LG XBoom Go XG8T review

What is it about Bluetooth speaker manufacturers and the word ‘boom’? There are plenty of brands attaching the term as a suffix or prefix to the names of their portable speakers, including a raft of Ultimate Ears models, offerings from Soundcore and Anker, plus quite a few members of the expanded LG stable. Motion Booms, Juice Booms, Extreme Booms, Wonderbooms, the list is endless. Even JBL has a burly BoomBox 3 on its books, though perhaps that’s a little more permissible given that’s a term in general use.

Legion as their numbers are, the ‘Booms’, frankly, are just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Bluetooth speakers of all shapes and sizes abound, from cheap-as-chips tiddlers to mighty earth-shakers, meaning it’s never been tougher to break into such a competitive field. With JBL ruling the roost and plenty of other sharks in the water, LG’s plus-sized XBoom Go XG8T needs to bring its A-game if this boom isn’t going to turn into a disappointing bust.

Price

The XBoom Go XG8T started its life at a rather expensive £399 / $380 / AU$600 (approx), but LG has cut prices since then, and you’ll probably get the XG8T for around £299 / $180 these days.

Those figures put LG in direct competition with some distinctly esteemed rivals. The five-star Bose SoundLink Max has recently been priced between £350-£300 in the UK, around $399 in the US and AU$500 in Australia, whereas the Award-winning JBL Xtreme 4 can currently be picked up for roughly £250 / $299 / AU$430 if you can get it at a discount.

Build & design

On the Bluetooth speaker size scale, the LG XBoom is somewhere towards the upper limit of what we’d still categorise as “portable”. Sporting a similar shape and dimensions to the JBL Xtreme 4, it’s a burly unit that’s been designed to go loud, a speaker that’s sufficiently portable for you to carry it yourself but heavy enough at 490g that you probably wouldn’t ask an elderly relative or small child to haul it from the back of your car. Not if you had any sense of decency, anyway.

It’s designed to tackle the elements, so don’t think LG’s burly unit fears the rigours of the Great Outdoors. The top-mounted adjustable, removable carry handle is essential for taking the XBoom Go XG8T out and about without needing to use two hands to carry it, while a rubber pedestal at the bottom of the speaker keeps it securely planted once it reaches its destination.

If the rain does start coming down, the XBoom won’t need to dive for shelter in fear for its internal circuitry. The IP67-rated speaker is hardy enough to withstand immersion in water up to three feet deep for around 30 minutes, as well as ingress from dust and sand. Whether the sun shines or the rain falls, the LG is also able to handle the rigours of outdoor use; we exposed the bulky speaker to a few tosses and tumbles – not all of them intentional – and while the side-mounted plastic radiator surrounds suffered a few scuffs, the overall integrity of the unit remained unaffected.

The XG8T isn’t 'all work and no play', either. Once the rigours of the elements are dealt with and the work has been well and truly done, LG’s hulking heavyweight is capable of letting its hair down with the best of them. The XG8T sports glowing rings of light which encircle its twin side-mounted passive radiators and can be customised via the LG app, a fun addition which transforms a rather utilitarian design into something a little zestier. Need to chill after a stressful day at the office? Have some soothing ‘Ambient’ lighting. The boys are coming over for beers and a barbecue? Go for some ‘Cheerful celebration’. Planning a date at your place? It has to be the rather suggestively titled ‘Passion of Youth’.

Features

All the fancy flashing lights in the world can’t disguise a speaker’s shortcomings if it doesn’t have the feature set to match, and the XBoom does a decent job of just about keeping pace with its key rivals, ensuring that its box of tricks doesn’t run dry when going toe-to-toe with the best that the likes of JBL and Bose have to offer.

The only area where it feels as though the XBoom falls distinctly short is its 15-hour battery life which, while it isn’t a total disgrace by any means, feels just a tad measly for a speaker of this size and price. The SoundLink Max will grant you 20 hours from a single charge, lest we forget, whereas the Xtreme 4 goes further with a very healthy 24 hours. The LG calls upon the standard SBC and AAC Bluetooth codecs and, while it’s far from a disaster, the speaker’s Bluetooth 5.1 capabilities seem a little retrograde when most current rivals are offering access to the more efficient and reliable 5.3. That said, we didn’t have any issues with our test speaker, enjoying a stable and responsive connection throughout.

Things improve as we move down the spec sheet. Happily, you can use the Go XG8T for taking incoming voice calls, with LG’s hefty heavyweight bringing voices through with enough clarity to ensure that you’re not immediately left grasping for your phone as you try to understand your best friend’s latest rant about the state of the economy or last night’s disastrous date.

The new LG comes equipped with Bluetooth Multipoint for frictionless switching between twin sources, while wireless party link, also known as ‘Multi mode’, allows for tethering of various compatible XBooms together. The XBoom even has the added convenience of twin voice assistants, with both Siri and Google Assistant on hand to control your speaker’s varying functionalities or perform their standard duties of answering questions about the weather, checking today’s traffic or pontificating on the meaning of life.

Sound

Boom by name, boom by nature. While we’ve always found the idea of a speaker with dimensions no larger than a hockey ball calling themselves ‘Booms’ to be somewhat laughable, the term has rarely felt more appropriate than with the XG8T. A powerful party starter through and through, the amount of noise the 60-watt speaker generates, particularly at the lower end, is enough to loosen your fillings and have your downstairs neighbours ringing the council in despair.

The effect can, with the right music, be spellbindingly effective. Plonk the XBoom anywhere you like and it will blast out music with the tenacity and enthusiasm of a preacher in Hyde Park’s Speaker’s Corner, injecting tunes such as Slipknot’s Psychosocial and Chase & Status’ Selecta with rib-shaking punch and power. A little more restraint and tautness at the lower end would help to keep subtler fare from sounding amorphous or overly blobby, but when wedded to the right songs and genres, the XBoom’s enthusiasm is infectious.

It may not be a class-leading performance, but there’s some detail to be found. The XBoom’s rather messy, cluttered soundscape prevents it from having the clarity or openness of the JBL Xtreme 4, say, but scratch beneath that surface and you’ll discover enough textural depth to keep your less discerning pals happy as you fry burgers in the back yard. The opening drums on De La Soul’s Eye Know retain some of their signature weight, whereas the swaying strings on Coldplay’s Yes do sound like an actual violin, even if they lack the texture and bite that the JBL manages to produce.

Yes is also a fine track for further highlighting the Go XGBT’s weaknesses. The speaker doesn’t communicate the dynamic swings of music as well as the class leaders – those strings ebb and swell much more naturally and excitingly through the Xtreme 4 or even the smaller Charge 5 – whereas the LG’s rather ill-defined presentation can tend to make rhythmic patterns sound sluggish and lacking in pep. We switch to Hans Zimmer’s Discombobulate, a track that should blend precise instrumental layers with a mischievous, roguish delivery, something the XBoom struggles with thanks to its somewhat unwieldy approach.

If you are planning on listening to the XBoom outdoors, or you really want to make a point to your neighbours, you can make use of the speaker’s ‘Sound Boost’ feature which promises to widen your music’s soundfield and give you even more volume. As far as offering up a broader soundscape, the effect does the trick, dropping a little of that booming bass in favour of a brighter, punchier and less recessed profile. We do try adjusting the LG’s lower end via the handy onboard equaliser, and while we are able to remove some of the bass output’s volume, its ill-defined, unfocused nature sadly remains.

Verdict

It’s hard to dislike the LG XBoom Go XG8T. From its rugged build to its solid feature set and earth-shaking sound, there’s something rather appealing about a speaker that melds musical muscle with a hardy, rough and ready attitude towards its duties. Plus, it has really cool lights on the sides.

In terms of challenging the best of the best, however, the XG8T is off the pace. The speaker’s burly, bass-heavy sound can’t disguise its shortcomings when it comes to genuine sonic insight, rhythmic capabilities and dynamic range, areas in which the current market leaders confidently surpass it.

First reviewed: January 2025

SCORES

• Sound 3
• Build 5
• Features 4

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Read our review of the JBL Xtreme 4

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Read our JBL Charge 5 review

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