JBL Clip 4 Vs Sony XB100
Overall the Sony XB100 is a very incremental upgrade over its predecessor but its still a decent little option if you need something ultra small and portable. But today lets see how the Sony XB100 stacks up to the JBL Clip 4 which I feel is due for an upgrade cause this thing has been around for awhile now.
Now regarding pricing, the XB100 retails for $60 where as the Clip 4 has a retail price of $80. But personally I wouldn’t be surprised to see the XB13 go on sale on a regular basis. Now overall if you’re looking for an ultra portable speaker to take on the go with you on your hikes or bike rides then both of these speakers are good options. However if you want to the best sound then the clip 4 is the way to go. Nonetheless if you want to pick either of these speakers up they’ll be linked down below.
Now first let's talk about the designs of these speakers. The XB100 is a cylindrical speaker with a soft touch body. Now the XB100 is rocking an IP67 rating just like the Clip 4 meaning that neither of these speakers are afraid of a little dirt or water. Which could be a big deal for any out doors person watching. However when it comes to over all attachability I am going to have to say the XB100 is the winner here. With the Clip 4 you’ve got this built in carabineer, which is great. However your mounting options can be a little limited. Backpacks and running vests are fine… but if you want to attach this speaker to your bike’s handle bar you’re going to have to get creative. Where as with the XB100, you’ve got this strap. And you’ve got two mounting options to choose from. So with the XB100 you’re going to have a lot more flexibility as to what you can attach this speaker to. And personally I feel that for an ultra portable bluetooth speaker like this, attachability is a pretty big deal. So for any bike couriers watching this you’ll might want to go with the XB100.
But now lets talk about tech specs. Regarding battery life the XB100 has an advertised battery life of 16 hours and thats with this speaker playing at 72% volume. Now 72% volume on this speaker is a decent listening volume for indoor… but I assume that most people are going to use this speaker at max volume on a regular basis if they’re using it outdoors or while in the shower… and if that’s the case then this speaker is good for about 5 hours of playback time.
But then there’s the Clip 4 which has an advertised battery life 10 hours, but thats with this speaker playing at 50% volume which is like 70 percent volume on the XB100. But with the Clip 4 playing at 80% volume which is like XB13 playing at max volume… the Clip 4 is good for about 6 hours of play back time.
Now when it comes to actually charging these speakers, they both charge via a USB C port which is what we expect to see these days. However, neither of these two speakers have audio jacks. Now personally I don’t mind not having an audio jack on a speaker of this size… but I feel that they should have one just in case. And overall you can only use these speakers wirelessly cause the USB C ports on both of these speakers are strictly used for charging.
Now when it comes to wireless connectivity, both of these speakers can only be connected to one device at a time… but latency isn’t an issue for either of these speakers so you can always use them to watch videos on your phone with. But when it comes to audio codecs, the Clip 4 only has support for SBC where as the clip 4 has support for SBC and AAC.
But now lets talk about actually listing to music with these speakers. Now both of these speakers have an upwards firing transducer and downwards firing passive radiator set up. However when it comes to overall sound and just performance… the clip 4 easily outperforms the XB100 in both aspects. But so that you can hear for yourself we’re going to jump into the sound test where the XB100 is playing at max volume and the Clip 4 is playing at 75% volume
So like you may have just heard, the Clip 4 gets significantly louder than the XB100 which I feel is very important for ultra portable speakers like these. But the Clip 4 doesn’t just get louder than the XB100… it also sounds better. The Clip 4 sounds richer cause it has more bass than the XB100 but it also sound more open. However sound signature wise the Clip 4 is a little different from the XB100. It does have a slight emphasis on the mids so vocals are more pronounced which I think is a good thing for a speaker that I feel will mostly be used out doors. So overall sound quality wise the XB100 sounds fine… but the Clip 4 does easily out perform the XB100 cause it sounds richer and it also gets louder. But also the last thing that I want to point out about these speakers sound quality is that you can’t directly adjust the EQ on either of these speakers… the clip 4 doesn’t connect to JBL’s app, and even though the Sony does connect to Sony’s music center app, you can’t adjust its EQ.
But finally lets talk about pairing these speakers up with other speakers. Unfortunately you can’t pair the Clip 4 to any other speakers. And personally I really think thats a shame cause I really want to see JBL’s Partyboost make its way to the clip 4.
But then there’s the XB100 which you can pair up to one other XB100 and get them to play in left and right stereo mode. But unfortunately you can only do this with 2 XB100’s you can’t mix and match speakers like with and XB13 and XB12 like I’ve got here. And also you can’t pair an XB13 to any of Sony’s speakers using party connect like either an XG500, XG300, XE300, XE200, XB43, XB33 or XB23.
But the good thing is that pairing 2 XB100’s together is very easy, and having two XB100’s playing together actually sounds pretty impressive.
But finally here’s the microphone test. Now the XB100 is sitting on a table about an arms length away from me. Now in general this microphone sounds decent, but personally I wouldn’t take phone calls with my speakers, but the option is there if you want it.
But with all of that being said, if you’re trying to choose between the JBL CLIP 4 and the Sony XB100, hands down the JBL Clip 4 is going to give you the better sound performance and the better sound quality. However the Clip 4 is more expensive. Where as with the Sony XB100, its more affordable and it offers you more features. For starters, it is much easier to attach this speaker to things, you can pair it up in stereo mode with any XB100, and it also has that built in microphone. The clip 4 has the better sound here, but the Sony XB100 is more versatile.