Friday, February 19, 2021

Sony LF-S50G smart speaker review: A solid Google Home alternative

OK, lets get over the obvious… yes the Sony looks almost exactly like an Apple HomePod. And personally I don’t mind, its smaller, a little slimmer, and much lighter than the HomePod. But this Sony smart speaker is slightly bigger than the google home. The only buttons this smart speaker has is a bluetooth button, a mute button, and a dim button to lower the brightness of the clock display on the front.

sony lf s50g vs google home

There’s a slightly hard edge to the sound that makes extended listening sessions a little tiring. That hardness and frailty also stops me from really cranking the volume. Sony’s speaker is certainly chunky, with a short, squat appearance compared with the tall and lean Echo. You get a 360-degree speaker, so the LF-S50G will be best positioned somewhere around the centre of a room. Audio output is clear and on top volume music sounds strong, although we personally wouldn’t have chosen the obnoxious pop that our demonstrator went with.

Win a smart pet feeder and water fountain from Tech4Pets

The Sony LF-S50G is a 360º speaker with all the power of Google Assistant and some aces up its sleeve. As a vessel for Google Assistant, it’s very good at picking up voice controls but so is the cheaper Google Home and Google Home Mini. Additionally, Google’s own speakers have the ability to make calls, which is notably absent in the Sony, though the company claims the feature will eventually come to its speaker.

sony lf s50g vs google home

Will usually ship within 3 business days of receiving cleared payment. Google has proven that it cannot be trusted to ensure that third party products that use its OS will be updated. He has an unhealthy obsession with headphones and can identify cars simply by listening to their exhaust notes. Google wowed us when it launched its first voice assistant speaker, the Google Home. This affordably priced speaker was the first to have Google Assistant baked in and, in year since its launch, has become more intelligent than ever.

Sound

One design element that's kind of unique to the LF-S50G is a clock on the front. The stacked numerals may not be your first preference for a timepiece, but at least you don't have to ask out loud for the time. It's not a necessity, but it's a nice touch, and for me it meant having the option of using the speaker as a true alarm clock. The LF-S50G is IPX-3 water resistant, another nice feature that most smart speakers lack. That means it can get splashed without fear of it frying its circuits — handy if you plan to place the unit in the kitchen. I ran it under a faucet for a few seconds and the unit continued to work without issue.

I've heard good things about the Nest and wondered if the audio was good enough to rival that of the Sony (release price £150 vs £90 of the Google nest). I absolutely love this smart speaker so much I ordered another one.. Great quality for the price..excellent sound & the design is sleek. As for the gesture controls, you’re supposed to be able to control playback, volume and activation of Google Assistant with just a few flicks of your hands.

Speaker Type

The smart speaker isn’t perfect, but it does a lot of things well. / © NextPit On the top back of the screen is an NFC symbol to help pair the device via Bluetooth. Near where the power cable connects we have a button to deactivate the microphones and another to pair manually via Bluetooth.

sony lf s50g vs google home

Need some opinions, thinking about replacing by Sony LF-S50G smart speaker with the newly released Google Nest Audio. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Google Assistant was responsive to commands from across the room, thanks to the two microphones on top of the unit. It played music from Spotify and a radio station from TuneIn, started an episode of Jessica Jones on a Chromecast and turned on a Wemo Switch. Will usually ship within 1 business day of receiving cleared payment.

He loves the sea and enjoys his free time on any kind of board. In terms of size, it's slightly more compact than the original Google Home and smaller than the Sonos One. I also really like that it has a digital clock on the front. We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work.

It has a downward-firing 53mm subwoofer, a bass reflex duct and an upward-firing 48mm mid/treble speaker. These are separated by a diffuser to push the sound out at 360° (hence you can’t stereo pair them). The Sony LF-S50G is a step up from Google’s Home and Mini options. But how does it compare to the other Google Home offerings?

We’re now well into phase two of the smart speaker movement. That is, speakers armed with voice-activated AI assistants. If you’re planning on sticking the LF-S50G in your bathroom or kitchen, the splash-proof design will ensure that it doesn’t suffer any harm when spattered with water accidentally.

sony lf s50g vs google home

If audio quality isn't your primary concern, the second-gen Echo and regular Google Home are both cheaper than the LF-S50G, at $100 and $129, respectively. As I mentioned before, Sony does a respectable job here with audio, and is noticeably better than the base-model Echo and Google Home. If you're after something that sounds better, you'll be glad you spent the extra money on an LF-S50G or Sonos One.

Power Consumption (Off Mode)

The front of the speaker includes an LED display that shows the time and also indicates the volume level when you change it. The clock is a nice touch that other smart speakers could benefit from, though it would be nice to have an option to turn it off. Four lights above the time pulse when Google Assistant is listening. It’s hard to recommend the Sony LF-S50G. As a music playback device, it’s merely average. The speaker gets loud but sound quality leaves something to be desired. Bass lacks dynamic punch and the highs get sibilant at times, especially at higher volumes.

sony lf s50g vs google home

Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year. It is great as an easy-listening speaker provided you keep the volume in check. As it is 1.0 mono, it is suited to radio and MP3 streaming.

No comments:

Post a Comment

An Epic Trilogy: Pacific Design Centers Final Building Opens in LA

Table Of Content Law that ended single-family zoning is struck down for five Southern California cities Community Most influential architect...