The front top view of the Sony SRS XB23 speaker.

How to Bass Boost Sony XB 23

You can change how loud the bass is on the Sony XB 23 BT speaker, by turning on and off its bass boost mode. When switched on, this mode makes the passive bass radiators vibrate much more, and adds a low rumble trait to the playing program, that you can hear far from the speaker.  So, for you boom lovers, this post shows how to bass boost this speaker, to get that extra umph.

You can control bass boost on the XB 23 in a few ways as follows.

    1. Use the BATT  button on the speaker itself.
    2. Work the bass switch in the Sony Music Center App.
    3. Make fine bass adjustments in the EQ section of the Music Center app.

We’ll cover all of these options below.

How to Bass Boost Sony XB 23, Using Buttons on the Speaker

By default, this speaker has bass boost mode turned ON when fresh out of the box or after a reset. So any time you run this speaker, and you haven’t switched OFF this bass boost, then the STAMINA  light is dark, as we see in the next pictures

Picture of the dark STAMINA lamp on the Sony XB 23.
The dark STAMINA lamp on the Sony XB 23.

When the 23 is running, and this light is OFF, then that means that bass boost mode is in effect.

Now when active, bass boost also adds a bit of treble in addition to lots of extra bass to the audio output as compared to when this mode is OFF.

The -BATT- button on the Sony XB 23.
The Sony XB 23 -BATT- button.

How to Turn Off Bass Boost with Speaker Buttons on the Sony XB 23

You can turn bass boost mode OFF by pressing and holding in the BATT button that we point out with the green arrow in the last picture. Release it when the STAMINA lamp lights up orange as we see next.

Picture of the STAMINA light glowing orange on the Sony XB 23.
The Sony XB 23 STAMINA lamp glowing.

This deactivates bass boost and switches the speaker into STAMINA mode.

How to Turn ON Bass Boost with Speaker Buttons

Note that if the STAMINA lamp is lit, then bass boost is not active.  So to enable bass boost in that case, then again, press and release the BATT button. Bass boost resumes once again as soon as the STAMINA lamp goes dark.





How to Bass Boost Sony XB 23, in the Music Center App

In addition to by way of the BATT button on the speaker itself, you can also control bass boosting in Sony’s Music Center app too.

1. Install the Music Center App

So first, download and install this app on your source Bluetooth device (phone, tablet, computer, or media player). We did this on a test iPad Air.

Screenshot of the Sony Music Center app icon on iPadOS.
The Sony Music Center app icon on iPadOS.

2. Pair your XB 23 with This Same Device

We did this as we show next.

Screenshot of the iPadOS -Bluetooth Settings- page, showing the Sony XB 23 as Connected.
iPadOS -Bluetooth Settings- page, showing the Sony XB 23 as Connected.

3. Run the Music Center App

Upon startup, Music Center looks for any compatible Sony products.  And since the XB 23 indeed works with this app, the app does indeed find the speaker.  Then it displays the Home page for it as we see next.

Screenshot of the Sony XB 23 Home page in the Music Center app on iPadOS.
The Sony XB 23 Home page in the Music Center app on iPadOS.

4. Bring Up the Settings Page to Continue with How to Bass Boost Sony XB 23

Then, scroll the screen down to the Settings item at the bottom of the options list.

Screenshot of the Settings item on the Home page for the Sony XB 23.
The Settings item on the Home page for the Sony XB 23.

Next, tap Settings, and you’ll get the Settings screen, as we see next.

Picture of the Sound item on the Sony XB 23 Settings page.
The Sound item on the Sony XB 23 Settings page.

5. Visit the Sound Page

Tap the Sound option, pointed out in the last screenshot.  You then get the Sound page, as we see next.

Screenshot of the Sound Effect option set to EXTRA BASS.
The Sound Effect option set to EXTRA BASS.

6. Bring Up the Sound Options Screen

Tap the Sound Effect option that we see in the last picture.  Then, the Sound Effects page then comes up, and looks as we see next. Note that depending on which speaker model you’re working with, you’ll see different sound effect options on this page.  Thus the screen we show next is specific to the XB 23 speaker.

Screenshot of the EXTRA BASS option active on the Sound Effect screen.
The EXTRA BASS option active on the Sound Effect screen.

Now on this screen, note that the EXTRA BASS option is active by default. You can turn it OFF here by tapping the OFF (STAMINA) option.  And then you can enable it again if you wish, by tapping the EXTRA BASS option again.  These actions take immediate effect on the speaker, as you’ll be able to see the STAMINA lamp on the speaker switching ON and OFF as you make these selections in the app.

7. Tap the EXTRA BASS Option to Adjust Bass Boost

Now if you want to do more with the bass boost than simply turn it ON and OFF, then tap the EXTRA BASS item.  Note that although you could also adjust the speaker EQ in STAMINA mode, you will get more bass when running it in EXTRA BASS mode.  So that’s the mode we did for this demo, for you bass lovers.  This option is the last item in the list of options on the Sound Effect screen, as we see next.

Screenshot of the EXTRA BASS option on the Sony XB 23 Sound Effect page.
The EXTRA BASS option on the Sony XB 23 Sound Effect page.

Tapping EXTRA BASS takes you back to the Sound page that looks the same as it was before, since we actually did not go to STAMINA mode, as we show next.

Screenshot of the Sound Effect option set to EXTRA BASS.
The Sound Effect option set to EXTRA BASS.

Note though that if we had changed to STAMINA, that that selection would have appeared for the sound effect value in the last screenshot. But we wanted to show you these screens so you’d know how to check that the options for your speaker are indeed set for maximum bass boost.  Thus you’re good to go if your speaker is already in EXTRA BASS mode as ours is.

But you can still get a bit more bass by going forward to the next step below.

8. Bring Up the EQ (Equalizer) Page to Continue with How to Bass Boost Sony XB 23

Tap the BASS / MID / TRE option on the Sound page. We highlight it next.

Screenshot of the BASS / MID / TRE option on the Sound Effects page.
The BASS / MID / TRE option on the Sound Effects page.

Touching this option brings up a three band graphic equalizer page.  Now by default, this EQ is set to FLAT for all frequency bands, as we see next.

Screenshot of the Custom EQ screen with all sliders set to FLAT.
The Custom EQ screen with all sliders set to FLAT.

But you can get maximum bass boost by moving these slider controls as follows.  For example, lower the other two frequency bands to minimum, but raise the BASS one to maximum, as we show next.

Screenshot of the Custom EQ page with controls set to max bass boost.
The Custom EQ page with controls set to max bass boost.

When set this way, you get the highest amount of bass that the XB 23 speaker is capable of producing. But be careful !

Warning

The drivers really thump when bass boost is active.  So be cautious in how loudly you play the 23 with the bass boosted like this, to avoid damage to the speaker drivers. If the bass is crackling, tapping, or otherwise distorting, turn it down or readjust the EQ !

Conclusion

So we have now shown how to get the most boosted bass from your Sony XB 23 cylinder speaker.  Thus, we hope you enjoy your speaker even more now !

Related Posts to How to Bass Boost Sony XB 23

    1. How to Bass Boost JBL Charge 4 Speaker
    2. How to Bass Boost Sony XG 300
    3. How to Bass Boost JBL Boombox 1 Speaker
    4. How to Bass Boost Sony XB 21

Other Sony XB 23 Posts

    1. Sony XB 23 Software Update Instructions
    2. Sony XB 23 Reset Instructions
    3. Sony XB 23 Charging Instructions
    4. Sony XB 23 Orange Light Stays On
    5. Sony XB 23 Extra Bass Mode Explained

References

    1. Official Sony XB 23 Support Page
    2. Where to Buy the Sony XB 23

Revision History

    • 2023-04-16: First published.