Sony X5: Living it loud

The mid-sized SRS-X5 is one of the loudest portable Bluetooth speakers of its size we have test to date.

Size and weight give this portable Bluetooth speaker a big advantage.

The Sony X5 is one of the better looking portable Bluetooth speakers on the market. Roughly the size of a lunchbox, the device has brushed metal sides with a striking red speaker grille and glossy top panel.

Although it’s classified as a portable speaker, it’s actually quite heavy — at 1.2kg it’s a little cumbersome to be carried around wherever you go.

MORE OPTIONS: The SRS-X5 comes with three colour options — Red, Black or White.

Having said that the weight does give it an advantage. Most smaller speakers tend to suffer from vibration problems which the X5 is immune to thanks to its weight. It won’t move even if you blast it with bass-heavy tracks.

However, we are not convinced it’s ­sturdy enough to handle the rigours of daily life. Most portable speakers use rubber and shock-absorbing materials to withstand knocks but the X5 is largely plastic and metal with rubber pads at the bottom.

Packing a punch

Unlike other portable speakers on the market, the X5 is amazingly loud. However, the volume drops a little when it’s running on battery. In fact, even the dynamic range seems to suffer a little when on battery.

On the bright side, the speaker can last up to eight hours once it’s fully charged, which isn’t bad at all.

AT A TOUCH: Switch modes quickly using the function buttons.

By default Sony’s Clear Audio+ mode is on and it’s said to deliver the best listening experience based on the music track selected. We didn’t quite like it because it made most songs sound flat — instead we preferred to use the surround sound mode.

We tried a wide variety of songs in various languages (English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean) and different genres such as rock, R&B, orchestra and electronic.

The depth and sound quality were very good for some genres. For instance, Matchbox Twenty’s If You’re Gone and Kodaline’s All I Want were great with the surround sound on. However, R&B tracks such as g.o.d’s Road and Khalil Fong’s Close to You sounded better with the mode off.

End note

Sony’s SRS-X5 sounds best when it’s plugged into a power source. That’s not ­necessarily a bad thing but as this is a ­portable speaker, you are not going to get the best experience when on the go.

PLUG IT IN: The SRS-X5 produces better sound when it is plugged in.

On the other hand, it has great battery life which makes it ideal for those who wish to use for long sessions.

All in all, the Sony SRS-X5 is one of the ­better portable speakers but we expected more from Sony.

Pros: Beautiful design; good battery life.

Cons: Could be sturdier; sounds better when plugged to power.

SRS-X5
(Sony)
Portable Bluetooth speaker
SATELLITE SPEAKERS: 5W + 5W
SUBWOOFERS: 10W
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz - 20KHz
PORTS: USB slot, 3.5mm stereo audio input
OTHER FEATURES: NFC
DIMENSIONS (W x D x H): 221 x 118 x 51mm
WEIGHT: 1.2kg
WEBSITE: www.sony.com.my
PRICE: RM699
RATING: 3 stars
Review unit courtesy of Sony Malaysia Sdn Bhd, 1-300-88-1233