Review on Sony SRS-XB32 Portable Bluetooth Speaker: Compact Wireless Party Speaker with Multicolor Lights and Flashing Strobe - Enhanced Audio for Phone Calls - Waterproof and Shockproof Bluetooth Speakers - Black by Kirk Womack

Pros: I like the sound on it. Bought for a vacation in the Dominican Republic. At $180 it was a higher end value of what I wanted to spend since I bought it just before vacation and I could have used cash while I was there. I love the light on it and it has a flash which I think is a bit bright to be nice but there is an app that lets you just turn off the flash and have alternating colors or a color of your choice. They don't look bright in the photo, but they set the mood perfectly at night in a hotel room, and the bass this thing put out somehow echoed perfectly, filling the room completely. The sound is clear. However, you cannot hear this at a volume above 85% without losing high and low frequencies as they compete with each other. But the sound is perfect for most normal sized spaces, work storefronts, my apartment and hotel rooms. You basically have to keep it in Extra Bass mode at all times though, and the battery life quoted in the description in terms of time per charge doesn't apply to EB mode. Another plus is the durability. I haven't dropped it more than a few times and some of it was in DR but every time I dropped and picked it up there was almost no wear (the plastic material is amazingly resilient) and it seemed very durable, it just felt like it wasn't damaged at all. Super durable. The windscreen material doesn't appear to be very water-repellent, but water ricochets off it as if it were hydrophobic. Extremely waterproof and largely steam-proof (for a hotel room shower, not a real steam room). Cons: BIG MINUS. At 50% battery life the speaker goes down to 50% volume and you can't turn the volume up until you leave it on for a while, maybe 30 minutes (during use) and then turn it on and off, keep charging and playing (it will go above 50%) OR you can plug it in for 5 minutes, leave it off the whole time and do what I just described. In any case, the mood is exaggerated, because 50% volume is not enough to produce a powerful sound. Good sound is around 60-75%. I don't want the speaker to dictate how I use the music, let me hear the music to the last drop. Here's the kicker. If you use the speaker for a few months (I've had it for about 4 already), charging and using it will drain the battery and the time it takes for your speaker to reach 50% will become shorter and shorter. I feel like I didn't have to charge it much and now it always shuts down to 50% when I want more. Again, let me play my music how I want, Sony. I would recommend buying a different model or brand that doesn't have this defect. Overall I'm glad I bought it, it really helped me and my girlfriend to relax and have the best week of our lives in the Dominican Republic.