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LG xBoom Bounce: Two-minute evaluate
Go to the LG web site and also you’ll see this Bluetooth speaker billed because the “LG xBoom Bounce by will.i.am”. Latest advertising and marketing supplies are rife with mentions of the Black Eyed Peas performer who, relying on the place you look on LG’s web site, “crafted” the sound from the bottom up, “fine-tuned” the sound of the Bounce after the very fact or just acted as… no matter an “Experiential Architect” is.
It’s a really loosely-defined partnership and I’ve no thought if the musician’s work actually did contain engineering the Bounce’s sound or just turning into a advertising and marketing determine, though a colleague at TechRadar did speak to the rapper, writer, actor, record producer and entrepreneur earlier this year on the collaboration. Anyway, the final gist is that this: the LG xBoom Bounce is a brand new occasion speaker right here to (hopefully) make you wanna Shake Ya Growth Growth – and thus, make its manner into our best Bluetooth speakers roundup.
Its relative beefiness ought to have been clear from the identify; LG’s busy line of xBoom audio system are all designed for room-filling sound, full with hardy designs, excessive volumes and normally loads of LED lights. The bounce was introduced alongside the slightly-cheaper cylinder of the LG xBoom Seize and greater, dearer LG xBoom Stage 301.
I need to admit that I’ve not been blown away by different xBoom units I’ve used, and sadly the Bounce didn’t handle to alter that.
The final xBoom I used was the petite Go XG2T, which is outstanding for its portability, a trait which is necessary for many Bluetooth audio system. Not within the Bounce, although, because it’s too huge and heavy to slide in your bag and take to a picnic. It has an elastic carry band which loses type shortly, two unstable legs and a pet peeve of mine: no skip monitor button.
I can’t mark down the design an excessive amount of although, with high-grade protections guaranteeing that the xBoom Bounce is protected from the onerous knocks that would befall it when utilized in your backyard (or forgotten in your backyard after just a few beers).
Relating to options, LG’s nailed the fundamentals with the LG xBoom Bounce: its battery life is pleasingly lengthy and I’m at all times a fan of LED lights on audio system. Nevertheless there’s not a lot additional should you obtain LG’s smart-home app (no, there’s no bespoke app), with just a few of its potential options squandered.
For instance there’s an on-speaker button which ought to, in idea, be used to shortly open a selected playlist – nevertheless this doesn’t truly work alongside any streaming service, solely with native content material in your cellphone or LG’s personal ambient songs.
The most important concern with the Bounce is that its sound high quality simply doesn’t match rivals available on the market. With Sonos and JBL each providing similar-priced options, the bass-heavy however empty-sounding audio of the Bounce doesn’t lower it, regardless of how loud it will probably go to impress fields of company.
As a mid-range speaker by way of worth, LG’s rugged construct high quality, battery life and quantity right here could also be sufficient to win over some customers, together with those that desire a gadget particularly for out of doors actions and events (and already personal a number of for his or her dwelling). However should you’re extra of a one-and-done form of speaker purchaser, the xBoom Bounce is loads more durable to suggest.
LG xBoom Bounce evaluate: Worth and launch date
- Launched in April 2025
- Formally priced at $179.99 / £139 / AU$249
The LG xBoom Bounce was launched in April 2025 alongside one other member of its household: the xBoom Seize.
You should purchase the speaker for $169 / £169 (round AU$300, although it’s the one one among its household to not be on sale in Australia on the time of writing).
That price places the xBoom Bounce within the shark-infested waters of a extremely aggressive worth vary: the Sonos Roam 2 is barely a contact pricier, whereas the JBL Flip 7 is a small quantity extra inexpensive, and also you don’t need to pay that rather more for a detailed rival within the Tribit Stormbox Blast 2.
These three choices are all inside the prime 5 in our round-up of the best Bluetooth speakers, so LG is getting into a tricky crowd. Extra on these rivals beneath.
LG xBoom Bounce evaluate: Specs
|
Weight: |
1.32kg |
|
Dimensions: |
26.2 x 9.9 x 9.4 cm |
|
Battery life (quoted): |
30 hours |
|
Connectivity: |
Not specified |
|
Drivers: |
2x tweeter, 1x woofer |
|
Aux in: |
No |
|
Charger port: |
USB-C |
|
Microphone: |
Sure |
|
Waterproof ranking: |
IP67 |
LG xBoom Bounce evaluate: Options
- Some set-up woes
- 30-hour battery life
- Helpful location calibration mode
The XBoom Bounce can be utilized alongside the LG ThinQ app. That is an everything-app for all LG merchandise, and it’s fairly a prolonged set-up course of between creating an account, discovering ‘audio system’ on the checklist and, in my case, repeatedly making an attempt to get it to pair till it lastly succeeded. I’ll have given up a number of makes an attempt earlier if I wasn’t reviewing the Bounce (and you should utilize the gadget simply tremendous with out pairing it to the app anyway). Pairing to units merely for listening was fast and painless, it’s simply the app that’s the difficulty.
The ThinQ app could make sense you probably have a number of different LG merchandise (or if this speaker boasted wi-fi streaming help, which to be clear, it doesn’t), however should you don’t it’s a little bit of a faff. Truthfully, it appears like a bloated set-up course of and a few of the options simply don’t make sense – why am I being requested the place the speaker is positioned when, by definition, it’s a transportable one?
Utilizing the app you’ll be able to change the speaker’s quantity, change the lighting sample on it, arrange the MY button (extra on this imminently) and arrange just a few different options like Auracast for daisy-chaining extra audio system for multi-room audio, a turn-off timer and a small playlist of ambient background music known as Therapeutic Remedy. There’s additionally a calibration mode which works out the speaker’s location (after a quick take a look at) and adjusts the sound high quality, which is admittedly fairly neat – till you progress it.
When you’ve arrange the MY button, urgent it on the speaker auto-plays from a playlist you’ve chosen. Nevertheless you’ll be able to solely use this for audio recordsdata in your gadget, or the Therapeutic Remedy playlist on the app – no Spotify, no Apple Music, no Tidal. As well as, it’s staggeringly onerous to browse the Therapeutic Remedy library to search out sounds – go to the web page within the app and also you’ll be proven a single music, with the choices to obtain it, in addition to an inventory of your downloaded songs. The one manner I found out to see all Therapeutic Remedy choices is to actually obtain every thing you’re introduced with.
There are just a few preset Sound Results you should utilize to switch your sound: Customary, Bass Enhance and Voice Improve are all fairly apparent and there’s a customized choice to carry up a six-band equalizer. The opposite choice is AI Sound which balances audio primarily based in your chosen style.
I examined the speaker for about 10 hours earlier than going by way of the set-up course of and if I may flip again time, I most likely wouldn’t trouble with the app. The one factor I ended up needing it for is to activate Bass Enhance mode. I discussed above that I had bother connecting to the app; this was by no means a difficulty connecting the speaker to my cellphone through Bluetooth, which was flawless.
Let’s clear our minds with a extremely constructive characteristic: the battery life. In accordance with LG this could stretch to 30 hours and in my testing I noticed no motive to doubt that determine (so long as you’re taking part in at 50% quantity, which is an affordable determine indoors). That determine trumps a number of the competitors with many rivals hovering between the 10-15 hour mark. Charging is completed through the USB-C port on the again and takes three hours.
LG xBoom Bounce evaluate: Design
- IP67 and military-grade safety
- Heavy and lengthy physique
- Wobbly legs and elastic strap
The LG xBoom Bounce is a giant and heavy speaker – whereas all Bluetooth audio system are ostensibly transportable, the heft of the Bounce means you most likely received’t wish to carry this to the park for a picnic or barbeque given that you simply’ll need to jettison half your meals to suit it in your bag. At dwelling I left it on the identical shelf for the majority of my testing, proper by a wall outlet, utterly offsetting any want for it to be wi-fi within the first place. The problem is, I do not assume the audio is sweet sufficient for a devoted indoor ‘major’ speaker… however once more, I am getting forward of myself.
To be exact, the xBoom Bounce is 316.5mm lengthy, 142.5mm tall and 136mm huge, taking a tough oval form. It weighs 1.32kg which is heavy for a Bluetooth speaker like this – another occasion audio system are a complete kilo lighter.
On prime of the speaker are its two tweeters in addition to buttons: energy, quantity up, quantity down, pay/pause, Bluetooth pairing, multipoint and MY (the latter we’ll describe within the Options part). Up to now, so commonplace. The again of the speaker has a USB-C port for charging however no 3.5mm jack, so you’ll be able to’t plug-and-play along with your previous iPod right here.
A big characteristic on the again of the xBoom is the stretchy cloth band you’ll be able to see in footage. This has just a little ‘pull’ to it so you may get your hand behind it to hold it, however its measurement and positioning means you’ll be able to’t actually use it to connect the Bounce to something (not least of all as a result of 1.4kg means this factor is vulnerable to pulling over stuff you connect it to). The elastic additionally deformed fairly shortly in my testing, having a noticeable upward arc after just some days of testing, and so I wasn’t eager to depend on it as a technique to transport the factor in case it snapped.
The entrance of the speaker has an LED strip which sparkles to music, and you’ll select the colour or sample by way of the app. It’s not an enormous characteristic, however should you like having flashing LEDs to accompany your music, it’s a pleasant contact.
On the underside of the xBoom are two round ‘legs’ that it stands on, elevating the primary physique a spark off the bottom. There’s most likely a great motive for them however they resulted within the gadget wobbling an undue quantity when on flat surfaces.
You may most likely realise I’ve blended emotions on the xBoom Bounce’s design, however one simple boon is its safety. Not solely does the Bounce have an IP67 ranking towards mud ingress and restricted immersion in water, but in addition the military-grade MIL-STD-810H certification. This ensures it will probably stand up to vibrations, impacts, spray from salt water, excessive temperatures and some different fairly-specific kinds of assault. That is maybe the primary actually rugged Bluetooth speaker I’ve ever examined, and I’m at all times a fan of devices which can be designed for longevity.
LG xBoom Bounce evaluate: Sound high quality
- Excessive max quantity
- Low-end focus
- Songs usually sound ’empty’
Let’s unpack what you’re getting with the Bounce: there are two tweeters and a woofer for two.1 stereo audio.
The LG xBoom Bounce doesn’t lack for energy, with a excessive most quantity; I typically listened at quantity 10 at dwelling but it surely goes all the best way as much as 30, so this might be appropriate for pretty giant gatherings. However what LG affords in quantity, it lacks in high quality.
The main focus of the sound is clearly within the low-end, with songs’ bass traces being the very first thing you’ll discover once you placed on any monitor. However then, as is the difficulty with most ‘bass overload’ circumstances, it means mid- and high-end devices sound compressed. Right here, these frequencies appear virtually squeezed into an oddly uninteresting ooze of ‘noise’, stripping counter harmonies and element from songs in favor of the ever insatiable god: bass.
Even vocals had been usually muddied and nonspecific in songs I listened to, and there have been instances once I merely couldn’t make out the lyrics of lead or backing singers as a result of how low they had been within the field.
Let’s take a hear: Phosphorescent’s New Beginning in New England normally affords a wealthy mixture of rhythmic devices however listening on the Bounce, all I can hear is the bass, vocal and a few assorted ‘soup’ of every thing else. The following music on my playlist is Letter to Woman J by Dispatch which begins with acoustic guitar and vocals, however the latter sounds muted and the previous shortly loses any type of strumming sample and timbre. Altering playlists for some selection, Morgan Wallen’s Thought You Ought to Know was listened to – simply the intro, 3 times, to attempt to checklist the devices we’ve bought right here. Sadly, I merely couldn’t make them out and all through the music, Wallen appears like he’s frantically waving his hand to the blending desk and pointing upwards to point ‘flip me up!’.
The impact of all of that is that music appears loads much less advanced and nuanced, and due to this fact missing just a little little bit of the ‘soul’ that comes from the interaction and cohesion of various devices. It made rock and pop much less pleasurable and classical virtually unattainable to understand; I most loved utilizing the speaker when it was for dance-focused tracks with instrumental simplicity. Which, in fact, is what sure customers might be in search of, so do not let me put you off if that is you.
A give attention to the low-end and a excessive max quantity make the LG xBoom Bounce suited as a celebration speaker, but it surely’s not for audiophiles, who’ll discover just a few issues lacking from their music.
LG xBoom Bounce evaluate: Worth
In the event you’re merely wanting on the xBoom Bounce for a private loudspeaker in your dwelling, you could find different choices at an identical (or cheaper) worth that provide higher sound high quality.
For occasion audio system, the query is a bit completely different, because the Bounce matches most of its shut rivals by way of worth. Nevertheless you could be swayed by the varied protections on supply, which may be certain that it retains serving you for lots longer than one among its options.
Within the grand scheme of issues, you’re just about getting what you pay for although.
Ought to I purchase the LG xBoom Bounce?
|
Attributes |
Notes |
Ranking |
|---|---|---|
|
Options |
An extended battery life and equalizer offset an annoying app expertise. |
3.5/5 |
|
Design |
It is not fairly ‘transportable’ but it surely’s well-protected. |
3.5/5 |
|
Sound high quality |
The excessive max quantity and give attention to low-end will please some, but it surely’s not for audiophiles. |
3/5 |
|
Worth |
You get what you pay for, and it will final you longer than some rivals. |
3.5/5 |
Purchase it if…
Don’t purchase it if…
LG xBoom Bounce evaluate: Additionally think about
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
LG xBoom Bounce |
Tribit Stormbox Blast 2 |
JBL Flip 7 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Weight: |
1.32kg |
8.7g |
560g |
|
Dimensions: |
26.2 x 9.9 x 9.4 cm |
47.6 x 25.9 x 19.3 cm |
7 x 18.3 x 7.2 cm |
|
Battery life (quoted): |
30 hours |
30 hours |
16 hours |
|
Connectivity: |
Bluetooth 5.3 |
Bluetooth 5.4 |
Bluetooth 5.4 |
|
Drivers: |
2x tweeter, 1x woofer |
1x subwoofer, 2x drivers, 2x tweeters |
1x driver, 1x tweeter |
|
Aux-in: |
No |
Sure |
No |
|
Charger port: |
USB-C |
AC 100-240V |
USB-C |
|
Microphone: |
Sure |
No (mic ports) |
No |
|
Waterproof ranking: |
IP67 |
IP67 |
IP68 |
How I examined the LG XBoom Bounce
I used the LG xBoom Bounce for 2 weeks as a way to write this evaluate, which is the usual testing interval.
I used the Bounce alongside two separate Android smartphones, one a Realme and one other a Moto, and did a lot of the testing break up between two completely different rooms in my home. Many of the playback was music from Spotify and the ThinQ app however I watched just a few movies, listened to spoken-word content material and performed a recreation with the speaker connected.
I have been writing tech opinions for TechRadar for over six years now, together with audio system in addition to different LG merchandise.
First examined: June 2025
Learn extra on how we test at TechRadar.