There are animals that have turned portability into a way of life. The snail is one of them: it carries its house, moves slowly and does not need to decide where the home ends and the path begins. The LG xboom Rock belongs to another species and moves much faster, but it shares a simple idea with it: carrying what we want to have close. In this case it is not the home, but one of the characteristics that turn a house into one: music.
And for that, size matters. The xboom Rock measures 94 × 98 × 46 millimeters and weighs 280 grams. It fits in one hand, in a large backpack pocket or attached to it using the strap that goes around your body. That rope is not an ornament: it allows it to be hung, attached to a bicycle or simply grabbed easily when we move. And we can adjust its length from just a few centimeters to just over 20.
But LG hasn’t built a small speaker to treat it delicately. The Rock has passed seven durability tests according to the US military standard MIL-STD-810H, performed by an independent laboratory: high temperature, rain, vibration, impact, salt water splash, dust and sand, and flooding. And here it is important to clarify: passing these tests does not mean that it is a military device; means that it has been subjected to resistance tests designed for demanding conditions.
Added to this is the IP67 certification. The first 6 indicates protection against dust and the 7 allows immersion of up to one meter for a maximum of 30 minutes under test conditions. This is an important difference from simply saying that the speaker is “water resistant.” The idea is that a splash, a rain, or even a water accident doesn’t have to put an end to the music. And then comes the part that matters most: what you do with those 6 watts.
This is not a speaker designed to turn a party into a concert. Its natural terrain is small spaces and short distances. I have to highlight, after weeks of use, that Not only did I like it musically, the voice reproduction (read podcast, for example) has surprised me for the better. LG has made a smart choice when it comes to maximum volume: it has reduced it a little to avoid distortions at the top. This means that we can “turn it on full blast” and it doesn’t suffer. Neither do our ears.
And maybe it’s better that way. The xboom Rock does not intend to fill a square, its purpose is to occupy the space that surrounds us. A terrace, a kitchen, an open backpack during an excursion, an afternoon by the sea. His relationship with music is more intimate than spectacular. Which is good and returns us to the simile of the snail: in the open field it is lost, but in contained places it shows its beauty.
LG has also worked on the sound with will.i.am, who has participated in fine-tuning the equalization to find a warmer and more balanced tone. The speaker also incorporates AI Sound, which analyzes the content we are listening to in real time and modifies the equalization to enhance, for example, bass in music or the clarity of voices in podcasts and spoken programs. And, distrustful of the “AI additive” in any piece of technology, I confess that in this case, the difference is noticeable.
From the LG ThinQ application we can customize the equalization, activate different modes and configure the smart button. It also allows you to use Auracast to connect multiple compatible speakers and expand the soundstage. And the battery promises up to ten hours of playback, although LG calculates that figure with specific conditions (volume at 50%, lighting off and certain settings), so the actual result will depend on use. Charging is done via USB-C and, depending on the power of the charger, it can take just one hour (I achieved this with an 85 W charger).
There is something almost contradictory in all this. A device that fits in the palm of your hand incorporates artificial intelligence, multipoint connection, Auracast, adaptive equalization, water resistance and durability tests that They seek to reproduce extreme conditions, it is actually the size of a sandwich and its essence: the important thing is the “filling”. And while the snail needs its shell to feel at home, it is enough for us to press play.