LG XBOOM Go Portable Bluetooth Speaker PL5 - LED Lighting and up to 18-Hour Battery

Well, I was skeptical about buying a small portable speaker. My first thought was that the sound would be tinny and terrible. I was wrong. This little speaker has very good sound for the size. I am an amateur audiophile (I know, that sound pretentious but I promise I'm not) and am used to high quality audio in my home. So, when I decided I wanted something portable to take on vacation or to the beach, I initially started looking at earbuds. But I really don't like having earbuds in for long periods of time, plus my wife wanted to be able to listen as well. After a bunch of research and deciding I didn't want to spend a ton of money for something that will likely get damaged within a year or less, I narrowed my scope to 3 units. I got them all home and did some side-by-side comparisons. My criteria was that they needed to be less than $65-$70, had to have some weather/water/dust resistance, and needed to have at least a little low frequency sound. I can tell you that the testing didn't need to last very long. This was the winner by a long shot. ***Pros*** -Features- Not only does this have a good IP rating for weather resistance, it also includes a built-in microphone for phone calls and video conference meetings. Others have told me that the sound quality of the microphone is very good. This also allows you to connect via 3.5mm plug or bluetooth and has some lighting effects (which I honestly don't use or care about). You can turn the lighting off through the LG Soundboom app. That brings me to the next point... -Battery- Wow! I started bringing this to work to play low background music and then realized I could use it in calls too. I can use the speaker almost an entire work week for about 7-8 hours a day before it needs to be recharged. As I write this on a Friday, I have used the speaker all week and it just went dead at about noon. I haven't plugged it in to charge since Sunday night. Now, I did disable the lights so I am sure that help this out, but even so, this is nothing short of astounding. When I purchased it, I figured I would have to recharge it every other day. Pleasantly surprised that this isn't the case. A solid 30+ hours of use between charges. -Sound Quality- I like many genres of music and tested them all on this speaker. While it isn't going to keep your neighbors awake with booming bass, it is far better than I anticipated. At work I primarily listen to jazz and the PL5 has a clear, crisp sound. You can also use an EZ in the app to tailor the sound to your preference, however I tend to leave it set flat and the sound is great. Again, not like my home sound system, but this also didn't cost $3,000. If you keep your expectations realistic, you will be very happy with this speaker. -Durability- The PL5 has a rubberized coating on the entire speaker that helps keep it dry and dust free. The back panel where you charge the speaker or manually control it has a rubber cover that seals in to keep these vulnerable parts safe. No worries about taking this on the road or even accidentally dropping it (I have once but no worries-it still works great). ***Cons*** -Volume- While I don't tend to listen to this speaker at high volumes, I did test it out at various volume levels to see how it would perform. Up to about 75% volume, the sound was still clean and more than sufficient to fill a small room or to hear well outdoors. Above 75%, the quality began to break down in small increments up to about 90-95% at which time you might as well buy something larger. Again, if you keep your expectations realistic, you should be satisfied with the volume the speaker can produce. This is not meant to be a house party speaker. Overall, you can't beat the PL5s performance for the price. If you need something louder with better sound, go up a step to the PL7 or something even larger. If you want a good personal sound device with excellent battery life that provides good quality sound, look no further. You have found, what I feel, is the best device for the money. Don't be afraid to give it a try. Read more

I was on the fence about buying yet again another Bluetooth speaker because I already have various smart speakers in my home and I really didn't need them but I wanted them and they were a great deal at the time. Do I regret my purchase? Not in the slightest bit? You see in my home, If it's not Google it's LG and vice versa. As the self-proclaimed OFFICIAL unofficial Google guy I have a weakness where their brand technology is concerned. Now that said, LG is equally and in many cases, more valuable and more up to my standards in the realm of audio and visual experience. While my home already has a 65-in webOS gaming smart television with a company smart sound bar and I spend most of the day on my LG Tone free T90q Dolby atmos earbuds. Still, I wanted a decent speaker set for my office that I could either play music on pair to the TV and in seeing these and doing my research, I found that these were the perfect answer because not only could I utilize them in my space I was looking for, but they are very easy to just pick up and take with you wherever you want to go. It's not just a clever marketing point. They are very portable and the speakers have a good weight to them but won't weigh you down and I can easily see taking these to the beach to somebody's house if they're having a party or a cookout. The sound quality itself is very impressive which is nothing newsworthy for LG. LG is one of the leaders in sound innovation bringing Dolby Atmos as a minimum standard to American homes everywhere. I am personally grateful for that as an audio and tech junkie and they're able to do it at an affordable price with an amazing team behind the scenes always standing by for extra support if needed. I have to say that one of my favorite features for these speakers is not just the killer app where you can adjust literally everything in the way of the sound from trouble to base to pre -installed settings. But in pairing two of these speakers together you get a right speaker and a left speaker in the way of sound out. Naturally from there you can pair even more and if I'm correct in my memory, I believe you can pair up to 50 of the x boom speakers at one time to share in the music or whatever it is that you're listening to. That's something incredible that you just don't see every day. Now regardless of how many speakers, I may be able to link to each other and further lift the roof off the top of my home and the way of pumping up the volume, My all-time favorite use for these speakers is to pair the two together for the right and left and I will put one on either side of me in my very comfy leather chair in the living room and I will pair that them to my LG Smart TV while using my sound bar via the ARC input. So that when I am gaming and I'm playing on my PS5 I can get the best quality surround sound that I can afford and honestly that I've seen from anybody I know. It allows me to have the surround sound Dolby atmos audio from my soundbar and television with the dual link capability going through the x boom speakers for a full 360° experience. It's literally mind-blowing when sitting in front of the huge and very crisp picture of the LG set playing on PS5 which is one of the most advanced pieces of technology and gaming ever. To say that I was excited about this purchase is an understatement. I may have been on the fence in the beginning about the actual purchasing and my need for them - even now I can say honestly I do not actually need them but I want them- lol. I am very happy with my purchase. I am very happy with the sound quality and the all together durability and quality that LG brings to the table. LG is an all-around amazing brand that I've made a household staple and I hope that many others out there are doing the same because they make it effortless for their products to work in harmony and to work with others. I've been utilizing the speakers since I purchased them and unpackaged them. I will definitely be using them until their last dying breath. I have to say I highly recommend these speakers and I highly recommend LG for standing behind their products and always being there if you need them. Read more