It can blast; it can soothe. It looks industrial; it’s easy to lug around. These sweet contradictions make the LG XBOOM PK7 one of the jazziest Bluetooth speakers in the market. An unlimited amount of music is being ferried around in phones, yet there are so few devices that play music out loud and at high quality.
First impressions
Taking it out of the box, the PK7 appears hefty but it comes with handles that are easy to grab. One may get worried about the plastic handles because there is some amount of flexing but don’t worry, however much you vigorously shake the device, the handles don’t give in; it doesn’t snap. The X-Grip design actually grows on you. The metal grille on the front of the speaker appears tough, enhancing the device’s durability factor.
Perfect on the move
Be it camping or poolside party, the PK7 can handle a fair amount of water. IPX5 rated means you can use it by the pool, under sprinklers and in some amount of rain while camping (don’t try submerging the device!). Staying on with party and outdoorsy activities, the 10,400mAh battery keeps going and can play almost all day (up to 20-22 hours, provided you don’t play it at max volume, keep the LED off and so on). No complains there because that’s as good (if not better) as the Bose Revolve+ and JBL Xtreme 2.
Lights on
We really enjoyed the bright LED, which spells party. Best way to get the lights to flicker to the beats is through the MusicFlow Bluetooth app. There are three presets on the app — Water, Forest and My Style, with a speed option.
Good vibrations
This, of course, is the most important bit. The set-up has three main components — dual tweeters and woofers and passive radiators on the two sides.
First, one needs to turn up the volume to around 80 per cent to get the same feel as JBL Xtreme 2, which one needs to turn up to around 70 per cent. But the PK7 wins hands down when the “clear vocal” (Meridian technology) button is pressed. LG has partnered with Meridian Audio so you can listen to high-resolution music at home and outdoors. There is no distortion when the volume is cranked up. It makes Hotel California, Baba O’ Riley or Rhapsody in Blue sound livelier than on its competitors. The details in the tracks don’t get distorted at high volumes and even 20ft away (in enclosed spaces), the crispness is not lost.
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There is also an “enhanced bass” mode, which is pretty impressive. Listening to Lorde’s Royals or Motley Crue’s Kickstart My Heart is a treat on the PK7. But the deep bass doesn’t overpower the vocals. With the midrange, the device performs very well and the same goes for the high notes, which don’t pierce the ears.
The speaker has aptX HD built-in that makes possible streaming higher fidelity, straight from your phone to your speaker. In other words, you can take advantage of high-resolution streaming services or files without the compression of typical Bluetooth.
Voice command
Also present is a microphone button on top panel, which is equally interesting. Just press the button and activate your phone’s voice assistant to play music or ask questions.