1.   Try searching by:
    1. Category (Best $100 Headphones, Best 50 Inch TVs, …)
    2. Brand (Sony, Samsung, LG, Bose, …)
    3. Model (S405, QC 35 II, …)
    4. Etc...
Get insider access
Get insider access
Preferred store
Notice: Your browser is not supported or outdated so some features of the site might not be available.
Best
Bluetooth Portable Outdoor Bose Loud Home Shower Parties Alexa Small JBL Brands Budget And Cheap Bluetooth For Bass Waterproof Bluetooth Golf Bluetooth For Sound Smart iPhone Karaoke
Tools
Compare Table Review List Review Index Graph Custom Ratings
Popular
JBL Boombox 3 JBL Charge 5 JBL Authentics 500 JBL Flip 6 Bose SoundLink Max Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) Harman/Kardon Go + Play 3 Sonos Move 2 Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4 JBL PartyBox Stage 320 Sonos Era 100 JBL PartyBox 310 Sony SRS-XB100 Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM 4 JBL PartyBox Club 120 Ultimate Ears HYPERBOOM Sonos Era 300 Ultimate Ears EPICBOOM JBL Xtreme 4 Bose SoundLink Flex
165
Speakers bought and tested
Supported by you via insider access, and when you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Driven by data, run by a passionate team of engineers, testers, technical writers, developers, and more.
We are hiring!
  1. Home
  2. Speaker
  3. Compare
Notice: Big Spring Sale Deal: The Amazon Echo Pop has dropped by 25% on Amazon.com. See all Speaker Big Spring Sale deals.
  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

Sony SRS-XB33 vs Bose SoundLink Flex

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Sony SRS-XB33
Bose SoundLink Flex

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Jul 10, 2024 01:23 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Oct 31, 2024 02:49 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Sony SRS-XB33 Picture
Bose SoundLink Flex 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

  • SRS-XB33 (Black)
  • SRS-XB33 (Coral Red)
  • SRS-XB33 (Light Blue)
  • SRS-XB33 (Taupe)
  • SoundLink Flex (Black)
  • SoundLink Flex (Carmine Red)
  • SoundLink Flex (Chilled Lilac)
  • SoundLink Flex (Cypress Green)
  • SoundLink Flex (Stone Blue)
  • SoundLink Flex (White Smoke)

Review

See Sony SRS-XB33 Review
See Bose SoundLink Flex Review
0 
0 

Our Verdict

Sony SRS-XB33

Bose SoundLink Flex

The Bose SoundLink Flex is a better speaker than the Sony SRS-XB33, though they have different strengths. The Flex is smaller, making it more portable. It has a better-balanced sound profile out of the box and has better directivity, so its soundstage sounds wider than that of the Sony. The Sony's sound profile is more customizable thanks to the graphic EQ in its companion app. It can also play stereo content without downmixing it to mono and has a longer-lasting battery life, though this can vary depending on your usage.

0 

Check Price

Black
SRS-XB33
Searching
Finding store
Black
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding store
Coral Red
SRS-XB33
Searching
Finding store
Carmine Red
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding store
Light Blue
SRS-XB33
Searching
Finding store
Chilled Lilac
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding store
Taupe
SRS-XB33
Searching
Finding store
Cypress Green
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding store
 
Stone Blue
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding store
 
White Smoke
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding store

Main Differences for
Music

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

6.1
6.3

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

6.0
6.9

EQ 
 

Graphic + Presets
No

Soundstage 
 

6.3
5.5

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

Sony SRS-XB33 Style Photo
Bose SoundLink Flex Style Photo

RGB Lights  

Yes
No
Show Text 

Portability 
 

9.0
9.2

Dimensions Photo  

Sony SRS-XB33 Dimensions Photo
Bose SoundLink Flex Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

125 in³ (2,043 cm³)
57 in³ (942 cm³)

Weight 
 

2.4 lbs (1.1 kg)
1.3 lbs (0.6 kg)

Power Source 
 

Battery & USB
Battery & USB

One-Hand Carry 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

8.5
8.7

Build Quality Photo  

Sony SRS-XB33 Build Quality Photo
Bose SoundLink Flex 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)
Yes (IK rating unspecified)

Floats In Water 
 

Unspecified
Yes
Show Text 

Controls 
 

8.0
8.4

Controls Photo  

Sony SRS-XB33 Controls Photo
Bose SoundLink Flex Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

Sony SRS-XB33 Controls Photo 2
Bose SoundLink Flex Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Great
Okay

Feedback 
 

Great
Decent

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
Yes (Physical)

Additional Controls 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo  

Sony SRS-XB33 In The Box Photo
Bose SoundLink Flex In The Box Photo
Show Text 
Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

6.0
6.9

Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Slope 
 

-0.46
0.22

Std. Err. 
 

5.37 dB
2.85 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

58.2 Hz
60.8 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

9.3 kHz
15.6 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 
 

6.3
5.5

Directivity Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Directivity Index 
 

6.89 dB
4.59 dB

Stereo 
 

Yes
No (mono)
Show Text 

Dynamics 
 

6.2
6.4

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

86.2 dB SPL
87.5 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

3.00 dB
3.02 dB
Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

8.6
6.7

Battery Life 
 

12.3 hrs
7.2 hrs

Charge Time 
 

4.0 hrs
2.7 hrs

Power Saving 
 

Yes
Yes

Charging Port 
 

USB-C
USB-C

Battery Powered 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Voice Assistant 
 

1.7
5.7

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 
 

Bad
Excellent

Ambient Noise Performance 
 

Bad
Excellent
Show Text 

App 
 

7.9
6.6

App Picture  

Sony SRS-XB33 App Picture
Bose SoundLink Flex App Picture

App Name 
 

Sony Music Center
Bose Connect

iOS 
 

Yes
Yes

Android 
 

Yes
Yes

EQ 
 

Graphic + Presets
No

Stereo Pair Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Party Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Multi-Room 
 

No
No
Show Text 
Connectivity

Wired 
 

Aux Input 
 

No
No

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Other Ports 
 

Yes
No
Show Text 

Bluetooth 
 

9.2
8.0

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

5.0
4.2

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

37 ms
236 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

76 ms
109 ms

Bluetooth Range 
 

334.6 ft (102.0 m)
255.9 ft (78.0 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
SRS-XB33
Searching
Finding store
Black
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding store
Coral Red
SRS-XB33
Searching
Finding store
Carmine Red
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding store
Light Blue
SRS-XB33
Searching
Finding store
Chilled Lilac
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding store
Taupe
SRS-XB33
Searching
Finding store
Cypress Green
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding store
 
Stone Blue
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding store
 
White Smoke
SoundLink Flex
Searching
Finding store
Back to Top

Sony SRS-XB33

Bose SoundLink Flex

Comments

  1. Comparison
 • Posted 1 year ago

Sony SRS-XB33 vs Bose SoundLink Flex: Main Discussion

What do you think of these products? Let us know below.


Looking for a personalized buying advice from the RTINGS.com experts? Insiders have direct access to buying advice on our insider forum.

Follow Discussion0 followingSee All Soundbars & Speakers DiscussionsCopy link
0 
PreviewBack to editorFormat guide
No comments yet, refresh to see new ones
You have 10/10 free reviews left
To access
unlimited full product reviews,
product prices
and
other exclusive site features
Become an Insider
We make money directly from you via insider access (which gives you access to extra features) and when you buy a product after clicking a link to a retailer. Learn more about how we work.
We buy our own products, just like you, mostly from the United States. When a product is discontinued or no longer popular, we sell the review units locally. You can see what products we currently have for sale here.
© 2025 9298-5266 Quebec Inc. All Rights Reserved. Visit our corporate site.