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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Pictures
    2. Style
    3. Portability
    4. Build Quality
    5. Controls
    6. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Frequency Response Accuracy
    2. Raw Frequency Response
    3. Soundstage
    4. Dynamics
  6. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. Voice Assistant
    3. App
  7. Connectivity
    1. Wired
    2. Bluetooth
    3. Wi-Fi
  8. Comments

Bose SoundLink Micro vs Sony SRS-XB43

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Bose SoundLink Micro
Sony SRS-XB43

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Aug 15, 2024 01:02 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Sep 04, 2024 07:30 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Bose SoundLink Micro Picture
Sony SRS-XB43 Picture
Bluetooth
Yes
Wi-Fi
No
Speakerphone
Yes
Voice Assistant
Yes
Battery Powered
Yes
Bluetooth
Yes
Wi-Fi
No
Speakerphone
Yes
Voice Assistant
Yes
Battery Powered
Yes

Variants

  • SoundLink Micro (Black)
  • SoundLink Micro (Bright Orange)
  • SoundLink Micro (Midnight Blue)
  • SoundLink Micro (Stone Blue)
  • SoundLink Micro (White Smoke)
  • SRS-XB43 (Black)
  • SRS-XB43 (Blue)
  • SRS-XB43 (Taupe)

Review

See Bose SoundLink Micro Review
See Sony SRS-XB43 Review
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Our Verdict

Bose SoundLink Micro

Sony SRS-XB43

The Sony SRS-XB43 is a better speaker for most uses than the Bose SoundLink Micro. While both speakers have uneven sound profiles out-of-the-box, the Sony's is better-balanced overall, and it offers a graphic EQ for sound customization. It can also play stereo content, unlike the Bose, and it gets louder and has longer battery life. However, the Bose has a wider, less directional soundstage.

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Black
SoundLink Micro
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Black
SRS-XB43
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Bright Orange
SoundLink Micro
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Finding store
Blue
SRS-XB43
Searching
Finding store
Midnight Blue
SoundLink Micro
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Finding store
Taupe
SRS-XB43
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Stone Blue
SoundLink Micro
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White Smoke
SoundLink Micro
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Main Differences for
Music

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

5.8
6.5

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

5.6
6.6

Soundstage 
 

7.5
6.1

EQ 
 

No
Graphic + Presets

Dynamics 
 

5.7
6.7

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

Bose SoundLink Micro Style Photo
Sony SRS-XB43 Style Photo

RGB Lights  

No
Yes
Show Text 

Portability 
 

9.4
8.8

Dimensions Photo  

Bose SoundLink Micro Dimensions Photo
Sony SRS-XB43 Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

26 in³ (418 cm³)
285 in³ (4,677 cm³)

Weight 
 

0.7 lbs (0.3 kg)
6.4 lbs (2.9 kg)

Power Source 
 

Battery & USB
Battery & USB

One-Hand Carry 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

8.5
7.9

Build Quality Photo  

Bose SoundLink Micro Build Quality Photo
Sony SRS-XB43 Build Quality Photo

Material Quality 
 

Good
Good

Water Resistance 
 

Submersible (IPx7)
Submersible (IPx7)

Dust Resistance 
 

Dust-Proof (IP6x)
Dust-Proof (IP6x)

Impact Resistance 
 

Yes (IK rating unspecified)
Unspecified

Floats In Water 
 

No
Unspecified
Show Text 

Controls 
 

7.9
8.0

Controls Photo  

Bose SoundLink Micro Controls Photo
Sony SRS-XB43 Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

Bose SoundLink Micro Controls Photo 2
Sony SRS-XB43 Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Great
Great

Feedback 
 

Good
Great

Music Play/Pause 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Call Answer/End 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Volume Up/Down 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Track Next/Previous 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Microphone On/Off 
 

No
No

Additional Controls 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo  

Bose SoundLink Micro In The Box Photo
Sony SRS-XB43 In The Box Photo
Show Text 
Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

5.6
6.6

Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Slope 
 

-0.63
-0.71

Std. Err. 
 

4.44 dB
3.71 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

91.1 Hz
55.8 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

16.0 kHz
10.2 kHz
Show Text 

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Binaural Recording @ 1m 
 

Binaural Recording @ 2m 
 

Soundstage 
 

7.5
6.1

Directivity Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Directivity Index 
 

1.04 dB
7.34 dB

Stereo 
 

No (mono)
Yes
Show Text 

Dynamics 
 

5.7
6.7

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

78.6 dB SPL
91.1 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

2.27 dB
3.19 dB
Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

6.5
8.6

Battery Life 
 

7.8 hrs
15.0 hrs

Charge Time 
 

5.4 hrs
4.5 hrs

Power Saving 
 

Yes
Yes

Charging Port 
 

Micro-USB
USB-C

Battery Powered 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Voice Assistant 
 

4.9
2.9

Alexa 
 

No
No

Google Assistant 
 

Yes (Requires Smartphone)
Yes (Requires Smartphone)

Speakerphone 
 

Yes
Yes

Siri 
 

Yes (Requires Smartphone)
Yes (Requires Smartphone)

Voice Assistant 
 

Yes
Yes

Voice Activation 
 

No
No

Microphone Mute 
 

No
No

Far-Field Performance 
 

Excellent
Poor

Ambient Noise Performance 
 

Decent
Poor
Show Text 

App 
 

6.6
7.9

App Picture  

Bose SoundLink Micro App Picture
Sony SRS-XB43 App Picture

App Name 
 

Bose Connect
Sony Music Center

iOS 
 

Yes
Yes

Android 
 

Yes
Yes

EQ 
 

No
Graphic + Presets

Stereo Pair Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Party Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Multi-Room 
 

No
No
Show Text 
Connectivity

Wired 
 

Aux Input 
 

No
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Other Ports 
 

No
Yes
Show Text 

Bluetooth 
 

8.7
8.7

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

Unspecified
5.0

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

67 ms
63 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

98 ms
116 ms

Bluetooth Range 
 

187.0 ft (57.0 m)
334.6 ft (102.0 m)

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

2 Devices
2 Devices
Show Text 

Wi-Fi 
 

0.0
0.0

Wi-Fi Version 
 

No Wi-Fi
No Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi Frequency Band 
 

No Wi-Fi
No Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi 
 

No
No

Apple AirPlay 
 

No
No

AirPlay Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Google Chromecast 
 

No
No

Chromecast Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Check Price

Black
SoundLink Micro
Searching
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Black
SRS-XB43
Searching
Finding store
Bright Orange
SoundLink Micro
Searching
Finding store
Blue
SRS-XB43
Searching
Finding store
Midnight Blue
SoundLink Micro
Searching
Finding store
Taupe
SRS-XB43
Searching
Finding store
Stone Blue
SoundLink Micro
Searching
Finding store
 
White Smoke
SoundLink Micro
Searching
Finding store
 
Back to Top

Bose SoundLink Micro

Sony SRS-XB43

Comments

  1. Comparison
 • Posted 1 year ago

Bose SoundLink Micro vs Sony SRS-XB43: Main Discussion

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