SB19, Maki, and KAIA turn a tech launch into a full-scale live festival
At Beyond the Beat, music, fashion, and bass took center stage.
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At Beyond the Beat, music, fashion, and bass took center stage.
Maki
Sony Philippines
KAIA
Ralph Salazar
Ralph Salazar
SB19, Maki, and KAIA took the compact stage at COVE Manila and instantly demonstrated why live music hits differently when low-end frequencies physically move through a room.
Surrounded by palm trees and terraced cabanas inside Okada Manila, the performers led an open-air night of live sets and fashion, turning what could have been a standard product rollout into an actual music gathering.
That live energy was front and center as A-Team kicked off the night, handing the mic to Carlos Serrano III and Jeremy G, while David Guison, Jacqueline Jala, and the ULT Models brought a fashion crossover to the floor. KAIA delivered a contemporary pop performance, followed by Maki’s signature set. SB19 capped off the evening in their debut as the newest members of Sony’s ULT Squad, performing at arm's length from an audience packed tight around the stage.
That close setting highlighted why low-frequency sound is about more than just volume. A deep low note registers as a physical vibration in your body, shifting the atmosphere of a room in a way earbuds or phone speakers simply cannot match. Headphones put music directly into your ears for a solo listen, but a full sound system throws audio across an entire space, turning a performance into a shared event.
That physical connection also explains why audio gear increasingly overlaps with fashion, pop culture, and live performance. Instead of hiding a speaker in the corner, let it drive the energy of a hangout, power a late-night karaoke session, or serve as the visual centerpiece of an event.
Sony Philippines brought that mix together at Beyond the Beat, presenting the ULT TOWER 5, ULT TOWER 7, and ULT TOWER MAX alongside dedicated karaoke lounges, a dance-pad arcade station, a fashion-focused ULT Cover Star installation, and a VIP space called The Bass District.
Getting that punch right takes more than cranking a volume knob. Every track is a mix of different frequencies, and the engineering challenge is giving the low end enough weight without drowning out the rest of the sound. Skimp on low frequencies and a song feels thin; dump in too much bass and you end up with a muddy mix where vocals and instruments lose all clarity.
Driver design, cabinet capacity, and internal air channels like Sony's ULT DUCT structure all dictate how those frequencies move through a room.
Ultimately, hardware engineering only tells half the story—the rest comes down to how people hang out with the music. At Cove, people stood together around the stage, danced, snapped photos, and watched the lineup unfold. Fashion, artists, and sound occupied the exact same space without feeling separated.
In an era when most listening happens privately through earbuds, there is still something distinct about music that physically takes up space. Sometimes you don't just want to hear a great track on your own. You want the whole room to feel it with you.
