Editor’s Rating- 4/5 Bluetooth speakers have become a necessity in today’s times. We often need music on the go if we want to party outdoors. In such a scenario, we need a speaker that has a loud volume and can be carried to wherever you need it. LG is one such brand that makes impactful Bluetooth Party speakers and one more that has come to India is LG XBoom 360 speaker. Connectivity & Controls Sound Quality Battery The speaker has been priced under 30k and falls into the affordable category. It comes with good sound quality and long battery life. This massive speaker looks like a lighthouse and its mood light has millions of colors that glow around. However, is the speaker really worth its price tag? Let’s find out.
LG XBoom 360 Speaker Unboxing
The LG XBoom 360 speaker comes in a simple cardboard box. The box contains the speaker with its main power cord attached to it.
Price and availabilityUnboxingDesignSetup & ConnectivitySound QualityBatteryLighting Should you buy it or not?
LG XBoom 360 Speaker review: Price and availability
LG XBoom 360 Speaker Review: Design
The LG XBoom 360 speaker is huge in size and comes in a variety of colors. I received the Peacock Green variant and it looked classy. The speaker is 250x514x250mm in size and weighs 5.8kgs. Its bulkiness makes it difficult to carry it around, so it’s better if you use it keeping at one place. The speaker is 51.3cm tall and has a metal handle that can be used to hold it while carrying it around. The speaker has a conical shape and gives the feel of a lantern. The speaker is sturdy and has a low center of gravity which means it won’t topple easily. Talking about the material with which the speaker has been made, the outer has a soft texture as it is covered by a peacock green fabric. The entire speaker is covered in cloth that makes it look modern as well as aesthetic and the speaker won’t look out of place whether it is kept in a living room or next to a campfire. The only problem is that this fabric attracts dust and other particles very easily. Also, the speaker should be kept away from water so it can’t be used for a poolside party. Playback controls are provided at the top side of the speaker. The buttons are easy to identify by looking at them. The volume control and power buttons have braille and the battery and function buttons have LED indicator lights. The mood lights can be controlled via the lightbulb icon button. The buttons have a good feel and are easy to press. There is a panel on the side of the speaker near the base and this panel is covered by a plastic flap. When you remove the flap, you will see the panel containing inputs for USB-A and aux cables. It has a reset button for the wireless party twin mode. You can connect any device with a USB/aux port using a cable. There is an LED lamp in the open concave that faces the exposed woofer. The LED lamp glows in various colors depending on the mood you have turned on to. It can be a party or relaxation as per your needs. There is the main power cord that has to be plugged into a power socket when you want to charge your speaker. so, we can say that the speaker is not completely wireless, which is a letdown. ALSO READ: Poco X3 review | Samsung Galaxy F41 review
LG XBoom 360 Speaker Review: Setup & Connectivity
The LG XBoom 360 speaker is easy to connect. There are various ways to connect the speaker to your devices- USB cable, AUX cable, and Bluetooth. To change the mode of pairing, one has to press the Function button. To pair the speaker via Bluetooth, press and hold the Function button and wait until the speaker gives a startup sound and the Bluetooth LED begins to blink. Open your phone’s Bluetooth settings and connect to the speaker. As soon as you get connected, the Bluetooth LED will start glowing steadily. The speaker supports SBC and AAC codecs and these two give a stable connection. No matter in which room you are with your phone, the speaker and the phone will remain seamlessly connected without any lags or hassles. Using an aux or USB cable is also fairly simple. To use either of these, press the Function button until it selects the input source type that you want to use. The USB or aux cable will have to be yours as they don’t come with the speaker. After connecting via Bluetooth or USB, you can control the playback with the speaker’s buttons but if you are using an aux cable, you will have to use the connected device to control the volume. The speaker works with both Android and iPhones and has a good support app that can help make any more customizations you want. The app has EQ with 7 presets and a custom option that you can use however you want. Turning off any equalizer on the app gives an even better quality of sound as it has less distortion. The app has DJ Features that let you interact with music playback in fun ways. You can use drums, club, and other options to make your favorite track even more impactful. If the loudness is enough, you can connect the LG XBoom 360 with an additional speaker.
LG XBoom 360 Speaker Review: Sound quality
The most important aspect of any speaker is its audio quality. LG XBoom 360 speaker can get loud which is expected looking at its size. The speaker has a 1-inch titanium tweeter and a 5.25-inch glass fiber woofer. The speaker is omnidirectional which means you should not use it keeping it in a corner. For 360-degree audio, the speaker should be kept in the center of the room. Coming to the quality of the audio, the speaker sounded good playing highs. Songs like Khali Bali from Padmavat (which has drum beats) and Bille Elish sound impactful and will make you tap your feet. As for the mids and lows, songs like AR Rahman’s Dil Se and Bol Na Halke Halke from Jhoom Barabar Jhoom also sound soothing. The vocals of the singers are clear and the audio is crisp. The speaker is perfect for a party as foot-tapping dance numbers with a bass sound are very good. The only issue is that the speaker’s audio sounds a little distorted when the volume level is taken to the maximum. So, try and keep it slightly lower. ALSO READ:
LG XBoom 360 Speaker Review: Battery Life
LG claims that the XBoom 360 speakers come with long battery life. The company says that the speaker can work for 10 hours on a single charge (When the mood light is off) and takes around 5 hours to recharge completely. During my usage, since I kept the mood light off, the speaker lasted for about 9 hours on a single charge and took 5 hours and 15 minutes to recharge completely. LED lamp is a battery drainer as when I kept it on, the battery drained faster. Also, the battery drains lesser if you are playing back via an aux cable and keep the Bluetooth off. When I plugged in the power cord for charging, the LED next to the battery symbol started glowing red. If the power saver mode is kept on, the speaker will shut off automatically if there is no playback for 15 minutes. So you don’t have to worry about the battery draining out overnight. The amount of battery left can be monitored via the support app. There is no fast charging available which might be a problem as the charging time is over 5 hours.
LG XBoom 360 Speaker Review: Lighting Effects
The LG XBoom 360 speaker has an LED lamp that can glow in different ways and hues. The dynamic range of the lamp depends on the mode one goes for. Ambient mode keeps light static, Nature goes with a slow pulse and Party has a more frenzied show. The mode can be picked manually by pressing the function button. The LED lights aren’t too bright, and thus if the room is too dark, they might not give an adequate glow.
LG XBoom 360 Speaker review verdict: Should you buy it?
The LG XBoom 360 speaker comes at a price of around Rs. 30,000 in the country. It can be your choice if you need an outdoor speaker to party around and loudness of sound is your first priority. It has a decent design and can rock your party for almost 10 hours continuously. However, the speaker is heavy and large which raises a question mark over its portability. The speaker doesn’t have any IP Rating which makes it not fit for a poolside party. Also, the speaker can’t be linked to your home wi-fi as it is meant for outdoor use. So, this speaker can be bought if you need a Bluetooth speaker for outdoor purposes and have 30k to spare, but if you want a portable speaker for a lesser price, you can go for speakers from Boat and JBL. Pros:
Long battery lifeGood sound qualityVarious connectivity options
Cons:
No IP RatingToo heavy to carry aroundLong charging time
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