MSRP: £259.00
What is the Sony SRS-X7?
Anyone who is anybody in the consumer electronics space - and for that matter, quite a few that aren’t - seems to have a wireless speaker, or three, within their product portfolio. In fact, Sony seems to have gone bonkers over the idea and has 11 – in one form or another – currently gracing their UK webpage. The SRS-X7 we have for review here sits second in the pecking order, one below the SRS-X9 and directly above the SRS-X5, SRS-X3 and the SRS-X2.
It boasts a very similar feature-set to the flasgship device - namely Bluetooth (NFC), WiFi, DLNA and AirPlay compatibility – but a more compact design. It also features Sony’s S-Master amplification technology and the Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE), which was developed to restore high range sound lost in the compression process to MP3 format. There’s also an app which integrates with many popular music streaming services which means there’s an awful lot to check out, so we best crack on!
It boasts a very similar feature-set to the flasgship device - namely Bluetooth (NFC), WiFi, DLNA and AirPlay compatibility – but a more compact design. It also features Sony’s S-Master amplification technology and the Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE), which was developed to restore high range sound lost in the compression process to MP3 format. There’s also an app which integrates with many popular music streaming services which means there’s an awful lot to check out, so we best crack on!
Design
Understated yet stylish, or words to that effect, are terms we’ve bandied about in reference to Sony product for many years now, and the SRS-X7 is another befitting such description. There are two colour options available; there’s the ultra-inconspicuous, totally black model and the one we have here with a slightly less discrete silver/grey front grille and shiny metal plates on the left and right edges. The top panel houses various touch-sensitive controls on its piano black surface including volume and various input selection options. There’s also a ‘clickable’ power toggle button for those that like more feedback.
Connectivity
The SRS-X7 is just about as flexible as it gets in the wireless speaker market, in terms of how you connect to it. For full utilisation, you will need to download the SongPal app – available for iOS & Android – but more on that later. In a nutshell, this speaker offers choices of direct Bluetooth with the added option of NFC (Near Field Communication) pairing, along with DLNA for content stored on other networked devices, integration with numerous streaming services and you can even get UPnP working with the right tools.
In addition, there’s a 3.5mm stereo jack if you want to go wired and, on a related theme, there’s a physical LAN port as an alternative to the built-in WiFi capability. Oops, we nearly forgot that the SRS-X7 also supports AirPlay for iDevices, as well. About the only thing missing is playback via USB; there is a USB port but it’s only used to charge devices, which is handy to have in any case!
SetUp
Like virtually all of these devices, if you want some of the really clever stuff the SRS-X7 can do, you really need to download the app. Its operation is taken care of via Bluetooth communication – and not over your network – so your first step is to pair with your chosen device. If your phone or tablet is capable of NFC pairing, then the app will instruct you to place it on the tag on the top panel, else you will be guided to your Bluetooth settings page where you establish the connection in the time honoured manner. Once Bluetooth pairing is complete, you are then able to get the X7 on to your home network, allowing all the other streaming options to become available.
When it comes to the home networking side of things, let’s put first things, first. There is a switch at the back of the unit labelled ‘Network’ and if you don’t put it in the ‘On’ position, none of the following is going to matter as the wireless transmitter will be disabled. There’s another thing to consider here too; if the mobile device you are operating is connected to a 5Ghz network, you may run in to difficulties at this point. We spent more time than we would have liked attempting to get the X7 on to the same 5gig network (one of) our tablets was using and only by switching to another device on the 2.4Ghz network that we able to get the SRS-X7 fully networked.
When it comes to the home networking side of things, let’s put first things, first. There is a switch at the back of the unit labelled ‘Network’ and if you don’t put it in the ‘On’ position, none of the following is going to matter as the wireless transmitter will be disabled. There’s another thing to consider here too; if the mobile device you are operating is connected to a 5Ghz network, you may run in to difficulties at this point. We spent more time than we would have liked attempting to get the X7 on to the same 5gig network (one of) our tablets was using and only by switching to another device on the 2.4Ghz network that we able to get the SRS-X7 fully networked.
Another thing to note: if you want to connect to a Windows machine, either to allow the device to be accessed for music or to enable streaming to the speaker from it, you’ll need to ensure the correct streaming options are enabled in Windows Media Player. You guessed it – we ran into a few issues there too, although Sony can hardly be held accountable for that and they do provide a guide on how to do it on their support pages.
Something very handy to mention about the SRS-X7, and an advantage over a decent proportion of the direct competition, is that it can be used when not attached to the mains. Ergo, it has a rechargeable battery inside which we found good for around 4-5 hours listening from a full charge.
Something very handy to mention about the SRS-X7, and an advantage over a decent proportion of the direct competition, is that it can be used when not attached to the mains. Ergo, it has a rechargeable battery inside which we found good for around 4-5 hours listening from a full charge.
SongPal App
So, as you might gather from the above, the initial setup process might throw up some challenges, although it’s entirely possible all will go smoothly, dependent on your present home situation regarding windows configuration and your mobile device and network settings. We have to say once the hurdles were overcome, the interface of SongPal is very friendly and the navigation is slick. From the home screen, you get direct navigation to online streaming services including Deezer, TuneIn and Sony’s Music Unlimited Service, although that’s soon to be discontinued.
What we really do like about the app is in how generous it is in allowing other services to integrate. For example, we hooked up our Tidal, Spotify, Google Play Music and Bubble UPnP apps with it, opening up the content available by a vast amount. Using the app is simply a case of making sure your phone or tablet is connected to the SRS-X7 by Bluetooth and then choosing your music source from the main screen. There are some volume and EQ settings available from a context menu top right and all the other settings are accessed from a finger-over menu on the left. It really is plain sailing to use!
This really is the complete package
Video Review
Sony SRS-X7 Sound Quality
There are two main speaker drivers, and a single 2.5-inch low end driver built in to the chassis of the SRS-X7 which are then, in turn, augmented by a pair of passive bass radiators. The results are that this unit, which is slightly smaller than a box of man-size Kleenex (other brands are available), produces a much bigger sound than one might reasonably expect. In fact, if you place it on a surface that is hard, it can give the impression that it’s trying to be too big for its boots, with the mid and high-ends overly dominated by the low notes. That’s a testament to the impressive bass power inside and thankfully it can be tamed on more favourable surface – a couple of leather place mats did the job here.
Once tamed, the SRS-X7 went on to deliver a very nice listening experience. As we said earlier, there are various preset EQ options to play around with and a wide stereo mode but for solo listening we really didn’t find any of them useful. Keep it neutral and the SRS-X7 will keep you entertained with crystal clear mids and a lively and engaging presence. For those listening to the spoken word, dialogue is very well rendered and even without the special mode engaged, manages to deliver a surprisingly wide stereo listening field. We can actually see some benefit in setting Wide Stereo to ‘High’ if you have a room full of people to entertain, where it really delivers on the promise, but it doesn’t sound quite right otherwise, lacking the tightness it delivers with it off.
Once tamed, the SRS-X7 went on to deliver a very nice listening experience. As we said earlier, there are various preset EQ options to play around with and a wide stereo mode but for solo listening we really didn’t find any of them useful. Keep it neutral and the SRS-X7 will keep you entertained with crystal clear mids and a lively and engaging presence. For those listening to the spoken word, dialogue is very well rendered and even without the special mode engaged, manages to deliver a surprisingly wide stereo listening field. We can actually see some benefit in setting Wide Stereo to ‘High’ if you have a room full of people to entertain, where it really delivers on the promise, but it doesn’t sound quite right otherwise, lacking the tightness it delivers with it off.
Conclusion
Pros
- Great sound
- Understated design
- Very handy app
- Integration with just about any streaming service
- Can be used off mains
Cons
- Could be easier to setup
- 5Ghz network incompatibility
Sony SRS-X7 Wireless Speaker Review
Should I buy the Sony SRS-X7?
Certainly, if I was shopping for such a product and I had around £250 to spend on one, this would probably be my choice of the products we’ve tested. Yes, it can be a bit frustrating to setup but everything else is excellent once you have. The sound quality is superb, in this class, and it possesses extremely flexible connectivity options. It also looks great, feels very well engineered and you can use it away from the mains thanks to the inbuilt rechargeable battery, should you wish. The SongPal app makes it a breeze to control and integrates with a very generous number of streaming services, too. This is a cracking product, well thought out and executed so it comes Highly Recommended.What else should I consider?
There aren’t too many standalone wireless speakers with the flexibility of the SRS-X7 but some of the multiroom systems we’ve tested boast similar capabilities. So, you could look at buying a singular LG H5, which is part of their Music Flow System or, the very similar, Samsung M5 but we don’t think either quite have the musical ability of the Sony although they do have the incentive of potential multi-room streaming to balance that out.Our Review Ethos
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