The Sony AX7 Portable speaker is one of the most advanced & potentially game-changing portable speakers on the planet.

Akio Morita also said, "Curiosity is the key to innovation. "Sony is curious to see if they can change the portable speaker game forever with products like the Sony AX7 portable home theatre speaker.

The Sony AX7 speaker currently retails for £499, and I would be grateful if you could let me know. After reviewing the facts at the end of this review, do you think it's worth the money? Would it be a sound investment for you?

There will be affiliate links below if you want to check out the latest deals. You can use that, which will help me pay for my speeding ticket for driving 24 MPH in Central London.

The Style

The Sony AX7 looks like a rounded Lego brick on the face of things. This is fitting because this speaker is designed to fit comfortably into any environment you place it in. Some of it is actually constructed using recycled plastics. But that doesn't detract from its premium look & feel.

It's wrapped in acoustic fabric, not dissimilar from what we've seen before on Sony's flagship A9 spatial audio speakers. There are backlit buttons located across the top with some LED indicators. And on the back of this European version, you'll find a USB C charging port round.

There's no option for wired audio connections here. This means the AX7 will rely solely on BT5.2 SBC for lower latency and stability & AAC for higher-quality Audio. And AAC is what it will default to most of the time.

The Game Changer

Its superpowers are right before your eyes. And we'll come back to that in a moment. The speaker is shipped in an entirely recyclable packaging. The speaker is in a recyclable box with a USB C power cable to recharge it up to its full potential of 30 hours of run time.

The good news here is the USB C, when combined with a capable charger, can deliver the 1.21 gigawatts needed to get this to 2 and a half hours of playback in just 10 mins.

sony ax7 portable speaker rear speakers.jpg

Ok, I exaggerated there; for optimal speed, the power supply needs to be at least 45 watts charging speed, and with this, it will take approximately 4 hours to get your power reserves from zero to 100. And the 10 minutes equaling two and a half hours is real.

It will give you enough run time to watch Back to the Future 1 with the AX7 connected to figure out what that joke was about…with 34 minutes to spare. Now listen here: most wireless portable speakers are just that—nothing more and nothing less. The AX7 brings more, much more to the table. Technically and actually, by taking your portable Audio to new heights.

The AZ7’s Superpower

The Sony AX7 is a portable home theatre solution. Four drivers and two passive radiators at the sides sound so. There are two forwards facing X Balance drivers in front. They call the X balance because the cone has a wider surface area, which improves clarity and bass output.

The two discs on top that are magnetically attached are wireless charging battery-powered, detachable satellite rear channel speakers. These can be placed behind you or at your side Within 1.2m of where you sit. With the press of a button on the base unit, the entire system can work together to calibrate a 360 Spatial Audio bubble around you anywhere you happen to be.

Do you realise what this means? It means if you don't have or don't want a permanently placed surround sound setup with all the wires, brackets and cables that require constant power supplies.

The Sony AX7 could be the perfect Audio solution for you.

Connectivity

The Sony AX7 can connect to any device that supports Bluetooth audio, such as TVs, phones, tablets, laptops, projectors, and AR glasses. I've been hooked on Zelda Tears of the Kingdom on the Nintendo lately & now, with this, I can sit down anywhere, connect up the AX7 and create a way more immersive gaming experience than with just regular earbuds or headphones.

And although I haven't taken this anywhere, this might be the greatest portable speaker ever made for travelling with.

Sound Quality

Now listen, so far, you've been listening to what I have to say but aren't hearing how the AX7 sounds. Unlike any others you've seen on this product, I will do a sound test I've got my Sony ECM-B10 shotgun mic here. And I'm going to set it to omnidirectional. So you can get a better sense of the sound bubble that this creates. WATCH THIS VIDEO TO HEAR THE TEST

But first, here’s my opinion on the sound quality. this speaker sounds awesome, particularly for movie content. And the rear channels are excellent but a little quiet. So that is why it's great to see that Sony has an App that allows you to adjust the volume on these.

It's called the Sony Home Entertainment app. It gives you basic system controls but also the ability to adjust bass and treble, toggle on and off the sound field, and there's a night mode. I've adjusted the volume & bass a bit to suit my taste.

Another alternative to make the rear channels louder is to have the speakers closer to you. So, I usually have them within arm's reach. Something that I noticed when testing these is that if you angle the rear channels even just 45 degrees towards you, the surround effect is twice as present. So I'll demo that for you in this sound test also.

How Sony Could Improve Future Models

So you can see how and why this is such a game-changing product. A couple of upgrades that many people would appreciate if Sony made on future versions would be wired audio input. Analogue jack, or Arc. This could be great for PC monitors and smaller TVs & would also minimise latency.

I did test this out on my big TV, and the experience was excellent. And you can enjoy watching films with it. The audio lag is minimal, but if you have the eyes of a hawk, like me, You may notice the millisecond delay. It surprised me that the latency was good, even in the high-quality mode.

But something over BT is as fast as a physical connection. For that reason, games like Call of Duty are not as well-suited to the AX7; however, my current favourite, Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, sounds fantastic. Of course, LDAC for HiRES audio would be nice & the ability to pair to a wireless sub.

If you were to buy a Sony AX7 portable home theatre speaker, what would you use it for? Let me know in the comments.

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