound.