Sony SRS-X77 review

Sound Quality

Two 46mm full-range drivers, a subwoofer and two passive radiators deliver a combined 40W of output. They work together in concert to deliver some impressive sound, using digital sound enhancement to upscale low bitrate audio.

The SongPal app lets you change sound settings; by default, Sony’s ClearAudio+ DSP is enabled, but you can use preset equalizer settings or adjust using a custom EQ. I was personally not a fan of how ClearAudio+ coloured the sound. It not only makes everything louder, but over-emphasises bass. Even on the Flat pre-set, there’s plenty of low-end frequency presence.

Listening to A$AP Rocky’s ‘LSD’, which features strong electronic bass, there was a little cabinet reverberation, but beyond this, the impactful bass is well controlled. Bass begins to distort a little when approaching maximum volume, but considering how loud the speaker can get you probably won’t be dialling it all the way up. Mids and trebles had the level of delicate control I’d expect for a speaker at this price and size. 

You can also adjust the Wide Stereo setting between Normal and High to add some width to the soundstage. While High did indeed disperse the sound more between the left and right channels, I found it left vocals feeling thinner and more distant, so preferred to keep this off.

Conclusion

Built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and the integrated battery make the SRS-X77 a jack of all trades, rivalling the more expensive Bowers & Wilkins T7 – which lacks any real multiroom functionality. Used as a conventional Bluetooth speaker, you’ll get about 10 hours of battery life, and while it won’t last quite as long when used as a Wi-Fi speaker, having the flexibility is a great benefit. Sound quality matches the elegant design and when used as part of a Sony multiroom system it makes a great addition for a smaller room.

Now that it’s widely available for considerably less than its launch RRP of £259 (if you shop around you can find it for around £180), the SRS-X77 is a legitimate alternative to rival entry-level multiroom speakers from the likes of Sonos and Bose.