[Listening test] A pretty unusual all-in-one music center, the Lonpoo LP816

Product: Lonpoo LP816 - music center
Manufacturer: Lonpoo - China
Approx. price: ±€/$100
Reviewer: Lucio Cadeddu - TNT-Audio Italy
Reviewed: December, 2023

Foreword

This review is not TNT-Audio's first of a borderline component, that is, something a little on the border of what are typically considered “HiFi” products. Since we often receive requests for advice on simple products that can help in setting up a small system for the kitchen, a small office, or wherever some music is needed without spending an arm and a leg, and intrigued by the Lonpoo catalog and the unusual performance of that company's LP42 speakers, I decided to ask the manufacturer for a test sample of its LP816 compact music center.

This small unit does everything you may need to bring music at home: it has an FM radio; a Bluetooth input for connecting your phone or other wireless sources; an AUX IN line input; a USB audio port; and - hear hear! - even a complete CD player, which is quite unusual nowadays, plus a remote control and a heavy cabinet entirely made of medium density fiberboard (MDF). All this for a cost of around €100. For all these reasons I was eager to put this device under test and see if it can be improved with some basic DIY.

A closer look

The LP816 has more than one unusual feature, considering what it is and its low cost. First of all, it can play CDs and CDRs; second, it is entirely made up of a sturdy MDF cabinet (weighing close to 5 kg!) and makes use of two 8.5 cm full-range speakers, loaded by a real rear-firing bass reflex duct. To confirm that the audio part has been given particular care, it is enough to observe that almost the entire cabinet is occupied by the space required for loading the two drivers, and only a small central part houses the electronics section. Another unusual aspect is that the amplifier section is a Class AB device, not the usual Class D chipset or do-it-all integrated circuit. Indeed, the power section relies on a pair of UTC TDA2050 devices, each capable of delivering 25 watts into 8Ω and 40 watts into 4Ω when powered with a voltage of 22.5V, always with a distortion of less than 0.5%. I wondered why Lonpoo had opted for this unusual solution; probably the answer lies in the need to avoid interference between Class D devices and FM reception.

The last unusual aspect is the presence of a DSP that corrects and compensates the response of the two full-range speakers. These drivers evidently need some help in the bass and in the mid-high range area, as does any other full range speaker. With some easy DIY I believe there's enough room for improvements (see at the bottom of the review). As mentioned, the LP816 offers a lot for the price: a very convenient USB reader (with front socket), a headphone output, a line input on the rear, an FM radio with presets, a Bluetooth input for connecting smartphones and similar devices, a complete remote control. Digital connectivity, however, is missing; the LP816 makes no provision for optical, coaxial, or HDMI input. If you wish, you could use it as a soundbar by connecting the TV to the AUX IN input or, possibly, to Bluetooth. Everything is easily managed from the remote control, including direct access to the tracks on the CD or USB drive and to FM stations via the numeric keypad; moreover you can adjust volume in 32 steps, mute the device, and choose from a series of DSP equalizations: FLAT, ROCK, JAZZ, POP, CLASSIC. Various functions are also replicated by physical buttons on the front panel, including an easy-to-use volume knob. The USB input can manage flash drives up to 64GB and supports FAT/FAT32 formatting. The Bluetooth input, however, cannot manage Bluetooth headphones, as it only manages an input datastream. Finally, an easy-to-read display provides all the necessary information. As a compact component without detachable speakers, the LP816 is simple to move from one environment to another and to position and clean.

Because of the weight of the electronic part, the large magnets of the drivers, and the MDF cabinet, the LP816 is quite heavy, being almost 5 kg! For this reason it looks sturdy and durable, unlike its plastic-made competitors. The outer finish is obviously vinyl, but it appears a very good imitation of dark wood (see pics). The official website, as usual, is poor in information and quite confusing: there is even another product with the same name! Anyway, this is the specific page for the LP816. The user manual, fortunately, is quite good.

A quite unusual all-in-one compact music center

Obviously, expectations were low! After all, for the cost of a portable CD player, you get a practically complete audio system. However, there was no shortage of surprises. The DSP works quite well, and gives the low frequency response an absolutely unexpected body and extension: the drivers are probably not bad, the amplification is solid and generous, the reflex load and the minimally resonant MDF cabinet clearly help a lot. In fact, I would say that perhaps the bass sometimes appears excessive, even in the FLAT setting, which is the one I used for the tests. I would avoid placing the music center too close to the rear wall, to avoid boosting the bass and mid-bass range. Surprisingly, the bass response extends with good linearity down to 60 Hz, where the reflex tuning frequency is probably located, but you can still hear something just below 40 Hz, which is incredible, taking into account the size, the cost and the target of the component.

Overall, the LP816 does nothing substantially wrong, and manages to handle even extremely difficult tracks. As it has no tweeter, the high range is never too vivid and detailed, but it's surprising to hear how much the frequency response extends toward the highs. Vocals, guitars and even percussion are reproduced with a certain realism, without particular distortions or compressions.

There must be a circuit that limits the output of the power stage or protects the drivers, because with the CD, even at the maximum volume setting (scale from 0 to 32), the sound is not distorted; evidently both the amplification and the drivers are still working in a safe area. This feature, on the other hand, slightly limits the maximum sound pressure available: in a room of around 20 m² and at a distance of 3.4 meters, it can produce peaks only of around 90dB. I would have liked a few more dB, but this sound pressure level, in some apartments, can already be considered excessive. Many audiophiles write us to say that their average listening level is between 75 and 85 dB, so the LP816 maximum SPL should be sufficient. Obviously, the attainable SPL volume is more than enough for listening in near field or in a smaller room.

The dynamics are unexpectedly good: the sound is fast, never boring, punchy and lively, without sounding metallic or distorted. Both the drivers and the amplification stage, evidently, always work very far from their physical limits. A good sense of rhythm accompanies the reproduction of different musical genres.

When all has been said and done, I can hear you asking, “Does it sound like a pair of Lonpoo LP42s paired to a, say, Fosi V3 amp?” The answer is NO, as that's not its purpose, obviously. Does it sound like an active Bluetooth speaker? No, it sounds much better. It certainly sounds much, much better than the Dodocool DA150 we reviewed a few years ago, and even better than the Google Home speaker. Simply put, there's no match.

Does it have flaws? Certainly it has! Maximum sound pressure aside, the high range, sometimes and only with CDs, reveals some digital artifacts from 10 kHz upwards, more evident when playing something very simple, such as a voice and a piano or a voice alone. In general, since the tweeter is missing, the detail in the mid-high range is questionable; in fact, I would say that overall the LP816 performs much better in the mid-bass and bass range. Furthermore, despite being a stereo device, the image it reproduces is limited; practically the sound is centered on the device, as would be expected considering its size and the spacing of the two drivers just a few centimeters apart.

Despite all these limitations, however, it is absolutely capable of providing decent sound for environments that are not too large, and in desktop mode it is extremely convincing. The fact that you can move it at will from one room to another, in practice it only has the power cable, and possibly the FM antenna wire, makes it an ideal companion for many solutions. For once, the excellent reviews on Amazon correspond quite faithfully to what I heard.

I would be curious to test it connected to a pair of Lonpoo LP42s, but this cannot be done, and not only because there is no speaker output (which, if desired, can be easily created), but because the DSP calibration is tailored to its full-range drivers, and might be not optimal for other speakers.

Complaints

Manufacturing, finish and features.
It's hard to complain, considering the price tag. The LP816 really offers a lot: the cabinet is well made; it doesn't resonate; and the component, overall, appears more expensive than it is. The vintage transistor radio look is truly elegant. Inside, the speaker wires are wrapped in foam rubber bundles to avoid vibrations, exactly as in the LP42 speakers. However, here are the critical points, listed without thinking about the very low purchase cost:

Sound.
If you don't expect perfection, I would say that the LP816 surprises, because it does more than I would have imagined from a device of this type. The bass is very good, maybe a little less would have been better, but it's OK as it's not artificial or boomy. I have tried DSP equalizations and found them quite annoying, I would avoid them. Despite being a product with no HiFi expectations, it is can still benefit from good quality recordings and mercilessly underline poor recordings. This is NOT obvious: inexpensive audio components tend to mask everything.

Some advice and a bit of DIY

This device requires breaking in, more than others. When you first unbox it, it sounds rough and compressed. As the days go by, however, everything settles in. Don't judge it before about twenty hours of use at high volume. It can be positioned almost anywhere, but for best results its speakers should align with the listener's ears and it should not be too close to the rear wall (10-20 cm is enough). The cabinet is quite solid and non-resonant, but I would recommend the interposition of four damping feet that are thicker and softer than the standard stock ones. I consider the LP816 an excellent starting point for some healthy and fun tweaking. Some DIYers might decide to replace the full-range drivers with better coaxial or full-range drivers, to try to improve the presence and detail of the medium-high and high ranges. I'm thinking for example of the Dayton Audio PS95-8, MCM Audio Select 55-5675, Visaton B80, HiFiDIY 83-92S, TB SPEAKERS W3-871SC, or even the excellent Fostex FE83NV2, the Monacor SPH-30X/8SW, or the Faital 3FE22-8. Maybe it's worth a try, but the problem is that how the DSP will equalize the response is unpredictable. The faceplate and speaker grills could be dampened better; just some blue-tac is enough. The cabinet is already well damped, but perhaps some small soundproofing or internal reinforcement could be beneficial to clean up the mid-low range a bit.

Moreover, it could be beneficial to give access to the internal DAC via DIGITAL IN and perhaps also via USB, while a DIGITAL OUT output could be useful to make the most of the internal CD player. With these small modifications, the LP816 could easily embarrass compact systems of much higher cost and become that student or newbie system that is sorely missed, something which is easy to use and complete to start listening to music in a more serious way, compared to the usual Bluetooth active speakers or cheap headphones.

Availability

The Lonpoo LP816 can be easily found on some of the usual online sites, such as Amazon or eBay, but I was unable to find it on Aliexpress, which is bizarre. Depending on special offers, e.g. Black Friday, it's not impossible to purchase it for €90, shipping included.

Conclusions

The Lonpoo LP816 pleasantly surprised me, so much so that I bought three of them, one for the bathroom, one for the beach house, and one as a wildcard to use in other situations. The line input, for example, makes it perfect for reproducing PC audio, without too many hassles, just plug and play! Furthermore, I admit that the ability to play my CDs on the fly was a very welcome plus. It certainly sounds better than many Bluetooth speakers of the same price, and of course it offers many more features, such as FM radio and CD.
No, it won't replace a good system with separate amp and speakers, but at this price it's a real bargain and, with some DIY work, it could get even better. Years ago these compact systems were literally unlistenable, while the LP816 gets the job done and gives many competitors a good run for their money.

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