Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I don't consider myself an audiophile, but I am a critical listener with several excellent audio systems in my home. I'll qualify this review by saying that a portable speaker just won't EVER come close to the sound you get from a good 2ch. system. That being said, the sound that is possible from these little boxes is really impressive. Consider my review comments below to be framed in the context of portable speakers ... not multi-thousand dollar systems. Finally, this review is really more of a comparison between the Sony SRSX55 and the Bose Soundlink III, because I believe folks looking at one should also be looking at the other. I chose the Sony. Background: I wanted a bluetooth speaker for home and travel. Performance was more important than price. I listened to everything I could find. The majority of speakers either lacked low end and/or audio detail. Most sounded "boxy" or "throaty" due to their small size - especially when pushed to higher volumes. The field in my search quickly narrowed to Bose Soundlink III, Bose Mini Soundlink and (to my surprise) the Sony SRSX55. Shopping/Listening Tip: Bring your smart phone with music you're familiar with loaded on it. Pair your phone with the bluetooth speakers and listen to the music YOU know and like...not the stuff they pump through as demo music. That way, you're hearing something familiar and know how it "should" sound and you can listen to the same material on different speakers for a true "apples to apples" comparison. I don't like the demo stuff on these speakers and I don't trust that it hasn't bee tweaked to make the speakers sound "their best" while on display in store. Bose Fever: If you go hunting for reviews, you can't help but find folks gushing about their Bose speakers. I've never been a fan, but they've got two good contenders in the Soundlink III and Mini. For me, it came down to a shoot-out between the Soundlink III and the Sony SRSX55. Both are well reviewed online (For Sony, its mostly the SRSX5 - last year's version). Listening Comparisons: In the Bose SL III, I heard incredible deep bass (too much, actually), good reproduction of high frequencies, but most everything in between was warm, rich and muddled. Instruments lacked separation. Vocals did emerge well from the soup behind them, however. The British A/V magazine "What Hi Fi" Gave the Bose SL III a 3 star review for this very reason. I have to agree with them, there is a lack of detail and presence to be had in the SL III, however vocals do manage to cut through. Bass is so overpowering, its just in the way. You may like that sort of sound, but if you're listening for more than a few minutes, it may become fatiguing. If you're looking for even sound across the spectrum, you just can't be OK with Bose for this reason. In its favor, the Bose does not sound boxy or woody as so many portable speakers do. The SRSX55. I had no idea Sony even had bluetooth Speakers. The first thing I noticed in switching to the Sony after playing music through the Bose speakers was a very smooth and even presentation - from punchy lows to crisp highs. Bass was there, but to a proper level (not booming). Mids were clear and vocals sounded good. High sounds (cymbals, vibraphone attacks, etc.) were clear and crisp but not strident. There was greater separation between instruments (meaning, I could hear each more distinctly vs. the wash of sound from the Bose). On a Sting recording I played, I could actually hear the reverb tail on his voice...nice. There's a button on the Sony that creates an expanded sound...very nice addition, creating an acceptably wider sound with perhaps a bit more high end signal as well. The speaker didn't sound boxy and delivered a smooth, even sound without being too forward or strident. How Loud?: While I played music from one phone, I used a dB meter app on another to measure output of both the Bose and Sony speakers. Both delivered good, clear sound up to the 70-75 dB range. From 75-80 dB strange things started to happen. For the Bose, it got louder across the audio spectrum, but the bass started to "break up" and distort some. Otherwise, the speaker kept up and cranked loud. The Sony must have some sort of DSP (Digital Signal Processing) in it that limits bass as the unit plays louder. I had fine bass up to 75 dB, but as I pushed above this level, the sound remained crisp and clear, but the bass dropped in presence. I'm guessing this is by design to keep the speaker from blowing at levels that are too high for it to handle (not a bad feature). Both speakers delivered a suitable level of sound for indoor or outdoor use. I've read online that the SRSx55 will get less loud on battery vs. AC powered. I have yet to observe this in my home use (I've tried). Other features: Both units require AC charging and are similar enough in size for that to not be a point of comparison. The Bose is a wee bit bigger and heavier. Bose battery life is longer than the Sony, but not sure the "real life" difference between 14 and 10 hours, respectively really matters much. I found the Sony was faster to pair with my phone than the Bose. Speaking of phones, the Sony works as a speaker phone, the Bose does not (if that's important to you...I haven't tested this yet). Summing Up: Its easy to be drawn by the siren's sound of Bose with their deep bass and legions of rabid fans. If you're willing to consider breaking from the crowd for better sound, SERIOUSLY consider the Sony. To my ears, its a Bose slayer and a much better audio performer. ...and that's before the large price gap between the two. This (I guess newer and improved) version of the SRS X5 hasn't had many reviews yet, so I thought I'd help it along because IMO, its a sonic force to be heard. Bonus: Secret Sauce: There's a very cool music player app that enables you to apply one of many DSP modes to your music. It also includes a wonderfully flexible EQ function. The app is called Bongiovi DPS and I highly recommend it, regardless of your speaker or headphones. The DSPs add excellent performance to your recordings and the EQ can be used to address any minor issues inherent in your speaker. FWIW, I used this app during my demo work above. With minor EQ tweaking, the Sony sounded better. With heavy EQ use, I still struggled to tame the bloated bass of the Bose. Final Disclaimer: Listening is subjective...your ears are your ears and your opinions may vary from mine. That's cool. Have fun on the journey and love whatever you buy.