LG Music Flow H3 review

Sound quality from the Music Flow H3’s single 30W driver was very flat. There’s not a lot of colour to the sound, which makes it perform optimally with delicate instrumental tracks. You don’t get a lot of bass either. The sound output is unsurprisingly directional, so the sweet spot for sound is directly in front. Vocals were well produced and clear, though.

The H3 produced a surprising amount of volume for a speaker of its size, although it did begin to distort as it reached its upper limit. It’s possible to pair two H3 speakers to use them as a stereo pair that should improve the stereo separation and soundstage although we only had one H3 to test.

Notably, the Music Flow range of speakers support up to 24bit/192kHz high-resolution audio in WAV or FLAC formats. We didn’t really hear a difference in the audio produced from the H3 compared to a lossy MP3, however. If you have a catalogue of high-resolution audio tracks you’ll be able to play them at least but the H3 isn’t able to present a discernible difference in sound quality.

To build a multiroom system from Music Flow speakers, you need to buy the LG Music Flow R1 Bridge (£40, www.currys.co.uk). The R1 will work with numerous Music Flow series speakers including the LG HS6 Soundbar (£500, www.currys.co.uk) and the Music Flow H7. You can pair multiple H3 speakers with the soundbar to create a wireless surround sound setup, for example.

You connect the small box directly to your wireless router over Ethernet and it creates a dedicated mesh network for the Music Flow speakers. Adding additional speakers is then simply a matter of pressing the pairing button on the R1 and each individual speaker.

You can then use the Music Flow app to control the audio output from each speaker or group them together for simultaneous play across multiple speakers. The app also provides an easy way to see what music is playing from each speaker as well as the source, whether it’s an internet streaming service, a NAS or local device music.

Overall, the LG Music Flow H3 is a decent discrete wireless speaker that also has an attractive design. It produces good sound quality and its high-definition audio support sets it apart from its rivals although it doesn’t make a lot of difference with the H3. You’ll need to factor in the additional cost of the Music Flow R1 Bridge if you want a multiroom setup as well. Now that the Sonos range has been updated to no longer require a bridge, the Play:1 gets the nod overall. The Sonos Play:1 supports far more music streaming services and the Sonos Controller is easier to use than LG’s Music Flow.