Sony LF-S50G
(Wireless Speaker With Google Assistant Built-In)
(Wireless Speaker With Google Assistant Built-In)
The smarter way to enjoy music
Wireless speaker with Google Assistant built-in
The LF-S50G combines Sony's high quality sound—from a 360° speaker system—with help from your Google Assistant.
Meet your Google Assistant
Play music. Get answers. Control your smart devices. All with help from your Assistant.
360° sound
Enjoy clear sound and rich bass in every corner of the room, from a 360° speaker.
Touch-free gesture control
Easily change the volume without touching the speaker. Just wave, and it'll know what you mean.
Manage everyday tasks
Set a calendar event. Set an alarm. Check on how your favorite team is playing. Check traffic. And take care of your life without ever touching a button.
Play music
Enjoy playlists, radio, podcasts and more in high quality audio.
Connect more speakers
Listen to the same song or station in multiple rooms when you add Chromecast built-in3 speakers to your audio network.
Control your smart devices
Control lights, heating, appliances and more from a range of home automation partners.
360° sound fills the room
Hear the same great sound from anywhere in the room.
Enjoy high quality sound
Feel more from your music, thanks to a two-way facing speaker, two-stage diffuser, and bass reflex duct.
Two-way facing speaker
Two units face outwards in the center of the speaker for maximum sound coverage.
Bass reflex duct
Immerse yourself in true-to-source bass with the bass reflex duct, which controls resonance speed and frequency.
Listen via BLUETOOTH® technology
Built-in Bluetooth® technology lets you listen to audio from a range of devices. For even easier connection, One-touch NFC makes pairing compatible devices as easy as a tap.
Two-stage diffuser
A diffuser spreads sound throughout the room in every direction, for wall-to-wall audio.
Designed for life
The LF-S50G's compact design is packed with features that make your smart speaker even smarter.
Touch-free gesture control
Want to control volume, pause, or play audio without being vocal? Just wave your hand over the top – no contact required.
Auto volume control
Automated volume control adapts to noise in the room so you can always listen at a comfortable level. (To be updated.)
Splashproof
Your speaker can handle a little water, thanks to an IPX3-rated splashproof design.6 You can even take the cover off and rinse it under the tap.
Clock display
With an LED clock display, you never need to ask Google for the time. You can dim or turn it off to minimize electric light in your room.
The LF-S50G is a 360-degree speaker that blasts sound in every direction.
Most of the outside is a cloth-mesh speaker cover, save for the polished-chrome base.
Sony realizes that you're likely to keep the LF-S50G in the kitchen, so that cover can be removed for cleaning, in case you splash tomato sauce on it while cooking.
The speaker itself also has an IPX3 splash-proof rating, so you don't have to worry about the occasional water spray or spill just don't submerge it and you should be fine.
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 initial setup itself is a breeze, thanks to the Google Home app.
I had everything up and running in about five minutes.
In terms of onboard controls, primary adjustments on the LF-S50G are done with touch-free gestures on the top panel. You hold your hand over the top and, following specific movements, you can adjust the volume, play/pause, skip songs or summon Google Assistant.
It sounds good on paper, but these gesture controls were a source of constant frustration.
First, it can be difficult to get them to work on the first attempt.
I often found myself doing the same movement three or four times (in some cases, more than that) before the speaker got the hint.
More often than not, I just used my voice and had Google Assistant make the adjustments for me. After a few days, though, I did find that actually placing a finger on the top of the LF-S50G before starting the circular motion that's used to control volume helped.
Basically, if you treat the top like a touch ring or dial, Sony's speaker does a better job of picking up on what you're trying to do.
When it works, it's great. But the company is advertising "touch-free gestures," and, for me, they just weren't reliable
Basically, if you treat the top like a touch ring or dial, Sony's speaker does a better job of picking up on what you're trying to do.
When it works, it's great. But the company is advertising "touch-free gestures," and, for me, they just weren't reliable
The only physical buttons on the LF-S50G are around back.
There you'll find options for Bluetooth and turning off the microphone on either side of the power jack, on that shiny silver base.
It's nice that Bluetooth is there, but I only ever used it to make sure it works.
Since Google Assistant needs a WiFi connection to work, I mostly employed the LF-S50G to control external Chromecast-enabled devices like well, a Chromecast and other connected speakers.
Of course, you can link your music service account as well, so you really don't need to beam audio from a phone or computer except in a handful of cases.
Since voice control is what makes the LF-S50G more than just another connected speaker from Sony, that key selling point has to work well.
I'm happy to report it does. After spending a few weeks with the device, my gripes with the voice feature entirely have to do with the limitations of Google Assistant.
It can't tell me what channel the Hornets game was on, for example, but it can give me a full list of the day's games. That's a question Assistant can't answer, but Siri can.
However, Sony's smart speaker always accepted my commands, even when it was playing music or there was other noise in the room I didn't have to repeat myself to get the point across.
Even if I didn't always get the answer I wanted.
Sony LF-S50G Images :-
Sony's LF-S50G does as well.
Four white dots, located just above the clock on the front, light up when you're speaking a command.
And when Google Assistant is responding, all four are lit up together.
I'd say 80 percent of the time I wasn't looking at the speaker when asking it for help, which is kind of the whole point anyway. There's also a ring of white light around the top that illuminates when you use the gesture controls and the clock numerals switch to volume level when you're turning that imaginary knob.
Sony beats the Echo in terms of sound quality, as well as the original Google Home.
The company has a long history in audio gear, so it's no surprise its first smart speaker sounds pretty good.
Let me be clear:
Good doesn't mean great.
This speaker sounds best at medium volume, where it has a good amount of bass and the highs are kept in check. Dial it up to louder levels and the treble starts to take over.
There's no distortion, but the audio isn't nearly as balanced.
Some genres sound better than others mostly due to the lack of low-end tone.
That issue isn't unique to this device, though.
A lot of these compact smart speakers can't muster enough bass, and as a result, sound quality struggles.
Even though the tone range may not be the best, the LF-S50G makes up for it with clarity.
Again, that's best showcased at medium volume.
When I cranked up my go-to playlist for testing audio quality (a mix of metal, rock, bluegrass, electronic, hip-hop and more), some of the detail was missing if the music was loud.
As far as I'm concerned, these two audio grumbles aren't deal breakers.
Let's face it:
You're probably not going to use one of these to power a house party.
Google Assistant is the main attraction, but it doesn't hurt that the speaker also has decent audio even with its caveats.
Sony LF-S50G Images :-
