Big bass, long battery life, and more than enough volume to kickstart just about any party make Sony's ULT Field 5 an easy recommendation for music lovers. It’s not exactly cheap at R7,000, but if you can stomach the price, Sony delivers a premium, mostly-portable speaker that sounds great and lasts just about all weekend.
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Design
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Performance
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Features
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Value
You’ve gotta go outside sometime. And when you do, what better way to greet that old friend, vitamin D, with some tunes blasting out behind you? The effect is a little better with a couple of friends (and walls) surrounding you, beverage of choice clutched in their hands. Whipping out Sony’s ULT Field 5 at Parkrun is an easy way to catch some hands (they will catch you), even if you technically could get it there without first breaking your back.
That’s not a knock against the ULT Field 5 we had in for review, either. It slots nicely into the ULT Field family, being slightly larger than the ultra-portable Field 3, but still easier to lug around than the unwieldy Field 7. It’s made all the easier by its handy shoulder strap and waterproof functionality that make it the life of the party. We haven’t even mentioned the stellar audio, which only slightly softens the blow of the R7,000 asking price.
All of the lights
If you can spare the cash, Sony’s ULT Field 5 won’t disappoint you. It feels pleasantly premium, and even though we didn’t purposely introduce it to the floor, it tanked a short drop without any complaint. The bigger issue there lies in the off-white look that our review model donned, which may betray our image as speaker-lovers in public. Grab the black colourway — it’s the only other option — and it’ll do a better job of hiding the odd scuff it picks up.
You’ll find a decent selection of buttons up top. While most of the work was handled by Spotify natively on our end, it’ll make skipping a track or adjusting the volume that much easier for the friend not invited to the Jam. The only button we needed was the large ‘ULT’ button up top, which toggled between boosting low bass frequencies and adding a punchier bass effect. A quick tap of the power button is all that’s needed to get those LEDs raring.
And, more importantly, those radiators — fixed onto each end of the speaker. It’s here you’ll find the customisable LEDs encircling the noise-makers, offering a low-key look that can be ignored once the sun goes down, but flashy enough to remind you that this is a R7,000 speaker. The edges not covered in a smattering of tactile mesh present a sturdy plastic frame that we liked, which also helped keep the Field 5 to a somewhat comfortable 3.3kg weight.
Battery life of the party
Sure, there are lighter speakers out there, but none that’ll deliver the same level of quality the Field 5 manages, nor for quite as long. Sony promises a significant 25 hours of battery life on the speaker, which we can attest to, made all the better by some pretty quick charge times. Your impromptu parties are safe, in other words.
In addition to the buttons up top, there’s a decent selection of ports ’round the back. They’re hidden by a grey bit of rubber to help keep the look flush and water at bay, but it’s where you’ll find the USB-C charge port, 3.5mm aux, and buttons to look after those LEDs when necessary. It’ll even survive a dip in the pool, too, if that’s where the party is headed.
As handy as all of those features are, the Field 5 will take up most of the room in the average backpack. It’ll do just fine slung around a shoulder, however. Sony’s included an adjustable strap that can be clipped onto the speaker’s top easily enough, making for some even simpler ways to carry it from room to room.
Slappin’ da bass, big time
So far, nothing we’ve said makes the Field 5 an obvious upgrade over the smaller Field 3. Beyond that larger battery, the biggest difference worth shelling out for here is the improved sound. The larger woofer and dual passive radiators give the Field 5 noticeably more authority, delivering a fuller, room-filling presentation that feels right at home at a braai or house party. It’s tuned for excitement rather than accuracy, with a healthy emphasis on low-end punch, but it stops short of completely overwhelming the rest of the mix.
We had no trouble filling a relatively large garden with sound, and even less difficulty once the festivities moved indoors. In fact, we rarely pushed the volume beyond 50% without risking a visit from the neighbours. Give it a proper house party, though, and it’ll keep up at max volume without any complaints.
All that said, Field 5 is one incredibly powerful speaker despite its unassuming stature. We found ourselves returning to the ‘ULT 2’ setting most often, which was easily the definitive mode for this thing. We tinkered with the custom EQ, but nothing quite replicated the punchier bass Sony’s own efforts pull off here. ‘ULT 1’ proved less convincing and even a bit disappointing, often muddying vocals and softening detail in busier tracks.
The Field 5 spent most of its time in ULT 2 while we threw a little bit of everything at it. Bass-heavy tracks like Tame Impala’s Elephant naturally benefited most, but the speaker regularly surprised us with slower, more vocal-focused music too. Voices remained clear and present, while the boosted low-end added warmth and scale without introducing noticeable distortion. It’s not the most detailed speaker at this price, but it knows exactly what it wants to be: loud, energetic, and unafraid of a good time.
Sony ULT Field 5 verdict
Even then, the Field 5 won’t reproduce the deepest bass frequencies with faultless clarity. You’ll need to go a bit bigger for that, but it does a better job than most, especially at this size. You’ll get a good feel of the music pumping out, no matter what it is, which is exactly what Sony set out to do here. It won’t impress an audiophile, but so what? It’ll get the average fella on their feet in no time, with hardly any time spent digging out a USB-C charging cable.
It should come as no surprise that Sony’s audio efforts are worthy of consideration. It’s got all the trademarks of a premium-but-portable party speaker, including, unfortunately, a similarly premium price tag. At R7,000, it’s not the most expensive party speaker out there, but it requires a decent sacrifice before it’ll come home with you. Stomach that, and the ULT Field 5 will reward your loyalty with some excellent-sounding tunes.
