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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

Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 vs Sony SRS-XB33

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Ultimate Ears BOOM 3
Sony SRS-XB33

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Sep 30, 2024 02:43 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Jul 10, 2024 01:23 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 Picture
Sony SRS-XB33 Picture

Variants

  • BOOM 3 (Dusk)
  • BOOM 3 (Green)
  • BOOM 3 (Jungle Grey)
  • BOOM 3 (Lagoon Blue)
  • BOOM 3 (Night Black)
  • BOOM 3 (Peach)
  • BOOM 3 (Sunset Red)
  • BOOM 3 (Ultraviolet Purple)
  • BOOM 3 (Unicorn)
  • SRS-XB33 (Black)
  • SRS-XB33 (Coral Red)
  • SRS-XB33 (Light Blue)
  • SRS-XB33 (Taupe)

Our Verdict

Ultimate Ears BOOM 3

Sony SRS-XB33

The Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 is a slightly better speaker than the Sony SRS-XB33 overall. Thanks to its 360-degree design, it has better directivity, resulting in a wider and more natural-sounding soundstage. It has less compression present at max volume, resulting in cleaner audio at louder volume levels. It's also smaller and more portable than the Sony. That said, the Sony can produce a more extended low-bass than the Ultimate Ears. It can also support voice assistants through your smartphone, though its performance isn't very good.

0 

Check Price

Green
BOOM 3
Amazon.com
Coral Red
SRS-XB33
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Jungle Grey
BOOM 3
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
Light Blue
SRS-XB33
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Lagoon Blue
BOOM 3
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Taupe
SRS-XB33
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Night Black
BOOM 3
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
 
Sunset Red
BOOM 3
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
 
Ultraviolet Purple
BOOM 3
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
 
Unicorn
BOOM 3
Amazon.com
 

Main Differences for
Music

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

6.4
6.1

Soundstage 
 

9.0
6.3

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

5.4
6.0

Dynamics 
 

6.9
6.2

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 Style Photo
Sony SRS-XB33 Style Photo

RGB Lights  

No
Yes
Show Text 

Portability 
 

9.2
9.0

Dimensions Photo  

Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 Dimensions Photo
Sony SRS-XB33 Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

59 in³ (966 cm³)
125 in³ (2,043 cm³)

Weight 
 

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

Power Source 
 

Battery & USB
Battery & USB

One-Hand Carry 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

9.0
8.5

Build Quality Photo  

Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 Build Quality Photo
Sony SRS-XB33 Build Quality Photo

Material Quality 
 

Great
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 
 

Yes
Unspecified
Show Text 

Controls 
 

5.8
8.0

Controls Photo  

Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 Controls Photo
Sony SRS-XB33 Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 Controls Photo 2
Sony SRS-XB33 Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Good
Great

Feedback 
 

Good
Great

Music Play/Pause 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Call Answer/End 
 

No
Yes (Physical)

Volume Up/Down 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Track Next/Previous 
 

No
Yes (Physical)

Microphone On/Off 
 

No
No

Additional Controls 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo  

Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 In The Box Photo
Sony SRS-XB33 In The Box Photo
Show Text 
Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

5.4
6.0

Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Slope 
 

-1.49
-0.46

Std. Err. 
 

5.41 dB
5.37 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

92.4 Hz
58.2 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

15.8 kHz
9.3 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 
 

9.0
6.3

Directivity Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Directivity Index 
 

1.82 dB
6.89 dB

Stereo 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Dynamics 
 

6.9
6.2

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

86.9 dB SPL
86.2 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

1.91 dB
3.00 dB
Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

8.9
8.6

Battery Life 
 

13.7 hrs
12.3 hrs

Charge Time 
 

2.6 hrs
4.0 hrs

Power Saving 
 

Yes
Yes

Charging Port 
 

Micro-USB
USB-C

Battery Powered 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Voice Assistant 
 

0.0
1.7

Alexa 
 

No
No

Google Assistant 
 

No
Yes (Requires Smartphone)

Speakerphone 
 

No
Yes

Siri 
 

No
Yes (Requires Smartphone)

Voice Assistant 
 

No
Yes

Voice Activation 
 

No
No

Microphone Mute 
 

No Microphone
No

Far-Field Performance 
 

No Microphone
Bad

Ambient Noise Performance 
 

No Microphone
Bad
Show Text 

App 
 

7.9
7.9

App Picture  

Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 App Picture
Sony SRS-XB33 App Picture

App Name 
 

Ultimate Ears
Sony Music Center

iOS 
 

Yes
Yes

Android 
 

Yes
Yes

EQ 
 

Graphic + Presets
Graphic + Presets

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 
 

No
Yes
Show Text 

Bluetooth 
 

8.9
9.2

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

Unspecified
5.0

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

7 ms
37 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

34 ms
76 ms

Bluetooth Range 
 

259.2 ft (79.0 m)
334.6 ft (102.0 m)

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
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
Show Text 

Check Price

Green
BOOM 3
Amazon.com
Coral Red
SRS-XB33
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Jungle Grey
BOOM 3
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
Light Blue
SRS-XB33
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Lagoon Blue
BOOM 3
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Taupe
SRS-XB33
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Night Black
BOOM 3
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
 
Sunset Red
BOOM 3
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
 
Ultraviolet Purple
BOOM 3
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
 
Unicorn
BOOM 3
Amazon.com
 

Ultimate Ears BOOM 3

Sony SRS-XB33

Comments

  1. Comparison

Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 vs Sony SRS-XB33: Main Discussion

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