Review: Sony SRS-NB10

Sony SRS-NB10 is a set of small wireless speakers integrated in a neckband. You wear it around your neck and can thus carry the sound with you on your shoulders. It must be said to be a concept that has quite a lot in common with headphones, but the difference is that you must also be able to hear your surroundings with NB10. The sound experience is thus made personal without taking up all your attention.

The Sony SRS-NB10 is typically connected to the computer via Bluetooth and used e.g. in connection with video conferencing and the like. It can be smart if you work from home and want to be able to hear if the doorbell rings or the kids start screaming and yelling.

For that purpose, you could of course also just use the laptop’s or monitor’s built-in speakers – or a pair of good external ones of this kind – but the advantage of NB10 is, partly that the sound follows when you move around the room – ingenious for those of us, that can not sit still – and partly that you can of course connect the wireless neck speaker to all sorts of devices, including the mobile phone or tablet. And thus the product can be used much more flexibly.

Missing bass

So the concept does not fail anything. And the workmanship is also fairly approved.

Of course, you have the basically well-known, solid Sony quality. The neckband is light and flexible, so it fits both wide and narrow shoulders, but still robust enough to survive a stressful everyday life. The operation is also easy and straightforward. Eg. Bluetooth pairing starts automatically when you hold down the Power button for more than five seconds, making switching between devices quick and easy.

The sound quality, on the other hand, is not SRS-NB10’s biggest advantage. The sound is clear and distinct, and the volume is not a problem either, but you can forget all about the bass. And it becomes strenuous in the long run to listen to the voices of others without even a hint of bass frequencies in the sound.

Limited multipoint connection

Sony also promises that the SRS-NB10 will come with Multipoint Connection and can be connected to two devices at the same time, but that is a truth with modifications.

If you read it in small print, you are not promised a real Multipoint Connection. Rather, it is a question of the two types of Bluetooth connection (Call Audio [HFP] and Media Audio [A2DP]) being able to be connected at the same time, but separately with two different devices, so that e.g. must be able to listen to music via computer and receive calls via mobile.

In practice, however, one encounters certain limitations. Eg. you can not connect a Mac computer and an iPhone to SRS-NB10 at the same time. And the setup is a pretty complicated affair. For example, will you To connect the speaker to a MacBook and an Android mobile, you must first connect to the mobile, then to the computer, then return to the mobile and connect again. Then it works too, but damn, how cumbersome.

Conclusion

The Sony SRS-NB10 is a niche product that is primarily intended for those who work in a home office and want to make the sound personal and flexible without being “locked inside” a set of headphones.

That purpose is fulfilled by the light and wireless headband speaker so far without the major challenges, but the sound lacks bass to such an extent that it becomes annoying in the long run. And one should not expect too much from the promised option for Multipoint Connection.

The application possibilities are really limited and the setup is really cumbersome. Especially for the price, it will therefore be difficult for us to wholeheartedly recommend SRS-NB10.