The purist hate it but to me as someone who just listens and instead of doing surgery to my music I really really enjoy my Sony ULT field 5. Such a balanced sound.
I've gone thru countless BT speakers, from JBL Extreme 2,3. UE Megaboom, Hyperboom. Soundcore Motion Plus. Sony XB43. All were non keepers and were sold or one that was sub par was given away. Oh yeah, Marshall Kilburn 3 too.
I have one now, the Sony ULT 5 its the only speaker that 100% percent sound balanced. Its plenty loud and can bring it with bass, clarity. I don't even use the Ult 1 or 2 features as I find it bass heavy already its in standard sound mode. I clearly as you can tell love it.
Edit, well you can't get one for 150, but there are refurbished ones on ebay for 83 shipped.
I don't have 2 or 3. I've tried Extreme 2,3. Soundcore Motion boom plus. UE Hyperboom and Megaboom. Boombox 3. XB43, Kilburn III
I just knew from the get go the Ult 5 was the one for me. It sounds better at lower volume than high for some reason. I can hear all the details better.
Sometimes you just click with a sound signature.
I have the ult 5 it lacks that room thumping deep bass ,It is capable of that but in some songs so I was hoping an eq might help but can't seem to find any and I have no idea how to adjust them
Buy the sony ult field 5 the only problem u are gonna face is that room thumping deep bass u ain't gonna get with this one but the eq solves this so go ahead but it.
From best to worst
1. Soundcore motion +
2. Klipsch nashville
3. Sony ult field 5 & tribit stormbox lava (tie)
4. Marshall emberton 3 & Bose soundlink flex 2 (tie)
5. Kef muo
6.tribit stormbox blast (OG) & Earfun uboom x(tie)
7. Soundcore boom 2 & x600
8. Harman kardon onyx studio 6
9. UE everboom, wonder boom & epicboom
Soundcore motion + has been discontinued and has no ip dust rating
Klipsch nashville, kef muo, bose soundlink flex 2, and harman kardon onyx studio 6 are mono format speakers
Sony ult field 5, tribit stormbox lava & blast, earfun u boom x, Soundcore boom 2 & x600, UE epicboom and HK onyx studio 6 are all pretty large.
The Marshall emberton 3, UE everboom & epic boom are 360⁰ speakers this is subjectively worse than a forward firing speaker for soundquality.
I got a Sony ULT power sound field 5 refurbished for $84 on Secondipity (liquidation site) recently that’s amazing. CNET best of 2025 speaker - midrange.
I can't agree at all with the Xtreme 4 v Ult 5 comparison. The Xtreme 4 with the right EQ absolutely blows away the Ult mode. The bass on the Ult 5 is actually surprisingly weak for the size of the speaker
Ult 5 is really good but not great portability wise, it's a bit of a brick. The Xtreme is bulky too but a bit more convenient. Charge is the best by far for transport.
I found the Ult 5 bass really lacking, especially for the size. Xtreme blows it away, and the Ults only marginally better than the Charge. Sound quality is great still
Id say the Xtreme is the best, but the Charge if portability is a big factor.
If you're strictly limited to Bluetooth I'd recommend the JBL Xtreme 3 or even the Boom 2
If you don't mind a plug in, the Sonos era 100 is a great option
The X600 sound clarity is great but if we're looking at something similar with better bass the JBL Xtreme 3 and Sony Ult Field 5 are much better
Just on Bass the Boom 2 also outperforms this
If it's in your budget, I say get all three, if you're planning to build a multi speaker system, then an Auracast setup would lean towards JBL. As far as the most authentic sound reproduction go with the Sony, if you like drums, and deeper Bass, that most certainly goes to the Bose. This is why it such a hard choice, but if you only needed one speaker, and you plan to use it a lot, the Sony checks all the boxes! I hope this helps since I own all three.
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