Samsung’s new party speakers are less subtle than ever

Samsung may be partly to blame for unleashing the party speaker upon the world — its Giga line launched over a decade ago — but in recent years its entrants to the field have been strangely restrained, with only small light strips along the sides. Not so with its two new Sound Towers, which add LED lights that would be impossible to miss.

The Sound Tower ST50F and ST40F both feature a large LED “racetrack-style” light strip across the front, along with other lights around the tweeters, the edge of the body, the base, and even the underside of the handle. There are six different dynamic lighting patterns, five “mood” presets, and absolutely no accounting for taste.

The ST50F has up to 240W output, 18 hours of battery, and integrated wheels for $699.99. The smaller ST40F is 160W, runs for 12 hours, and isn’t rollable, but costs $499.99.