LG has discovered a method to stand out in the competitive portable Bluetooth speaker market with the LG XBoom Go PL7. LG has added major sparkle to Bluetooth speakers in the way of LED lights. Whereas other businesses have gone large and others have focused on affordability.
While having a light show while listening to music is entertaining, it is merely visual candy. When it comes to music quality & battery life, the PL7 holds its own against the top Bluetooth speakers. All the while wearing a unique and appealing appearance.
What you will see here?
Price and availability
An LG XBoom Go PL7 has an MSRP of $170, but it is now available at $130 from some retailers. This includes
Design
The PL7, which measures 9.7 x 3.9 x 3.9 inches, resembles a pill with its points shaved off and replaced with caps and has an LED light ring on either end. The circles pulsate in different colors and at different speeds (The XBoom app may be used to control the lights).
The end caps also serve as passive bass radiators, vibrating when the sound is bass-heavy, adding to the aesthetic appeal. The PL7’s treble & midrange tones are produced by two 2.3-inch speakers on the inside.
There are Bluetooth pairing, controls for volume, power, Sound Boost (that makes the vocals louder), and a battery level LED across the top. A 3.5 mm auxiliary input, a USB-C port for charging, & buttons to switch light settings, activate Multi-Mode (for connecting two devices), and Dual Mode is all hidden behind a plastic flap on the back (for pairing two speakers together). That’s more buttons than many contemporary portable Bluetooth speakers have. But having access to the majority of the speaker’s functionality without having to use the app can be useful at times.
An LG XBoom Go PL7 weighs 3.2 pounds, and it’s a little heavy for one portable speaker of this size; the UE Blast, which is similar in size, weighs 2.2 pounds. However, part of the increased weight is due to a durable case that appears to be long-lasting.
Performance
The sound quality of the LG XBoom Go PL7 is comparable to that of the top portable Bluetooth speakers in this price bracket, like the UE Blast and JBL Charge 4. It boasts a brighter sound than these models. A well-balanced bass — albeit not as much boom as the Blast or Charge.
The vocals are especially clear and prominent in the mix. On “Shameika,” Fiona Apple’s voice showed out above the various layers of sounds, and on “the last great American dynasty,” Taylor Swift’s vocals stood out above the drums and quiet guitar. The bass and beats of Harry Styles’ “Adore You” made the end caps tremble but didn’t overpower the other sounds, and Jason Isbell’s “What’ve I Done to Help” had a wonderful balance between the chords acoustic guitar, and the bass line.
The LG XBoom Go PL7 only has one sound mode, Sound Boost, that amps up the vocals even more. Using the increase, however, led the background vocals & midrange tones to fade out. It came in handy when viewing movies on the iPad, but switched it off when listening to music.
The PL7 is quite loud for its size. It recorded over 92 decibels at maximum volume, with just minor distortions.
Features
LG XBoom Go PL7: Ruggedness
The LG XBoom Go PL7 is IPX5 waterproof, which means it can withstand getting splashed with water but not submerged. In comparison, the UE Blast could be submerged fully. If it’s in under the tap for a few seconds, and it continued to function normally.
Battery
The LG XBoom Go PL7 has a 24-hour battery, which is longer than the UE Blast’s 12 hours and somewhat longer than the JBL Charge 4 speaker’s 20 hours. It had 70 percent of its battery left after around 15 hours of playing at various volume levels with the lights on.
Voice-assistant
The LG XBoom Go PL7, unlike many other portable Bluetooth speakers throughout this price bracket, does not include Alexa or Google Assistant. Instead, press and hold on to the play/pause button for several seconds to activate your phone’s voice assistant.
Wireless and Setup
The device had a robust Bluetooth connection that lasted for further than 100 feet inside.
The free XBoom application for Android & iOS gives you a few options for controlling the speaker. Albeit it lacks some of the features found in UE’s Boom app. There’s no equalizer, for example, and only one sound mode, Sound Boost.
The app is mostly used to control the lighting. You may choose from a variety of themes, including Party, Water, and Forest, or set the lights to flash in time with the music (which I found excessively fast-paced, even on slower songs). If you may also customize your look by selecting a color scheme and changing the speed at which the lights change. You can also turn off the lights if you want less visual stimulus.
Conclusion
The LG XBoom Go PL7 offers everything you need in a portable Bluetooth speaker: great quality, long battery life, and enough volume, plus the bonus of lights.
You won’t receive a built-in voice assistant, and the bass won’t drown you out. It’s also not as tough as some of the other speakers. However, if you’re searching for a dependable and stylish portable Bluetooth speaker without the other capabilities, the PL7 is a good option.
The speaker isn’t the first to have lights, as well as the LEDs, aren’t required. However, if the PL7 meets all of your other needs, the lights may be a compelling incentive to choose it over competitor speakers such as the UE Megaboom 3.
