LG SP9YA soundbar overview: This 5.1.2 speaker will get its surround effects from the perimeters

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Can a soundbar salvage a 5.1.2-channel billing with out separate surround audio system? That’s the question LG’s SP9YA poses, which comes labeled as a 5.1.2 soundbar despite missing a pair of wireless surround modules; in its build, the soundbar delivers its surround cues with side-firing drivers within the predominant speaker itself. The SP9YA isn’t the predominant soundbar to strive this trick; the Ingenious SXFI Provider tries one thing identical, and with equally mixed results. (LG does offer an non-obligatory rear speaker equipment for 7.1.2 audio.)

But whereas the SP9YA’s station as a factual 5.1.2 soundbar is arguable, its sturdy, elephantine-bodied sound and active Dolby Atmos and DTS:X high effects are in miniature doubt, although its surround cues aren’t as distinct as they would possibly be able to even very neatly be. The SP9YA moreover packs an array of spectacular components, including AI-powered room correction, eARC, built-in AirPlay 2 and Chromecast, as neatly as enhance for Alexa speaker groups and Spotify Connect.

This overview is allotment of TechHive’s protection of the ideal soundbars. Click that link to be taught opinions of competing merchandise, along with a purchaser’s data to the components it’s possible you’ll possibly well salvage to mute build in mind when attempting.

Specs

LG bills the SP9YA as a 5.1.2-channel soundbar, so it’s a miniature confusing will salvage to you initiating the sphere to gain handiest the predominant soundbar unit and the wireless subwoofer, nonetheless no wireless surround audio system. As I mentioned earlier, LG counts the SP9YA’s pair of side-firing drivers as surround channels, making it a 5.1.2 soundbar reasonably than a 3.1.2 configuration. As we’ll ogle (and listen to) later, these drivers on the side of the soundbar can’t rather compete with separate surround audio system. Fortuitously, it’s possible you’ll possibly well be ready to upgrade the SP9YA the usage of LG’s $180 SPK8-S Wi-fi Rear Speaker Equipment for a elephantine-on 7.1.2 setup, nonetheless LG didn’t present us with the equipment for this overview.

In any tournament, the SP9YA components a whole of 11 drivers, including 10 within the predominant soundbar unit. The left, perfect, and center channels every salvage their possess oval-formed woofers (40x100mm) and tweeters (moreover 40x100mm), that are flanked by circular 2.5-plod side woofers that present audio for the 2 surround channels. On high of the soundbar housing are two up-firing 2.5-plod drivers that issue high cues for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks. Lastly, the wireless subwoofer has a 7-plod driver.

Ben Patterson/IDG

The upfiring drivers present Dolby Atmos and DTS:X high cues by bouncing hold forth your ceiling, a less complicated and extra affordable quite numerous to high audio system that are truly installed on your ceiling. But whereas upfiring drivers are a identical previous feature of Dolby Atmos and DTS:X-supporting soundbars, they require a definite form of ceiling to feature properly—particularly, a flat, sound-reflecting ceiling that’s between 7 and 14.5 feet in high. Even as you occur to’ve gotten ceiling beams or a vaulted ceiling, upfiring drivers for Atmos or DTS:X received’t decrease it; in these circumstances, it’s possible you’ll possibly well possibly also very neatly be at an advantage with a soundbar that employs virtualization for top cues.

Measuring 48 x 2.2 x 5.7 inches (WxHxD), the 13.9-pound SP9YA in all fairness huge, stretching your whole length of the media cupboard that holds my 55-plod LG C9 OLED TV. That acknowledged, the soundbar moreover has an attractive low profile, allowing it to sit down down below my low-slung living whereas barely grazing the bottom fringe of the show disguise.

Meanwhile, the 8.7 x 15.4 x 12.3-plod, 13.9-pound subwoofer is mid-sized as far as wireless subs shuffle, which is to notify that it’s no longer one thing it’s possible you’ll possibly well possibly (or would must) tuck discretely subsequent to your sofa. As a replace, it’s at an advantage someplace on the motivate of your TV, ideally no longer too shut to a wall.

Besides inserting the SP9YA in entrance of a TV, it’s possible you’ll possibly well possibly moreover mount it on a wall under your TV, and luckily, LG presents every a mounting template and wall brackets for that very aim.

Talking of what’s incorporated, LG supplies an optical cable nonetheless—as with previous soundbars—no HDMI cable. For certain, it’s possible you’ll possibly well be ready to snag a tight HDMI cable for lower than $10, nonetheless mute, that’s a miniature stingy, LG.

Inputs and outputs

The SP9YA’s varied ports sit down in a perfect rear cavity, and you salvage factual four of them: an HDMI enter, an HDMI output that supports HDMI-ARC/eARC, an optical (Toslink) enter, and a USB-A port that can entry audio files.

The soundbar’s two HDMI connectors present you with just a few alternate choices by capacity of connecting to a TV. First, it’s possible you’ll possibly well possibly shuffle a video provide straight into the SP9YA’s HDMI enter after which send every video and audio from the soundbar’s HDMI output (4K HDR passthrough is supported, including Dolby Imaginative and prescient) to one in every of your TV’s HDMI inputs. Since there’s handiest one HDMI enter, alternatively, you’d be restricted to connecting handiest a single video provide to the SP9YA. Frankly, given the SP9YA’s lofty imprint, we would salvage loved to ogle no longer lower than one further HDMI enter.

Ben Patterson/IDG

The rather a lot of choice is to join your video sources to your TV’s HDMI inputs, after which send audio the total style down to the soundbar’s HDMI-ARC port. Doing so capacity you’ll be ready to join as many video sources as your TV’s HDMI inputs will enable, and you’ll moreover be ready to hear audio out of your TV’s built-in streaming apps via the soundbar. Even better, the SP9YA supports eARC, an “enhanced” version of ARC that allows for lossless Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio tracks, which veritably grace Blu-ray discs. (You too can be taught extra about ARC and eARC right here.)

Besides the HDMI connectors, there’s moreover the optical enter for connecting an older, HDMI-less TV. There are no RCA inputs for TVs that don’t even salvage optical outputs, nonetheless let’s face it; whereas you’re coughing up $1,000 for a soundbar, you’re potentially no longer going to hook it up to a tube TV from the 90s (or even earlier) anyway.

Lastly, the USB-A port can play WAV, MP3, OGG, AAC, and FLAC files, including up to 24-bit FLACs with 192kHz sampling rates. I related a USB flash pressure with a 24-bit/96kHz FLAC file and managed to play it with none components. (I’ll focus on how it sounded in somewhat.)

Setup

Even as you’ve both positioned the soundbar in entrance of your TV or installed it under your TV, you shuffle it accurate into a energy socket the usage of a roughly 5-foot captive twine, which terminates in (fortunately) a identical previous two-prong shuffle reasonably than a wall wart. The wireless subwoofer comes pre-paired with the soundbar, and it would mute join robotically as soon as plugged in. If it doesn’t, it’s possible you’ll possibly well be ready to manually pair the soundbar and the sub, nonetheless the computerized pairing direction of worked seamlessly for me.

Whereas LG soundbars with built-in Google Assistant exercise the Google Dwelling app to join to your Wi-Fi network, the SP9YA (which lacks built-in Google Assistant—extra on that in somewhat) makes the reference to the original LG Sound Bar app, and the formulation used to be flawless. After firing it up on my iPhone and granting it permission to make exercise of Bluetooth, the app snappy learned the SP9YA and triggered me to decide on my network SSID and enter my password. Lower than a minute later, the connection used to be made, and the soundbar rapid confirmed up as an choice amongst my varied AirPlay 2 and Chromecast devices.

Besides the Wi-Fi setup, the SP9YA presents a room calibration feature, which detects the acoustics of your room by bouncing sounds off your walls and furniture. In contrast to the Sonos Arc, which employs the microphone of an iPhone to create its measurements, the SP9YA makes exercise of its possess built-in microphone to utilize its calibration readings. Your whole direction of takes handiest just a few minutes, and it’s possible you’ll possibly well possibly also be ready to overview the outcomes with the sound of the uncalibrated soundbar. Whereas LG’s AI Room Calibration direction of isn’t as accurate as extra superior calibration systems akin to Audyssey (which takes readings from eight microphone positions), it’s a welcome feature given the SP9YA’s mark level.

Controls, far-off, and app

The SP9YA has seven capacitive touch buttons that sit down on high of the predominant soundbar unit: energy, enter steal out—which, fortunately, isn’t any longer labeled “F” (for “Unbiased”) because it used to be in previous objects—quantity up and down, play/close, Bluetooth pair, and Wi-Fi.

Ben Patterson/IDG

The soundbar’s two-microphone array is straight in entrance of the high buttons (although the 2 little mic holes are so little that they’re easy to omit), whereas a 5-digit level to that dims after a brief period of inaction is on the entrance panel.

LG has redesigned the remotes for its 2021 soundbar line, and the ensuing wands are far sleeker than their boxy, cheap-having a ogle predecessors. But whereas the far-off that ships with the SP9YA is extra ergonomic than previous LG soundbar remotes I’ve tried, the buttons are laid out in such a technique that you wish stretch your thumb out to attain the all-vital quantity and mute buttons. The four-diagram navigation pad is within easy attain, as are the sound mode, data, settings, and speaker stage buttons, nonetheless it seems gripping that the quantity control sits so excessive up on the far-off—and on the left-hand side at that.

The original LG Sound Bar app is a step up from the getting previous LG Wi-Fi Speaker app, and it capacity that you can control your whole functions of the soundbar, from changing inputs and adjusting the quantity to biking via the sound modes and trimming the speaker levels. This can even moreover rapid you to create the AI-powered room calibration direction of at setup (it’s possible you’ll possibly well be ready to consistently re-flee it everytime you wish), as neatly as tinker with the AV synchronization within the occasion you flee into any lip-sync components.

Audio casting and smart dwelling integration

Whereas some LG soundbars near with Google Assistant built-in, the SP9YA isn’t one in every of them; in its build, it merely “works with” Alexa and Google Assistant. Which implies, amongst varied things, that it’s possible you’ll possibly well be ready to manage just some of the soundbar’s functions with affirm commands, akin to “Alexa, flip LG soundbar quantity down,” or “Hello Google, skip video display,” nonetheless it’s possible you’ll possibly well be ready to’t chat with Google Assistant or Alexa straight via the soundbar.

That’s the defective data. The factual data is that the SP9YA’s is blessed with a ambitious array of casting and multi-room audio functions. Equipped that, I received’t bitch too powerful relating to the dearth of a built-in affirm assistant.

Starting with Alexa, it’s possible you’ll possibly well be ready to designate the SP9YA as a “most neatly-most neatly-liked” speaker for one in every of your rooms or for your whole dwelling, which implies that Alexa can robotically play tunes on the soundbar will salvage to you question her to play song. You too can moreover add the soundbar to an Alexa speaker community, akin to “Residing Room” or “Upstairs.”

Take Chromecast? The SP9YA has you covered with built-in Chromecast enhance, that capacity it’s possible you’ll possibly well be ready to solid song to the soundbar from any Chromecast-enabled app or service, and it’s possible you’ll possibly well possibly also be ready to moreover add the soundbar to a Chromecast speaker community. Even as you’re casting to the SP9YA by capacity of Chromecast, it’s possible you’ll possibly well be ready to query Google Assistant to retract or decrease the quantity, skip tracks, or play or close the song.

Even better, the SP9YA moreover works with AirPlay 2, allowing you to solid audio to the soundbar from an iMac, iPhone, iPad, or one more Apple instrument, and identical to Alexa and Chromecast, it’s possible you’ll possibly well be ready so as to add the soundbar to AirPlay speaker groups. Lastly, the SP9YA supports Spotify Connect casting, too.

Sound modes and performance

The SP9YA components eight sound modes, including Cinema (which upmixes all audio sources to 5.1.2, including 2.0 stereo audio), Tune (which makes exercise of Meridian abilities to optimize its audio performance), Bass Blast (with u.s.a.the bass whereas moreover upmixing all sources to 5.1.2), Obvious State (for enhancing dialogue), Frequent (which delivers the audio with none upmixing and minimal tweaking), Sports actions, and Sport. There’s moreover an eighth mode, AI Sound Pro, which makes exercise of man-made intelligence to customize the sound hoping on what you’re paying consideration to.

Whereas there are (clearly) hundreds of audio modes to decide on out from, you can’t steal a mode the least bit when it comes to Dolby Atmos or DTS:X speak material.

I began my listening tour with the UHD Blu-ray of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Serve, focusing on the War of Hoth sequence as neatly because the Asteroid Trudge chapter. Initially, I realized that the SP9YA delivered just some of the ideal Dolby Atmos high cues I’ve heard from a soundbar. Settle the moment when Luke tosses a grenade into an Imperial Walker, then drops to the bottom and watches the cascading explosions above. With the SP9YA, I could well hear the series of muffled bursts with a precision that I no longer veritably hear from soundbars with upfiring drivers. The identical goes for the sound of the chunks of falling ice from the ceiling as Vader and his troopers enter the crumbling Rebellion rotten.

Besides its handling of high cues in Empire, I moreover liked how the SP9YA (esteem just some of the sooner LG soundbars I’ve heard) doesn’t emphasize excessive- and low-conclude sound on the expense of the mid-differ; certainly, of us that make a selection a brighter signature from a soundbar (esteem what you’ll hear from the Sonos Arc) could well also simply no longer esteem the flatter sound of the SP9YA. And whereas the soundbar’s low-frequency effects sounded a miniature boomy on the foundation (specifically the bawl of the Millennium Falcon’s engine because it corkscrewed far flung from pursuing TIE Fighters), dialing the subwoofer stage down tamed the bass.

Provocative on to the UHD of Blade Runner (which, esteem Empire, has a Dolby Atmos soundtrack), I enjoyed the distinct plops of rain as Deckard jogged for refuge under the awning of the noodle bar, as neatly because the swooshing spinners above and below as Gaff delivered Deckard to police HQ. The UHD of Apollo 13 with its DTS:X sound impressed as neatly, with punchy bass, clear high effects because the Saturn V’s engines roared to life, and a accurate pop as Lovell jettisons the damage out tower.

But whereas the SP9YA performed effectively by capacity of sound cues, its side-firing drivers delivered a extra muted response when it got right here to surround effects. As an illustration, the pre-initiating gurgle of the gasoline pumps in Apollo 13 didn’t truly feel esteem it used to be coming from on the motivate of my sofa, whereas the state of the Rebellion speeders on Hoth in Empire never rather looked as if it would swerve on the motivate of me. The side drivers did prepare to develop the general soundstage and I did salvage a imprecise sense of surround atmospherics, nonetheless in uncover for you accurate surround cues from the SP9YA, you’ll must crack initiating your wallet for the non-obligatory rear speaker kit.

To inspect some non-Dolby Atmos and DTS:X speak material, I spun up the long-established Blu-ray of Sizable, which has a DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. Queuing up the “Ode to Sizable” chapter, I sampled the assorted sound modes; Cinema mode sounded huge nonetheless blown-out and hollow (most likely due to the aggressive upmixing of the high channels), whereas moreover burying the dialog. To my ears, AI Sound Pro sounded powerful extra pure and immersive, with Frequent mode working a shut second. With AI Sound Pro enabled, the pistons within the engine room sounded accurately deep and kerplunky, whereas the hiss because the Sizable’s bow sliced via the water sounded crisp nonetheless no longer shrill, and it didn’t drown out Dawson’s “ogle ogle ogle!” as he identified the dolphins.

For song, I began by taking part in a 24-bit/96kHz FLAC of Chet Baker’s “Solar” by capacity of the USB port. Switching between the sound modes, I all over again settled on AI Sound Pro (Tune mode sounded wider nonetheless too boomy, whereas Frequent mode used to be a tad better nonetheless mute stricken of the AI mode), and I used to be impressed by the pop of the drums, the detail of the brushes on the cymbals, and the positioning of the piano keystrokes. Effectively accomplished.

I moreover skipped around just a few extra tracks streamed by capacity of every Chromecast and AirPlay 2. I heard detailed, active cymbal brushes from Bruce Springsteen’s “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” as neatly as refreshingly inviting keystrokes from Vlado Perlemuter’s performance of Ravel’s solo piano works (which veritably sound composed on varied soundbars). Lastly, the bass used to be factual perfect on Ciara’s “Stage Up,” punchy nonetheless no longer overbearing, whereas Ciara’s regular vocals were breathy and organic reasonably than indifferent (as they sound on varied systems).

Backside line

So, is the LG SP9YA a factual 5.1.2 soundbar? Technically certain, I enlighten, although I doubt side-firing drivers will ever be a most inviting replace for physical surround audio system. Whereas the SP9YA’s surround effects aren’t as distinct as I’d esteem, its overall sound is elephantine, neatly rounded, and active, all with out being too boomy or shrill.

For my portion, I’d mute imply a 5.1.2 soundbar with precise surround audio system, such because the Vizio Elevate (which, as neatly as to its wireless surrounds, components swiveling upfiring entrance drivers). But whereas you’ve gotten a living room setup that’s no longer conducive to satellite tv for computer audio system, otherwise you’re willing to cough up $180 for LG’s non-obligatory wireless rear speaker equipment, the SP9YA could well be an glorious quite numerous.

• Whereas the SP9YA’s station as a factual 5.1.2 soundbar is arguable, its sturdy, elephantine-bodied sound and active Dolby Atmos and DTS:X high effects are in miniature doubt.

  Pros

  • Comely, punchy, shrill-free sound
  • Chromecast, AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, and Alexa speaker community enhance
  • AI-powered room correction
  • Easy Wi-Fi setup

  Cons

  • Surround cues from side drivers don’t seem to be that distinct
  • Finest two HDMI connectors
  • No HDMI cable within the sphere

Ben has been writing about abilities and user electronics for larger than 20 years. A PCWorld contributor since 2014, Ben joined TechHive in 2019, the build he covers smart dwelling and dwelling leisure merchandise.