Sony operates in a wide range of segments and one of them is audio. While Sony doesn’t specialise in the audio segment, such as Bose or Sennheiser, it does create competitive products and the latest from its house is the ULT series of speakers and headphones. Here’s a detailed review of the smallest speaker out of the lot, the ULT Field 1, that gets a price tag of Rs 10,990.
Sony ULT Field 1: Ergonomics
The Sony ULT Field 1 is compact in size and is easy to carry around in a bag or even in your hand, thanks to the thread handle that stretches across the length of the speaker. Because it’s longer on one side, the thread also acts as a lanyard so you can tie the speaker up to your bag in case you can’t keep it inside. The sides of the speaker which touch the surface have a plastic material.
However, because the speaker is curved from the top and bottom, only the edges of it touch the surface, creating a slight echo effect along with making it sound louder when on a hard surface such as a table.
The rest of the surface area is covered with a fabric material that feels premium to the touch and looks so, too. The speakers are front firing so you do not exactly get a 360-degree sound experience.
There are buttons on the top for controls, including a power button, volume buttons, a Bluetooth button, a play/pause button and the ULT button which is also the standout feature of the speaker.
The buttons also have a rubberised finish and work as they should without any issues. The front of the speaker has the SONY logo that gets a rainbow effect as the light falls on it. The orange colour looks trendy while the other options have a more minimal look.
The rear of the device has a waterproof cap which protects the USB-C port that’s required for charging the speaker. As the speaker is also IP67 rated, it makes it perfect for beach parties and is also an added benefit in case you are near a pool. The passive radiators on either side of the speakers are compact, but they move vigorously at high volumes whenever the bass in an audio track hits.
Overall, the design of the speaker feels modern and it is overall built well.
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Sony ULT Field 1: Sound Quality, App Features
The ULT Field 1 packs 1 tweeter unit and 1 woofer unit. It connects wirelessly via Bluetooth v5.3.
The sound of the ULT Field 1 gets amply loud and can easily fill up a room. The vocals are quite clear, and I noticed how Sony was using the classic V-shaped equalizer, which is what I could make out of the sound signature.
The speaker does pack a punch when it comes to bass, as the beats in the songs had that thumping feeling. However, there’s a catch. The bass is the most prominent when you activate the ULT mode with the dedicated button or via the Sony Music Center app. Once you tap the ULT button, it lights up to let you know that the feature is now activated.
Once activated, it definitely makes the bass more punchy compared to when ULT mode is turned off. Overall, the speaker’s sound signature is quite likable. What I didn’t like is that it doesn’t support any high-quality codec, such as Sony’s own LDAC audio codec, which the ULT Field 7 does support.
The Sony Music Center app allows you to quickly configure Music player apps (Spotify, YT Music, Apple Music, etc.) of your choice so you can access them right from within Sony’s app. It also allows you to set a custom 3-band EQ or choose from the preset options.
One of the ULT equaliser options allows you to increase the overall power for increased thump effect, while the other one reduces bass for better vocals and overall clarity.
Then there’s a Power menu where you can turn on Auto standby if you want the speaker to turn off automatically after approximately 15 minutes of no activity. The app can surely have a cleaner user interface, but it gets the job done.
There’s also a STAMINA mode, which, according to the description, suppresses power consumption for a better battery backup. It not only lowers the volume but also turns off the ULT mode to save power.
Talking of battery backup, Sony claims it can last for up to 12 hours, which is adequate in our opinion. In my testing, the speaker lasted slightly less due to my habit of listening to music always at high volumes.