LG’s SL8YG soundbar fulfills the objective of delivering higher sound than what your TV’s puny audio system places out, and it goes one step additional, providing Dolby Atmos and DTS:X immersive sound from a single speaker and a wi-fi subwoofer. Once it’s arrange correctly—and also you’re sitting in the suitable spot—it sounds actually good. It has different limitations, nevertheless, which might be shocking at its value level.
Features
The LG SL8YG soundbar measures 41.7 x 2.2 x 4.7 inches (WxHxD) and weighs in at a hefty 9.7 kilos. You can mount it on the wall with the included mounting brackets or just place it on the stand in entrance of the TV. The sub is comparatively compact at 8.7 x 15.4 x 12.3 inches (WxHxD) with a weight of 17.2 kilos. The sub connects to the soundbar wirelessly utilizing a devoted 5GHz protocol, so it may be simply positioned anyplace within the room. Of course, each models should be plugged into an AC energy outlet.
As I discussed on the outset, the SL8YG provides Dolby Atmos and DTS:X immersive audio, which reproduces sounds coming from varied instructions, together with overhead. Atmos and DTS:X can make the most of many configurations of audio system round and above the listener; on this case, there are three entrance channels and two overhead channels. Including the subwoofer, this is called a 3.1.2 configuration (three entrance channels, one subwoofer channel, two overhead channels). The overhead channels depend on speaker drivers aimed on the ceiling, which displays the sound again all the way down to the listener. Of course, the ceiling should be flat and reflective for this to be efficient.
In this shot, you possibly can clearly see the 2 up-firing audio system, which beam the overhead channels to the ceiling, the place they’re mirrored down towards the listener.
A complete of eight drivers are housed within the sealed soundbar enclosure. Each of the three entrance channels are reproduced by a 0.8-inch silk-dome tweeter and a 1.6 x 3.9-inch woofer, whereas two 2.5-inch, upward-facing drivers reproduce the overhead channels. The entrance left and proper drivers are powered by 50 watts every, whereas the middle and overhead drivers get 40W every. My solely quibble right here is that the middle channel ought to get at the least as a lot energy because the entrance left and proper, because it reproduces a lot of the dialog, making it an important channel of all.
The ported subwoofer cupboard homes a 7-inch driver powered by a 220W amp. According to LG, its frequency response extends from 35Hz to 160Hz, the place the soundbar takes over and reproduces frequencies all the way in which as much as 40kHz (±3dB).
You can add a pair of non-obligatory encompass audio system to create a 5.1.2 system. The SPK8-S bundle ($179.99) comes with two encompass audio system and a wi-fi receiver that connects to the audio system with wires, so the receiver must be positioned close to the audio system. These are included within the picture up high, though they weren’t part of this assessment. I want these encompass audio system had upfiring drivers as nicely to type a 5.1.4 system; I strongly want 4 overhead channels fairly than two such channels.
High-resolution audio is all the trend nowadays, and the SL8YG helps as much as 96kHz/24-bit digital audio. It can even upsample decrease resolutions to 24 bits. LG partnered with British high-end audio firm Meridian to develop superior sign processing and refine the {hardware} design to take most benefit of high-res audio.
LGThanks to a collaboration with Meridian, the SL8YG helps high-resolution audio.
Supported lossless audio codecs embody PCM, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, WAV, and FLAC. In addition, the SL8YG helps all the principle lossy codecs, together with Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus, DTS, DTS-HD High Resolution, MP3, AAC, and AAC+.
The SL8YG provides a number of sound modes, together with Standard, Movie, Music, Bass Blast, and ASC (Adaptive Sound Control). According to the handbook, ASC “analyzes the property of the input sound and provides the sound optimized for the content in real time.” The Standard mode makes use of Meridian know-how, whereas the Movie and Music modes are stated to optimize the sound for these kinds of content material. The objective of Bass Blast is apparent.
In addition, you possibly can alter the extent of the subwoofer, heart channel, overhead channels, and rear channels (if in case you have the non-obligatory wi-fi encompass audio system related). Treble and bass EQ controls are additionally accessible.
The SL8YG provides a encompass perform that upmixes all enter indicators to 3.1.2 (or 5.1.2 if in case you have the non-obligatory encompass audio system), no matter their native channel configuration. This perform was developed by Meridian. If you flip it off, enter indicators are reproduced as near their authentic channel structure as doable, however solely in sure sound modes (ASC, Standard, and Music). In the Movie and Bass Blast modes, all the pieces is upmixed to 3.1.2 or 5.1.2, even with the encompass perform disabled.
Connections embody one HDMI 2.0 enter and one HDMI 2.0 output with ARC (Audio Return Channel). This permits you to join the HDMI output from a supply gadget to the soundbar’s HDMI enter and its HDMI output to the TV’s HDMI enter. If the TV helps ARC, it would ship its inside audio—say, from its inside over-the-air tuner or streaming apps—alongside the identical HDMI cable again to the soundbar.
LG says the HDMI connections can go 4K video indicators from the supply via the soundbar and on to the show. According to the corporate, these connections function at a bandwidth of 13.5 Gbps, not the utmost of 18 Gbps, so as to guarantee compatibility with current TVs.
LGThe connections on the SL8YG are very skimpy. They embody (L-R): HDMI out (with ARC), HDMI in, optical in, and a USB port. A soundbar at this value ought to embody multiple HDMI enter.
I’m disillusioned that the SL8YG has just one HDMI enter. This is kind of limiting if in case you have multiple supply gadget. It seems, nevertheless, that few soundbars have a number of HDMI inputs, and that almost all customers join a number of HDMI supply units to the TV and use it to change sources.
I don’t like that method. You might join the optical digital-audio output from the TV to the soundbar, however the optical output on some TVs solely sends 2-channel audio, not 5.1 or the rest. Alternatively, you might join the TV’s HDMI ARC enter (if it has one) to the HDMI ARC output on the soundbar. This configuration will ship bitstream audio from the chosen HDMI enter on the TV (or audio from the TV’s tuner or streaming apps) to the soundbar, nevertheless it occupies one HDMI enter on the TV that would in any other case be used for one more supply gadget.
A significantly better resolution can be to have a number of HDMI inputs on the soundbar and use it because the supply switcher. In most circumstances, the soundbar is performing a perform just like that of an AV receiver, which gives all HDMI switching in an AVR-based system. I do not know why extra producers don’t do that of their high-end soundbars.
Other bodily connections embody a TosLink optical enter and a USB port, which may play audio recordsdata from a USB storage gadget in MP3, AAC, and OGG codecs. Then there are the accessible wi-fi connections—Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0 utilizing the SBC codec and A2DP profile. Wi-Fi facilitates a few helpful options, together with Chromecast, which helps you to solid content material from a suitable telephone’s streaming apps in addition to group different suitable audio system right into a whole-home audio system. The SL8YG additionally provides Google Assistant voice management.
LGThe included subwoofer homes a 7-inch driver in a ported cupboard.
User Interface
There are a number of touch-sensitive “buttons” on the highest of the SL8YG; actually, they’re nothing greater than touch-sensitive labels with no bodily buttons in any respect. They embody energy on/off, F (Function, which cycles via the inputs), quantity down, quantity up, play/pause, microphone mute, and Google Assistant. Two small holes just under these controls home the microphones for voice instructions. Labeling the input-selection button “F” fairly than “Input” or “Source” is unnecessary to me.
A four-character alphanumeric show is positioned behind the grille on the entrance. Four dots beneath the show point out the quantity degree whenever you change it; in any other case, they point out that Google Assistant is prepared to reply to your instructions—or not if the microphones are muted. The show dims after 15 seconds of inactivity, however it might’t be turned off utterly.
The included distant is small and a bit complicated. It features a energy button and a quantity up/down rocker together with one other rocker with “F” (enter choice) on high and speaker-mute beneath it. Below them are a Sound Effect button that selects the sound mode, the Google Assistant button, and the microphone-mute button.
Also on the distant are play/pause, skip-forward, and skip-back buttons for music playback in addition to a button that accesses the extent and EQ controls and one which engages night time mode, which reduces the dynamic vary to permit low-level listening with out disturbing others. Two buttons labeled Folder Up and Down allow you to navigate folders of audio recordsdata on a USB gadget, and a repeat button selects the repeat or random mode for music playback. Finally, the Info button shows details about the chosen enter supply, such because the Bluetooth gadget title, audio format coming into the optical or HDMI enter, and file data on a USB gadget.
LGThe SL8YG’s distant is small and a bit complicated. For instance, the “F” button cycles via the inputs.
Overall, I’m unimpressed with the consumer interface. Aside from labeling the input-selection button F, a few of the data displayed on the entrance panel is pretty cryptic as a result of it has so few characters. And I actually want that the show might be turned off utterly; even dimmed, it’s visually distracting proper beneath the TV display screen.
On the plus aspect, it’s straightforward to set the SL8YG to reply to quantity and mute instructions from the TV or source-device distant. Simply maintain the Sound Effect button for 3 seconds to show this perform on, and the soundbar will reply to the instructions from many alternative manufacturers of distant. It labored completely with the distant for my Dish receiver, which is programmed for Sony TV quantity and mute instructions.
Performance
I put in the SL8YG beneath my Sony KDL-40V5100 HDTV within the bed room, which has an 8-foot 3-inch flat, reflective ceiling. For my formal testing, I used an Oppo UDP-103 Blu-ray participant set to bitstream output, which is what the soundbar wants for Dolby Atmos. I related the participant’s HDMI output to the soundbar’s HDMI enter and the soundbar’s output to the TV’s enter utilizing HDMI cables from Metra Home Theater.
Starting with a Dolby Atmos demo disc, I performed the 5.1.2 check tones, which encompass wideband noise in every channel sequentially. The entrance left, heart, and proper tones emanated from the right areas throughout the soundbar, whereas the encompass channels got here from the entrance as nicely, although at a decrease degree.
The overhead channels appeared to come back from overhead solely once I was inside 4 to 5 toes from the soundbar; transferring again to a distance of 10 toes precipitated these channels to come back from the entrance, not overhead. Even once I was 5 toes away, a few of the sound appeared to come back from the soundbar, indicating that these drivers are usually not as acoustically remoted as they need to be. Also, I think that the drivers level straight up fairly than at a slight angle ahead as Dolby specifies. If they have been angled, the overhead impact would lengthen farther again into the room. Even after repeated requests for affirmation, LG didn’t confirm this.
LGLG contains the {hardware} you’ll want must you resolve to mount its 41.7-inch soundbar on the wall.
I performed a number of different gadgets on the Dolby Atmos demo disc, together with the Amaze trailer, which incorporates rain and thunder. At a distance of 5 toes, it sounded properly immersive with rain and different sound results overhead, although the soundstage didn’t lengthen a lot past the soundbar enclosure to the left and proper. The overhead impact was not as pronounced at 10 toes, nevertheless it was nonetheless evident.
Listening to the Audiosphere demo at 5 toes, the immersive soundstage was fairly good, although the imaging in entrance was not as exact accurately with this specific clip. The Leaf and Shattered trailers each exhibited a superb immersive soundstage, which prolonged a bit past the enclosure, however not very a lot. The overhead impact in each circumstances was excellent at that distance, and a few of it remained at a distance of 10 toes.
Next, I listened to a few the audio-only demos on that disc. The helicopter demo is—what else?—the sound of a helicopter circling overhead. Without the non-obligatory encompass audio system, the sound merely moved forwards and backwards throughout the entrance soundstage, although it definitely did sound prefer it was overhead at a seating distance of 5 toes. The overhead impact was vastly diminished at a distance of 10 toes, nevertheless it was nonetheless there barely. The similar was true of the rainstorm audio demo.
Among the music-video alternatives on the Dolby Atmos demo disc is “Bailando” by Enrique Inglesias, which is certainly one of my favourite Atmos music mixes. At a distance of 5 toes, the soundstage was easy and really immersive with loads of overhead exercise and a few extension past the left and proper boundaries of the enclosure. At 10 toes, the immersive soundstage survived a bit higher than the earlier examples I attempted.