How to Bass Boost Sony SRS XG500

Front right view of the Sony SRS XG500 boombox speaker.

You can change how loud the bass is on the Sony SRS XG500, by turning on and off its bass boost mode. When switched on, this mode makes the passive bass radiators on the sides vibrate much more, and adds a low rumble quality to the playing program, that travels pretty far from the speaker. So, for you boom lovers, this post shows how to bass boost this speaker, to get that extra umph.

How to Bass Boost Sony SRS XG500: Summary

You can control bass boost on the XG 500 in a few ways as follows.

Use the MEGA BASS button on the speaker itself.
Work the bass switch in the Sony Music Center App.
Make fine bass adjustments in the EQ section of the Music Center app.

We’ll cover all of these options below.

How to Bass Boost Sony SRS XG500, Using Buttons on the Speaker Itself

How to Turn Off Bass Boost

By default, this speaker has bass boost mode turned ON when fresh out of the box or after a reset. So any time you run this speaker, and you haven’t switched OFF this bass boost, then the MEGA BASS light glows, as we see in the next picture.

The -MEGA BASS- lamp glowing red on the Sony SRS XG500 speaker.

When in effect, bass boost also adds a bit of treble in addition to lots of extra bass to the audio output as compared to when this mode is OFF.

The -MEGA BASS- button.

You can turn bass boost mode OFF by quickly pressing and releasing the MEGA BASS button as pointed out by the green arrow in the last picture.

The dark -MEGA BASS- lamp.

The MEGA BASS lamp then goes out. See this darkness in the last picture.

How to Turn ON Bass Boost

To enable bass boost once more, quickly press and release the MEGA BASS button. The MEGA BASS lamp then lights up red.

How to Bass Boost Sony SRS XG500: Using the Music Center App

In addition to by way of the MEGA BASS button on the speaker itself, you can also control bass boosting in Sony’s Music Center app as well.

1. Install the Music Center App

So first, download and install this app on your source Bluetooth device (phone, tablet, computer, or media player). We did this on a test iPad Air.

The Sony Music Center app icon on an iPadOS device Home screen.

2. Pair your Sony XG500 with This Same Device

We did this as we show next.

The Sony SRS XG500 BT speaker showing as Connected on an iPad.

3. Run the Music Center App

Upon startup, Music Center looks for any compatible Sony products. And since the XG500 indeed works with this app, the app does indeed find the speaker. Then it displays the XG500 Home page.

The Sony SRS XG500 -Home- Page in the Sony Music Center app on iPadOS.

4. Bring Up the Settings Page

Then, scroll the screen down to the Settings item at the bottom of the options list.

The -Settings- item on the Sony SRS XG500 -Home- page.

Next, tap Settings, and you’ll get the Settings screen, as we see next.

The -Settings- page, showing the -Sound-option.

5. Visit the Sound Page

Tap the Sound option, pointed out in the last screenshot. You then get the Sound page, as we see next.

The -Sound Effect- option set to -MEGA BASS- on the -Sound- page.

6. Bring Up the Sound Options Screen

Tap the Sound Effect option that we see in the last picture. Then, the Sound Effects page then comes up, and looks as we see next.

The -Sound Effects- page with active -MEGA BASS- option.

Now on this screen, note that the MEGA BASS option is active. You can turn it OFF here by tapping the OFF option. And then you can enable it again by tapping the MEGA BASS option. These actions take immediate effect on the speaker, as you’ll be able to see the MEGA BASS lamp switching ON and OFF as you work these options in the app.

7. Tap the Custom Option to Adjust Bass Boost

Now if you want to do more with the bass boost than simply turn it ON and OFF, then tap the Custom item. This option is the last item in the list of options on the Sound Effects screen, as we see next.

The -Sound Effects-Custom- option.

Tapping Custom takes you back to the Sound page that looks a bit different this time.

The -Sound Effect-Custom- option set.

Now, the value of the Sound Effect option is now CUSTOM, whereas before, it was MEGA BASS.

8. Bring Up the EQ (equalizer) Page

Tap the Custom EQ option on the Sound page. We highlight it next.

The -Custom EQ- option in the Sony Music Center app.

Touching this option brings up a three band graphic equalizer page. Now by default, this EQ is set to FLAT for all frequency bands.

The -Custom EQ- page with all sliders set to flat.

But you can get maximum bass boost by moving these slider controls as follows. For example, lower the other two frequency bands to minimum, but raise the BASS one to maximum.

The -sliders set for maximum bass boost.

When set this way, you get the highest amount of bass that the XG500 speaker is capable of producing. But be careful !

Warning

The drivers really thump when bass boost is active. So be cautious in how loudly you play this speaker with the bass boosted, to avoid damage to the speaker drivers. If the bass is crackling, tapping, or otherwise distorting, turn it down or readjust the EQ !