Loewe We. Boost

Introduction

Loewe notches ever closer to household name status in the UK. The German company has embarked on bold marketing campaigns in recent years to make sure that’s the case. It’s recently added coffee makers to its product portfolio, but the brand’s luxury TVs and Hi-Fi are proving to be formidable contestants in a crowded space.

When the We. Boost home theatre system debuted in June, naturally I wanted to get my hands on it. The 4.1.2 active and wireless satellite/sub package is clearly intended to give high-end sound bars a run for their money.

Separate speaker enclosures offer extra placement flexibility and should arguably improve the sonics. So, how does the We. Boost fare?

Design

• Classy matte black and grey finish
• HDMI eARC wireless dongle
• Be wary of satellite speaker soft front grilles

The We. Boost consists of four 20-cm high satellite speakers with a square 12-cm x 12-cm footprint. There’s only one colour option to choose from, namely the grey and black scheme we tested. A well-formed cotton grille covers the front and partial sides of the speakers, but we did notice that the front sides omit a plastic or steel strengthening frame. If you were to apply too much pressure accidentally when lifting one of the units, I assume the enclosure could dent.

Each unit includes a mains power cord, which is thankfully not hard-. As each active speaker and the subwoofer require their own AC leads, you will need to find five independent outlets. This could potentially be more of a challenge for the rear units if you plan to place them on side tables or a behind-sofa cabinet. Wall mounting hardware comes in the box if that’s the only option.

While the satellite designs are harmless enough, they don’t scream hi-tech or represent a design revolution. But the curved corners do at least offer a domestic-friendly appeal. There are also tactile rubber ringed feet which we found will firmly anchor the enclosures to any shelf.

The sub is compact and manageable at 38.7 cm high. It should neatly tuck into a corner or be unobtrusive next to a TV stand. It’s shrouded in a textured black surface with no join lines at the corners which helps to promote a more high-end appearance. The 6.5-inch active woofer is floor-facing and mounted into the base, while a 4-inch passive reflex port sits near the top side of the rear panel. The sub includes four chunky budge-resistant feet which give the driver the necessary floor clearance.

There are two other important pieces of the We. Boost puzzle. First, there is the stylish, although plastic, remote control. A small white-on-black LCD screen near the top clearly displays input selections and statuses, and there are some useful audio tweaking options which we’ll come to in the next section.

Second, the Loewe package includes a wireless HDMI eARC dongle which can hang from the TV’s connection panel. This, in turn, requires a USB-A to C power cable to loop back into the TV for power (or via an independent mains connection).

Features

• Dolby Atmos from 4.1.2 channel configuration
• 14 speaker drivers: 4 x 1.5-inch tweeters; 4 x 3.5-inch mid drivers; 4 x 2-inch height drivers; 1 x 6.5-inch woofer; 1 x 4-inch passive reflex port
• Bluetooth 5.4

As soon as the We. Boost components are plugged into the mains and the wireless dongle is connected to the TV, the whole system leaps into action. Loewe’s boast that the product is ‘plug-and-play’ goes unchallenged.

I was certainly impressed with the ease of setup, although we did experience a couple of audio dropouts. We assume these emanated from intermittency of the wireless dongle. The recommended option is to plug the USB power cable into its own mains receptacle, but this is not provided in the box. However, we suggest you do follow this advice.

Keep in mind that the We. Boost does not include a Wi-Fi connection if you were hoping to fix the devices onto your network. However, because it seems that Loewe has traded feature lists in favour of premium sound quality, we’ll venture that you might not miss it.

As mentioned, the chief immersive format for movies and music is Dolby Atmos. There is no DTS:X accommodation, but Dolby roster extends Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby True HD. The setup will also accept a PCM signal if you choose take advantage of it. There are three listening modes, all selectable from the remote. It’s hardly a comprehensive list, but you can enjoy either the surround, dual stereo or the bass-reduced night settings. Although there’s no left and right-only stereo mode, the dual stereo selection performed extremely well for our streamed tunes.

With 720 watts of horsepower on hand, there should be plenty of scope for filling quite a large living space. Certainly in our tests, there was plenty of headroom available, so we have no reason to doubt those numbers. That figure is also distributed among 13 active drivers with the subwoofer supporting one passive reflex port for extra oomph. Note that all the satellites are classed as active, rather than powered, so the Class D-based modules onboard each enclosure reside ‘behind’ the crossover circuitry.

Loewe says that the satellite/subwoofer crosses over at 120Hz and that the sub can extend down to 43 Hz. In practice, and combined with the passive port, we found the subwoofer could reproduce some very deep note cues, so that figure may be conservative, to say the least.

Via the remote you can control inputs, volume, muting and listening modes. There’s also a provision for setting speaker distances to improve time alignment at the seated position. In general, the audio is well balanced out of the box, but bass and treble controls can be tweaked if desired.

There are a couple of important features built into the wireless dongle. The first is that there is a 3.5-mm port for headphones. But more interesting for some will be the second port for a dedicated and active centre channel. If you decide to build out the soundfield even more, then the option is there.

Sound Quality

• Exquisite high frequency detail
• Warm and engaging music presentation
• Thunderous yet controlled bass

The We. Boost evidently boosts dialogue if that is the intention. Surfing through broadcast TV channels (does anyone do that anymore?), voices are crystalline and resonant, a marked enhancement over the competent speakers already built into our accompanying TCL TV. It’s rare that a soundbar jumps out at you, but the Loewe literally transforms the available audio panoply.

Sticking to the dual stereo mode for some TIDAL tunes, the timbre is both warm and engaging. M.I.A.’s Paper Planes reveals a punchy but smooth kick drum sound, augmented by a lightning fast and integrated subwoofer response. Despite the enhancement of the four-channel dual stereo mode for music, the thrust of the performance is thrown to the front soundstage with the rears simply adding a modicum of breadth and air. It’s subtle but it seems to work.

It does likewise for the John Eliot Gardiner’s recording of Bach’s Mass in B Minor. The Loewe extracts and clearly identifies all the voice parts in the Kyrie. The soprano and alto voices are acute, yet flighted and soft-edged. The orchestra is balanced with the delightful cellos and double basses noticeably plotting the rhythm. This is more akin to high-fidelity audio, rather than what you might experience with a mid-priced or even top-end soundbar.  

For some meaty Dolby Atmos movie action, the Sicily scene from the 4K Blu-ray of Aquaman indulges plenty of electronically created bass cues and a powerful trombone-infused score to give the Loewe a good workout. The Atlantan Men-of-War fly in seemingly from above the TV screen and land on the stone surfaces of the Roman ruins with room-shaking thuds.

And the Loewe makes sure that the metallic dongs of the falling and hurtling bell as it crashes to the floor are both natural and impactful. It’s highly rewarding stuff and the orchestra keeps reminding you of its weighty presence throughout the ensuing mayhem.

Should you buy it?

FAQs