REVIEW: LG XBOOM Go speakers have strong drums, first-rate sound and versatility

Table of Contents

1. Design
2. Conectividade
3. Audio
4. Resistance and battery
5. Conclusion
6. Technical specifications

A LG is very well known in the TV and smartphone market in Barsil, but it is also very competent in its audio line. With several options, the wireless speaker market also has the recent launches of the LG XBOOM Go line, which has the models PL7, PL5 e PL2. They are compact models that allow you to take quality sound — thanks to the partnership with Meridian Audio — and with good battery life anywhere.

The three speakers come in a variety of sizes, functions and features, with sound capacity increasing with size. In view of this plurality, the line LG XBOOM Go it can be a great choice for party occasions or indoor gatherings (although you might need something more “bulky” for outdoors).

In order to test all the possible functions of the products, our review focuses mainly on the model XBOOM Go PL7 — the biggest of the three — but except where we specifically mention it, its pros and cons apply to all the others without any difficulty.

Design

Starting with the look, the LG gave the speaker line a slightly cleaner and rounded look — especially if we compare it to another model from the company that we have already evaluated, the XBOOM Go PK3. In this new line, the color that mixes graphite tones with a light navy blue gives a more pleasant look to the eyes, giving up the more aggressive curves of other speakers of the genre. Of course, we've seen this before: the Dazz Sounds Hobby, for example, has the same curves and distortions scheme, but while it looks like a more elongated soda can because of the silver tones, the speakers of the LG appear to be more elegant.

At the top, you will find the main controls for the speakers: a button for on and off, another for Bluetooth on or off, two volume controls and one for sound boost. With the exception of the model XBOOM Go PL2, the smallest of the three, the other two speakers also have a color-managed battery charge indicator (green = plenty of charge; amber = less than half charged; red = low power, almost shutting down).

The models XBOOM Go PL5 e XBOOM Go PL7 They have LED light rings, which can be synchronized to the beat of the music. There are four lighting modes, plus one that can be customized by the user.

The position of speaker and speaker connections varies by model. At XBOOM Go PL2, a side cover gives access to the USB-C port, P2-type auxiliary connector (3,5mm) and the Dual Action Bass button, which amplifies low frequencies and produces stronger bass in songs. Already the models XBOOM Go PL5 e XBOOM Go PL7 have these connectors on the back, covered by a cover, along with two buttons with exclusive functions for these models: the activation of the LED rings and the Party Link function, which is capable of wirelessly connecting over 99 portable speakers. LG to play together. And the XBOOM Go PL7 It even has a USB-A port for you to connect your smartphone or any other device to recharge the battery.

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Closing this part, a caveat about the model XBOOM Go PL2: due to its almost oval shape, stability on smooth surfaces is reduced. A tap of nothing is all it takes to get her rolling, and if the surface she's on is small or curved, she can easily fall to the ground before you know it. With the others, considerably heavier, this does not happen.

Conectividade

In addition to the possibility of connecting via bluetooth with other models of the same line or even larger LG, the line XBOOM Go it's manageable by one app — the LG XBOOM, available for iOS/iPadOS or Android devices — but the experience here, unfortunately, falls far short of what you'd expect from a “companion app”.

You see, typically applications like this allow a certain amount of customization, which amplifies your sound experience by adding control that goes beyond the speakers themselves. in the case of LG, however, the app is limited to managing bluetooth connections and playing with possible effects of the LED lights on the sides.

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For a quality sound equipment, it lacked the implementation of its own equalizer to allow a finer adjustment of the sound, which although the speakers themselves do a great job alone, leaves something to be desired when you seek an adjustment more in line with your taste.

Fortunately, it's the kind of thing that LG can fix with an application update, but considering that it works not only for this line, but for several other sounding bluetooth devices from the Korean manufacturer, its use becomes unnecessary when all the its features can be accessed using commands on the device itself.

Also speaking of connectivity, Party Link is the feature that allows models to XBOOM Go PL5 e XBOOM Go PL7 connect to over 99 compatible speakers, ideal for partying. An important detail: the compatible boxes are only from LG, so don't expect to be able to sync with models from other manufacturers like JBL, which has a similar feature.

Another very interesting feature in case you have a smart TV from 2020 model LG (OLED, NanoCell and UHD), and is the possibility to connect the TV to the speakers XBOOM Go PL, increasing the sound power to better hear video clips and other content. If you have two identical speaker models, you can place them on either side of the TV to create a surround sound effect, ideal for adding more emotion to your movies.

There is a curious and impractical implementation of voice assistants: holding the Play button for 5 seconds will activate the Google assistant or the Crab on your smartphone, so that you then receive the voice command. This means that the speakers LG XBOOM Go PL they only work to trigger the voice assistant, being completely dependent on the connected device to receive the commands — they cannot be considered intelligent speakers in fact.

Audio

Getting to the point, the sound of LG XBOOM Go manages to impress even with the tiny box XBOOM Go PL2: not because they're magnanimous and take over the room — they're pretty powerful, but nothing that will make your stomach churn — but because you can identify more nuances in various types of music. Suddenly, a backing vocal that goes unnoticed on your smartphone's regular speaker takes on a prominent tone here.

This type of perception is accentuated by the fact that the bass and treble are reproduced with great balance: the sound boost function improves the range of the voices (it is easy to notice this, for example, in metal bands with female vocals, where the treble tends to to be a priority), but this care ends up undermining the impact, for example, of songs with a more guttural voice (let's be honest: the grace of the guttural is precisely in the scraping of the voices, which ends up being canceled here...). Turning off sound boost seems to solve this little problem, but then you end up sacrificing the background vocals I mentioned earlier.

With that detail out of the way, I was impressed by the projection capacity of the speakers, which manage to take the sound far away even without the volume being turned up (although, when the volume is at maximum, the XBOOM Go PL7 passes 85 decibels smoothly, with little distortion). It is worth remembering that the three models have passive radiators to increase the bass - the models XBOOM Go PL5 e XBOOM Go PL7 have these features on the sides, where the luminous rings are located.

Compared to boxes like the XTreme or Charge 4 da JBL, the three novelties of LG bring a clearer sound, although the bass here is modestly lower.

Resistance and battery

The three line speakers XBOOM Go da LG carry IPX5 water resistance certification, which, for the uninitiated, can be translated as “they hold a splash of water under the faucet, but it's a bad idea to let them fall into the pool”. At this point, competing speakers can be completely submerged — although listening to music underwater doesn't seem like an interesting idea.

As for dust, the LG did not provide precise information about the line XBOOM Go, though it's safe to assume there's a vulnerability in the light and drawer spaces, so a little caution here wouldn't hurt.

Finally, on battery: a LG promises 10 hours of autonomy for the model XBOOM Go PL2; 18 hours for or model XBOOM Go PL5 and finally ignorant 24 hours for the model XBOOM Go PL7. Maybe a full day of boxing is overkill, but considering some of my friendships, it's best to play it safe. Jokes aside, all this autonomy is not detailed on the manufacturer's website, so it is not possible to say if these numbers are valid only for the connected box, or if the bluetooth is activated, connected and playing music (probably not the second case, but if it is, well played, LG).

Conclusion

the line XBOOM Go da LG masterfully performs everything we look for in a bluetooth speaker: good sound projection (although not recommended for very open environments), perfect balance between bass and treble and a volume not only considerably high, but also with little distortion.

Add to that the light show that, although it doesn't bring practical functionality, pleases the most festive looks, together with the union between portability and multiple connectivity with other boxes of the brand, and you have a full plate for both moments when you want listening to a sound alone, like that meeting with friends on the weekend - when the new coronavirus pandemic is over, of course. Are there more advanced options? Yes, but this line from the LG is far from being average, entering into strong competition with the main names in the market.

You can find the new models of the LG XBOOM Go line in the main retail chains, with the following prices:

• LG XBOOM Go PL2: R$ 449
• LG XBOOM Go PL5: R$ 749
• LG XBOOM Go PL7: R$ 1.199

Technical specifications

LG XBOOM Go	PL2	PL5	PL7
Dimensions (WxHxH) (mm)	126 x 82 x 81	199 x 79 x 79	245 x 96 x 98
Weight (kg)	0,36	0,64	1,5
Connections	Auxiliary P2 (3,5mm) USB-C Bluetooth	Auxiliary P2 (3,5mm) USB-C Bluetooth	Auxiliary P2 (3,5mm) USB-C USB-A Bluetooth
Power	5W	20W	30W
Channels	1	2	2
Battery	1500 mAh	3900 mAh	3900 mAh
Autonomy	10 h	18 h	24 h
Price	R$ 449	R$ 749	R$ 1.199