Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore vs Sony SRS-XB12 - Where are the differences?

Let's compare the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore and the Sony SRS-XB12 and take a closer look at the differences.

Size and weight

The two devices differ in their dimensions. The smaller a loudspeaker is, the more practical it is in use, of course.

• Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore: 8.1 cm x 8.1 cm x 12.4 cm
• Sony SRS-XB12: 7.4 cm x 7.4 cm x 9.2 cm

Battery

With regard to battery life, the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore can trump with up to 27,0 hours. The Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore has a battery life of up to 16,0 hours. In practice, the specification of the battery life can often be somewhat lower, since the manufacturers specify the maximum possible performance.

Waterproof

Both speakers are waterproof. Both the Sony SRS-XB12 and the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore are certified with IP67.

Bluetooth

With Bluetooth version 5.2 the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore has a newer version than the Sony SRS-XB12. There we have Bluetooth of the version 4.2. A newer Bluetooth version offers a better stability in the connection. Thus also a higher comfort in the application is given. The range is the Sony SRS-XB12 up to 10,0 m.

The Sony SRS-XB12 has NFC, which allows you to connect playback devices more easily.

Powerbank

With the Powerbank function, other devices can be charged via USB using the speaker. Of course, this is at the expense of the battery life of the speaker.

Leistung

The performance is the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore at 2 x 30 Watt. The Sony SRS-XB12 has a power of 1 x 3.5 Watt. The driver of the Sony SRS-XB12 has 46 mm.

Connecting multiple speakers

In the comparison of the two devices only the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore offers the possibility to connect two loudspeakers and use them as a stereo system.

Some speakers can be connected to several others and played together. This is usually called party mode. The difference to stereo connection is that all devices play the same thing. With stereo connection there is only one channel at a time. In this comparison this function only offers the Sony SRS-XB12. Usually this type of connection is only possible within one manufacturer. Even then, it is not necessarily possible to connect every loudspeaker to every other one. For the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore "-" is used.