Performance LG xboom 360 lite

Performance LG xboom 360 lite

The biggest feature of the XBOOM 360 is its omnidirectional sound. This really works as you’ll hopefully hear in the sound tests shortly. You can position the speaker wherever you like and as you move around the room the output from the speaker barely changes.

You don’t get the same sound stage you would from a more conventional speaker this size with stereo speakers, but the Xboom 360 sounds good. There’s lots of clarity in the mids and highs. It doesn’t have the thumping bass of some other speakers I’ve tested in a similar category, but for most music it sounds well balanced and I think a lot of people will like how it sounds.

It has 50W of total output with its 25W mid-range woofer and 25W bass woofer. Even at maximum volume there’s little distortion although I found it more comfortable at around 75% volume in most cases. Using a sound level meter one metre from the speaker grille, I measured the speaker at maximum and 75% volume. I enabled the Sound Boost EQ preset in the app, which slightly enhances the bass and does make the speaker louder. You can see how it fared above. It’s not the loudest speaker I’ve tested in its category but it’s certainly loud enough to fill a medium sized room and could be used outside.

You can also tune the EQ to your personal tastes creating your own Custom preset.

In the accompanying video, you can hear for yourself how the speaker sounds with Sound Boost on and off. I also have a sample with the speaker slowly rotating to try and demonstrate the omnidirectional sound. I’ve recorded the sound test with binaural microphones that capture stereo sound, to try and provide the closest representation of what I’m hearing. Please listen with headphones for the best experience.

The speaker uses Bluetooth 5.1 and there is almost no delay watching YouTube or Netflix which is nice to see. The connection was also reliable and its range was particularly good, extending beyond the far end of the next room of my house, over 10 metres away. 

One thing missing from the XBOOM 360 is a microphone so you can’t use it with your voice assistant or for phone calls.

The speaker supports the higher quality AAC codec and if you want the highest quality output there is the option for a wired connection.

The XBOOM 360 has up to 24 hours of battery life which is impressive and a big upgrade on its predecessor. According to LG, this has been measured at 50% volume with Sound Boost and the lights off. Even at higher volumes, with the ambient lighting on I got at least a day’s usage.

Conclusions

The XBOOM 360 has an stylish contemporary design and together with its 360° sound and ambient lighting, should fit very nicely into most homes.

It sounds good and the XBOOM app lets you customise both its audio and lighting to your tastes. I would have liked a USB output and I know some will miss a built in-microphone but these are minor points and overall if you’re after a omnidirectional speaker with a great design the XBOOM 360 should make your shortlist.

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