UPDATE: The LG ThinQ WK7 is now out there, and we’ll have an expanded overview quickly.
With the LG ThinQ WK7 sensible speaker, LG is trying to tackle two new challenges in a single swift swoop. Firstly, it’s trying to make a reputation for itself throughout the increasingly-competitive voice command-driven sensible speaker house, and secondly it’s trying to leverage the high-end audio-nous of the Meridian audio group, as a part of a newly-inked partnership with the UK audiophile model.
Its Google Assistant speaker definitely achieves that second aim – outdoors of the Apple HomePod, this simply may be the very best sensible speaker we’ve heard but. Although its cylindrical form suggests a 360-degree soundstage, the LG ThinQ WK7 is definitely a extra standard front-firing speaker, however making the most of Meridians sonic expertise, it performs above expectations on a fast first hear.
Supporting high-resolution audio playback from companies like Tidal, and able to taking part in FLAC, WAV and Apple lossless file codecs, the LG ThinQ delivers clear and exact playback, even at louder quantity ranges. It’ll take a while spent with our personal most popular testing tracks to really put it by its paces, however the 24-bit / 96kHz tracks we heard sounded a lower above what you’d get from an Amazon Echo Plus.
However it does appear like the ThinQ’s going to have a value to match. Launching on the finish of April for $199.99 (£199.99 / AU$299), this speaker is priced in a bracket the place it’s trying to compete extra with the likes of Sonos than Amazon’s loss-leading Alexa units.
It is value noting that not like its competitor (and hopefully quickly the HomePod), there’s no choice to create a stereo pairing right here.
What Meridian’s experience does carry to the desk is a few sensible digital processing capabilities, taking 48kHz / 16-bit recordings as much as 96kHz / 16-bit ranges, and from there on to 96kHz 24-bit. It’ll by no means be a match for a local hi-def recording, but it surely ought to assist to squeeze just a little extra refinement out of your audio library in case you’ve not invested in a ton of lossless audio recordsdata.
Meridian additionally brings its personal tuning experience to the desk – LG isn’t precisely a ‘identify’ within the audio house. Meridian’s Clear Vocal and Enhanced Bass modes are on provide, and do precisely what you’d count on, the previous pushing vocals to the fore, and the later elevating the bass ranges.
As for sensible performance, it’s (virtually) commonplace Google Assistant fare. We are saying “virtually”, as LG has opted to assist the newish Android Issues, Google’s Web of Issues core platform. This could give it some future proofing for interfacing with future IoT units, in addition to making it safer.
Apart from that, it’s your ordinary “Hey Google” shout, adopted up by voice instructions to regulate sensible house gear, verify information and information, and playback songs out of your most popular companies, amongst different capabilities.
These are supplemented by just a few {hardware} controls. A central “F” for Operate button the highest aspect of the LG ThinQ speaker swaps between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections, with contact delicate quantity buttons both aspect, a Play/Pause button above that, and a devoted Google Assistant button given a splash of color beneath.
On the rear is a mic mute button, however there’s no provision for hooking up an audio system over a wired connection in case you’re trying to play again by the speaker utilizing much less sensible gear.
Early verdict
The ThinQ WK7 is a promising wanting speaker from LG. It’s not making an attempt to interrupt the mould, however by partnering up with Meridian it appears to be like to have made for a stable group within the audio stakes. Whether or not it could actually discover a house within the more and more packed sensible speaker house stays to be seen, particularly since (sound high quality apart) there’s no large differentiator right here in opposition to the competitors.
Nonetheless, there’s no denying the LG ThinQ WK7 appears to be like prepared to face toe-to-toe with rivals, and on the very least you’ll have loads of choices when looking out a wise speaker within the outlets. We’ll have extra on LG’s entry once we sit down with it quickly for a full overview.