LuguLake-24 Bluetooth speaker -- style over substance? [Review]
Bluetooth speakers usually need some sort of distinctive feature to help them to stand out from the crowd. In the case of the LuguLake that distinctiveness is in the way it looks.
The first thing that strikes you is the funky design, it's about the size of a tennis ball, or an apple if you prefer, with a shiny black finish and a sort of suspended saucer over the speaker cone itself. On the top of this is a touch pad that acts as a volume control as well as allowing you to pause and skip tracks, and answer calls so you can use it as a speakerphone.
There's a USB socket on the back -- this is the only connection, it lacks an aux-in for an alternative audio source -- and a power switch on the base. An LED next to the USB port lets you know it's charging, though this is in a recess so it's hard to see if you're looking from above.
The unit feels nicely weighty and it comes with a short USB cable and small instruction pamphlet. The glossy piano black finish looks good but quickly picks up more fingerprints than a police database. Once it's charged and you switch it on you'll find that there are voice prompts to help you with the Bluetooth pairing process. You can use NFC if your phone supports it just by touching it against the front of the speaker.
After you've paired it and begin to play some music you’ll find that the speaker has a neat party trick. The underside of the flying saucer bit lights up and pulses a dull red though this isn't in time with the music. This is called a "Breathing Light" in the instructions. It's amusing the first few times you use it though ultimately a bit pointless.
The listening experience is acceptable without being in any way outstanding. Probably what you’d expect from a 2-inch speaker with a power output of only 2W and a frequency range of 60Hz to 20KHz. It has the sort of the sound quality you might get from a portable radio, there isn't quite enough bass and even at maximum volume you never really get a room filling sound. Don’t worry about distortion, you can't turn it up high enough to get any.
As a piece of quirky design that will look good on a shelf and amuse your visitors with its pulsing red light the LuguLake-24 is hard to fault. As an audio experience though you can do a lot better at this price.
The speaker costs $39.99 from Amazon in the US or £32.99 on Amazon UK. BetaNews readers can get a 20 percent discount. For US orders enter code 53B3RTFT at the checkout, customers in the UK should use code IORQIC5G -- codes expire on June 30.