Hi! I've had this speaker for just under a fortnight and have been using it extensively so I consider myself in a very good position to tell you all about it.
First and foremost, the Sony SRSX99B is a high quality piece of gear, it certainly looks and sounds the part and - as I said in my initial post on this topic - I really wish we could say such wonderful things about all Sony's offerings. For a person without sight an IOS or Android device is an assentual accessory to get the most out of this speaker, if you have some sight then perhaps you'll be able to work your way around the display on the top of the unit. The speaker stands around 4 inches high, is around 18 inches from left to right and about 5 inches wide, like one of the mini boombox type 80s units I'm sure all of us have seen. The front is covered by a wire mesh whilst the ends are a brushed aluminium. The back is hard plastic and the top surface is of glass - two tweeters one at either end -. The Speaker comes with a remote control which allows the user to perform basic functions such as switching source, controlling volume and so on, note that all this control - and much more - can be found in the Sony Songpal IOS App you use alongside the SRSX99B. What's so good about this unit? I think my favorite thing to say with regard to the Speaker is its utter flexibility, throw just about any audio at the Speaker in just about any format and chances are the speaker will play it and your ears will be justly pleased. The Speaker can be connected to your computer - used as a sound device -, paired to a Bluetooth device -using AptX -, automatic pairing can be achieved using NFC, you can connect a USB stick filled with your favorite files to the USB port - DSD files will play just fine -, stream music from your NAS on your network, use Airplay, DLNA and Googlecast, connect to Pandora Spotify, Google Play Music, listen to Tunein Radio and that's only scratching the surface. The sound from the SRSX99B is a rich and powerful one though the B&W A7 does sound a little better. Setup can be achieved in various ways - setup consists of getting the Speaker c connected to your network either using Wi-Fi - Supports Dual-Band - or via the LAN port so be sure to read the appropriate setup guide. Once the Speaker is on the network then you're good to go with the SongPal App, just choose your music source - connect the Speaker using Chromecast if required - and enjoy! As I said, the B&W A7 does sound a little better however the Sony SRSX99B triumphs over the A7 when it comes to connectivity and network facilities plus the Sony Speaker is by far the cheaper option. Specs are impressive too! Each speaker driver unit - there are 7 in total - is driven by its own dedicated Class D amplifier to give you an impressive 160 Watts RMS of total power outlook, there are two front mounted tweeters, two front mounted mid-range, a front mounted sub-woofer and two top mounted tweeters, this is a real stereo speaker and because of its length exhibits good stereo separation, what a pity the SRSX99B can't run on battery power. I bought my unit in Australia for around $700, the Speaker retails for $999.
