Sony ZSBTY50 Portable NFC Bluetooth Wireless Boombox Speaker System

This year I get tired of my Sony EC99I, a HUGE shelf system with an output of 530 watts that I can't move easily do to its size. After reading reviews for several bluetooth speakers, big jambox, Bose sound link and Logitech UE BOOMBOX, I dicided that I want something bigger so I choose my favorite, the Sony RDP-XA900IP With 200 watts and $600.00 list price :-(I really like the 900ip but can't afford it at this time so I get back to the small Bluetooth speakers category and found this new Sony product. Selling point for me, the AM/FM tuner, for what I know only this BOOMBOX and the sangean WR22 come with a tuner. The Sangean looks good and was my choice until this unit was launch but only have one speaker and use only AC power (cord).The Sony ZS-BTY50 is small and portable, lightweight without batteries at least. It's design is modern and kind of aggressive not like the boring boxes sold by bose and jawbone.Sound quality is good, I can't compare it with bose or jambox but they probably sound much better because this Unit only have 2.5 watts per Channel so don't expect to fill a big room with it. Mega bass is not so Mega but you can improve it with your device EQ, my Ipad sound good on it with no distortion or connection problems, No delays on videogames, the first time you turn on the unit it enter pairing mode automatically.The unit come with a NFC chip so connecting some phones and tablets is really easy ( just a touch )AM radio no good, FM mixed results. The problem It's probably my location no the radio. The unit come with a short telescopic antenna for FM.Please note, this unit doesn't have CD player, is an error showed on others websites.Now the consI don't like the LCD, it has no light and the location between the speakers can block ambient light in some angles.The controls are no lighted either.The batteries compartment door is easy to open and with time I think it will be a problem, to open it you need to push the door and slide it, I like the ones that come with a clip.I want bigger speakers and 10 watts per channel.No remote control.Final note.This unit fill my needs, something portable easy to move around the house and that use batteries, until I get a bigger speaker.

Skip to the end if you just want my verdict.I have owned this for 2 months at the time of this review and one flaw I have faced with it so far is the antenna's hinge has come loose. I tightened the screw and added a bit of superglue. It will stay up, but it is still quite loose. The antenna can turn 360 degrees, but it doesn't feel sturdy so I don't turn it. Just fold up, extend, retract, fold down is what I suggest you only do. The whole thing is mostly plastic, the middle section is a glossy black, there's also a chrome ring around the volume wheel so overall the thing looks nice and I've recieved compliments on it both how it looks and sounds. I use this at work in a clothing embroidery factory so there are noisy stitching machines everywhere. One thing I find odd is that the radio volume is less powerful than if you play music via BT max volume on device and boombox. For me what I needed was Bluetooth connectivity, FM radio, and Bluetooth media controls which this DOES HAVE! YAY! What this means is I don't have to risk my phone getting confiscated when I pull it out to change songs! There is pause/play, back, forward, they also double as the radio preset buttons when in radio mode. Setting the radio presets takes some, but it's not hard, you can have up to 20, using it is so easy. You control the volume with a wheel, clockwise to increase, counter-clockwise to decrease, nice for quick changes instead of having to mess with buttons or rockers. Increasing/decreasing volume is done in steps; 0-30 & MAX, basically 31, so even if you turn the wheel ever so slightly volume will not change unless you turn it enough to go up or down a step.As for sound quality, it is GOOD. It sounds clearer and has more bass than the JBL Flip it replaced, of course it doesn't fit into a cupholder, but that's okay for me. It has a Mega Bass button which I recommend you always keep on for full, rich sound. With Mega Bass off there is nearly no bass at all, but clarity is slightly better. The speakers project sound pretty far in the direction it is pointed. Music actually sounds better (less pitchy, more bassy) when it's not pointed straight at you. Stereo sound separation is decent, you can still tell it apart from mono, there is also a radio stereo/mono button so you can hear it for yourself. Bass is not as deep as I'd like, but it is punchy so pop and dance songs sound nice and not overly boomy. Every other genre of music sounds decent, including rock. This is the best sounding boombox at my workplace (there are quite a few for me to compare to) without going into the bookshelf speakers category. For it's size and portability, it does quite well.Which brings me to portability and extra features. It has a handle in the front which is also the Light Sync bar and NFC tag. Carrying it around is easy, it's not as heavy or bulky as it looks. Will fit in the floor area of my car's backseat area behind my driver seat extended all the way back, if that means anything to you. NFC sync takes a couple tries and may vary per device, remember you have to have Bluetooth & NFC ON on your device. My old phone (Samsung GS3) was successful about 1/10 tries. My tablet (Nexus 7) maybe 1/5. My new phone (LG G2) got it on the first try. It's convenient when it works, especially if other people want to play their music. Light Sync is just a lighting feature that gets brighter as the SOURCE volume gets louder, not the volume on the boombox. What that means is you can have volume on the boombox at 0 and volume on your device at max and it'll still light up and flash. It's colors are; red & flashing when its activated, grey/white no flashing when deactivated, blue no flashing when deactivated and in Bluetooth play mode. Would be nice if it cycled through a color spectrum.Pros:-Bluetooth-Radio-NFC-Easy to use button layout, no need to even look at the manual-Bluetooth media controls-Enough volume to be heard in a noisy factory-Easy to carry around-Light Sync-Good sound projection-Good sound quality when not directly in frontCons:-Limited sound range-Only one color for Light SyncVerdict:-Sound: 4/5-Build Quality: 3/5-Portability: 3/5-Features: 4/5-Value: I got it for $70 so 5/5Overall, I'm happy I chose this and I think you will be too if this review hasn't turned you away from this product.Hope you found my review helpful, hit that button if you did!EDIT: After a lot more time playing with it, I've noticed the sound quality might have been improved through usage. One trick I've learned is the bass gets better when you put it on the floor and position the speakers upward (it actually has feet on it's bottom and rear, but no rubber on the rear). I've now updated my verdict as well.