Product Reviews

Farewell, RA3000, I loved the idea of you! Yes, mine is bricked. Bought about 1.5 years ago, first used 6 months ago. I was excited by all the ways it could connect and the smart features. However, it was not user-friendly, in that I could only switch from network to bluetooth twice, though I tried 50+ times. I was perpetually stuck in network mode. Sometimes I was unable to turn off my Spotify that was playing. I could shut my computer down, but it would just keep going and there was no way to stop it. Only once was I able to use the top controls for volume etc. The thing simply ignored my many requests. Finally, after a network reconfiguration, the speaker would never work again. It powers on, blinks the green power light 5x, and shuts down. Sony told me it would need to go to a service place because the speaker is out of warranty, and said that was the only place that could work on it. I am in California, the recommended company is in New York. That company said I can send it to them, then they’d give an estimate of cost to repair the speaker. Given what their minimum fees and the cost for me to send it across the country, it did not make sense financially. Last, about the sound quality, it ranged from decent to excellent. The immersive audio stuff was interesting but can only be used on certain songs on Amazon only – not my preferred music app. See the pic, my two speakers - the RA300 which I am attempting to repair myself, and a JBL Clip3. Inside the tub and on a wood floor, the JBL is quite good, certainly doing more than the Sony, and at least it obeys my commands.. RIP, Sony SRS-RA3000.

Love the design and size. Easy to setup. Good sound quality.

It seemed to me to be complicated to commission. My problem was my phone not set up correctly and getting other blue tooth equipment recognized, particularly devices remote to the speaker ,such as routers. Another oddity of the device is all the control buttons are on various sides and underneath making it necessary to turn it around often. It connects easily with other Sony equipment such as my turntable which is where it comes into it's own with wonderful sound .

The Sony SRS-RA3000 speaker provide a rich and fulfilling sound to my Sony TV and my Desktop PC. It has a 3.5 mm audio input jack which makes it convenient and effective, rather than using its wireless features. Not everyone want to connect a bulky Soundbar via a HDMI cable which takes up space and length.

Big disadvantage is absence of AirPlay! Sound not so good as I expected!

Really love this speaker - definitelty fills the room - could be a bit deeper base but i love

I bought this during the black Friday/cyber Monday sale, and for the price I bought it at, it's amazing value! You can stream music, connect it to your Google devices and Google home app, connect Bluetooth, and also through an audio in. The clarity of the speaker is really good and very loud. There's none to very little distortion at full volume, and everything about the speaker feels premium. The touch controls are super sensitive, and you can play around with the settings through the music center app as well. It looks very classy in its dual color scheme, and goes with pretty much any setting in the house.

This audio device plays wonderful music from all kinds of sound sources. The reproduced sound spectrum consists of crisp and clear highs and lows.

Good value speaker - good sound for a large gym area

The speaker design is nice but the speaker is very high pitched and if you try to turn it up to loud it’s screeching at you. It’s ok for low volume and the 360 sound is nice but needs more base in it.

The sound quality of ra3000 is great. Bluetooth connection was good. Pairinf with tv it give surround sound quality. Clear and good bass.

Music has never sounded so good. It is so convenient and easy to use. No need to buy hi-fi components. Regret not buying the RA5000 instead.

I purchased this system and is more than happy with its performance. I also purchased 3 of the other model 5000.

I bought the black Srs Ra 3000 and it sits on the floor in the corner of the room and it fills the room with my classical music when I relax and it has a lovely rich tone and is crisp and clear. I am delighted with it. The design will fit nicely in with any decor anywhere in the house.

Purchased after Christmas after research for compatibility with Sony Turntable. Excellent product, looks stylish, great sound quality and connectivity to iPhone or turntable. Would recommend!

I like it for it to be portable and can put in any part of my house and also i bought it for is 360 functionality.If it is possible, sony should allows dolby atmos enable in a future firmware upgrade so it will be compatible to hear from apple music platform since i am using it alot.

I bought this last month as a Christmas present for myself and I am so happy with it.

I just set this up and it sounds great. I bought to improve the sound of my Echo Show and other Alexa devices when listening to music. I linked to my Wi-Fi and then linked to all my amazon devices.

Brought this and very happy with it. Love the features and the high quality sound.The speaker is easy to use.

Everything you would expect for a Sony. However , does not have enough content to support the 360RA, (e.g. no Mandarin songs)

This is a great speaker with great sound. Well worth it!

I have an irregular-shaped room and I was concerned about the immersion effect. I greatly surprised and pleased with the overall sound. It was great to hear some variation as I moved around the room near some of the openings of the room. Seamless setup took just a few minutes. Worth every penny.

I have been using the Sony SRS-RA3000 speaker for a few weeks now and have had a good play with the features and the app. The speaker is a nice sturdy weight and feels solid enough for the deeper bass and louder capabilities than some similar units I have had in the past. I personally like the black with the copper/bronze passive ports and find the touch control panel works well. It does not look out of place in any of the rooms I have tried it in. It says that it will work OK in humidity, but I have not needed to try it in the bathroom as it is loud enough to leave it on the landing and still hear the music OK. The unit was easy to setup and connect to the Wi-Fi using the Sony Music Centre app, but I did have to move it to the same part of the house as the router for initial setup. I have tried using the Bluetooth (extremely easy to connect), Wi-Fi and was also pleased to see the 3.5mm jack port for audio in to allow me to connect some of my older music devices. The speaker is mains powered and needs to be plugged in but has a good length power lead. I tend to play music from a music streaming service and occasionally from the phone, but in this instance, I also used the Tidal music service to test the more important feature of the 360⁰ Reality Audio. I have tried earlier spatial sound systems and had mixed results, but found this speaker gave a lovely immersive sound no matter what the music type. The immersive sound button allows you to switch this feature on or off easily to see the difference – personally, I always leave it on. A great feature is that the speaker checks and aligns itself to the room’s acoustics each time it is powered up and starts playing the music. This makes it easy when moving it to another room and not having to think about where to position it. My wife prefers more bass to her music and this is covered well by the equalizer feature in the Music Centre app which has some preset options but also a custom setting to allow you to adjust the output. The speaker is set to be automatically adjust the volume when playing so that the quieter tracks are boosted and the louder ones reduced to provide a consistent volume output. I only realised this after remembering that I was not having to turn up the volume on some old albums I’d recorded several years ago. The LEDs on the top panel show you if it is on – green. There was a standby colour – amber, but this appears to have been turned off following a software update. The only niggle is a slight one to say that the immersive sound LED is white for standard audio and cyan when playing 360⁰ Reality Audio music, but it looks green. It is either off, white or cyan so not really an issue more an observation.

I'm so happy with this that i started dating it! It actually works!

I have been listening to the Sony SRS-RA3000 speaker for nearly three weeks and it has opened up a completely new listening experience. It’s amazing how this single speaker delivers surround sound capability with its 360 Reality Audio and Immersive Audio Enhancement features. I listened to music via the Bluetooth and wireless connectivity. Both were easy to set up. The speaker caters for Alexa Built-in devices and via chrome cast enabled app. Since I don’t have any Alexa Built-in devices, I used Google assistant. My preferred music streaming app Spotify works a treat with assistant allowing me to use voice command with ease. Very handy when I want the volume raised or lowered remotely. Normal voice conversation is also a great feature too. The touch buttons, all located at the top of the speaker, include power, volume, Play/pause, Bluetooth, Wi-fi and Sound Mode control. These are laid out in a simple and easy to use fashion. Also, the speaker comes in a stylish design with black fabric covering and bronze trims. It blends well with the decor and surroundings in any room in the house. Fortunately, every purchase of the speaker comes with a three-month subscription of Tidal - a high fidelity music streaming service. Upon installing this 360 Reality Audio supporting app on my iPhone and listening to compatible 360 Reality Audio tracks, I really appreciated the full potential of the speaker. I also love how the two-channel stereo is transformed into a truly amazing fuller surround sound experience with the aid of Immersive Sound Enhancement feature. The auto volume feature enables it to adjust the sound from one track to another. Another great function offered is the Immersive Audio Enhancement feature whereby the speaker automatically calibrates the sound to suit the location. I have been enjoying listening to music throughout the house in all the rooms. The speaker, with its spatial sound technology fills any room immersing me in a completely new listening experience. Has to be experienced to be believed. Of the three connectivity options - Bluetooth, Wi-fi and a 3.5mm audio jack - I have not yet used the latter, but it is quite reassuring to know it is there should the need arise. This speaker has been perfect company whilst I have been reading, working or cooking in the kitchen. It delivers room filling sound in any room. I was so impressed, I even had it playing whilst watching football on television with the commentary sound turned down!! Based on my experience of the SRS-RA3000, I would highly recommend it.

Sony SRS-RA3000 premium wireless speaker. I am familiar with sony for the excellent quality of the equipment, I have a sony TV paired with a soundbar and now also this speaker and I am not disappointed because I got exactly what I expected for Sony - is a perfect quality. This speaker is fitted with brilliant ambient room-filling sound which means that even though you are moving, you hear the same sound everywhere. I use this speaker mainly for a music I just connected speaker easy to my phone and got - Sony | Music Center app for a wireless control of my music and to change settings. It looks brilliant too. Google Assistant built-in and Alexa built-in. I am recommending this speaker with no doubt.

Have been using it for about two months. Enjoying the it! . Only set back is that the position to place it is restrained by access to power point. Hence centrality is compromised! Otherwise it’s great!

With the Immersive Audio Enhancement turned off this is very well rounded speaker. Up to sensible volumes there is no lack of bass, giving much larger systems a run for their money. The mids really shine in my opinion. I find a lot of speakers of this type process the sound too much, leaving the experience lacking in clarity. This speaker gives you the right amount of all the frequency needed to enjoy the music. The speaker can be used very quickly straight out the box by connecting directly via Bluetooth and the pairing process could not be any more simple. However, using the correct Apps installed on your smartphone brings out a lot of very useful features that are a too good to be missed. By following the step by step guide in the operating instructions, the speaker will join your Wi-Fi and become a smart speaker (I did not read the instructions at first and got confused when things did not work as expected). This will give you control from any voice activated device making it easy to stream music from your existing setup. My small smart speakers can now easily be told to play music out the SRS. At this stage you would have installed Sony Music Centre App on your smart phone and you will have access to some very important features. The Immersive Audio Enhancement feature is set as default in the ON position. This has the effect of pushing the vocals back into the mix and creating a virtual sound stage. I find the clarity of the vocals is much more suited to my taste with this feature turned OFF. The App also has a very capable equalizer giving fine controls over EQ. There are also pre-sets to help point you in the right direction of your preferred tone. This speaker has become an instant improvement in my smart speaker system. Giving me easy access to a well rounded sound.

This is my review of Sony’s SRS-RA3000 Wireless speaker. Initial impression was very good. Nicely packaged, and the product seems sturdy and well-made although the aesthetics may not be to everyone’s taste. The onboard controls are responsive, and everything feels well laid-out. Installing the iOS app was simple but pairing and setting up took 3 goes to work but once done the app seems competent but you are not likely to use it. Most people I suspect will use it as a Bluetooth speaker or as a Spotify Connect device. It works seamlessly with both. Pairing with Alexa was very simple too. Initial assessment of the sound quality however was disappointing. I ran the speaker for 24 hours at half volume to run-in. Immersive Audio Enhancement really needs to be switched off to get any clarity to the audio and it is on by default. I found Auto Volume needs to be switched off for Spotify Connect volume control and it is on by default. I was not sure what to expect from a product at this price point, so I compared it directly with wireless speakers costing £25, £150, and £600; this Sony sitting between the £150 and £600 price points. Despite the SRS-RA3000 having the obvious advantage of size over the £150 speaker I compared it with, the cheaper device clearly outperformed the Sony in clarity, presentation and soundstage although of course the Sony was very much more able to fill the room. There may be many features which you could use to select a wireless speaker, but for me the sound quality vs price comes first, and despite being a fan of Sony equipment for decades, this speaker disappoints. There is little clarity at any part of the frequency range and at higher volumes the sound becomes very compressed. I suspect this is simply the limiter in the DSP protecting the drivers, but it is not subtle. I have some great kit ranging from sub £100 smart speakers through 1980s separates to modern British HiFi costing thousands and I understand what is possible across a range of kit and the Sony SRS-RA3000 unfortunately does not acquit itself well. Perhaps I’m spoilt but I feel other speakers in this market at this price point do better. It is possible of course that the unit I reviewed is not representative for some reason, but based on the one I tested, focussing on sound quality, I could award 2/5 at best.

Sony – SRS RA3000 Wireless Speaker Review. The Sony SRS RA3000 speaker arrived well packaged & complete with full user instructions & mains power lead with UK plug fitted. I noticed immediately the usual Sony high build quality which you would expect for a premium wireless speaker. Weighing 2.5 kg this speaker is no lightweight, reassuringly well made. This speaker was easily set up & I was soon enjoying Sony 360 Reality Audio with ambient room filling sound streaming options include wifi & bluetooth with Google Home & Alexa & Chromecast also included. The Sony SRS RA3000 speaker also offers the useful addition of auto sound calibration. Another useful addition is an external 3.5mm audio jack, after fifteen minutes of inactivity the speaker will switch off automatically. Being humidity resistant the Sony SRS RA3000 is quite happy to stream music anywhere in your home including your bathroom or kitchen.