ZDNET Key Points
- The LG S95TR Soundbar with Wireless Subwoofer priced at $1,297.
- The LGS95TR may be expensive, but the high-quality sound makes it worth the price. It’s the ideal 9.1.5-channel system for the brand’s latest TVs.
- The soundbar has a lot of features, but some of the best ones require a newer LG TV. The high price is also an issue that many buyers won’t be able to overcome.
LG has released S95TR Soundbar earlier this year as a premium addition to its latest product OLED TVlives up to the hype. The wireless soundbar and subwoofer setup comes with a host of impressive features, including Dolby Atmos and DTS:X surround sound, plus a host of extras accessible via an app. I recently tested the soundbar to see if it lives up to all the hype. Let’s take a closer look.
The S95TR consists of four components: a main soundbar, a subwoofer, and two small rear speakers. The subwoofer and rear speakers are wireless, so you don’t need any extra wires beyond the main power and HDMI connections.
My main concern that kept me from getting a surround sound system in the first place was having to deal with wires running throughout the room, so I appreciate this system because it’s partially wireless.
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Unfortunately, you have to download the LG Soundbar app to use all the features. It’s a little inconvenient that this app is separate from the LG ThinQ app that controls your LG TV, especially since you’ll likely be using it a lot, but it’s a minor issue.
Setup is simple. After plugging in the speakers in the order instructed, installing the app, and adding the soundbar to the app, the soundbar goes through a process of tuning specific to your room setup. I played a movie before using AI Room Calibration, and I can attest that it makes a noticeable difference in how things sound.
I then used the TV’s built-in speakers to get a baseline for testing the soundbar. With two kids and a dog in the house, I had to turn the volume up more than halfway to listen comfortably: 65 out of 100. Conversely, when I switched the sound to the soundbar, the volume was plenty loud at 40. I knew right away that this was going to be a serious upgrade.
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Another thing I like to check with an audio device is how well it handles dialogue. With my everyday setup, I tend to watch everything with subtitles because it’s easy to miss something.
The main soundbar here fixes that problem with a small upward-firing center speaker in addition to the traditional front speakers, a feature that LG claims helps make dialogue clearer. When I turned on one of my favorite shows, I noticed a noticeable improvement over the TV’s built-in speakers and significant improved sound over my regular soundbar. If you have trouble hearing every word like I sometimes do, you’ll definitely appreciate this feature.
I then ran the soundbar through a variety of movie tests, including action scenes with lots of explosions, suspenseful scenes in creepy woods, and scenes with lots of dialogue.
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The S95TR setup makes background noise stand out realistically. In the second scene of my test, which involves a conversation between people in a car, the ambient noise of the street surrounds the back of my sofa while the conversation remains in front of me, just like in real life. There’s enough rumble from the subwoofer to make it sound like real road noise.
In every test, the soundbar setup worked perfectly and I heard sounds that I would have missed without it.
If you’re worried about kids or neighbors sleeping, there’s a Night Mode that’s accessible via the app and remote. This keeps the surround sound active, but the subwoofer is noticeably softer. My setup is on a shared wall with my daughter’s room, and she doesn’t complain about late-night movies, so that’s a win.
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Gamers will appreciate the 120Hz HDR10 support, which ensures there’s no lag when it comes to audio streaming through the speakers. I tried a few games on my PS5, and every single one of them was improved with the system. At one point, a sound behind me was so realistic that my dog had to lift his head to see who was there.
ZDNET Buying Advice
At first glance, LG S95TR The $1,297 price tag seems a bit steep, especially when there are budget-friendly wired options available. priced under $400 with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. If you’re wondering whether the LG S95TR system is worth the price, my answer is yes.
Setting up wireless is easier than any sound system I’ve ever encountered, and the S95TR performs better than any system I’ve heard before, to put it bluntly. If you were building a proper setup with these components, you’d be spending more money anyway, so the LG S95TR might even save you money. money in some way
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Keep in mind that while the soundbar setup will work with any TV, it works best with LG’s B4, C4, and G4 OLED TVs. If you don’t have one of those TVs, you’ll miss out on some features.
