Over the last few months sony has been releasing a lot of new speakers… and for the most part all of these new speakers are good and they're a solid upgrade from their predecessors. But then there’s the Sony XB13 which I will admit has better build quality than the XB12 and its fine… but I wish sony would have done more with this speaker. 

Regarding pricing… this little guy retails for $60 bucks. Now for an ultra small portable bluetooth speaker like this it gets the job done but personally I would only consider getting this speaker if its on sale for $40 bucks or less. Nonetheless if you want to pick this speaker up it’ll be linked down below… but personally if you can id rather go with the XB12… and if you already have an XB12 there’s really no need in upgrading unless you really need USB C charging. 

Now first lets talk about the design of this speaker. The XB13 is a cylindrical upwards firing speaker with a downwards firing passive radiator just like the XB12. Except the XB13 is a little bigger and a little sharper looking than the XB12. But also the XB13 does feel a little more premium as well specifically cause its body has a slate finish to it similar to the body panels found on the 1000XM4 headphones. Where as the XB12 has a soft touch finish to it. But also the XB13 has a new strap to it which first off is easier to unlatch then the previous strap and you also got two different mounting options to choose from. So you’ve got options as to how you can attach this speaker either to your backpack, running vest, bike handle bars, railing, or random tree branch you’ll might be hanging out under. But from an overall durability standpoint just like the XB12, the XB13 is rocking an IP67 ratting meaning that you can take this speaker on the go with you either on your hikes or beach a not have to worry about it cause a little bit of dirt or water isn’t going to be an issue for this speaker. 

Now regarding tech specs the XB13 has an advertised battery life of 16 hours just like the XB12. And that advertised battery life of 16 hours is with these speakers playing at 85% volume which is a really good listening volume. But personally im not getting those 16 hours of playback time. Im getting more like 10 hours which is feel is also good. But at max volume these speakers are good for about 4 hours of playback time. 

Now when it comes to charging these speakers the XB13 has been upgraded to USB C which is great cause most devices now charge via a USB C port and if you’re an android user you can charge your speaker and phone with the same cable. Where as the XB12 charges via a micro Usb port which can be an inconvenience these days. 

However the XB12 still has an audio jack where as the XB13 no longer has one. And personally I don’t mind that this speaker doesn’t have an audio jack but I feel that it should still have one just in case. And in general an audio jack is starting to become something that you only see on larger more expensive speakers now. But over all with the XB13 you an only use it wirelessly cause its USB C port is strictly used for charging. You can’t use it as a wired connection. 

Now when it comes to wireless connectivity the XB13 is using bluetooth 4.2 just like the XB12. And just like the XB12 the XB13 can only be connected to one device at time. But when it comes to performance these speakers have zero latency across the board when watching movies or videos on your phone whether you’re using an iPhone or an android device… they have a decent amount of range and when it comes to audio codecs these speakers both have support for SBC and AAC.  

But now lets talk about actually listening to music with these speakers. Like I mentioned earlier both of these speakers have an upward firing driver and a downward firing passive radiator set up. And the drivers on both of these speaker have a diameter of 46 millimeters. Now in general both the XB12 and XB13 have a brighter sound signature to them than lets say the XB23 which im also going to be throwing in into this sound test for good measure. Now I will admit the XB13 sounds a little more open than the XB12… but the XB12 does get noticeably louder than the XB13 which I feel is more important. But so that you can hear for yourself we’re going to jump into a sound test… both the XB12 and XB13 are playing at max volume where as the XB23 is playing at 80% volume with its stock extra bass EQ. 

Now overall the XB13 and XB12 have the same sound signatures to them… but the XB13 does sound a little more open than the XB12… but to be honest I think your casual user isn’t going to notice or even care especially for a speaker of this size. But then there’s the XB23 which you can much easily hear that it sounds way more open and thats to be expected. But from a max volume standpoint I can’t help but notice that the XB12 gets a little louder than the XB13 which I feel is more important. But then there’s the matter of bass… again I can’t help but feel that the XB12 has a little more bass than the XB13 as well. So overall for a small ultra portable bluetooth speaker the XB13 sounds and performs fine. But when compared to its predecessor even though the XB13 has slightly better instrument separation than the XB12… personally for real world use I do prefer the XB12 cause it gets a little louder and it has a little more bass. And then there’s the XB23 which obviously is worth the upgrade cause you’re going to get much better instrument separation and its going to get much louder as well. But also with the XB23 you can go in and customize your EQ is you want. Where as with the XB13 you can’t cause this speaker still doesn’t have support for Sony’s music center app.

And finally lets talk about speaker pairing protocols. With the XB13 you can pair it up to one other XB13 and get them to play in left and right stereo. But unfortunately you can only do this 2 XB13’s… you can’t have lets say an XB12 and an XB13 like I have here, and you also can’t pair the XB13 to any of Sony’s newer speakers using party connect like either an XG500, XB43, XB33, XB23 and so on. 

So with all the being said, the Sony XB13 is fine for an ultra portable bluetooth speaker. And personally I really like the new more premium feel of this speaker, I like the strap, and I like that this speaker now charges via a USB C port. But personally I wish sony did more with this speaker to make it better stand out from it predecessor. Now yes the XB13 does sound a little more open than the XB12… but it doesn’t get as loud as the XB12. And I think max volume is a big deal for a speaker like this. But personally I think Sony should have really added app support to this speaker so that you can customize its EQ like you can on most of their other speakers and I think sony should have added party connect to the XB13 so that it can pair up with the rest of the Sony XBX3 speaker line up.