You can change how loud the bass is on the Sony XB40, by turning on and off its bass boost mode. When switched on, this mode makes this speaker vibrate much more. Plus it adds a low rumble quality to the playing program, that travels pretty far from the unit. So, for you boom lovers, this post shows how to bass boost this speaker, to get that extra umph in the sound.
You can control bass boost on the XB 40 in a few ways as follows.
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- Use the EXTRA BASS button on the speaker itself.
- Work the bass switch in the Sony Music Center App.
- 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 XB40, On the Speaker Itself
By default, this speaker has bass boost mode (EXTRA BASS) 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 EXTRA BASS button glows, as we see in the next picture.
When the 40 is running, and this light is OFF, then that means that bass boost mode is inactive.
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.
How to Turn Off Bass Boost with Speaker Buttons on the Sony XB40
You can turn bass boost mode OFF by quickly pressing and releasing the EXTRA BASS button as pointed out by the green arrow in the last picture. This deactivates bass boost and switches the speaker into FLAT mode.
How to Turn ON Bass Boost with Speaker Buttons
Note that if the EXTRA BASS button is dark, then bass boost is not active. So to enable bass boost in that case, quickly press and release the EXTRA BASS button. Bass boost resumes once again when this button lights up.
How to Bass Boost Sony XB40, In The Music Center App
In addition to by way of the EXTRA BASS 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.
2. Pair your Sony XB40 with This Same Device
We did this as we show next.
3. Run the Music Center App to Continue with How to Bass Boost Sony XB40
Upon startup, Music Center looks for any compatible Sony products. And since the XB40 indeed works with this app, the app does indeed find the speaker. Then it displays the Home page for it as we see next.
4. Bring Up the Settings Page
Then, scroll the screen down to the Settings item at the bottom of the options list.
Next, tap Settings, and you’ll get the Settings screen, as we see next.
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.
6. Bring Up the Sound EQ Screen
Tap the Sound EQ option that we see in the last picture. Then, the Sound EQ 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 XB40 speaker.
Now on this screen, note that the FLAT option is active. Though this setting is not the default after a speaker reset, to get maximum bass boost, we need to change it the EXTRA BASS as follows.
7. Tap the Preset EQ Option to Continue with How to Bass Boost Sony XB40
Find this option in the last screenshot above that we point out with the blue arrow.
Then, you get the Preset EQ page as follows. Now for the XB40, this page has two options, and as mentioned, FLAT is currently set. See this denoted by the brown check mark in the next picture.
But to increase bass boost, we need to check the EXTRA BASS option as detailed next.
8. Tap the EXTRA BASS Item
Touch the EXTRA BASS option, and then you’ll see the check mark move from FLAT to EXTRA BASS, as we show in the next screenshot.
9. Tap the Done Item
Once you set the Preset EQ option to EXTRA BASS, you need to save the change. Touching the Done button accomplishes this. Find the Done item in the next shot.
Hitting this button takes you back to the Sound EQ page. But now, the Preset EQ option value now shows as EXTRA BASS, as we see next.
10. Bring Up the EQ (Equalizer) Page
Tap the BASS / MID / TRE option on the Sound EQ page, that we point out with the blue arrow in the last shot.
Touching this option brings up a three band graphic equalizer page. Now by default, this EQ is set to FLAT for all three frequency bands, as we see next.
But you can get maximum bass boost by moving these slider controls as follows. For example, lower the Middle and Treble frequency bands to minimum, but raise the Bass one to maximum, as we show next.
When set this way, you get the highest amount of bass that the XB40 speaker is capable of producing. But be careful !
Warning
The drivers really thump when bass boost is active, and especially so when you adjust the equalizer as described above. So be cautious in how loudly you play the 40 with the bass enhanced 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 you how to get the most boosted bass from your Sony XB40 party speaker. So do enjoy this bassy sound at your next bash !
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References
Revision History
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- 2023-03-27: First published.