Smart Speakers Are Everywhere: LG's WK 7 Review

Smart speakers have become increasingly popular over the past few years, with many manufacturers releasing their own versions. In this review, we'll take a closer look at LG's latest smart speaker, the WK 7.

Design: A Familiar yet Stylish Design

When it comes to design, the WK 7 doesn't exactly break new ground. It resembles a large Amazon Echo, and has some features reminiscent of the HomePod and Sonos speakers. While it may not be the most unique-looking device on the market, we do appreciate its stylish appearance. Despite being somewhat larger than average, the speaker should look great on your countertop or top shelf. The basic controls are easy to find, with a volume control, function button that switches between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, play/pause button, and microphone inputs. A small LED light on the front indicates the volume level and whether the speaker is actively listening. Additionally, there's a mute microphone button located at the back, which allows you to silence the speaker when needed.

Setting Up Your WK 7: Simple and Quick

One of the things we love about Google Assistant speakers like the WK 7 is how easy they are to set up. Using the Google Home app, the process takes mere minutes. Once you plug in the speaker, it should appear in the app, and setting it up on your network is a breeze. This makes the WK 7 an excellent choice for those who want a hassle-free smart speaker experience.

Testing the WK 7: Expectations Met

In our testing, the WK 7 exceeded our expectations for its functionality. It seamlessly integrated with our Google Home setup, allowing us to control various smart devices with ease. We were also impressed by its ability to answer questions and provide information on the internet. The speaker's performance is solid, particularly in terms of forward vocals and powerful bass response.

Sound Quality: A Solid Performance

LG has partnered with Meridian Audio, a renowned British audio company, to provide sound for the WK 7. This partnership has clearly paid off, as the speaker delivers excellent sound quality. While it may not match the fidelity of more expensive speakers like the Google Home Max or Apple HomePod, its performance is still impressive. The emphasis on forward vocals and powerful bass response makes it an excellent choice for those who want a solid audio experience.

However, we did notice that there's a significant amount of digital signal processing happening within the speaker. This can make certain sounds, such as horns and acoustic guitar, sound less natural than they would with other speakers. Additionally, compression is used to get the speaker very loud, which can sometimes lead to uneven bass response when listening to heavy tracks.

Conclusion: A Well-Rounded Speaker for the Budget

For its price of $200, the WK 7 offers a lot of good sound and features that make it an excellent choice for those on a tight budget. While it may not match more expensive speakers in terms of fidelity or overall performance, its solid performance and ease of use make it an attractive option. If you're looking for a reliable smart speaker with great audio quality, the WK 7 is definitely worth considering.

Recommendation: Give it a Try!

If you enjoyed this review, please don't hesitate to let us know in the comments. We also encourage you to subscribe to our channel for more content like this, and check out Digital Trends for the full review and other reviews of smart speakers.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: ensmart speakers are everywhere these days coming out of just about every manufacturer out there and this is LG's version the wk seventh in Q smart speaker let's check it out when it comes to the design of the speaker as you can see it's not exactly inspired it looks a little bit like a large Amazon echo it also has some home pod in there maybe a little Sonos one so it's not exactly a unique design but we do like it it's pretty stylish and although it's rather big it will look good on your countertop on the top of the speaker some basic controls you've got your volume control here the function button which switches between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and of course the play/pause button and then there are some little inputs there for the microphones the front hair is a little LED setup that lets you know where the volume is and also let's say know when the speaker is listening and then we like this at the back there's actually a mute microphone button here right is needed which allows you to shut the speaker down if you don't want it to hear what you're saying now as we reference the wk 7 is a Google assistant speaker and one thing we love about these speakers is they're really simple to set up basically you just use the Google home app and it'll walk you right through it once you plug the speaker in it should show it in the app and then setting it up takes a matter of minutes before it's right there on your network in testing the wk 7 is able to do all of the things you expect from a Google assistant speaker like turning on smart locks turning on and off lights and even asking questions on the internet and it works quite well for these functions now LG is partnered with Meridian audio a British audio company for the sound for the wk 7 and it has paid off the wk 7 offers some very solid performance especially for a 200-dollar speaker with an emphasis on forward vocals and pretty powerful bass response as well when it comes to overall size and power the wk 7 is somewhere in between the Google home Macs and the Apple home pod and although it can't match the fidelity of either of those speakers it's also about half the price when it comes to detail and instrumental definition WK 7 also doesn't match up with the Sonos one even though it does offer high resolution support but then again the smallest one is one of the best sounding speakers on the market well we like the sound overall one of the things we noticed was that there's a lot of digital signal processing happening here which can make it it's like horns and acoustic guitar sound less than natural there's also a fair bit of compression which allows LG to get the speaker very loud but when you're listening to over heavy bass tracks it has a little problem keeping things even overall though for $200 there's a lot of good sound here for the money and it'll work really well as a background speaker LG's first smart speaker is well rounded in more ways than one and those looking for powerful sound on the tight budget will want to give it a look if you like this video please let us know in the comments and please also subscribe to the digital trends channel where you can see more content like this and if you want to see the full review and tons of other reviews please go ahead and check out digital trends calmsmart speakers are everywhere these days coming out of just about every manufacturer out there and this is LG's version the wk seventh in Q smart speaker let's check it out when it comes to the design of the speaker as you can see it's not exactly inspired it looks a little bit like a large Amazon echo it also has some home pod in there maybe a little Sonos one so it's not exactly a unique design but we do like it it's pretty stylish and although it's rather big it will look good on your countertop on the top of the speaker some basic controls you've got your volume control here the function button which switches between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and of course the play/pause button and then there are some little inputs there for the microphones the front hair is a little LED setup that lets you know where the volume is and also let's say know when the speaker is listening and then we like this at the back there's actually a mute microphone button here right is needed which allows you to shut the speaker down if you don't want it to hear what you're saying now as we reference the wk 7 is a Google assistant speaker and one thing we love about these speakers is they're really simple to set up basically you just use the Google home app and it'll walk you right through it once you plug the speaker in it should show it in the app and then setting it up takes a matter of minutes before it's right there on your network in testing the wk 7 is able to do all of the things you expect from a Google assistant speaker like turning on smart locks turning on and off lights and even asking questions on the internet and it works quite well for these functions now LG is partnered with Meridian audio a British audio company for the sound for the wk 7 and it has paid off the wk 7 offers some very solid performance especially for a 200-dollar speaker with an emphasis on forward vocals and pretty powerful bass response as well when it comes to overall size and power the wk 7 is somewhere in between the Google home Macs and the Apple home pod and although it can't match the fidelity of either of those speakers it's also about half the price when it comes to detail and instrumental definition WK 7 also doesn't match up with the Sonos one even though it does offer high resolution support but then again the smallest one is one of the best sounding speakers on the market well we like the sound overall one of the things we noticed was that there's a lot of digital signal processing happening here which can make it it's like horns and acoustic guitar sound less than natural there's also a fair bit of compression which allows LG to get the speaker very loud but when you're listening to over heavy bass tracks it has a little problem keeping things even overall though for $200 there's a lot of good sound here for the money and it'll work really well as a background speaker LG's first smart speaker is well rounded in more ways than one and those looking for powerful sound on the tight budget will want to give it a look if you like this video please let us know in the comments and please also subscribe to the digital trends channel where you can see more content like this and if you want to see the full review and tons of other reviews please go ahead and check out digital trends calm\n"