I’m a fan of portable Bluetooth speakers. Compact, easy to carry along, and have essential functions - what’s not to like about them? However, due to size constraints, many products end up delivering compromised sound quality. With the brand new Sony ULT Field 1, the company promises a bass-heavy sound that is bound to impress. Let’s see how it fares in reality!

Design

The Sony ULT Field 1’s design is pretty straightforward. I’ve got the Black colour variant, while there is the option of choosing between White, Orange, and Forest Gray. There’s an adjustable strap that makes it easy to carry it around. The pairing was easy with the dedicated Bluetooth button on the speaker, which can be paired with a maximum of 8 devices overall.

The six hardware buttons lined up neatly include power, Bluetooth, play/pause, volume up, volume down, and the main starrer - the ULT button, which amps up the bass when activated. Only the ULT button is backlit in this panel.

The device has an IP67 protection rating, which makes it waterproof and dustproof.

Acoustics

I cue up my latest earworm from Instagram Devil is a Lie by Tommy Richman. The ULT Power mode is on by default when I begin. The percussion sounds punchy on this track, which is possibly one of the hottest hip-hop tracks doing the rounds now. The opening and closing signature violin melody sounds clear too.

I’m able to use the speaker both placed horizontally on my desk as well as leave it standing vertically.

I hit play on Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter and tried to listen to it with the ULT Power turned off. The vocals as well as the background music sound a bit too tinny and sharp. At the same volume, with ULT Power on both the vocals and the instruments sound deeper and more well-rounded.

As I have the speaker connected to my phone anyway I decide to route some calls through the speaker. You can do this on your laptop as well. The voices come through clearly on the speaker, and I’m told I sound much clearer than I do when I’m using my earbuds for calls.

App

The Sony Music Centre app seems very barebones, visually, and might be so in terms of functionalities to play around with. I can also choose a default platform such as YouTube or Spotify to search for music through the app. It also lets me choose between a higher-quality audio setting and a more stable connection. I can customise the EQ, only when the ULT Power Sound has been switched off. The customisation option doesn’t offer any presets to choose from though - only a three-band equaliser to toggle with.

Battery

The brand promises about 12 hours of playback with ULT Power Sound on, with the volume at around the 25 per cent mark. I had the volume amped up to more than the halfway mark, and I had to plug in the speaker to charge after about 4-5 hours of usage. This comes close to the brand’s claim of it lasting around 3 hours with 50 per cent volume and ULT mode on.

Verdict

Honestly, the Sony ULT Field 1 is a great buy at this price, considering the sound quality it manages to pack in despite being a compact device. It helps that it’s super portable and rugged, making it easy to carry it along on a weekend getaway. In terms of acoustics, I rarely turned off the ULT Power mode because the audio simply sounded bad, across tracks. I wish the app had more acoustic customisation options and was designed to be more aesthetic and user-friendly as well.

Price - ₹10,990

Pros - Decent bass performance for its size, ULT Power Sound delivers impressive acoustics

Cons - No wired connectivity option, app user interface could be much better

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