If you are hunting for a portable speaker that can survive a beach day, double as a travel buddy and still sound grown-up, the Sony ULT Field 3 lands squarely in that sweet spot. Priced at Rs 17,989 in India, the Sony ULT Field 3 sits between tiny ultra-portable pucks and full-blown party towers. In this ULT Field 3 review, we see whether this compact box is really worth carrying.
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Sony ULT Field 3 review: Design
Unboxing feels reassuringly premium. Inside the box, you get the speaker, a USB-C to USB-C cable, paperwork and a detachable shoulder strap with metal buckles. The Forest Grey finish looks restrained, the sort of colour that works just as well in a minimal living room as it does on a hotel balcony.
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The front grille hides the driver array, while the rest of the body is wrapped in rubberised material for grip and drop protection. The rubber feet prevent the speaker from dancing across the table when the bass kicks in. Up top, you get clearly raised rubber buttons with LEDs for power, Bluetooth, volume, playback, battery and the ULT Power Sound key. The ULT button gets a little visual flair with a colour-shifting icon under glass that lights up when engaged. It looks subtle in photos and more fun in real life.
Around the back, a sealed flap covers the USB-C port. You can charge the speaker even when it is wet, thanks to the water-protected design. The same port can top up your phone in a pinch, so the Field 3 can occasionally moonlight as a tiny power bank. For a Sony portable party speaker that you might leave near a pool, that extra utility is handy.
Sony claims IP66 and IP67 protection. In practice, the ULT Field 3 shrugged off pool splashes, light rain and dusty balcony duty. You can sling it crossbody with the strap, hang it from a hook or a branch, or simply plonk it on a table. As a travel-focused waterproof Bluetooth speaker, it feels much closer to a rugged outdoor gadget than a delicate desk accessory.
Performance
Inside, the Field 3 uses a 2-way setup with a mid-bass woofer, a 20 mm tweeter and dual passive radiators on the sides. Out of the box, with ULT mode off, the tuning is surprisingly grown-up. Vocals sit forward, mids are natural and treble has enough air without sounding sharp. It is the sort of tuning you can leave on all day for podcasts, acoustic playlists and movie dialogue.
Hit the ULT button and the character shifts. The ULT Field 3 bass gets a noticeable boost, adding weight and warmth that suits electronic, hip hop and pop. The mids thicken slightly, yet the speaker still keeps vocals intelligible, even when things get busy. This is not skull-rattling subwoofer territory, but for its size, the added punch feels fun and very usable outdoors.
At moderate volume levels around the low 20s, the Field 3 easily fills a small room or a balcony for a group of friends. Push it near the top of the volume range, and it still holds together, although you start to hear compression and some loss of separation on dense tracks. It is not dramatically louder than some smaller speakers, so if maximum SPL is your only metric, you will want something bigger. For everyday listening, it performs better than its silhouette suggests.
For video and movie watching, voices stay clear, but dynamic swings in soundtracks can feel slightly flattened. That is a trade-off many compact Bluetooth speakers make, and the Field 3 is no exception.
Sony also lets the speaker listen to your room and adjust itself. Using the Sony ULT app’s companion app features, the Field 3 runs a sound-field optimisation routine that uses its mic to measure reflections. In real use, this nudges the sound toward fuller and smoother, especially in echo-heavy rooms with bare walls. It is subtle, but once you have it set up, you will not want to switch it off.
Bluetooth 5.2 with multipoint lets you connect two devices simultaneously. Swapping from a laptop to a phone is mostly painless, which is useful if you share the speaker at home. Call quality from the built-in microphone is decent, with noise and echo reduction doing enough for quick group calls or voice chats. You will not use it for podcast recording, but as a speakerphone, it is absolutely serviceable.
The ULT Field 3 battery is rated for up to 24 hours of playback with ULT mode on at moderate volume. In real life, playing varied content at around the 20s on the volume scale gets you close to that figure, which is reassuring. Crank it near maximum with ULT engaged, and you can expect closer to 5 hours, which is still enough for a party but not an entire day at the beach.
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Fast charging helps soften the blow. A 10-minute top-up gives roughly 2 hours of listening at moderate levels, handy if you forgot to charge before leaving home. Battery care mode, which caps charging at about 90 per cent, is another thoughtful touch for anyone who leaves the speaker plugged in regularly and wants to prolong long-term capacity.
Verdict: Who should buy the Sony ULT Field 3?
The Sony ULT Field 3 is not trying to outgun huge party towers. Instead, it wants to be your one speaker that can travel, handle a drizzle, survive the sand and still sound confident in a living room. At Rs 17,989, it sits firmly in premium territory, yet the mix of design, durability, smart sound modes and practical extras like reverse charging makes it easy to recommend if you want one speaker to do it all.
If you only care about sheer volume or need a truly room-shaking Sony portable party speaker, a larger model will still make more sense. But if you want a compact unit that slips into a backpack, hangs from a strap near a pool and offers the choice of clean tuning or boosted ULT Field 3 bass at the touch of a button, this is a very strong contender in the segment.
Buy Sony Ult Field 3 from here.
Pros
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Compact, travel-friendly design with shoulder strap
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Rugged build with IP66 and IP67 water and dust resistance
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Clean, natural tuning with ULT mode off
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Fun, punchy bass with ULT mode on
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Practical ULT Field 3 battery life at moderate volume plus fast charging
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USB-C power outlet for charging your phone
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Multipoint Bluetooth and decent call quality
Cons
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Movie soundtracks can feel a bit flat
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A companion app is required to unlock all features
