Sony ULT Field 5 vs JBL Xtreme 4, deeper bass on Xtreme 4

Xtreme 4 has an extreme price of $380, but JBL realized that the price is too much compared to what it delivers when looking at speakers from other brands like Soundcore and their Boom 2 speaker. So, you can get the Xtreme 4 for more than a $50-discount on sales. The Sony ULT Field 5 looks a bit bigger but has a retail price of $330, which is $50 less than the JBL Xtreme 4's retail price. Sony ULT Field 5 also goes on sale at way below $300. So, does the bigger Sony sound fuller too or the JBL still kicks deeper ..? Let's figure that out in today's article.

Before getting in the sound quality, first let me tell you about their design and build difference. Both have a totally different design language. Over the years, Sony seems to try out different designs for their portable speakers, I like that but for that they don't have a signature design like the way JBL has a signature design. I liked some of Sony's previous portable speaker design, such as the design of SRS-XB33 and ULT Field 7 speakers. However, JBL is mostly stuck with their design in a good way, I like the JBL-signature design.

So, I like both ULT Field 5's and Xtreme 4's design - hard to say which one more. The Sony ULT Field 5 has built-in RGB-light feature, which can be a big deal for some people. I like lights, JBL Xtreme 4 doesn't have a light-show. It's time for JBL to figure out how to implement light-show in their portable speakers while keeping the signature design. JBL is trying to add lights but slightly, take a look at the JBL Boombox 4 - it has brand-new lights. So, I like the look of JBL Xtreme 4's passive radiator a lot more than ULT Field 5's radiator. Xtreme 4's passive radiator is way more cool and bold with branding, but Field 5 has plain no-branding radiator - time to add branding, Sony.

In terms of build quality, I think JBL Xtreme 4 has a more premium build quality with better durable materials. Both have a good looking fabric body, but Xtreme 4's carrying strap has metal clips with metal hook-base on its body. Sony has a different kinda carrying strap and hooking style. Sony's implementation look more clean but less expensive with plastic looking material. Both have nice branded carrying strap, but JBL Xtreme 4 has an extra bottle opener on its strap, which is very good. So, JBL Xtreme 4 has a better build but I like both design.

The JBL Xtreme 4 has a proper stereo configuration by having 2 woofers and 2 tweeters. Pretty differently, the Sony ULT Field 5 has a big woofer for handling the bass and 2 tweeters for handling the mids and highs. So, it's not a proper tweeter as I think those tweeters on the Field 5 also handle some of the midrange frequencies. However, the ULT Field 5 isn't mono either, you will get mostly a stereo sound, which I think is fine and way better than a mono setup like the JBL Charge 6 speaker.

For the JBL Xtreme 4, the woofers are 2 x 70 mm in diameter and the tweeters are 2 x 20 mm. JBL Xtreme 4's woofers are around 20 watts and the tweeters are around 15 watts each on battery power. Sony ULT Field 5 doesn't have an official wattage rating specified. But Field 5's tweeters are 46 mm in diameter each. And the big X-Balanced woofer is 79 mm x 107 mm. With the new Xtreme 4, the 3.5 mm AUX port is gone. Also, the Type-C port is exposed now. Sony ULT Field 5 has a 3.5 mm AUX port and Type-C charging port on the back protected by a flap.

Both the JBL Xtreme 4 and Sony ULT Field 5 have very different approach with their tuning of the speaker. The sound signature and frequency response of them are totally different to one another. In terms of bass region, comparing their frequency response, it is clear that the JBL Xtreme 4 has significantly more deeper bass at around 55 Hz. But the Sony ULT Field 5 has way more energy in the mid and upper-bass region compared to Xtreme 4. The upper-bass is boosted on the Field 5 while Xtreme 4 has recessed upper-bass to deliberately make it sound more deep.

At lower volumes like below 50%, the deeper bass is a clear advantage for the JBL Xtreme 4 speaker. It sounds more full-bodied, sweet, smooth and refined. The ULT Field 5 doesn't sound that deep and refined like the Xtreme 4. However, Field 5 has better details and definition in the midrange with better punchy bass. So both have a very different nature to how they sound. I think the JBL Xtreme 4 sounds better indoors and ULT Field 5 sounds better outdoors with its pushed mid-bass.

At around 60 to 75% volume, there is still a deep bass advantage with the Xtreme 4, but it starts to sound less full now. Sony ULT Field 5 has more mid-bass and upper-bass along with more details in the mids. However, JBL Xtreme 4 has a more refined sound signature, like it has a clean and more smooth high-end. There are 2 modes on the Field 5 speaker, one is ULT-1 and another ULT-2. Check out Dominik Reviews for sound tests.

The ULT 1 is for deeper bass and indoor listening, and ULT 2 is for punchy powerful bass, which is good for outdoors. Even in ULT-1 mode on Field 5 speaker, the JBL Xtreme 4 has more deeper bass but lacks in mid to upper-bass. The ULT-2 mode on Field 5 boosts the mid-bass frequencies, which makes it sound more punchy and dynamic. I think both sound good and serve different types of sound signature.

At near maximum volume, the Sony ULT Field 5 sounds like it has more upper-bass. It has more bass than the Xtreme 4, but it's a thin kinda bass not thick. The Sony Field 5 sounds more powerful but the quality in the bass is not that good, mostly upper-bass slap. JBL Xtreme 4 has a bit less power in the bass compared to Field 5 and also sound quieter overall at around 100% volume. The Field 5 is a bit louder than Xtreme 4 at maximum 100% volume. In LUFS terms, ULT Field 5 is around 1.0 LUFS louder than the JBL Xtreme 4 speaker.

The ULT mode 2 is significantly louder than ULT mode 1 on the Field 5 speaker. JBL Xtreme 4 measures at -22.7 LUFS vs Field 5's -23.9 LUFS in ULT-1 at maximum volume. This makes the Xtreme 4 around 1.0 LUFS louder. Then Field 5 becomes louder than Xtreme 4 with its ULT-2 mode, -23.5 LUFS for Field 5 vs -24.3 LUFS for the Xtreme 4 speaker. So ULT-2 makes the Sony Field 5 perceived as noticeably louder with more energy in the bass. In terms of loudness, the ULT Field 5 wins, but lower to moderate volumes JBL Xtreme 4 offers better quality sound.

The JBL Xtreme 4 has some new features that are worth discussing. The AI Sound Boost is a pretty interesting one. This feature measures the power consumption and frequencies in real-time. JBL claims that this will reduce distortion and push the speaker to the limits for more powerful dynamic sound. The Xtreme 4 speaker has Auracast support, which is a new tech. Xtreme 4 can be connected with many Auracast supported JBL speakers for a party. There is also TWS feature for just connecting 2 of the Xtreme 4s for an immersive wide-stereo experience.

JBL Xtreme 4 is IP67, which gives it water and dust-protection. Bluetooth version is 5.3 and the codec is SBC on the Xtreme 4. The Playtime Boost features will give additional 6 hours of playback on the Xtreme 4, but bass is reduced significantly. On the contrary, the Sony ULT Field 5 also has the same IP67 rating and Bluetooth 5.3 for connectivity. However, Field 5 has a better LDAC codec for wireless audio. Sony has Party Connect feature to connect many compatible speakers like the Field 5. On top of that the ULT Field 5 has 360 degree Party Light feature that can lighten up your mood really well.

JBL Xtreme 4 doesn't have any dancing light feature, which is a let-down. Both Xtreme 4 and ULT Field 5 have Bluetooth Multipoint connection for connecting and switching between 2 devices simultaneously. Both speakers have app-support, like the Xtreme 4 has JBL Portable and ULT Field 5 has Sony Sound Connect app. For custom eq, Xtreme 4 offers a 5-band eq vs ULT Field 5's 10-band eq. So, Field 5 is more flexible to adjust the sound to your liking. Both speakers have power bank support to charge other devices like smartphones. JBL Xtreme 4 has a removable and replaceable battery design, which I like a lot - very flexible.

The Xtreme 4 has a 7.2-volt Li-ion battery pack with 9444-mAh 68-Wh capacity. It is advertised as a 24-hour playback speaker, which is obviously gonna be at an average 50 to 60% volume. Sony ULT Field 5 doesn't have official battery-capacity details but they say that the Field 5 is a 25-hour playtime speaker, with lights off for sure. Xtreme 4 has USB PD technology, which maxes out at 20-volts 3-amps. The Field 5 has a max 9-volts 3-amps 27-watts charge rating. Power bank out is 5-volts 3-amps from the type-c port of Xtreme 4, not specified for ULT Field 5 speaker.

Check out those articles from above, you can click on those linked images to read the articles. A while ago I published a review of the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G smartphone, check that out if you are into budget phones. In case you are interested in portable speakers, I compared 3 Boombox type speakers from 3 different brands such as Soundcore, Tribit and JBL. So don't forget to also check out that detailed comparison article about the JBL Boombox 3 vs Tribit Stormbox Blast vs Soundcore Boom 2 Plus.

Another speaker from the brand Soundcore, the Soundcore Boom 2 is a way better deal at a much cheaper price. It has a cool design and decent build with a powerful sound that beats the JBL Xtreme 4 with confidence. The problem with Xtreme 4 is its extreme price even if it has a better refined clean sound below higher volumes. Both the Field 5 and Boom 2 is a point below the Xtreme 4 in terms of quality sound. But they are more powerful at higher volumes.

The Sony Field 5 isn't cheap either at $330, I think Field 5 is better for party and outdoors with its lights, Xtreme 4 for indoors and if you have deep pockets. Otherwise, the Soundcore Boom 2 is a very good balanced option that has lights, way cheaper and more powerful than Xtreme 4 speaker. At last, if you want to check out the official offers and specs of Sony ULT Field 5 and JBL Xtreme 4 speaker, you're welcome.

Also, please check out the JBL Charge 6 vs Charge 5 story for highlights.
IF you're interested in portable small speakers, check my Soundcore Motion 300 vs Bose Soundlink Flex article. Both speakers did well in a head-to-head comparison.