I used the Standard EQ preset to test the audio quality of the Xboom Bounce, which is probably for the best, because the AI Sound preset, which claims to analyze the genre in real-time for optimal sound, led to inconsistent results in testing. The Voice Enhance preset, meanwhile, sounds poor when playing music, and the Bass Boost preset only adds a subtle shift toward the low end.
The Xboom Bounce has the right sonic qualities for some party music. On The Knife’s track “Silent Shout,” the bass triplets and deeper sub-bass quarter notes sound weighty and propulsive without drowning the mids and treble. At 50% volume, the speaker provides reasonable listening levels for a 150-square-foot room or small outdoor gathering, but it really comes into its own when pushed a bit louder. At low volumes, the upper-mids and treble lack bite and presence, leaving the audio feeling flat. The upper-register harmony is simply hard to pick out at lower levels. At 60%, these notes start to ring out better. The soundstage is a bit crowded, so some subtler elements, like the metal chime, get lost. The limitations of AAC are subtly evident here, with some compression artifacts appearing during the decay of certain claps and cymbal hits.
(Credit: Mark Knapp)
Kendrick Lamar’s “Loyalty” reveals some of the speaker’s limits. This track pushes deep into sub-bass territory with a line that rises around the 35-second mark. Surprisingly, the speaker renders all but the lowest of these notes. There’s some roll-off, though, so as the notes leap up and down in frequency—the speaker can go from a mellow note to a hiccup-like loud note—a common issue for speakers trying to tackle this sub-bass line. The rest of the track sounds quite clean, with the Bruno Mars sample sounding crisp and vocals loud and clear.
The speaker performs impressively with Bill Callahan’s “Drover.” His baritone vocals are loud and central and aren’t overwhelmed by the rest of the mix. Even though the speaker doesn’t have the clear stereo separation required to really let the electric guitar and fiddle sit on the outer edges of the mix, it manages to present them distinctly, something mono speakers struggle with. Still, the expansiveness of the track is somewhat lost due to the narrow soundstage. The drums have a significant bite to them, especially the cymbals and rimshots, although they sound somewhat compressed.
The speaker performs admirably with orchestral music, such as John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary. Low bass notes don’t overwhelm the rest of the instruments or drown out the vocals, which remain clear throughout. The chaotic instrumentation of the opening track is hard to keep up with; however, compression and weak stereo separation make the speaker sound muddled.
While the drivers can produce considerable volume, the quality of the highs sinks at peak levels. The bass is restrained as it pushes past 80% volume, resulting in a harsh quality when the volume is cranked to its maximum. Between that and the speaker sounding bland at low volumes, it ends up with something of a sweet spot between 60% and 80% volume.
The microphone is somewhat disappointing. Even at a close distance in a quiet room, it exhibits strong processing artifacts. It sounds like it’s trying to pick up a distant voice in a noisy environment and then enhance it. I could make out what I was saying in a test recording, but it wasn’t pleasant to listen to.
That mic has a second function: Helping the ThinQ app analyze the environment and adjust the sound. After running the optimizer, I didn’t notice a difference in the sound. However, it could be helpful in certain scenarios, such as when the speaker is positioned in a semi-enclosed area where there might be sonic reflections.
