It's been the holidays and series of parties all over. Now, I'll admit my holiday parties aren't what they used to be, but still it's nice to have some music pumping around. So came across a Bluetooth speaker from LG that they kindly let me borrow for a review, and it's sat next to my desk here in the basement and I've been enjoying it pound out some tunes while I've been off and doing cleaning or baking or wrapping.
Let's dive into the LG xboom Stage 301, which they've partnered with will.i.am.
Now, this is no simple speaker with bluetooth, I've covered quite a few - this Stage 301 model is, like it's name implies, is more of a stage speaker, like a 'monitor' in the roady realm. it's even shaped like one with the triangular back so that the speaker could sit flat on the ground or lean back and point up (at the musician if used as those monitors).
But let's open it up.
It's got a QR code showing it's connectable to the ThinQ app, woot! I've been liking that app and picked up my appliances accordingly so.
Before I can connect, taking it out, you realize where it is earning it's $400CDN price tag, this is hefty. Helping out at the community centre with some events and their PA speakers, this is getting into that territory for heft.
You'll even see that it has a mounting 'port'/hole for a speaker stand/tripod.
But you don't have to just mount it on something or just let it sit. This is made to be portable (or just easier to move) with a nice handle to pick it up by.
Now, it's not just to move to somewhere else and plug it in, this speaker has a battery in it that should be good for 12 hours.
To use it, couldn't be simpler. I opened the ThinQ app and it automatically wanted to add it.
Once added, it did a firmware update that said it would work better with Android Quickadd (where phones can sense items in pairing mode).
I also wanted to try it out with my new LG TV, I didn't see any way in the app to 'marry' the 2 devices, but I did just go into the TV for the audio out and selected Bluetooth, and just touching the BT button on the speaker had them connect quickly, and without any lag either (that I could notice.. the TV had a way to adjust the delay as needed).
So now it's connected to the TV or my phone I can rock out to some music or have a movie really blast.
And blast it does. It's 120W using a 6.5W woofer, 2x 2.5" midrangers (speakers made by Peerless) and it sounds good (for mono... which there is a smart pairing mode if you had 2 to connect them together).
But that would be another $400... eep.
There are also other things to connect to it. It has a 1/4" jack for a mic (wanna do karaoke? there's a mode for that) or an electric guitar (damnit, just had sold my old one) or a 1/8" jack for other kinds of audio connection (you do have to hit the button to switch which port to use for the line in.
There's a USB port, but I feel that's only for charging out, as I couldn't see how it would work if you just slapped a bunch of MP3s on there (control it through the app maybe?).
Then there's 'auracast', which is I guess a type of audio streaming from Samsung. Never used it.
There's also a 'favourites' where you can play with playlists, but I couldn't figure it out, especially seeing as I just stream all my music.
But there's even more to do in the app. You can play with the colour lights on the device - how will they light up in response to the music or other.
Pretty neat stuff. I'm not often looking at the speaker when it's playing, but I could see how it could be fun in a party and if you were doing karaoke it'd be a nice addition.
There's a lot to play around with in the app. There's some DJ features (add some wah, or scratch and add some sounds into it), and even an AI 'tuning' to calibrate it to your room.
A lot of those are novelty, and probably never look at again. I haven't. Since I connected it I just stream some music from my phone to the speaker as it's near my desk and just enjoy it.
The sound is quite great. It helps that it has such a high power that at low volumes it is super clear and the definition in the ranges are distinctive enough. And if you want to pump it up to full you can do that. My house it fills it well and annoys my son! That's just a bonus. I could see it in a small gym being loud enough to be used as a PA or movie audio (if LG lets me borrow it longer we can test it for the next movie night at the community centre -- saves having to lug out those big PA monsters).
I love that it's made to be portable. Easily picked up and transported around - and if you don't want to bring the cord, the battery will last you 12 hours of playback. And, the battery is easily swappable too (you'll have to buy a second one for about $70). I wonder what that does for the LG app when I move it from the basement office to the back yard (because this is an IPX4 so it won't mind some minor splashes etc on it).
If you have a party, or just a big enough room you want to stream some music into, this is a great addition for an audiophile's arsenal (it was better than the soundbar we had for the TV). It is pricy at that $400 tag, but good speakers out there aren't cheap either - and this thing is made to be 'smart' with the ThinQ app and you can take it with you out into the wild.
Definitely worth the check out.
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