Sony SRS-XV900 Review: The only party speaker you’ll ever need

The wheels, combined with the lights at the bottom make it seem that the speaker is floating and it looks very cool, especially with the ambient lights (which are present at both ends of the Sony SRS-XV900) turned on. The lights can be customized with different patterns through Sony’s app. The speaker has a touch display at the top with various controls such as Play, Pause, Volume, Mega Bass and more options, along with different light controls.

The only drawback I could find in my time using it was the speaker could’ve been a little lighter. Weighing at nearly 26.6 kg, taking it out of the box and dragging it from one room to the other was a chore I dreaded, even with wheels.

Sony SRS-XV900: Audio performance

Having said that, the Sony SRS-XV900 is the best sounding Bluetooth speaker I've ever heard. It might seem a bit over the top but the speaker is that good. The speaker has very few competitors in today’s market with JBL’s PartyBox 710 being one. But even then, Sony’s loudest and most powerful speaker blows everything else out of the water. The speaker has 6 tweeters at the front, back and sides to provide an omnidirectional sound, with a large X-Balanced speaker unit at the center. The mid-range drivers provide crystal-clear vocals, and horror-movie nights suddenly became a lot scarier as Jack Nicholson’s “Here’s Johnny!” screaming in the Shining sent shivers down my spine. Listening to lossless music on the Sony SRS-XV900 was a thoroughly pleasant experience with thumping bass and ridiculously well-balanced sound. Even at 50 percent volume, the speaker got loud enough, and started shaking windows when maxed out.

The speaker supports all popular codecs, including Sony’s LDAC codec, although that can only be enjoyed on Android devices. You get two dedicated sound modes – Live Sound and Mega Bass, which can be changed with Sony’s excellent companion app. The TV Sound Booster feature works well when connected to the speaker via the optical cable. The speaker also supports karaoke double tracking although I didn’t get an opportunity to test this feature. There’s a headphone jack and an optical port at the back along with karaoke controls.

Sony SRS-XV900: Battery life

The Sony SRS-XV900 will probably last longer than your party. Sony claims up to 25 hours of battery life with the ambient lights turned off and it lasted nearly the same. If you’ve got to rush to a party, charge the speaker for just 10 minutes and enjoy up to 3 hours of audio playback. The charging time is decent as well and it didn’t take ages to charge, as I initially expected. It has a dedicated battery care mode which limits the charging to 90 percent, to prolong battery life.

Sony SRS-XV900: Verdict

They say great quality comes with a high price, and it is certainly true in this case. At its price point of Rs. 79990, the Sony SRS-XV900 is certainly one of the priciest Bluetooth speakers in the market, but its surreal omnidirectional audio, thumping bass and excellent battery life makes it stand out. If you’re looking for an audio system which provides a theater-like experience, then this is not the system for you and you’d be better off going for a 7.1 channel or 9.1 channel surround sound system. But if you’re a frequent party host or want a powerful music system which can be moved around, the Sony SRS-XV900 is one of the best speakers you can buy.