LG RP4 XBOOM360 Review
Rugged, portable Bluetooth speaker with 360˚ sound.
Verdict
This portable Bluetooth speaker offers fun for everyone, everywhere. The delivery is expansive, there’s plenty of bass for party-goers, and the remote app even has DJ features.
Pros
- Big, room-filling sound
- Plenty of bass extension
- Rugged and portable
- Effective remote app
Cons
- No stereo imaging
- It isn’t exactly small
Availability
- UKRRP: £399
Key Features
- 360-degree soundOmnidirectional sound system with enough power for use indoors and outside
- Mood lightingThree different modes with Ambient, Nature and Party Light options and nine presets
- 10-hour battery lifeEnjoy music anywhere for longer
Introduction
The LG RP4 XBOOM360 is the big daddy of the company’s XBOOM range of portable Bluetooth speakers, and delivers a 360-degree sound using an omnidirectional sound system.
The RP4 joins the smaller the PL7 and PK7 XBOOM Go speakers, and doesn’t just offer a big sound; it’s actually big, ensuring it’s capable of some decent low-end extension. So if your tastes run to drum and bass, this is undoubtedly the portable wireless speaker for you.
It’s also very flexible in terms of placement thanks to its 360-degree delivery, and it’s portable with a robust cabinet and useful carry handle. There are different lighting modes to jazz up any environment, and a well-designed remote app that not only allows for customisation but also DJ sound effects.
The portable wireless speaker market is very competitive, but at £399 the RP4 offers fun and frolics at an affordable price. So, let’s find out how it sounds…
Design
- Striking design
- Rugged construction
- Useful carry handle
The LG RP4 certainly looks striking, even it it does bear more than a passing resemblance to a Dalek. The conical design is intended to be both stylish and practical, with a wider bottom for stability and a carry handle for easier transport.
At the top, along with the aluminium handle, you’ll find controls for power, play/pause, volume up/down and inputs. There’s also a button for the built-in lighting, and a battery indicator. While these controls are also available on the remote app, they’re useful if you happen to be near the speaker.
A third of the way down is a gap where you’ll find the built-in lighting and woofer, while at the bottom is a bass duct. Build quality is excellent, with a robust construction and tough fabric cover that comes in a choice of burgundy, peacock green, beige or charcoal.
The XBOOM360 measures 514mm high, has a diameter of 248mm, and weighs 5.8kg.
Features
- 360-degree sound system
- 120W amplification
- XBOOM App
The big selling point of the LG RP4 is its 360-degree omnidirectional sound system that’s designed to fill a room with audio, while also handling outdoor locations as well.
To achieve this the speaker uses a proprietary technology based around an optimal reflector structure that eliminates the traditional sweet spot in favour of a soundstage that disperses in every direction. As a result, the sound quality remains optimal wherever you’re standing with respect to the speaker.
Towards the top of the speaker is a 1-inch titanium compression horn tweeter that handles the higher frequencies, while further down is a 5.25-inch glass-fibre woofer that produces a clean mid-range and dynamic low-end. A bass duct at the bottom adds more depth to the lower frequencies. Meanwhile, 120W of built-in amplification ensures the RP4 can produce a suitably big delivery.
Above the mid-range woofer is a light source, which can be controlled using the XBOOM remote app to switch between three modes: Ambient, Nature and Party. Each of these modes has three different presets, meaning you have a total of nine presets to choose from depending on your mood, the atmosphere, or the environment.
The app also provides additional controls for choosing between the Bluetooth, USB and AUX inputs, along with the volume and various EQ settings that include Bass Blast (the default setting) and Outdoor. You can also adjust the lighting, play files, access the device settings, and choose from a number of DJ sound effects to impress your friends at parties.
The physical connections are located at the bottom rear of the speaker, behind a removable cover. Here you’ll find the auxiliary-in 3.5mm jack and USB port, along with pairing and reset buttons. There’s also the two-pin power cord, although the RP4 includes a battery so you can use it away from a wall socket. The battery takes five hours to fully charge, and can last up to 10 hours.
Sound Quality
- Big room-filling delivery
- Sounds great from anywhere
- Surprising amount of bass
The LG RP4 supports MP3 and WMA file formats, and is designed primarily to be connected to a mobile device via Bluetooth. It’s very easy to use, and the XBOOM remote app is great for setting up and controlling the speaker. If you have aspirations to be a DJ, the app also offers effects, scratch, loop, and sampler creator features.
The first thing you’ll notice about the RP4 is that it’s capable of producing a very big, room-filling sound. This makes it ideal for larger rooms and even outside in the garden, where the built-in amplification can produce sufficient volume without sounding strained or losing its composure.
The 360-degree sound system is also highly effective, creating an omnidirectional soundstage that sounds the same from anywhere in the room. Removing the sweet spot makes this speaker great for listening to music while moving around, or when entertaining friends, or holding a party.
The full-range delivery is also impressive, with a nice level of cohesion thanks to a clean treble that never sounds sharp or sibilant, and an un-congested mid-range that ensures vocals remain well defined. There’s a decent amount of detail, although given the lack of a sweet spot, you don’t get the kind of precision you would with a normal stereo system.
What really surprises is the level of bass on offer, which makes this speaker particularly good with dance music. The default EQ setting is Bass Boost, and while this is perfect for a party, you might want to switch to the Standard mode for more discreet listening.
If your tastes are eclectic there are also settings for Pop, Classic, Rock and Jazz, plus there’s an outdoor option. You can even create a custom EQ setting, if you prefer. This is undeniably a fun speaker, with a dynamic delivery that lends itself to most musical genres but sounds particularly good with rock.
Listening to Suede’s Dog Man Star allowed the RP4 to reveal a degree of swagger during the song Heroine, and also to reproduce the epic sweep of the orchestral coda of Still Life. The vocals are always clear, the strident guitars cut through, and the drums retain their driving beat. The result is an engaging and genuinely enjoyable sonic experience.
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
You want a fun and easy-to-use wireless speaker that’s portable, robust and sounds big whether indoors or out in the garden.
You want to critically listen to music, and enjoy stereo imaging with precise placement of instruments.
Final Thoughts
Music purists will probably stick their noses up at the LG RP4, but anyone looking for a fun speaker to add some XBOOM to parties will be delighted. The 360-degree sound system is highly effective, there’s a surprising amount of bass, and there’s enough amplifier grunt to fill out most spaces without losing steam. Add in a stylish design, solid build quality, fun lighting and a well-designed app, and it’s a great choice for all you party animals out there.
How we test
We test every wireless speaker we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
Tested for two weeks
You might like…
FAQs
The net weight for the RP4 speaker is 5.8kg and it comes with a handy for carrying.
There’s no mention of the speaker having an IP rating, so we’d suggest being careful with liquids around the speaker.
Full specs
Jargon buster
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a method of wireless transmission that allows for the exchange of data between devices over short distances.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
