Sony SRS-RA3000 Speaker Review: Big Sound in an Unnecessarily Big Package
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Many of us have spent the last couple of years making improvements to our homes, and one of the coolest things you can do, now that we’re gathering again, is to upgrade your audio systems with one of the best speakers. I recently added the Sony SRS-RA3000 to my living room. In this review, I’ll take a look at what this speaker is designed for, how it sounds and if I can recommend it to you.
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Sony SRS-RA3000 360 Speaker
Buy: Sony SRS-RA3000 360 Speaker $398.00
Sony SRS-RA3000 Speaker Review: What’s in the Box
The Sony SRS-RA3000 is a wired multi-room speaker; which means it needs to stay connected to AC power at all times. You can connect multiple RA3000 speakers for all-over sound, or play different music in different rooms, and two RA3000s can make a stereo pair. The RA3000 is a smaller version of its cousin, the big and more booming RA5000, but is still a very large and heavy speaker. The RA3000 is available in either black and gold, or white and gold and measures about 6 x 10 x 6 inches. On the inside, there are five speakers: two tweeter units, one full-range speaker and two passive radiators.
The RA3000 is humidity-resistant, so you can use it in potentially humid environments such as the kitchen or even the bathroom.
Sony SRS-RA3000 Speaker Review: Features
Google & Alexa Smarts
The Sony SRS-RA3000 will connect to Google and Alexa if you want to get the most out of this smart speaker. It’s even possible to link the speaker up with any compatible Sony Bravia TV for better TV sound. Worth noting is that you can’t talk to this speaker directly, you have to speak to your designated Google Assistant device, and it will then control the Sony RA3000 remotely through WiFi.
Either speaker can easily be added to a speaker group in the Google Home app. You’ll then be able to play different songs in different rooms, or the same music throughout your house, using the app or via your Assistant speaker.
360 Reality Audio
The speaker has 360 Reality Audio, which is supposed to incorporate three-dimensional sound location data, and Sony promises that this will mean more ambient room-filling sound. No access to 360 audio? No problem — the speakers will simply adapt and use Sony’s “Immersive Audio Enhancement,” which should make even non 360 Reality Audio sound good. I had no access during my testing period to 360 Reality Audio content, so here I can only inform you about the technology; I wasn’t able to hear it for myself.
Sony SRS-RA3000 Speaker Review: Setup
Getting the Sony SRS-RA3000 set up was pretty easy: you just need to connect the power, turn it on and download the Sony Music Center App, which will walk you through getting it connected to WiFi. The app will also be where you connect to Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa. It took me just seconds.
Sony SRS-RA3000 is designed to calibrate itself for your space. Just turn it on, play music and it automatically calibrates for “optimum audio performance” using an internal microphone and some internal smarts.
Since calibration and how well it works is kind of hard to measure and prove, I’m kind of in a spot where I need to take Sony’s word that this is happening —and working.
Sony SRS-RA3000 Speaker Review: Sound Quality
The Sony SRS-RA3000 is powerful and gets quite loud; you’re definitely in for noise complaints with this one. The SRS-RA3000 has a well-balanced sound and excellent bass. I listened to a lot of different music on the speaker and I was pretty happy with how it sounded regardless of style.
The RA3000 also has a feature where the speaker automatically analyses tracks and evens out volume levels, meaning you won’t have some blaringly loud tracks and others that are too quiet. This is another feature that is hard to tell when it’s working, but since I never really noticed any tracks that came out ear-splittingly loud, I’ll assume this feature also did its job.
Sony SRS-RA3000 Speaker Review: The Verdict
Overall this is a solid sounding and capable speaker. It does get quite loud, can handily fill any space, and is easy to connect to and use with mobile devices.
When it comes to the downsides, it is unnecessarily large. Particularly compared to the Sonos Play, it’s huge. Some folks will also be disappointed to see this is a wired-only speaker … though Sony certainly isn’t advertising it as anything but.
So Should You Buy It?
I can definitely recommend his Sony powerhouse speaker for you if you’re looking for a large room-filling speaker.
Pros:
Great sound
Room-filling
Strong bass
Self-calibrating
Auto audio leveling
Cons:
Big & heavy
Must stay plugged in
Need to have a separate Google or Alexa device to use smart features
Sony SRS-RA3000 360 Speaker
Buy: Sony SRS-RA3000 360 Speaker $398.00
How Long Will It Last?
This speaker definitely feels solidly built, but as it’s meant for indoor use, take care not to get it wet. Otherwise, we expect it to last quite a while.
What Are the Alternatives?
While we certainly recommend this speaker from Sony, it’s not the only speaker on the market. If you’re looking to gauge what else is out there, check out some of the top players in the space below.
Sonos One, Gen 2
Sonos is the king of multi-room speaker systems, but its system has been buggy in the past. Even so, the sound quality is great, and the Sonos One gives you big output in a much smaller size.
Buy: Sonos One (Gen 2) Smart Speaker with Alexa – Black (Renewed) $309.95
Sonos Play: 5
If you truly want bigger, then you can size up to the Sonos Play: 5. It gets plenty loud and can fill bigger spaces, but still delivers on that signature Sonos sound.
Buy: Sonos Play: 5 – Ultimate Wireless Smart Speaker – Black $669.99
Bose Home Speaker 500
Another option from a reputable brand, this home speaker has the addition of a small digital screen as part of the package.
Buy: Bose Home Speaker 500: Smart Bluetooth Speaker with Alexa Voice Control Built-In, Black $349.00
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