LG XBoom XL7S speaker review: The party starter on wheels

It was a sound engineer who heightened our appreciation for sound, the quality of how sound leaves a well packed, and meticulously wired speaker, that’s designed to deliver crisp, clear and pin-dropping sound quality that makes any music lover fall in love with the emotion of how sound alters the entire day’s mood.

Invest in quality sound Marcus said a music lecturer, slash music producer, and an annoyingly gifted composer. We mention this noble musical gem of a gentleman because we hadn’t seen him in ages and it was after putting the LG’s Xboom XL7S speaker to the test, that he came to mind. It’s the discussions over the delivery, the pitch, the how in between base and tempo that made us think of him, and the possibility of him wanting something we had.  The latter sounds more accurate.

Enough rambling, on how this one speaker could arguably give me credibility, we look at the travel-ready LG XBoom XL7S speaker, which seemed ready to start trouble with our neighbour the minute we took it out of the box.

The LG XBoom XL7S speaker review.

Aesthetics 

Let’s jump straight into it, our LG XBoom arrived in a red and black finish. We looked at it and it looked aggressively ready for a party, or maybe it was just me and my bias towards the colours black and red.

The LG XBoom XL7S makes an entry as the one of the latest speakers from LG, targeting an entertaining audience.

It was in the year 2022, that LG introduced the XBoom speaker series lineup in the U.S. promising a premium audio experience for those who appreciated the multisensory listening experience.

The series of Bluetooth speakers would deliver high-power sound, deeper bass, and innovatively placed speakers to envelop listeners in an audio wave from every single angle.

The LG XBoom maintains this tradition. It’s a Bluetooth speaker meaning you don’t really need to set it up unless you’re connecting it to a guitar as it caters inputs to accommodate both musical instrument and microphone on the rear.

We spotted the words Xboom in massively large fonts on the sides, with a control panel on the top of the speaker right next to the handle.

There are visual LED lights on the front that illuminates next to the 8-inch subwoofer.

On a thin panel, on top of the sub, we see visuals that can change to the users’ preference. From mild little cute faces dancing all the way to words warning that it’s about to be a massive party and you should “throw your hands in the air.”

We also spotted the neatly tucked-away handle which extracts and retracts, to allow users to drag the speaker to various places that they find convenient.

Look it’s a heavy speaker to carry around but the two wheels make the transition between places, a pleasure.

Volume, playback controls, and buttons to control LED lighting on the front can all be found on the control panel on the top of the speaker. There is also a cool option to enable Sound Boost EQ mode which tweaks your base for more base focus.

The back/rear

Look at the back and you will find a concealed port and a net to place your power cable when you’re traveling. There are guitar ports, and ports for a mic for those karaoke gifted. These a USB-A ports for those who want to play straight from a music drive. There’s also option to add echoes in performances which we thought was a little cute.

The speaker on paper can last up to 20 hours on a single charge, but this of course will vary depending on the volume you the user has it on.  This is common sense when in speaker ville.

The features

We found the idea for an app available on both Android and iOS a neat addition. This allows the user to navigate through the speakers’ LED features and possibly dedicate a song to someone with a message. The app is great for tracking battery and allows users to adjust volume and opt between different sound modes.

We noticed the woofer does allow for various options to be selected. It’s the presets that add a little magic to the speakers personality. Users get to choose between their versions of okay sound quality from visual rhythm to noise of parties.

It’s loud and will wake the neighbours. 

It’s a pretty loud speaker and although intended for indoors, due some features like the no cover to the top control panel signalling that although you could have it outside, just make sure you’re ready to roll it back indoors when it starts raining. You may get away with a few drops but we don’t see the LG XL7S speaker surviving a rain shower.

We feel in love with how clear the bass is on different modes even on different volume levels.  It’s the base that’s likely to shake the neighbors heart strings the wrong way, but when the reason calls for it, why not?, that’s a bad joke, don’t piss neighbours off… well…unless, you’re right.

It’s a well blended Bluetooth sound box that’s decent enough to meet a sound purists pallet even if it’s just on an average level. The point is the LG Xboom XL7S will get a nod for recognition as it does make a notable sound statement, compared to competitors.

You literally could start a party with just the LG Xboom XL7S Bluetooth speaker and that says a lot. Wheather it’s karaoke, streaming some tunes on Spotify, or using the speaker connected to TV, you do receive palletable entertainment value. Movies come to life, music changes the mood, and moving past Reels, or TikTok videos appears really exciting.

Price

Let’s look at what you get. You walk away with convenience and a speaker that could cater a mini concert. It comes with customizable presets for sound and animated graphics, alongside a decent enough bass and sound quality.

It’s a decent speaker at R9 999 at HiFi Corp and some local stores. You may order the speaker online for a better deal but we do feel one could find a cheaper alternative and that just may be the one con.

People appreciate convenience, and finding a more price welcoming tag will bag a customer, but in the words of my musical friend, if you want quality, you must be willing to pay for it.

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