LG WK7 review: Google Assistant enabled speaker with Big sound at not a bad price

The WK7 smart speaker from LG is one of the first products to come out of the newly formed collaboration between LG and sound technology gurus Meridian.  Announced at CES earlier this year, we’re seeing Meridian influence and branding appear on a few LG products but this is the first one to hit consumers at a price worth looking at.

You’ll find it for under $300 at Harvey Norman, and for what it is, for the size of it, that ain’t too bloody bad. Strangely I find myself comparing it to Apple’s HomePod which is a waste of time, because frankly, the LG isn’t in Apple’s league for sound, and the Apple isn’t in LG’s league on price – so I don’t see them as competing products other than them both being speakers and both having some smarts built in.

That said, I think the biggest problem I have with the WK7 is it’s design.  Why build a cylindrical device when the sound isn’t 360 degrees?  It’s almost expected of a device this shape these days.  It’s a powered speaker so most likely it will sit against a wall, but if you do pull it out onto a bench or desk, be warned – she ain’t sounding so great from behind.

Once placed correctly, this is a true room-filling sound. Quite hard to describe, it’s a very different mix of sound – like hearing someone speak a different accent, your music will sound different on the WK7 – but not in a bad way by any measure.  It’s like you hear the rich bass tones in a new way, or the blend of mids to highs are not distinct.

I feel like other speakers emphasise is certain part of the sound while this one’s Meridian tuning seems to push for the full range.

It did take some getting used to – but it was immensely enjoyable to listen to.

WiFi streaming, Bluetooth connected but no 3.5mm input, and also no option to create a stereo pairing.

Google’s assistant works as intended, and that makes the WK7 yet another great example of a high quality speaker instead of just the Google Assistant on a low quality output such as the Google Home itself.

About $50 more than Sony’s equivalent, and the same price as JBL’s Link 20 (Which can run on battery) this is a crowded market, and the LG sits well in there with a classic design that could easily sit alongside your TV entertainment unit and give you voice control of your music and smart home too.

[schema type=”review” rev_name=”LG WK7 Smart Speaker” rev_body=”Built with Meridian Sound and Google Assistant built-in, this is a high quality speaker to give you voice control of your music.” author=”Trevor Long” pubdate=”2018-07-13″ user_review=”4″ min_review=”0″ max_review=”5″ ]