Sony has been in the Bluetooth speaker business for a while now, but the company has sped up its release schedule in the last few months. Last month we saw the company release three new small- to mid-sized speakers in its SRS-X line, and now the tech goliath is adding three more models, all of which are on the larger side.
Today Sony announced the availability of three new speakers: the SRS-X77, SRS-X88, and SRS-X99. They share the same look as the SRS-X11, SRS-X33, and SRS-X55 released last month — or should we say it’s the other way around? Two of the new speakers, the X77 and the X99 are simply updates to the company’s first run of polished blocks of sound, the SRS-X7 and SRS-X9, the latter of which marks one of the top-performing speakers we’ve tested in the genre. The two updates were teased at CES this year, while the SRS-X88 is something new.
As the top tier of Sony’s wireless lineup, the new speakers are powerful and also feature packed, with each model supporting multi-room audio.
The biggest of the bunch, the SRS-X99 features 154 watts of power and a total of seven active speakers: two super tweeters, two front tweeters, two midrange drivers and a single subwoofer, just like its predecessor. The speaker also hosts two passive radiators for enhanced bass. The X99 also features Sony’s new S-Master HX digital amplification circuitry.
Filling the gap between the X99 and X77, the SRS-X88 pumps out 90 watts of power across a total of five speakers. Like its bigger brother, the SRS-X88 also features dual passive radiators and S-Master HX. Both this speaker and the SRS-X99 allow for playback of a wide range of audio files including MP3, FLAC, ALAC, and DSD from a thumbdrive plugged into the included USB port.
Like its predecessor, the SRS-X77 seems to be aimed at those looking for something more along the lines of a traditional Bluetooth speaker, coming in at 40 watts. This speaker still features a pair of passive radiators and a subwoofer, though it cuts down the speaker count in order to keep the weight lower.
In addition to multi-room Wi-Fi audio via Sony’s SongPal app, each speaker also features support for Google Cast and Spotify Connect. Each speaker also features Sony’s ClearAudio+, which Sony says “renders incredibly vibrant sound with more powerful bass and crisp highs.”
As the leader of the pack, the SRS-X99 is priced accordingly and will sell for $700, while the other two models are more modestly priced. The SRS-X88 runs $400, and the SRS-X77 is $300. All models will be available in stores near the end of this month, but for now you can preorder them from Sony’s website, Amazon, or Best Buy.
