So the new Sony XV500 is a refined version of the Sony XP500 that has a more balanced sound and it also looks sleeker. And if you’re looking for a portable box speaker, then the XV500 is a good option. However, we also have the Sony XG500 which is more portable and more durable, but when it some to sound, these speakers are very different. None the less today we’re going to compare these two speakers and see which one is right for you.
Regarding pricing, the Sony XV500 has a retail price of $400 where as the Sony XG500 has a retail price of $500, however the XG500 routinely likes to go on sale and so does the XV500. Nonetheless, if you want to pick either of these two speakers up they’ll be linked down below, or you can always press on the YouTube shopping button.
Now first lets talk about the design of these speakers cause they’re very different from one another. Now both of these speakers are easy enough to take on the go with you cause they’re relatively compact, but the XV500 is larger and heavier weighing in at 25 pounds. Where as the XG500 is significantly smaller and lighter cause it weighs in at 12 and a half pounds. The only thing that I dont like about the XG500’s cylindrical design is that this speaker just loves to roll around in the truck of your car when you’re driving. But the XG500 is also a lot more durable than the XV500. The XG500 has a mostly fabric body that does a really good job of standing up to constant abuse from bumps and scrapes and its also IP66 rated, meaning thats its more water and dirt resistant than the XV500 which is IPX4 rated. And also the XV500 is a much larger scratch magnet than the XG500 cause it has a mostly plastic body. So if durability and portability is very important to you, then you’ll want to go with the XG500.
But then theres the light feature on these speakers, now the light feature on the XV500 is decent, but more importantly its a lot easier to see, its actually worth using. Where as the light feature on the XG500 is hidden in the passive radiator, so its very difficult to see. So personally I dont use the light feature on the XG500 and instead I just enjoy the additional battery life.
Now when it comes to battery life, the XG500 has an advertised battery life of 30 hours… which is a lot. However this advertised battery life of 30 hours is with this speaker playing at 38% volume which is good for like ambiance, but thats with the light feature turned off which is dont mind and that’s with the megabits feature turned on which is good.
But real world use with this speaker playing at like 80% volume, and with the light feature turned off and with the megabits feature turned on, the XG500 is good for about 8 to 9 hours of playback time. And at max volume its good for about 5 hours.
But then theres the XV500 which has an advertised battery life of 25 hours, but that’s with this speaker playing at 36% volume which again is good for like ambiance, but that’s which the light feature turned off and the with the mega bass feature turned on.
But real world use with this speaker playing at 80% volume, with the light feature turned on and with the mega bass feature turned on its good for about 8 hours of playback time. So battery lives on these two speakers are fairly similar… however, when it comes to charging these speakers, with the XV500 it plugs in an AC port so chargning this speaker is fairly easy… where as with the XG500, this speaker has an external power brick that you have to worry about.
Regarding connectivity, both of these speakers can be connected to two devices at the same time so that you and a friend can both be DJ, both speakers don’t have latency issues so you can use them to watch videos with your phone and when it comes to audio codecs, both speakers have support for SBC, AAC, and LDAC, just keep in mind that if you want to use LDAC you do have to be an android user cause iPhones top out at AAC and LDAC does take an additional toll on the battery life.
Now when it comes to ports, both of these speakers have your standard 3.5 millimeter audio jack so you can always use them with a wired connection, and both of these speakers have a USB A port so that you can either plug in your own devices and charge them up, or so that you can plug in a USB Stick and play music off of it. However, the XG500 has 2 USB A port where as the XV500 only has one. Now I think this USB A port on these speakers is great for international markets, but im still waiting for a box speaker with USB C ports cause most phones these days some with USB C to USB C charging cables.
But then there are the quarter inch inputs… now with both of these speakers you can plug in a microphone for karaoke or you can plug in a guitar, but more importantly, with the XV500 you can plug in 2 microphones where as the XG500 can only do one. So if karaoke is very important to you, and if you have friends… then you’ll want to go with the XV500.
But with all of that out of the way, lets talk about sound. Regarding speaker set ups, the XG500 has dual frontward firing woofers, dual frontward firing tweeters and dual passive radiators that shoot out the sides. Where as the XV500 also has dual frontward firing woofers, except these are larger and it has an exhaust port that shoots out the front and it also has dual frontward firing tweeters. But now we’re going to jump into the sound test. Both of these speakers are playing at 75% volume and they both have their mega bass turned on.
Soundtest
So when it comes to sound quality, these speakers sound very different from one another. The larger XV500 simply has a more balanced sound signature to it, but more importantly it sounds a lot more open and there is a lot more defeitnion in the highs and vocals. And theres also the fact that since the XV500 is able to move around more air, this speaker just has more bass to it. Where as with the XG500, this speaker sounds a lot more warmer as in it puts more of an emphsiais on the on the bass and everything sounds a lot more close together. So plainly said, yes, the XV500 sound a lot better than the XG500 and when it comes to overall performance, the XV500 also get louder than the XG500. Now the XG500 does a good job of keeping up with the XV500 when they’re both running off of their internal batteries… but when the XV500 is plugged in, the XG500 just cant keep up anymore. Now you also get a performance boost on the XG500 if you use it while its plugged in… but the prefroamnce boost that you get with the XV500 is just larger.
But finally lets talk about pairing these speakers up with other speakers. Now both of these speakers are using Sony’s party connect… meaning that you can pair either of these two speakers to any of Sony’s other speakers that are also using party connect like either an XV900, XV800, XP700, XP500 or XV500… or you can also connect your larger box speakers to your smaller speakers like either an XG500, XG300, XE300, XE200, or to an XB43, XB33 or XB23.
and you can either have up to 100 speakers paired together and get them to play in sync, or you can get two of the exact same speakers and get them to play in left and right stereo mode. But the really important thing here is, you can connect your larger box speakers to your smaller more portable speakers. And this is something that other speakers pairing protocols dont let you do.
And to connect your speakers, you can do this through Sony’s app. But I just want to point out is that if you try to connect more than 4 speaker together sometimes there can be some skipping… but if you’re connecting 3 or less speakers together, it usually works just fine.
But with all of that being said, if you’re trying to choose between the XV500 and XG500… the XG500 is a really good portable and durable option. But personally I would rather go with the XV500 cause it genuinely sounds better cause it sounds more balanced and more open. It also gets louder and it has more bass. Plus you can also use it with 2 microphones for karaoke. The main sacrifice that you make with the XV500 is its size and durability.