Review of LG smart column "Alice." It costs less and it sounds better than "Yandex. station "

Smart column can not only play music, but also respond to voice commands. It can be used to listen to tracks from strimingovyh services to manage smart home gadgets or as a reference, to answer questions.

To our office came acoustics LG XBOOM AI ThinQ WK7Y - one of the six columns that supports voice, "Alice" and the assistant chief rival of the original "Yandex. station».

Table of contents

• Appearance
• Management and interfaces
• Sound
• Voice Assistant "Alice"
• Unlike "Yandex. station "
• conclusions

Appearance

Column from LG looks reliable and expensive. This device simply decorated cylindrical shape, made of high quality materials. Outside column coated with metal mesh, and the rest of the surface is made of opaque plastic. Black color.

Bottom of the case is the logo of LG, the top - Meridian Audio. At the top of the column also has a luminous indicator which is activated together with the "Alice" or when changing the volume.

Column diameter 13.5 cm, height - about 21 cm. The device weighs 1.9 kg.

To work LG XBOOM require connection to a power outlet, and Wi-Fi-network, which automatically makes it a home or office acoustics, whose destiny - to stand in one place.

Management and interfaces

From the first synchronization will help guide included and tips from "Alice" when connecting to the network. Briefly, the column adapter is needed to plug into a wall outlet, and then download the application "Yandex". There you must find the device and connect it to Wi-Fi. All speakers can be used.

The control panel includes the top few buttons. This pause, increase and decrease the volume key and the F, is responsible for switching between Wi-Fi- and Bluetooth-connection (as it can be done using a voice command). Button touch. Because of this, they are difficult to find in the dark: they have no relief, and return when pressed.

On the back of the case has a microphone mute button - for those who are wary of surveillance and does not want to share with "by Yandex" private data.

At the bottom of the device is reset button and a socket for the power cable. He was removed in a special recess.

Sound

From the columns of the form factor does not have to wait for special volume and study space: all emitters are concentrated on a small patch. For sound meets 20 mm tweeter and 89 mm midrange. Together they give 30 watts of power. Set speaker said that the sound is not even pretending here multichannel.

LG XBOOM power enough for a large room or a small office. For the production of radiators in the column meets the very Meridian Audio, whose logo we saw under control. This company has earned a reputation as a manufacturer of Hi-Fi-sound systems for home theaters and premium McLaren cars, Land Rover and under Jaguar. LG also says Clear Vocal technology and Enhanced Bass, responsible for the intelligibility of voice frequencies and bass emphasis. All this makes LG XBOOM sound very deep and rich.

There are some problems with a slight preponderance of bass and readability in lower middle, but these nuances clearly critical for those who are listening to music in mono from the column for 10 thousand rubles.

By the way, the gadget better deploy LG logo on. In spite of a cylindrical design, the sound is directed strictly to one direction.

Voice Assistant "Alice"

The "Alice" has hundreds of features and some serious drawbacks. The latter include a total zavyazannost on services "Yandex", the inability to download music from other strimingovyh services and that voice assistant periodically you just do not understand. Calibration and power microphones LG XBOOM satisfactory: when the music plays, "Alice" is not always confident recognizes user phrase.

A little about the functions. Here's what you can do with the voice assistant LG XBOOM:

• to know the travel time from point A to point B;
• set an alarm or reminder;
• learn the recipe dishes (on demand "Alice" starts the search for "Yandex" and reads the results from cooking sites);
• translate the phrase into another language;
• enable or disable gadget smart home ( "Alice" can work with devices from "Yandex", Xiaomi and Redmond);
• to play a game (like "Cities" or "guess the animal");
• learn the exchange rate;
• include the sounds of nature (such as forests, oceans or fire);
• play music and put the timer on her trip;
• find out how much the item ( "Alice" will give the price of "Yandex. Market ").

This is only part of the functions. Full list available on the website "Yandex".

Unlike "Yandex. station "

Here are the basics.

• Sound. Column from LG sounds deeper, more detailed and brighter.
• Appearance and dimensions. Our test subject a little less "Yandex. Station "and has the shape of a cylinder rather than a cuboid. And she looks more reliable due to the metal lattice.
• HDMI port. At LG XBOOM it is not. If you are looking for a music box with a voice assistant, not multimediasistemu, this nuance is not important.
• Subscription bonus. At LG XBOOM them smaller: there are no "Amediateki" and the subscription to "Yandex. Plus "is limited to three months rather than a year. Nine months difference equivalent to 1521 RUB.
• Price. LG XBOOM worth 9990 rubles - a thousand less than the "Station".

conclusions

LG XBOOM AI ThinQ WK7Y bypasses the increasingly popular "Yandex. Station "on a number of parameters, and costs less, except for the difference in subscriptions. If you can do without having to connect the speakers to the TV, it is better to choose an option from LG.

LG Smart column perfectly cope with the role of a home music box and universal helper which will tell you how to cook an egg, or simply entertain unpretentious game. Someday competitors in this field will be more, but as long as the device with Siri and Alexa speak to us only English and Russian language «Google Assistant" mode is activated through Google Home crutches, LG XBOOM with "Alice" - one of the best options.

Buy

The author expresses his gratitude to the company LG for providing the test device.