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Klipsch Groove XXL Speaker Review

Tested using Methodology v0.8
Reviewed Sep 18, 2023 at 07:52 am
Klipsch Groove XXL Picture
6.6
Music
6.1
Videos/Movies
7.2
Podcasts
2.6
Voice Assistant
6.7
Outdoors

The Klipsch Groove XXL is a stylish speaker for home use that's still portable enough to bring your music with you on the go. It's a larger, more premium cousin to the original Klipsch Groove, advertised to support a longer battery life among other upgrades. Thanks to its remote, it's easy to control its settings from the comfort of your couch. It's pretty bare-bones regarding features, though, as you can't customize its sound.

Our Verdict

6.6 Music

The Klipsch Groove XXL is okay for music. It has a bass-heavy sound that adds extra punch and boom to the mix. Voices and lead instruments are reproduced with clarity, though they're a bit muddied due to the extra bass in the mix. While it's ideal for genres like EDM and hip-hop, if you prefer a different sound, unfortunately, there aren't any customization tools on hand. The speaker gets loud, too, albeit with compression when pushed to max volume.

Pros
  • Gets loud.
Cons
  • No multi-device pairing.
  • Some compression at max volume.
  • No sound customization tools.
6.1 Videos/Movies

The Klipsch Groove XXL isn't really intended for watching movies. However, if you pair it to a smartphone to watch a video, it can get the job done. Latency with Android devices over Bluetooth is pretty low, so you don't notice lip-synching issues. It's a little higher with iOS devices but still suitable for most. Dialogue is pretty clear in the mix, too, but you don't get the deep thump and rumble in the low-bass like with dedicated home theater speakers.

Pros
  • Gets loud.
  • Low latency over Bluetooth.
Cons
  • Some compression at max volume.
  • Lacks low-bass.
7.2 Podcasts

The Klipsch Groove XXL is decent for podcasts and other vocal-centric content. Dialogue reproduces pretty clearly, and while there's some muddiness from the extra bass, you can still follow along with the conversation in your favorite shows. Since it's a battery-powered speaker, you can take it from room to room as you listen to longer episodes. It gets loud, too, although there's some compression when you push it to max volume.

Pros
  • Portable design.
  • Gets loud.
Cons
  • No multi-device pairing.
  • Some compression at max volume.
2.6 Voice Assistant

This speaker doesn't support voice assistants.

6.7 Outdoors

The Klipsch Groove XXL is alright for outdoor use. It's a battery-powered speaker, so you can take it outside without worrying about plugging it into an outlet. It also lasts over eleven hours off a single charge, which is great for longer days outdoors. It doesn't have an advertised IP rating for dust or water resistance, so exercise caution if you plan to use it on a rainy day.

Pros
  • Portable design.
  • Over 11-hour battery life.
Cons
  • No advertised IP rating.
  • No multi-device pairing.
  • 6.6 Music
  • 6.1 Videos/Movies
  • 7.2 Podcasts
  • 2.6 Voice Assistant
  • 6.7 Outdoors
  1. Updated Sep 18, 2023: Review published.
  2. Updated Sep 13, 2023: Early access published.
  3. Updated Sep 08, 2023: Our testers have started testing this product.
  4. Updated Sep 07, 2023: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
  5. Updated Aug 29, 2023: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.

Differences Between Sizes And Variants

The Klipsch Groove XXL portable Bluetooth speaker comes in Black, and you can see the label for the model we tested here.

If you encounter another version of this speaker, let us know in the forums, and we'll update our review.

Compared To Other Speakers

The Klipsch Groove XXL is a portable alternative to some of the manufacturer's wired-only speakers. It has a more neutral design compared to speakers like the Klipsch The Three II and the Klipsch The One II, which are more retro in style. It has a decent sound, and its remote makes it easy to adjust from your couch, but it doesn't come with as many features as similarly-priced Bluetooth speakers.

You can also see our recommendations for the best-sounding Bluetooth speakers, the best portable Bluetooth speakers, and the best Bluetooth speakers for bass.

Klipsch The Three II

The Klipsch Groove XXL is a more portable alternative to the Klipsch The Three II. The Groove is battery-powered, so you can take it around without worrying about plugging it into an outlet. It's not quite as well-built as the Three II, though, and it doesn't boast the same retro design. Plus, it doesn't get quite as loud.

Klipsch The One II

The Klipsch Groove XXL is a more portable alternative to the Klipsch The One II. The One is a wired-only speaker, meaning it must be plugged into an outlet to work. On the other hand, the Groove offers the flexibility of battery power, so you can take it with you on the go. The One is made of more premium materials, and its retro design may suit your tastes.

Anker Soundcore Motion X600

The Anker Soundcore Motion X600 is better than the Klipsch Groove XXL. The Anker has a more neutral sound out-of-the-box, which some users may prefer. It's more customizable, too, thanks to the graphic EQ and presets in its companion app. That said, the Klipsch does get a little louder.

Tribit StormBox Blast

The Tribit StormBox Blast is better than the Klipsch Groove XXL. The Tribit is a slightly larger speaker with built-in RGB lights, which you can customize in their companion app. Unlike the Klipsch, the Tribit's sound is customizable, too, thanks to its graphic EQ and presets. It has a longer-lasting battery life as well.

Test Results

perceptual testing image
Design
Design
Style
RGB Lights No

The Klipsch Groove XXL has a unique design. It's mostly rectangular with rounded edges on top. The build is mainly plastic, with a metal grille in front to protect the drivers inside. It also comes with a small remote to control its settings from the comfort of your couch.

8.8
Design
Portability
Volume
644 in³ (10,556 cm³)
Weight
9.4 lbs (4.3 kg)
Power Source
AC & Battery
One-Hand Carry
Yes

The speaker is pretty portable. You can use it wired or use its battery to take it with you on the go. The handle isn't the most comfortable for larger hands, though. This speaker's larger than others on the market, but you can still carry it in one hand.

6.4
Design
Build Quality
Material Quality
Good
Water Resistance
Unspecified
Dust Resistance
Unspecified
Impact Resistance
Unspecified
Floats In Water
Unspecified

The Klipsch Groove XXL is mostly made of good-quality plastic. A metal grille covers the drivers to help protect them, which is nice. It feels solid and durable as a result. The glossy plastic on the control strip mimics glass, which adds a more high-quality feel. However, this part of the speaker is prone to collecting fingerprints. The rubber pad near its handle adds some grip when you move it from room to room. The manufacturer markets it for indoor and outdoor use. However, there's no indication of an IP rating for dust or water resistance. There's no slot for the remote, either, which can make it easy to misplace.

4.8
Design
Controls
Ease Of Use
Good
Feedback
Good
Music Play/Pause
No
Call Answer/End
No
Volume Up/Down
Yes (Tactile)
Track Next/Previous
No
Microphone On/Off
No
Additional Controls
Yes

There are a couple of touch-sensitive buttons on the speaker. They're all backlit to help you see them in a darkened room, and they flash and pulse to let you know which settings you've adjusted. The volume buttons are even separated by a light strip that fills up to show the volume level. It can be confusing at times, though, because the brightest light doesn't follow the volume bar level, as you can see in this video here. The buttons are responsive, but if you tap the volume buttons continuously, some of the presses don't register. Also, the Bluetooth button has no feedback to let you know as you switch inputs, which can be confusing.

  • Power button: Press once to turn on. Press and hold to turn off.
  • Bluetooth button: Press once to switch between inputs (AUX, USB, Bluetooth). Press and hold for three seconds to enter Bluetooth pairing mode.
  • Volume buttons: Tap accordingly to increase/lower the volume.

The remote offers the same features as the buttons on the speaker itself, with some notable additions. Here, you can play/pause your audio and skip to the previous or the next track. You can also mute the speaker.

Design
In The Box

  • User manual
  • AC adapter (10.2 ft / 312 cm)
  • 3.5mm AUX cable (4.9 ft / 148 cm)
  • Remote Control with battery installed: L: (1.57 in/ 4 cm), W: (.27 in/.7 cm), H: (3.38 in/8.6 cm)
  • Klipsch Groove XXL Speaker

Sound
6.7
Sound
Frequency Response Accuracy
Slope
-0.90
Std. Err.
4.68 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
52.6 Hz
High-Frequency Extension
19.3 kHz

This speaker has a bass-heavy sound profile. Out-of-the-box, there's a lot of extra emphasis in the bass range that adds punch and boom to the mix. It carries over into the mid-range, slightly muddying voices and lead instruments in the mix. It's ideal for genres like EDM and hip-hop that have a lot of bass mixed in. Unfortunately, if you prefer a different sound, no sound customization tools are available, like an EQ.

There's no real difference in the frequency response when you use the speaker over a wired connection or on battery power, as shown in the graph here. Similarly, you enjoy the same sound regardless of whether you're connected over AUX or Bluetooth, as seen in this graph.

Sound
Raw Frequency Response
Binaural Recording @ 1m
Binaural Recording @ 2m
6.4
Sound
Soundstage
Directivity Index
6.75 dB
Stereo
Yes

This speaker can playback stereo content without downmixing it into mono, which is great since most music is mixed in stereo. Its directivity isn't the best, though, so you don't get a consistent sound all around the speaker. However, if you just plan to set it on a shelf or a countertop to use it, it's not a big deal since you wouldn't stand behind the speaker anyway.

7.8
Sound
Dynamics
SPL @ Max Volume
99.9 dB SPL
DRC @ Max Volume
3.14 dB

This speaker gets plenty loud. You have no trouble filling larger and more open spaces with sound. Compression at max volume influences the clarity of audio reproduction, though.

Active Features
8.3
Active Features
Battery
Battery Life
11.7 hrs
Charge Time
5.2 hrs
Power Saving
Yes
Charging Port
AC
Battery Powered
Yes

The manufacturer advertises a battery life of 22 hours. In our tests, the speaker only lasted a little over 11 hours. Different settings, like the volume level, can influence a speaker's battery life, which likely accounts for this discrepancy. The speaker also turns off after 15 minutes of inactivity to help save battery life.

0
Active Features
Voice Assistant
Alexa
No
Google Assistant
No
Speakerphone
No
Siri
No
Voice Assistant
No
Voice Activation
No
Microphone Mute
No Microphone
Far-Field Performance
No Microphone
Ambient Noise Performance
No Microphone

This speaker doesn't support voice assistants.

0
Active Features
App
App Name
No App
iOS
No
Android
No
EQ
No
Stereo Pair Mode
No
Party Mode
No
Multi-Room
No

There's no companion app for this speaker.

Connectivity
Connectivity
Wired
Aux Input
Yes
USB Audio
No
Other Ports
Yes

You can wire your devices to the speaker using the AUX input or the USB-A audio port. The USB-A port doubles as a charging port for your devices. There's USB key playback, too. While the manual says the speaker supports .wav files through this connection, we could only play mp3 files in our tests.

8.0
Connectivity
Bluetooth
Bluetooth
Yes
Bluetooth Version
Unspecified
Bluetooth iOS Latency
135 ms
Bluetooth Android Latency
48 ms
Bluetooth Range
334.6 ft (102.0 m)
Multi-Device Pairing
No

You can pair your smartphone, laptop, and other devices to the speaker via Bluetooth. You can only pair to one device at a time, making switching to another audio source a little more cumbersome. Latency is relatively low with both Android devices, so you don't notice lip-synching issues with videos. It's a little higher with iOS devices. Some apps compensate for latency differently, though.

0
Connectivity
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi Version
No Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi Frequency Band
No Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
No
Apple AirPlay
No
AirPlay Latency
N/A
Google Chromecast
No
Chromecast Latency
N/A

This speaker doesn't support Wi-Fi connectivity.