Sony piles on the boom with expanded Extra Bass speaker and headphone line

By Ryan Waniata January 6, 2016

Sony has been pushing its hi-res audio products hard at CES for the last couple of years. But this year, the electronics giant swung hard the other way, highlighting the product lineup it created nearly four years ago to address modern music trends, called Extra Bass (and that’s trademarked, by the way).

Sony’s expanded Extra Bass line now includes multiple pieces, including the new MDR-XB650BT headphones, a lightweight little on-ear job that’s made of plastic, accented with a thin sheen of aluminum along the outside. I had a listen to the headphones with some hip-hop playing and, whoa Nelly! these things are not kidding around. I literally couldn’t keep them on my head for more than a few seconds due to the swelling tidal waves of low-end groove.

There are also a pair of portable speakers in the Extra Bass party, including the XRS-B2, and XRS-B3. The B2 offers a claimed 12 hours of battery life, while the B3 offers an impressive 24 hours, according to Sony. Both speakers are water resistant with an IXP5 rating and, like all of the products in the Extra Bass family, are offered in a wide variety of loud colors like lime, and neon blue. Additionally, two of the speakers can be connected for pairing the speakers in stereo.

The biggest (literally) addition to Sony’s Extra Bass lineup is the GTK-XB7, which looks a lot more like a PA speaker than one designed for consumer use. The massive speaker is Bluetooth enabled for wireless streaming from your phone and includes a USB input, and an RCA analog input for hardwired connections. Flashing lights bring a “club-like” experience, and you can double down for twice the sound, or pair two of the mono speakers for a stereo pair.

It’s not for everyone, but Sony is clearly looking to attract a certain kind of consumer here. If you’re one of those who just can’t get enough bass, the Extra Bass lineup may be right up your alley.

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Ryan Waniata is a multi-year veteran of the digital media industry, a lover of all things tech, audio, and TV, and a…

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