Audio, Reviews, Smarthome, Speakers, Tech Essentials

Klipsch The Three with Google Assistant Speaker Review

February 2019 | Analie Cruz

Klipsch The Three with Google Assistant - Heritage Inspired

We have been testing many smart speakers lately. Most of those have been with a display. In this review, we go back to the original smart speaker. We’re checking out the Klipsch The Three Speaker With Google Assistant.

Design and Build

This speaker has a very long name, the Klipsch The Three Speaker with Google Assistant. It’s a new version of Klipsch The Three Speaker with a few changes. For reference, here are the major differences. While they look similar on the front and sides, you’ll notice the buttons and ports are very different. The original The Three Speaker has almost every port you can think of. It has 3.5mm, RCA analog, Bluetooth, Wifi (for DTS playback), and USB 2.0. The Three With Google Assistant doesn’t have any inputs. You have your usual smart speaker button setup, the mic on/off button, volume knob, and Bluetooth button.

The design on The Three with Google Assistant might be the best thing about it. It has a simple design. A nice mix of modern meets classic look with the woodgrain top, metal knobs, and the fabric sides.

Setup

You don’t get a lot of things with The Three with Google Assistant package. You get the speaker, power cord, and the manuals. As with all devices with Google Assistant, you set it up with the Google Home app. It detects the device as long as it’s powered on. It goes through the motions of connecting it to your wifi network. Once connected you control it as you would any other smart speaker, with your voice.

Experience

Features

As with all Google Assistant speakers, you can do more than just listen to music. You can ask it for weather, set alarms, check your calendar, control your smart-home devices (lights, locks, and outlets). The response lights of the Google Assistant are on the top of the speaker, so if you have it placed on a shelf or in a position taller than you, you won’t be able to see if the speaker has heard your command.

Sound

Google Assistant works really well on this speaker. Even with the music at loud volumes, the assistant can hear you if you speak loud enough. I also appreciate that this speaker has bluetooth connectivity. It’s great for the simplicity bluetooth connections can offer. Wifi may be spotty when many people are using it, or someone may want to connect to it quickly. However, it doesn’t have aptX codec which enhances sound quality. I guess they are pushing for you to use the Google Chromecast more than the bluetooth connection.

You can get a smart speaker with Google Assistant at any price range and at any size. The Google Home Mini goes for under $40 most of the time. When investing $499 into the Klipsch The Three With Google Assistant, you’re looking for a nice design and Klipsch quality sound, without the investment of a full speaker system. This speaker definitely delivers. While sometimes it struggles in delivering good lows, the Three with GA has great bass, strong mids, and clean highs. You can turn up the volume really loud on this speaker and the bass stays strong. This speaker does fulfill the promise of “room-filling sound”.

Pricing and Availability

When it comes to The Three with Google Assistant, you’re paying for the Klipsch sound and design. It really does look great in any part of the home and can be added to any Google Home setup of speakers that have Google Assistant built-in. At $499, you’re getting a speaker that sounds great, looks dope and has two modes of connectivity, as opposed to just wifi connection.

Verdict

I can’t deny how great this speaker sounds. I do wish it brought the connectivity options the original The Three Heritage speaker has. You get full room-filling sound for a slight investment. Two of these speakers can fill a small home. This makes me eager to test out Klipsch soundbars and headphones.