Sony has announced a total of eight new Bluetooth connectable audio devices at CES. Of these, three are extra bass portable speakers, three are sports headphones, and two are soundbars. Naturally, the Japanese electronics giant has a few tricks to show off for extra visibility. Simply hearing your music is clearly not enough in 2018.

First off, the portable extra bass speakers: SRS-XB41, SRS-XB31, and SRS-XB21. The trio have the ability to be connected to a group of speakers, up to 100 at a time. This, sadly, is the only advisable feature which Sony is bringing to the series. Through what I can only imagine is a focus group gone terribly wrong, Sony decided that the extra bass speakers need a strobe light to complement the line lighting on the top and bottom. Rounding out the portable rave feature set is "live sound," allowing users to "feel the sound spreading both vertically and horizontally," as well as the "party booster" feature, allowing the speaker to be used like an instrument with a "sound and lighting reaction" when tapped.

The SRS-XB41, SRS-XB31, and SRS-XB21 will retail for $249.99, $149.99, and $99.99 respectively, and are expected this Spring. Party drugs sold separately. Sony claims the trio have "up to 24 hour battery life."

For sport headphones, the WF-SP700N are completely wireless noise cancelling earbuds. The IPX4-rated pair can run for three hours on a single charge, with the carrying case able to provide two additional full charges, for a total of nine hours.

The WI-SP600N are slightly larger noise-cancelling earbuds with ear supports to stay attached to your head while moving. While these use a Bluetooth connection, there is a band which sits behind the neck to connect the two. These also retain the IPX4 rating, and are purported to last up to six hours on a single charge.

Finally, the WI-SP500 drops the noise cancellation feature and ear supports, keeps the IPx4 rating, and increases battery life to 8 hours on one charge.

The WF-SP700N, WI-SP600N, and WI-SP500 will retail for $179.99, $149.99, and $79.99 respectively, and are expected this Spring. All four support NFC for quick pairing. Overall, the trio seem well suited to providing some tunes while you're at the YMCA.

Finally, Sony has also released the HT‑Z9F 3.1ch and the HT-X9000F 2.1ch sound bars, both of which carry Dolby Atmos certifications, and Sony's "vertical surround" engine, which can replicate vertical sounds without in-ceiling speakers. The pair also include support for 4K HDR10 and Dolby Vision, allowing video signals to be passed to a TV without a loss in image quality. Additionally, both include USB input as well as Bluetooth streaming support, but only the HT-Z9F will have Chromecast built-in. This is not enabled out-of-the-box, but will be added with a future firmware update. The HT-Z9F and HT-X9000F will retail for $899.99 and $599.99 respectively, and will be available this Spring.

Although this is not explicitly stated in the press release, the eight new products should include support for Sony's LDAC codec for high bitrate audio streaming via Bluetooth. Sony added support for the LDAC codec to AOSP for Oreo, so any phone or tablet running 8.0 or higher can send an LDAC audio stream to compatible devices. While audiophiles will likely turn up their noses at the prospect of Bluetooth streaming, LDAC is presently the best option available.

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