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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-XB12

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Bose SoundLink Micro
Sony SRS-XB12

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Aug 15, 2024 01:02 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Aug 14, 2024 01:40 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Bose SoundLink Micro Picture
Sony SRS-XB12 Picture

Variants

  • SoundLink Micro (Black)
  • SoundLink Micro (Bright Orange)
  • SoundLink Micro (Midnight Blue)
  • SoundLink Micro (Stone Blue)
  • SoundLink Micro (White Smoke)
  • SRS-XB12 (Black)
  • SRS-XB12 (Blue)
  • SRS-XB12 (Gray)
  • SRS-XB12 (Green)
  • SRS-XB12 (Pink)
  • SRS-XB12 (Red)

Our Verdict

Bose SoundLink Micro

Sony SRS-XB12

The Sony SRS-XB12 is a slightly better speaker than the Bose SoundLink Micro. The Sony can get a little louder but with fewer compression artifacts at max volume. It has a significantly better battery performance too. However, the Bose can reproduce slightly more low-bass. It also has a companion app.

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Black
SoundLink Micro
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Bright Orange
SoundLink Micro
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Midnight Blue
SoundLink Micro
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Stone Blue
SoundLink Micro
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White Smoke
SoundLink Micro
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Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

5.8
6.0

Dynamics 
 

5.7
6.7

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

Bose SoundLink Micro Style Photo
Sony SRS-XB12 Style Photo

RGB Lights  

No
No

Show text

Portability 
 

9.4
9.5

Dimensions Photo  

Bose SoundLink Micro Dimensions Photo
Sony SRS-XB12 Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

26 in³ (418 cm³)
30 in³ (485 cm³)

Weight 
 

0.7 lbs (0.3 kg)
0.4 lbs (0.2 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-XB12 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
7.9

Controls Photo  

Bose SoundLink Micro Controls Photo
Sony SRS-XB12 Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

Bose SoundLink Micro Controls Photo 2
Sony SRS-XB12 Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Great
Great

Feedback 
 

Good
Good

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-XB12 In The Box Photo

Show text

Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

5.6
5.6

Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Slope 
 

-0.63
-0.09

Std. Err. 
 

4.44 dB
2.95 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

91.1 Hz
119.9 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

16.0 kHz
18.5 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
7.5

Directivity Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Directivity Index 
 

1.04 dB
0.97 dB

Stereo 
 

No (mono)
No (mono)

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
79.7 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

2.27 dB
0.37 dB

Show text

Active Features

Battery 
 

6.5
8.7

Battery Life 
 

7.8 hrs
13.3 hrs

Charge Time 
 

5.4 hrs
3.5 hrs

Power Saving 
 

Yes
Yes

Charging Port 
 

Micro-USB
Micro-USB

Battery Powered 
 

Yes
Yes

Show text

Voice Assistant 
 

4.9
1.7

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
Bad

Ambient Noise Performance 
 

Decent
Bad

Show text

App 
 

6.6
0.0

App Picture  

Bose SoundLink Micro App Picture
Sony SRS-XB12 App Picture

App Name 
 

Bose Connect
No App

iOS 
 

Yes
No

Android 
 

Yes
No

EQ 
 

No
No

Stereo Pair Mode 
 

Yes
No

Party Mode 
 

Yes
No

Multi-Room 
 

No
No

Show text

Connectivity

Wired 
 

Aux Input 
 

No
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Other Ports 
 

No
No

Show text

Bluetooth 
 

8.7
8.3

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

Unspecified
4.2

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

67 ms
70 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

98 ms
52 ms

Bluetooth Range 
 

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

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

2 Devices
No

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

Show text

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Black
SoundLink Micro
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Bright Orange
SoundLink Micro
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Midnight Blue
SoundLink Micro
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Stone Blue
SoundLink Micro
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White Smoke
SoundLink Micro
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Bose SoundLink Micro

Sony SRS-XB12

Comments

  1. Comparison

Bose SoundLink Micro vs Sony SRS-XB12: Main Discussion

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