Lg Sk8y 21-channel Dolby Atmos Soundbar W/ Subwoofer Reviews
Our Verdict
The LG SN8YG is a great plug-and-play soundbar for folks who want a simple Dolby Atmos setup and like shooting fish in a barrel-to-use features like Chromecast Audio and Google Assistant. That said, some of its more than advanced features aren't as intuitive as they should be, and the whole package is a scrap on the pricey side.
For
- Booming cinematic sound
- Wide stereo soundstage
- Google Assistant integration
- Congenital-in Chromecast
Against
- Moderately expensive
- Limited height presence
- Woefully bad mobile app
- No surround units
TechRadar Verdict
The LG SN8YG is a great plug-and-play soundbar for folks who desire a simple Dolby Atmos setup and like shooting fish in a barrel-to-use features like Chromecast Sound and Google Assistant. That said, some of its more advanced features aren't equally intuitive as they should be, and the whole package is a bit on the pricey side.
Pros
- +
Booming cinematic sound
- +
Wide stereo soundstage
- +
Google Assistant integration
- +
Built-in Chromecast
Cons
- -
Moderately expensive
- -
Express height presence
- -
Woefully bad mobile app
- -
No surround units
The LG SN8YG is role of the zeitgeist of manufacturers making like shooting fish in a barrel-to-utilise Dolby Atmos soundbars. But with Vizio, Samsung and Sony all making their own rival bars, what does LG bring to the table to separate it from the pack?
The answer, largely, is the integration of Google Assistant directly into the soundbar as well equally LG'south partnership with Meridian Audio to get the SN8YG tuning just right. On the features side, LG's new soundbar supports both DTS:10 and Dolby Atmos, plus Howdy-Res Audio and AI Room Scale that should, in theory, help it get ahead of the competition.
The bad news? Information technology's simply a two-slice system, for one; for another, getting at some of those features like AI Room Scale is difficult because they're locked backside an unresponsive mobile app. Keep in heed as well that simply because this soundbar supports Dolby Atmos doesn't necessarily mean that information technology does it as well every bit other discrete systems.
The SN8YG's flawed additional features and premium price tag can exist off-putting, just for folks who simply desire cinematic sound that enhances the midrange and rocks a wide soundstage, the LG SN8YG 3.i.2 Dolby Atmos Soundbar delivers the goods.
Price and release date
The LG SN8YG is new for 2020 and debuted at CES 2020 before getting a full gyre out in belatedly June / early July. In terms of price, you're looking at $799.99 (effectually £600, AU$1,100) but almost retailers have already it marked downwardly to merely $649.99.
And so how does that stack upwardly against other soundbars? Compared to the $200 Vizio 5-Series 2.1 Soundbar which is $179, the SN8YG is significantly more expensive. But when compared to similarly-spec'd, Dolby Atmos-capable soundbars like the Sony HT-G700 and Samsung HW-Q70T, y'all'll notice that nearly of them cost around the same price.
The ane exception to that rule? The Vizio 36" 5.1.2 Home Theater Sound System with Dolby Atmos that runs just $499 and comes with two surround units. For U.s.a. AV enthusiasts, it'southward a cheaper choice that has a lot of the same features (and drawbacks).
Design
The LG SN8YG is a sleek soundbar with a low profile that should fit underneath well-nigh TVs. The sub is patently a bit more stout and conspicuous in the living room, but information technology'south besides not the largest and most inconvenient of subwoofers nosotros've seen either.
The top has a brushed aluminum cease that looks fairly fancy and hosts a row of touch-capacitive playback controls alongside ii plastic grilles for the upfiring speakers, while the front drivers are housed within a separate silver plastic grille.
In terms of dimensions you're looking at 2.2 x 41.7 10 4.seven inches (LxWxD) for the soundbar and xv.4 x 8.7 x 12.3 inches for the subwoofer.
Inside the soundbar you lot've plainly got the three drivers for the left, right, and center channels just the SN8YG also adds two top-firing speakers besides – though we noticed they don't often make a ton of noise if you're watching standard stereo or surround audio content.
In terms of connections, the soundbar is fairly average with ane HDMI-In, one HDMI-Out (ARC/eARC enabled), plus optical sound and USB. Information technology'd exist nice to accept more than than one HDMI-In hither, but what's on offer works, also.
The plastic remote that ships with the soundbar is basic, but passable, and the soundbar's LED lights do a good job of letting you know which style y'all're using and if it's playing a Dolby Atmos source.
In fact, the only real thwarting in terms of pattern is that the SN8YG is only a ii-piece arrangement: there's merely the bar and the sub. You tin can add on environment speakers with the two.0 Channel Rear Speaker Kit (LG SPK8-South ii.0), simply that will set you lot back an additional $149.
Features
The LG SN8YG brings a lot to the table in terms of features… the catch is that it tin be hard to get at the ones that are tied to LG'southward difficult-to-use Wi-Fi Speaker app.
The ones that are easy and straightforward, notwithstanding, are the integration of Bluetooth and Chromecast, the latter of which can exist used as shortly every bit yous link it to your Google Habitation account. This besides enables you to summon Google Assistant on the soundbar, which can be pretty handy if you don't already have a Google Assistant speaker in your living room.
What's a little less easy to utilise, though, is the LG Wi-Fi Speaker app that's required for the AI Room Scale tool. To prepare it upwards, y'all'll want to brand sure the soundbar is prepare to Wi-Fi fashion and then open up the app on the mobile device. What sounds simple took united states a week to finally get set upwards properly (the app told the states that there were no speakers on the network), and simply then could we try out the AI Room Calibration tool.
Through the app you lot'll be able to change the tuning of the soundbar from its default AI Sound Pro setting to 1 of the other presets, besides as turn on automobile volume leveling if yous find that you're having bug finding the right volume level to fit both placidity and loud scenes.
The problem with the app is that it feels dated compared to the competition, like the Sonos app, for case – and unlike the soundbar itself which seems to work 100% of the time, the app doesn't ever piece of work.
Sound
While some soundbars offer bucketloads of bass or become heavy on the loftier-end, the SN8YG goes correct down the eye, focusing on enhancing vocal clarity and making dialogue easier to hear. That said, the accompanying subwoofer adds an almost cinematic element to the mix that makes action sequences sound dynamic.
To put the soundbar to the examination, nosotros watched Flavour 2 of Umbrella Academy on Netflix when it debuted in August, and we really felt the action sequences benefited from the SN8YG's bombastic bass response and clear dialogue.
We also liked that the soundbar still has a fairly wide soundstage and a wide sweet spot that allows you lot to sit anywhere in the room and all the same get good stereo sound.
Of course, we emphasize stereo sound in that location because the surround audio does disappoint a bit, especially when pitted against a true 5.1 or 5.1.2 system. You'll even so get left-right separation, but a stereo sweep will show you that the back-left and back-right channels simply don't sound disarming here.
That's particularly true if y'all watch something in Dolby Atmos. We watched a half-dozen nature docs on Netflix with Atmos enabled and while we could hear a bit of the overhead sound furnishings, few of them had the same depth and clarity nosotros've heard on other systems.
Stream some music from any Chromecast-uniform service or via Bluetooth, and you'll detect that the SN8YG is a surprisingly musical organization. The swelling of orchestral scores is boosted by the subwoofer to give a sense of dynamism and traditional stone and rap feels forceful thanks to the emphasis on mid-range vocals.
Lastly, if yous have any Hello-Res Sound sources like a uniform Blu-ray player or AVR, you can accept reward of the SN8YG'due south Hullo-Res Audio playback support, which makes your music collection sound fifty-fifty better.
Should yous buy the LG SN8YG three.1.2 Dolby Atmos Soundbar?
Purchase it if...
Don't buy information technology if...
- Want some other option? Cheque out our list of the all-time soundbars in 2020
Source: https://www.techradar.com/au/reviews/lg-sn8yg-312-dolby-atmos-soundbar
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