Sony has grouped its most popular headphones, Bluetooth speakers, and party speakers under a single brand: ULT.
Sony has announced a line of wireless audio products under a new sub-brand called ULT Power Sound (or ULT for short). They look familiar because they are the next-gen versions of three of Sony’s existing product lines: Extra Bass headphones, portable Bluetooth speakers, and tower-shaped party speakers.
Why group wireless headphones, a variety of portable Bluetooth speakers, and some giant party speakers together under a single sub-brand? Sony says that it has identified two key features that its buyers value: big bass sound and lots of power (i.e., volume). The ULT brand unifies Sony products that share these two traits.
Sony is no stranger to the bass craze. Its ExtraBass and MegaBass features have been included on dozens of its audio products for decades. But now, that ExtraBass capability has been folded into the new ULT feature — each product includes a dedicated ULT button that lets you boost the sound via dedicated ULT modes.
A side benefit of the ULT strategy is that Sony has finally abandoned some of its complex model numbers. Instead of needing to remember that the Sony headphones you want are called the WH-XB910N, now you can just call them the Sony ULT Wear. The portable speakers are known as ULT Field, and the party speakers are now the ULT Tower series.
Here, we’ll cover the ULT Power Sound products that Sony has announced today, but you can also expect additional models in the ULT family in the future.
Sony was kind enough to invite me to a demo session in New York City so that I could hear the new lineup ahead of its launch, so I’ve included a few first impressions with each product.Sony ULT Wear, $200
The ULT Wear replace Sony’s bass-oriented WH-XB910N noise-canceling headphones and live directly beneath Sony’s flagship WH-1000XM4 ($350) and WH-1000XM5 ($400) headphones. They come in three colors: black, off-white, and a new Forest Gray option.
With the same fold up/fold flat design as their predecessors, the ULT Wear get a variety of claimed improvements including better noise cancellation thanks to the use of Sony’s V1 chip, better wind-noise reduction for ANC and calls, faster quick-charge times, wear-detection sensors, and head-tracked spatial audio when used with Sony 360 Reality Audio tracks and compatible smartphones.
