LG is making a big return to the home music market with its new product Music Flow. The Korean company has made audio equipment in the past, but this new release heralds a greater focus moving forward. And we have to say, LG knows how to make an entrance.
Music Flow isn’t just a set of wireless speakers; it’s a smart home system that, at the outset, appears to have been designed with care and intelligence. You can put them all in one room, or arrange them throughout your house, depending on the kind of experience you’re looking for. It’s a versatile system for a modern gadget-run world.
In case you’re thinking that your hard-earned money will be going to pay for fancy features and not sound quality then think again. We got first-hand experience with Flow at LG’s Australian launch event and we had no complaints.
Control your music
You can control the whole thing via the Music Flow Player app, which is available on both Android and iOS. The app lets you give instructions to speakers individually, or to a number or all of them at once, so long as you’re on the same WiFi network.
Alternatively, your phone or tablet can push music to a single speaker via Bluetooth, which then distributes it to the rest via Bluetooth.Link.
There’s even the option of texting your commands in. Flow has a built-in native language interface, the purpose of which LG says is to ensure you never come home to a “cold” house if you don’t want to. Just text the system “I’m on my way home”, or something similar, and it’ll start pumping your favourite beats before you even walk in the door.
Follow the flow
Our favourite feature won’t be available to iOS users, which is the NFC-based input. Say you’re playing music in your loungeroom, but need to pop in to the kitchen to whip up a quick meal. Instead of pumping the volume to unnecessary levels, you just tap your phone against the speaker in your kitchen and it’ll automatically turn on and join in.
Using the app, you can even do this with things like your TV’s sound. It’s a great solution to modern apartment living. You can still enjoy the sound you want where you want without making enemies of the neighbours or your housemates.
Products and availability
There are a range of different speakers and gadgets in the Flow range, each of which is fully capable of the above-mentioned juicy features.
The R1 Bridge, for connecting all your speakers together, is sold separately at $79 RRP. This is to cater for customers who only want the one Flow speaker as a wireless smart solution, but don’t feel the need to network multiple units together.
The H3 is the smallest unit at $249. It won’t give you ear-massaging sound, but it’s compact and affordable, considering its Flow features.
The $399 H5 speaker is a little bigger. It has better sound quality and bass, and is suitable for bedrooms and offices.
The H7 is the biggest, baddest affair with the best tones and biggest sound. It will retail for $549.
The HS6 Sound Bar and Sub Woofer for TV use will run you $799. This is a pretty standard TV configuration these days, with a long, thin set of speakers to sit under the screen and a bass-bearing woofer to be placed wherever you can fit it.
Alex Angove-Plumb
Digital Content Editor
Related Articles
