If you only buy one Prime Early Access deal, make it this Sony speaker
This is the secondAmazon Prime shopping eventin three months, and while there were many amazing deals during it, there was only one that haunted me for two days before I finally managed to body slam my frugality and treat myself to a cute new speaker. It had sold out before I could buy it on the first day, but it came back in stock in the final hours, allowing me to pounce onone of the best Bluetooth speakersaround.
This Sony SRS-XB13 deal is back for Prime Early Access, and before it sells out again, you owe it to yourself to grab one of these downright adorable Sony speakers.
Buy the Sony SRS-XB13 Extra BASS Portable Bluetooth Speaker for $22 off
$38 at Amazon
Let’s start with the design — and that color. This Amazon-exclusive Powder Blue colorway is bold and bright without ever coming off as garish or gaudy. The carry strap is a quite complementary hue and beyond looking good, this strap and the XB-13’s design allow for the best strap flexibility I’ve seen in a portable Bluetooth speaker in the last five years.
Thread the strap only through the dedicated anchor point on the back of the speaker and the speaker will hang loose off its strap or sit flat on the table. Or you can thread the strap through both the anchor point and the bottom grille to get a three-point strap that you can use to aim the speaker while it’s hanging. For a speaker this small, being able to aim it precisely at yourself while in a busy park — or in the shower of a very echo-y bathroom — is crucial.
When it comes to sound volume, don’t let its small stature fool you, the XB13 can get properly loud when it needs to, and that includes the low-end thanks to Sony’s Extra BASS tuning. If I set this speaker on the edge of my bathtub after a shower or during a nice long bubble bath, you will feel the rhythm through the tub and into the floor.
Volume controls are easy, and we don’t have to hassle with Volume Up or Down doubling as song controls as they are on so many portable speakers. Sony uses the Play/Pause button for track skipping instead: one push is play/pause/answer call, two pushes signals the next song, three pushes repeats the previous song. Other speakers have this setup, but none have the consistency down like Sony, especially for going back to the previous track.
The battery is claimed to last 16 hours, and since I break it up into 15-45 minutes at a time for my morning showers/baths, it usually lasts me weeks before it needs a top-off. Once it does need charging, I can just plug it into the same USB-C charger my phones and Chromebooks use; unlike many USB-C-charged speakers, this one supports Power Delivery chargers.
The size here is perfect for spontaneous little dance parties in the office or some lofi in the backyard while you watch the leaves change, and Sony’s build quality means this speaker should last you clear through till the end of the decade, which makes that $38 investment pay musical dividends.
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