LG Xboom Bounce Review

Introduction

Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.i.am has been a busy boy, but rather than releasing records, he’s hunkered down in the studio to create an AI-infused radio station and tune a new range of LG Xboom Bluetooth speakers. The eagle-eyed among you may have even seen him sporting one on the red carpet at the recent F1 movie premiere.

Called Grab, Bounce, and Stage 301, LG’s naming convention could be a case for HR, but recruiting a nine-time Grammy Award winner to make them sound better than rivals from JBL, Bose, Ultimate Ears and more, indicates the South Koreans are taking things seriously.

The Xboom Bounce is the middle model of the three, which indicates that “just right” Goldilocks appeal, and for a few pennies under £170, you get a pretty formidable set of features, from up-firing speakers and LE Audio, Auracast to AI audio and lighting.

LG’s aim with AI is to optimise the listening experience to suit any surroundings, and thanks to military standard certification for seven key durability tests, that could be just about anywhere on the planet. Simon Reeve will be pleased.

Throw in an app with “exclusive content”, Apple Music integration, and a not insignificant 30 hours of playtime, on paper, the LG Xboom Bounce isn’t messing about, but can it deliver when it matters?

Design

• Solid build
• Chunky proportions
• LED mood lighting

The LG XBoom Bounce features a distinctive design, reminiscent of retro boomboxes but more compact and contemporary. Its pill-shaped top view contrasts with its brick-like stance on a table. As portable speakers go, it’s a little on the larger side.

A solid mix of robust plastic and speaker fabric, there’s a thick elasticated carry strap held by brushed metal plates. It’s all black save for the silver and burnt orange Xboom branding on the front, and red diaphragm surrounds on top.

Skirting the bottom edge of the front, you’ll find LED mood lighting running the length of the speaker, while on top, a control panel comprises power, volume down, volume up, play/pause, Bluetooth pairing, party link, and a curious heart symbol.

The speaker sits on a pair of sizable, circular rubberised feet, giving it a slightly raised profile. At the back is a solitary USB-C input with an LED power indicator above, and it’s worth noting the speaker can double as a power bank to charge devices.

Tipping the scales at 1.42 kg, the Xboom Bounce is a fair bit heavier than the 0.96 kg JBL Charge 6, and given it’s about the same length as a loaf of bread, it’s the kind of speaker that needs a place to perch rather than being held.

LG has gone all out on making this thing as impregnable as possible. It’s been tested to MIL-STD-810H U.S. military standards, passing seven durability tests around rain, vibration, impact, salt water spray, flooding, sand dust, and high temperatures.

If that wasn’t enough, its IP67 water and dust resistance rating makes the Xboom Bounce a pool party or beach bash winner.

Features

• Will.i.am fine-tuning
• AI room calibration
• MY personalised content

Arguably, the strongest area for the Xboom Bounce is its impressive list of features, which offers plenty of effervescent small talk opportunities with guests when the speaker becomes the centrepiece to summer BBQs.

Starting with the Xboom Signature Sound tuned by Will.i.am, LG has laid it on thick here, calling the popstar slash tech entrepreneur its “Experiential Architect” for the speaker series.

In effect, this has made him the creative lead for the Xboom brand. LG says all “Xboom by Will.i.am” products are “professionally refined” by him to deliver a “more balanced sound with warmer tone”.

He has had a helping hand in the sound stakes, however, with the Xboom Bounce’s dome tweeters sourced from Danish audio manufacturer Peerless. The Danes have unquestionable form in this area, and it feels reassuring to have them on board.

Not only has Will.i.am reportedly “fine-tuned” the Xboom Bounce for immersive and dynamic sound, he is also responsible for creating every sound that accompanies the operation of the speaker — from powering on to Bluetooth pairing.

Perhaps I’m doing Mr. i.am a disservice, but LG extolling “experience the extraordinary sound UI crafted with precision” — when to most of us it’s just a few beeps and whistles — feels a tad condescending.”

LG has been pushing AI sound on its products — particularly its OLED TVs — for a while now. Here you can manually choose rhythm, melody, or voice-oriented modes, or let AI select the most optimal mode for you.

This works by deploying an algorithm to analyse what you’re listening to and adjust the sound to suit the genre. Additionally, LG has added AI calibration to decipher the size and shape of the room you’re in with the aim of delivering space-filling sound.

To cap things off, AI lighting doesn’t just sync with the sound, it detects the genre of music and adjusts itself to suit; otherwise, choose from ambient, party, or voice mode in the LG ThinQ app to set the mood.

In fact, the ThinQ app has plenty going for it. It’s dopamine-pleasingly colourful, there are comprehensive settings for everything from party linking speakers to AI sound, and LG offers up access to a selection of healing therapy wellness playlists.

Elsewhere in the app, there’s Apple Music and local music file synchronisation — more on this later — and the ability to connect multiple speakers with Auracast, although the party link button on the speaker itself will shortcut this.

The Xboom Bounce already has a 2.1 stereo setup, but Party Link will still let you select dual mode for pairing two Bounces at once. For even more Bounce to the ounce, multi-mode connects multiple Xboom speakers (2025 models onwards only).

Finally, remember the mysterious heart symbol? This is Xboom Bounce’s MY button. Personalise content and playlists in the ThinQ app, favourite the ones you like best, and pressing the heart symbol will shortcut you straight to them. A press of the MY button also answers and ends phone calls — a neat touch.

Connectivity

• Comprehensive ThinQ app
• Bluetooth 5.3
• Handy speaker placement

A bit like Will.i.am himself, the Xboom Bounce can be a complex character. Sure, you can pair instantly, and Bluetooth 5.3 means things fall into place pretty seamlessly, but you really need to deep dive to get the most from it.

The AI sound settings, standard sound settings, AI light settings, and MY settings are joined by even more settings and submenus for everything from healing therapy and Apple Music content to Auracast and Party Link options.

If you like that level of customisation, the Xboom Bounce will be a boon for you, but for some, it will feel bloated when all you want is a basic Bluetooth speaker that sounds great at the point of access.

Truth be told, sorting MY content can be a bit of a fiddle. Syncing Apple Music playlists is very welcome, but it takes a while to build the muscle memory to do it without thinking, while Spotify and co. don’t get a look in.

This is compounded by only being able to select tracks in alphabetical order. There is no search facility, and seemingly no option to select new tracks to stream, just ones already added to your Apple Music collection.

Perhaps a firmware update will solve things, but we all know Apple can be tricky fish when it comes to app integration.

Elsewhere, there’s no aux-in, which would have been a handy addition on a speaker this size, and while the elasticated strap takes some getting used to, you can undoubtedly be versatile with your speaker placement.

Sound Quality

• 2.1 stereo setup
• Racetrack woofer
• Room-filling sound

We’ve spoken at length about Will.i.am’s sound tuning involvement on the Xboom Bounce, but what’s the actual speaker setup, and how does it sound?

Under the hood, you get an oval-shaped racetrack woofer, dual 20 mm dome tweeters crafted by Peerless, and dual upward passive radiators to add finesse to those wobbly low ends and make the soundstage more immersive.

The result is a mature sound with clarity and vibrancy across the frequencies and output that maintains its composure even at top volume.

Bass is strong but not overpowering — it’ll handle Hip Hop by Dead Prez without getting flustered, just don’t expect to dazzle people with low-end wobbles. Even in bass boost mode and Apple Music set to increase bass, it’ll leave you wanting.

Possibly the most pleasing aspect of the Xboom Bounce soundstage is it’s definitely room-filling. Elephant Clouds by Morcheeba sounds glorious and would be sure to hold court in AI sound or bass boost mode.

A quick tip on AI calibration. You’ll need to re-run this every time you move the speaker to a new room. Once calibrated, you can tap before or after to decide which you prefer. In practice, though, we felt this feature worked well and enhanced the overall listening experience.

Something we weren’t expecting is the Xboom Bounce enjoying life in the slow lane. Healing therapy playlists aside, classical compositions like Eric Coates’ By the Sleepy Lagoon sound lush, dreamy, and orchestral in all the right places.

But it’s probably pop with a bit of energy, where the Xboom Bounce feels most comfortable. The playful 60s French vibes of Saint-Tropez by Francis Lai balance the bossa nova brass, percussion, bass and vocal elements beautifully.

That’s not to say this thing can’t do heavy when it wants to. Wherever I May Roam by Metallica is suitably brooding in bass boost or AI sound mode.

Music aside, the Xboom Bounce works as an excellent speakerphone with Bluetooth Multipoint for seamless switching between two devices without manual reconnection.

Voice-oriented settings in the ThinQ app optimise call clarity. If you’ve got an important work call, we strongly suggest enabling voice enhance mode, and AI calibration also works for clearer calls in different environments.

Battery Life

• All-day battery life
• Replaceable battery
• Audible alerts

Up to 30 hours playtime is a pretty generous figure on a speaker at this price point and probably goes some way to explaining why the Xboom Bounce is carrying a bit of extra weight. This figure is based on 50% volume without lights and feels accurate.

In the same area, the Ultimate Ears Megaboom 4 can only manage 20 hours, the JBL Charge 6 falls a smidge short at 28 hours, while the Marshall Emberton III will give you 32 hours for £20 less.

I’d love a power-saving stamina mode like on the Sony ULT FIELD 1, but you do get auto power off and a sleep timer. Charging from flat to full takes three hours, and I like the fact LG sells a replacement battery that can be swapped out at home.

There’s no battery indicator on the speaker, but you can keep tabs in the app, and you’ll get audible alerts when the Xboom Bounce drops below 20%.

Should you buy it?

FAQs