Sony SRS XV500 Review
Robin John
The SRS XV500 is slightly different from Sony's usual design approach of party speakers. It’s sleeker, and rounded, but still very easy spot in a room.
Build Quality and Design
At 11.2kgs, it’s tough to carry, but still somewhat convenient when compared to other speakers of this size. There are no wheels on the bottom, so the only way to move it around is by carrying it.
The speakers are IPX4 rated, so it has some water resistance during your parties. The body is made out of plastic, while the front grille is covered with metal. A small little column on the back side holds all the connectivity ports.
With the inclusion of lights on its handles, the SRS XV500 is truly a speaker for the party animal. The RGB lights are customisable, and due to their placement, don’t cause any irritations.
Features
The SRS XV500 has a bunch of I/O ports at the back including a microphone port, a USB port for when you want to plug in a pen drive, and two ports — one of which can be used for guitar and the other for a microphone.
Connectivity
While the port selection should be decent enough for everyone, it misses out on an optical port which could have been a good addition for people who want to plug in their soundbar.
The SRS XV500 can be connected to your phone using the Sony Music Center app. It gives you a bunch of customisation options, including selecting the connection quality, and sound effects, setting a custom EQ, and more.
App Connectivity
It also lets you tweak the lighting mode, but more flexibility is given in the Fiestable app which lets you control the playback with gestures as well.
The top portion of the speaker features all the buttons. Except for the power button, the rest are capacitive buttons. You get a dedicated button for Mega Bass, Audio In, USB, and Bluetooth too.
Controls
This area also has a portion where you can keep your phone during jam sessions, which is a great addition.
The mesh upfront houses two tweeters and woofers. It’s a slightly larger tweeter compared to the previous version.
Sound Quality
This speaker is perfect for house parties. The sound output can get quite loud and detailed with proper separation. It provides a balanced sound output, so none of the frequencies overpower each other.
That is until you turn on the Mega Bass feature. This focuses on the lower frequencies, so if you are a bass lover you are absolutely going to love grooving to songs played on this.
It claims up to 25 hours of playback on a single charge, but with some terms and conditions.
Battery Life
With the volume cranked to 50 per cent, lights on and the Mega Bass feature also turned on, the speakers could easily last about 15 days. However, it’s worth noting that the speakers were not turned on throughout the day.
That said, this should easily last longer with some of those features turned off. So, you need not worry about its reliability factor.
At Rs 31,990, the SRS XV500 serves its purpose very well — and that is being a party speaker. It’s slightly more compact for a party speaker, the sound output is excellent, and the touch controls are also handy.
Verdict
- Good build and design - Great sound output - Plenty of input options - Heaven for bass lovers - Decent app connectivity
Pros
- Can be heavy - No optical port - EQ customisations could’ve been better
Cons