Home acoustics has gone through a real renaissance. Now it’s not just a pair of speakers and some kind of lighting. Now such things are called smart. And today we will take a look at a smart speaker from LG with “Alice” on board.

Specifications LG XBOOM AI ThinQ WK7Y:

• Dimensions: 135 × 211 × 135 mm, 1,9 kg
• Columns: Tweeter 0,8 ″ / MF driver 3,5 ″, total power 30 W
• Assistant: “Alice” (in the US – Google Assistant)
• Communication: Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi, microUSB (only for service)
• Cost: 9990 rubles

Appearance

An elongated cylinder with a rounded bottom and a beveled top. A rigid mesh covering two speakers, which is like the rest of the market mates.

The designers should be thanked for the lack of glossy elements. The lower and upper parts are completely matte.

At the bottom is the LG logo, where it looks, that’s where the main sound wave goes. And on the bottom of the device there is a recess with a recess for the power cable. There is also a microUSB exclusively for the service center and a Reset button.

From above, everything is a little more interesting. Directly below the Meridian logo is an RGB LED strip.

Otherwise, the upper part is completely under control. Here we have icons to control the volume, stop and start tracks, call the voice assistant and the fancy F key, which is responsible for wireless connections. Moreover, of all these elements, only the central button has a backlight.

The keys are touch-sensitive and that would seem to be all. But if you look behind the head of the speaker, you can find the second physical key, it is responsible for turning off the microphones and for resetting the settings.

“Alice”

Naturally, all the smart functions of the device are tied to the assistant, and in our case it is “Alice”. But in the European market, a version with the Google Assistant is available.

“Alice” can be called by voice or activated by pressing a button. She will perfectly hear you from any corner of the room and will help you start songs, find out about the weather or make inquiries on the Internet, turn up or turn down the volume.

You just need to be prepared for the fact that the proprietary service “Yandex.Music” will be used to launch music. If you are used to using your own media library in other services, then the assistant will not be able to navigate in it.

Equally, it is powerless with a Bluetooth connection. We ask you to switch the track, but it turns out that the assistant launches something from “his” service.

Similarly, you will not be able to find out the name of the song. Let’s say you have Yandex.Radio and, at your request, Alice will not be able to give you the name of the song. But if she plays not from the speaker, but from another device, then she will cope.

But the endless possibilities of a smart home open up before you. You can ask “Alice” to turn on lights, run scripts or activate the kettle.

Sound

Two speakers are used to reproduce sound, one 0,8 “tweeter and a 3,5” midrange. Maximum power 30 watts. And it may seem that the indicator is not so hot, but the company Meridian, which is most often found in the salons of premium cars, is responsible for the production of these components.

The column plays low frequencies quite diligently, and so much so that they can mix with the mids. The vocals sound more than natural and no wheezing is heard even at the last tenth volume level.

You can find fault with the volume of sound. But here you can’t jump above two speakers. For a large room, there will be few of them.

Of course, it is better to listen to opera on more advanced systems, but this one is ready not to lose its face. The playback range is sufficient for confident reproduction of distinguishable mid and high frequencies.

It is quite difficult to convey “on paper” all the features of reproduction, but we have to take our word for it. The acoustics are decent.

Impressions

If you accidentally turned off the microphone, and the speaker stopped listening to you, then to switch the track or adjust the volume, you will have to reach the top of the device.

But in the dark, it is almost impossible to navigate it. Only the central key can light up. As a result, it is not always possible to get exactly the volume.

It also happens that some track is simply not in Yandex’s media library, as a result of which Alice launches something that is as similar as possible in name.

And it happened that, not understanding bad spoken English, the assistant issued a certificate from Wikipedia. Although the opposite cases also happened, when “Alice” started the desired track on the line from the chorus.

I am glad that you can switch to Bluetooth with one voice command. So you don’t have to run to the speaker to press the center button.

conclusions

The official price in our market is equal to the closest competitor – Yandex.Stations. This device is distinguished by more premium sound and the absence of an HDMI port.

The device is ideal for regular users of Yandex services, as well as those who are looking for a smart speaker with decent sound. More advanced users will be able to turn it into a smart home control center.

The cost of the smart speaker LG XBOOM AI ThinQ WK7Y is 9990 rubles… When buying, they give three months of Yandex.Plus subscription with access to Yandex.Music.