Sony recently announced its new audio sub-brand ULT, under which it debuted three new speakers out of which, we are going to review the mid-sized one, dubbed ULT Field 7. With a staggering price tag of Rs 39,990 is it worth your while or should you skip it? We’ll have an answer for the question by the end of this review.
Build Quality & Design
Similar to the ULT Field 1, the Sony ULT Field 7 carries forward a resembling design which has nearly the same shape. The Field 7 is coated with a mesh-like material all around with the sides being made of plastic and having a rubberised feel. The sides have openings that act as handles so you can easily carry the speaker around. While it’s quite heavy, the handles do allow you to carry it in whatever position you like, be it vertical or horizontal.
The top of the speaker has all the buttons, again with a rubberised texture. There’s the power button, Bluetooth button, volume up and down buttons along with the lineup’s signature ULT button that we also saw on the Field 1. The ULT button is backlit and matches the lights that are wrapped around the passive radiators on either side of the speaker.
The diaphragm moves significantly when the beats hit. The front has the SONY logo while the plastic portions on each side also have a flatter stand beneath them so that the speaker doesn’t rollover when you keep it on a flat surface. The speaker can also be kept vertically in case there’s a space issue in keeping it horizontally.
At the back, there’s a waterproof cover that protects all the I/O ports. As the speaker is IP67 rated, you can easily take it with you to beach parties or a pool-side party without worrying that water could damage it.
Speaking of connectivity options, the speaker supports not only AUX connectivity but also has Karaoke support and Guitar input as well. Then there’s also a USB-A port which can play songs via a Pendrive. The USB-A port further allows you to use the speaker as a power bank, so you can also charge up your devices through it, such as a smartphone. I would have liked if it had a USB-C port too, but we have to work with what we got here.
The speaker itself charges via an AC cord. The waterproof cover also protects buttons for the lights which are positioned on the passive radiators along with the Battery care button.
Overall, the design of the speaker is quite premium as well as modern. It’s heavy but also packs a good number of features while the IP67 rating is an added benefit. The lights on each side further enhance the appeal of the ULT Field 7.
Audio Quality, App support
The ULT Field 1 is backed up by a Tweeter Unit approximately 46 mm in size paired with a Woofer Unit approximately 114–114 mm in size. The sound from this cylindrical speaker is astonishing. The music sounds full, has depth, and the speaker itself is quite loud for its size.
It can effortlessly fill a large space and serve as the main music source for a sizable gathering, such as a birthday party. The bass has that thump you can feel in the chest while the mids and high frequencies are brought out well and clear. The speaker excelled with tracks featuring clear beats, effectively highlighting the bass in those songs.
At high or maximum volumes, the vocals and mid frequencies take over while the bass takes a back seat. It’s not noticeable in all the songs but in some, the bass does get affected. The ULT button increases the bass, creating an enjoyable experience.
There are two ULT modes where one of them enhances the bass to some extent while the other one creates the effect of more power that further emphasizes the bass, which is the mode I found more desirable as per my taste in music. You also get a custom 7-band EQ so you can tune it as per your needs via the Sony Music Center app.
As the speaker is front-firing, it doesn’t have that 360-degree sound effect. Aside from that, it supports the LDAC codec which further enhances the details in a song when playing via an app that supports hi-res audio streaming, such as Apple Music. It connects wirelessly via Bluetooth v5.2, and the connection is stable with whatever smartphone I connect it to. Moreover, there’s support for multipoint connection which means you and your friend can both control what tracks are played.
Because it also supports Google Fast Pair, the popup to connect to the speaker appears as soon as you turn it on.
Users can also connect a mic to use the Karaoke feature. Plus, you can connect your guitar to turn the Sony ULT Field 7 into an amp. However, due to a lack of equipment, we couldn’t test out these two features.
The USB-A port on the back of the speaker charges connected devices and can play music from a storage device, such as a Pendrive. It also has AUX support.
The Party Connect feature allows you to connect another ULT Field 7 speaker which can create a stereo effect. In other words, both the speakers would then play content in sync with each other.
Aside from controlling the party connect feature and allowing you to customise the audio signature, the Sony Music Center app further enables the user to change the speaker’s lighting effect. Featuring a range of options, changing the light will affect the backlight of the ULT button and the light strips on either side of the speaker that are attached to the passive radiators.
There’s also an option called DJ Effect that can help you apply certain types of effects to the audio. A Battery Level option is where a voice will speak the battery percentage left in the speaker whenever it is turned on. Auto standby, Bluetooth standby, and Battery Care options are available too.
The speaker is claimed to last 30 hours on a single charge, while you can get 3 hours of playing time from just 10 minutes of charging. Volume level and lighting can both affect the battery life of the speaker.
In other words, if you continuously listen to music at high volumes or you have the lights turned on, the battery will deplete faster than when the volume is low or lights are turned off. In our usage, with volume leves ranging from mid to high and the lights turned on at all times, we could easily make it last more than a week with about 1.5 to 2 hours of playtime each day. The speaker does take a considerable amount of time to charge, though.