Sony Ult Field 1 ZDNET's key takeaways The Sony Ult Field 1 is a portable speaker available for $130 (but on sale for $98)
The speaker prioritizes crystal-clear sound and pronounced bass, with vibrant audio that sounds like it's coming from a much more expensive device
It doesn't boast as long a battery life as its predecessor, but what it lacks in battery, it makes up for in stellar sound. $99.99 at Target
Amazon is discounting this Sony Ult Field 1 speaker by $30 right now, bringing the price of the speaker down to $98.
My roommates and I have been blessed with a New York apartment that can hold more than three people at once (a rarity in the metropolitan housing market), so we have become chronic party throwers because of this. We've put on weeknight dinner parties, birthdays, anniversaries. We have everything needed for a successful party, except a good speaker -- and that's not without trying.
It's a familiar scene: my roommate pulls out her years-old Bose speaker, which requires a cord connection. Unsurprisingly, it gets no mileage. We ask friends to bring their speakers, but rarely do theirs win the battle against a crowded apartment of 20 to 30 people.
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So, when I tested out Sony's brand new Ult Field 1 speaker at our 15-person dinner party, I was half expecting the bustle of guests to overpower this portable speaker's sound. Boy, was I wrong.
This speaker filled the room with rich audio that sounded like it was coming from a far more expensive device. In fact, this speaker exceeded my expectations in a few key ways. It's easily become my summer party and beach day companion because I am impressed with the sound, build, and battery.
Sony is known for naming its devices like airplanes: The Ult Field 1's predecessor, which shares the same price tag, is the SRS-XE200. That doesn't quite roll off the tongue, does it?
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