Sony SRS-X11 Portable Bluetooth Speaker Review: Ashish explains how the gadget is a Perfect Combination of Aesthetics and Performance
The market of portable bluetooth speakers is rather crowded these days and almost every speaker maker has jumped on to it. In fact, some of them are not even speaker manufacturers (for example, Amazon). Sony has also entered the market with its SRS-X11 portable bluetooth speaker, and as always it has priced its offering higher than the other options available in the market. At Rs. 4,190 , the company’s offering costs twice more than its competitors (i.e. AmazonBasics BTV 2, Portronics Neptune, JBL Go and others). Is that price tag justified? We try to figure that out in this Sony SRS-X11 Portable Bluetooth Speaker Review review.
Design
While the job of a speaker is to pump out awesome quality sound, when it comes to portable speakers aesthetics also become an important consideration. And fortunately, SRS-X11 offers a lot to like in that department. Sony is well-known for the build quality of its products, and it has maintained that standard in the design of this speaker as well.
Measuring 6.1 x 6.1 cms and weighing around 215 grams, this portable speaker is smaller than a Rubik’s cube yet packs enough substance to make sure that you don’t feel like carrying a toy with yourself. For easy operations, control buttons have been given on the top of the speaker. There are 4 of them: for controlling power, built in speakerphone, and volume levels. On the back there’s an “Add” button that can be used to couple it with another bluetooth speaker, a reset button, a 3.5mm connector for those nostalgic days when you want to connect it using a wire rather than the bluetooth and finally a microUSB 2.0 port for charging.
The speaker also has a good amount of versatility when it comes to positioning. You can of course place this cube on a flat surface . But more awesomely, you can also suspend it freely in air with its silicon loop as long as you’ve got a hook. These’re fun things to try.
The bottom of the speaker has got status indicators, which reflect beautifully if you place the speaker on an appropriate surface.
- Colour Options
It’s available in five different color choices: namely White, Black, Red, Pink and Blue. All of them are amazing, but I personally like the White one, because I love the combination of its white grilles on all six sides and black rounded frame on the edges.
Specs
For a portable speaker that costs around 4K INR, Sony SRS-X11 packs a punch. Aside from being a bluetooth speaker it has also got NFC support, which is pretty decent for quick connectivity. The battery packed inside it is capable of powering it for 12 hrs, and it has got dual-passive radiators for deep bass in the sound. The end result of all these is amazing – wait till we tell you more as we go ahead with our review.
Performance
While this speaker is certainly priced higher in comparison to other bluetooth speakers, it’s for a good reason. Sony’s sound quality is world famous and yet again it shows how to lead in that game. The speaker sounds much louder, clearer and with more bass than any of the other portable speakers out in the market. While it’s certainly not as loud as the biggest guys, in its league of portable speakers it’s far, far ahead than its competitors.
I also tried the speakerphone of this device, which works OK. By OK I mean it works fine, but please don’t expect it to beat a business-class speakerphone.
It is good on most other aspects too. The connectivity works fairly well, receiving clearly as long as the device stays within its range of 30 feet. Battery life of 12 hrs promised by the company is no exaggeration. It really works for 12 hrs, and can even exceed that limit if you operate the speaker on low-mid range volume levels .
Conclusion
Though expensive, Sony’s SRS-X11 provides sound quality and performance that you won’t find on any other Bluetooth speaker in this segment. The device is good looking, and can even be cool sometimes (especially when suspended with its silicon loop). Therefore, it completely justifies its price tag. If you want to purchase a bluetooth speaker and want portability combined with awesome sound quality, this is the thing you should go for.
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