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On paper the LG PK7 sounds like the complete package, its a large portable speaker with dual passive radiators, dual transducers, and dual tweeters with “meridian audio technology”. It even has a built in light feature and it somehow won a reddot design award. The LG PK7 is basically a mash up between the JBL Xtreme 2 and the Sony XB41… But this speaker performs as good as it looks.
The LG PK7 retails for $250 which is what the Sony XB41 retails for and $50 less than what the JBL Xtreme 2 retails for. But the PK7 is currently on sale for $180, for good reason. If you’re in the market for a larger portable speaker I suggest consider the XB41 or Xtreme 2 instead of the PK7. If you want to pick either of these speakers up I’ll have links in the description below and if you use the links it really helps out the channel. I suggest you check them out cause Sony’s speakers routinely go on sale so you’ll might get lucky. And also check out the new merch shelf down below.
First lets talk about design… I know design is subjective but this is one ugly looking speaker. But I will admit that I kind of do like the White colored transducers on the front, it reminds me of the Bowers and Wilkins audio system you would find in the McLaren 720s or even some Volvos. The build quality of the main body is decent, but I feel the “action grip” (which is what LG likes to call it is) is too flimsy for its own speaker. You can feel it flexing when you’re carrying this 6.3 pound speaker around. On the top of the speaker theres a full set of media control buttons that have good tactile feedback, but the ink on these buttons is so cheap its already started to fade on my PK7. And now lets talk about ports, the PK7 charges via a DC input and theres an audio jack for wired listening. But unfortunately this speaker doesn’t have a USB out so you cant charge you’re own devices.
Regarding Tech Specs, The PK7 has a 10,400 mili amp hour battery and LG advertises a 22 hour battery life on the PK7. But with the light feature turned on, the music set at 80% volume and with enhanced bass turned on this speaker managed to last for 8 hours of playback time. But the light feature on the front is only worth using indoors or at night, so you can always squeeze a little more battery life out of this speaker if you just turn off the light feature. The PK7 is also rocking an IPX5 certification, so a little bit of water wont be a problem but you shouldn’t submerge it.
But now lets talk about bluetooth connectivity… the PK7 supports Aptx HD Audio, which is good, but unfortunately range on this speaker is a little weak compared to its competition. I did notice more frequent dropped connections than what im used to with this speaker. And the PK7 does have a bit of latency to it, so its not the best for watching videos.
Just like most other portable speakers you can pair the PK7 to another LG PK speaker… But you can only pair this speaker up to one other speaker, which is laughable compared to Sony and JBL cause you can pair up to 100 speakers together. Now like I’ve said in the past, you don’t need that but I think you should be able to pair at least 5 speakers together.
But now lets talk about speaker set ups, the PK7 has a similar speaker set up to the JBL Xtreme 2. There are dual frontward firing transducers, dual tweeters; which is something the XB41 lacks and dual passive radiators on each side. The PK7 essentially has 3 listening modes… enhanced bass, clear vocals, or you can have both EQ settings turned on. We’re going to jump into a sound test where you’re going to hear all three modes compared to the Xtreme 2.
Personally, I think the PK7 sounds its best with its clear vocals EQ setting turned on. But when it comes to over all sound quality the win easily goes to the JBL Xtreme 2. My problem with the LG PK7 is that it lacks clarity and instrument separation. The sound stage is also pretty narrow, and even after a good break in period the bass still likes to distort. Where as the bass on the Xtreme 2 is deeper and stays well put together even when listening to bass heavy music. But my biggest issue with the LG PK7 is that is doesn’t get all that loud. At max volume the Xtreme 2 and XB41 easily stay above the 100 DB mark, but when the PK7 is playing the same song at max volume it has a hard time just getting above that 100 DB mark. And for comparison, the XB31 which is considerably smaller than the PK7 is just as loud and if not a little louder than the PK7.
And finally lets talk about this speaker’s app. There is one, but its only on android. It works fine but it is pretty limited. If you got into the sound effects tab you can pick from one of the two EQ settings which you can also toggle from the speaker it self or if you go into the lighting effect tab you can pick from a few different color options. You can really only select the speed at which you want the lights to blink and what colors you want to show up. But you don’t have actual different lighting modes like you would find on the XB41 where you can choose from rave, chill, strobe, and a few others. But if you’re strictly looking for a speaker with RGB lighting for your dorm room or something then you’ll be better off with the Pulse 3.
So over all I cant recommend the LG PK7. Even though its build is ok, its over all design and built in light feature doesn’t look that great compared to other speakers out there. But looks aside… it just doesn’t perform well. Its sound quality lacks clarity, the sound stage is very narrow, and instrument separation is very weak. But perhaps my biggest gripe with this speaker is that it doesn’t get all that loud for its size. Mid sized portable speakers get louder than this.