Sony SRS-XP700 Speaker Review

The Sony SRS-XP700 is a large party speaker designed for both either horizontal or vertical placement. It has built-in handles on its sides to help with transporting it and has customizable RGB lights underneath each handle that also reflect off the speaker's body.

The Sony SRS-XP700 isn't very portable. It's battery-powered, so you can take it outdoors with you without needing to connect it to a power source, and it has two built-in handles to help with carrying it. That said, it's quite large and bulky, and though you can carry it with one hand, some users may find it too heavy. If you want a similar speaker with a smaller design, check out the Sony SRS-XP500.

The speaker has a decent build quality, and it's solid plastic with a matte finish. While its material quality is good overall, it isn't rated for dust and impact resistance, and the manufacturer warns against placing the speaker in places that may expose it to a lot of dust. That said, it's rated IPX4 for water resistance, though we don't test for this. It has metal grilles protecting the drivers on its front and top of the speaker near its rear and two built-in handles on either side of it to help with transporting it. There are RGB lights underneath each handle which you can customize on its companion app. There's also a horizontal groove atop the speaker for placing devices like your mobile phone or tablet and a port cover on its rear protecting its inputs and controls that's easy to open and close. There are rubber feet on two of its sides, so you can place the speaker horizontally or vertically.

It has a decent selection of controls similar to the Sony SRS-XG500. Its buttons are texturized and are easy to use. The power, Bluetooth, play/pause, volume, and 'MEGA BASS' preset buttons are on its top. The speaker emits audible feedback to inform you of when it's in pairing mode and flashes its Bluetooth indicator light quickly. You can double-press the play/pause button to skip to your next track and triple-press it to backtrack. Also, the power button's indicator light flashes as you adjust the speaker's volume and flashes three times once you reach its minimum or maximum volume. You can enable the speaker's 'Stamina' mode by pressing and holding the 'MEGA BASS' button or by enabling it in its companion app. This will cause its indicator light to turn orange.

On the rear of the speaker, there's a Party Connect button you can use to connect the Sony to other compatible speakers. Pressing the 'Battery' button informs you of the speaker's battery level, and you can press the 'Light' button to turn on its RGB lights. There are also two inputs you can use to connect microphones or a guitar to the speaker, each with its own volume knob. If you want to connect a guitar, you can press the 'Guitar' button to enable the speaker's guitar mode.

• Sony XP700 speaker
• Polarized power cable
• Reference Guide

Its frequency response accuracy is alright. It has a boomy sound profile that adds some extra bass to the mix, though some users may find this overwhelming. Unlike the JBL PartyBox 710, it also struggles to reproduce some low-bass, so you can't feel the deep thump and rumble in bass-heavy music. The overemphasis in the mid-range can make some vocals and instruments sound a bit honky and harsh at times, while higher-pitched vocals and instruments may sound slightly dull and veiled. Thankfully, there's a graphic EQ and presets featured in its companion app that you can use to customize its sound to your liking.

Note: Our sound tests were conducted with the speaker placed vertically, and its 'MEGA BASS' preset enabled. Enabling its 'MEGA BASS' preset automatically enables Sony's ClearAudio+ feature, the recommended sound setting for music listening.

This speaker can play stereo content when positioned vertically or horizontally and has a built-in sensor that automatically senses the speaker's orientation. That said, it has mediocre directivity, resulting in a soundstage that can be perceived as narrow and directional.

It can get pretty loud, making it suitable to use at large parties. However, there's some compression present at max volume that can affect the clarity of your audio during louder listening sessions.

While it's advertised to last around 25 hours from a single charge, it lasted just under 17 hours in our tests, which is still great. That said, battery life can depend on your usage habits and chosen settings, and your real-world experience may differ. The manufacturer also advertises that charging the speaker for ten minutes should help it last around three hours, though we didn't test this. There's also a 'Battery Care' mode you can enable in its companion app to protect its battery, though this may also result in shorter playback time, and we don't test for this feature.

There's a power-saving feature which shuts the speaker off following 15 minutes of inactivity, and a 'Stamina' mode you can enable that's advertised to suppress the speaker's power consumption, though we didn't test this. You can enable and disable both of these features in its companion app.

The Sony Music Center app is very good. There are EQ presets and a graphic EQ you can use to adjust the speaker's sound to your liking, and there's also a 'Live Sound' feature you can enable to make your audio sound like it would at a live event, though we didn't test this. You can use the app to pair the Sony XP700 to another compatible speaker to create a stereo pair or multiple other speakers when you want your sound to fill a large room without bumping up the volume. If you have a USB key plugged into the speaker, you can also access and select its audio in the Sony Music Center app via its USB function. Also, the app features shortcuts to other applications like Spotify and the Fiestable app, which you can use to access and control the speaker's extra party features.

The speaker has multiple inputs. There's an AUX port you can use to wire older devices to the speaker. There's also a mic input and a mic/guitar input you can use when you want to connect it to external microphones or a guitar. There are two USB-A charging ports you can use to charge your devices, and you can also use one of these ports to play your audio from a USB key.

Note: While the Sony XP700 doesn't support USB Audio, it supports USB key playback with compatible mp3, WMA, and WAV audio formats.

It can be paired to up to two devices at once, which can come in handy when you need to switch between audio sources. It also has low latency with iOS and Android devices, making it suitable for watching movies and videos. That said, some apps compensate for latency differently, so your experience may vary.