LG SJ9
Pros
- Enormous and vertically expansive Atmos soundstage
- Powerful, attacking sound with deep bass
- Well-designed multiroom app
- Generous features
- Attractive design
Cons
- Single HDMI input
- No DTS:X support
- Limited Atmos/surround reach
- Expensive
- Issues with NAS drive playback
Key Features
- Review Price: £799.00
- Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 soundbar and wireless 200W subwoofer
- 500W total power output
- Uses 40 x 100W mid/bass drivers & 20mm dome tweeters
- Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, DLNA, Spotify Connect and Chromecast
- LG Music Flow app with multiroom and hi-res audio support
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding
- 4K HDR passthrough and HDCP 2.2
What is the LG SJ9?
Dolby Atmos soundbars are the current superstars of the audio world, and having auditioned models from Samsung and Sony, I now get to see what LG can do. The Korean giant explodes onto the scene with a feature-packed Atmos bar that chugs 5.1.2 channels of expansive audio goodness into your living room without clogging up the place with speakers.
The SJ9 offers a step up from the £400 LG SJ8, not only adding Atmos but increasing the power output too. As a result, the price leaps to £800, which is a huge outlay by soundbar standards – although it’s no more expensive than its rival the Samsung HW-K850. Let’s see how the LG measures up.
LG SJ9 – Design and Connections
With its extra Atmos hardware, the SJ9 is deeper and bulkier than the super-slim SJ8, but still sits lower than the Samsung HW-K850 and never threatens to block my TV’s remote sensor. At a whopping 1.2m wide it’s designed for TVs 55in and above, and styled to match LG’s 2017 screens.
It’s actually the most attractive Atmos bar to date, sporting a gunmetal
grey finish, aluminium grilles and curved ends that follow the curve of
the up-firing Atmos speakers. The look is enhanced by three silver
strips running along the bottom and top-mounted speaker grilles that
hint at the Atmos excitement ahead.
Parts of the bodywork have the plasticky feel common among the big-name
brands (particularly the top panel) but, otherwise, it’s a solidly built
and good-looking unit. Wisely, LG keeps clutter to a minimum by placing
the buttons on the rear, with corresponding icons on top. They include
volume, source selection, Wi-Fi and multiroom setup. A decent-sized LED
display on the front keeps you abreast of inputs, sound modes and
volume.
A recess on the back houses an HDMI 2.0 input and output, which support
HDCP 2.2 and 4K/60p/HDR pass through. Rig up your Blu-ray deck using
these and it will also deliver the Dolby Atmos track to the soundbar. In
an ideal world the SJ9 would provide a few more inputs for games
consoles and TV boxes, but the optical, 3.5mm mini-jack and HDMI ARC
provide some possible workarounds.
The accompanying subwoofer gets a high living room acceptance rating
with its cloth-covered edges and curved corners. Crucially, its compact
size and wireless connectivity should make it easy to place in the room.
It’s solid and stable, which bodes well for its bass capabilities.
LG SJ9 – Features
The SJ9 is a 5.1.2-channel Atmos soundbar, with two channels of dedicated height audio delivered by the up-firing drivers. The SJ9’s front channels use 40 x 100mm woofers and 20mm dome tweeters; the rest use woofers only. The bass reflex subwoofer packs a 6.5in woofer.
Overall power output is quoted as 500W, with 43W going to each of the seven front, centre, surround and top channels. The remaining 200W is contributed by the subwoofer (and, yes, I’m well aware that adds up to 501W, but what’s a watt between friends?)
Away from Atmos, the SJ9 offers built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0,
opening up a plethora of wireless streaming options. There’s Spotify and
built-in Chromecast, allowing you to beam audio from compatible apps
such as SoundCloud, YouTube and Deezer.
If you have multiple Chromecast speakers then you can create a
multiroom system using the Google Home app. Alternatively, the SJ9 can
be incorporated into LG’s MusicFlow multiroom system, alongside the
company’s other wireless speakers – which can also be used as rear
channels in a 5.1 system.
The MusicFlow smartphone app lets you stream music from your phone, from
PCs and NAS drives on your home network, and from built-in apps such as
TuneIn radio. Hi-res music is supported up to a maximum resolution of
192kHz/24-bit.
Elsewhere, Adaptive Sound Control analyses the incoming frequencies and
selects the ‘optimum sound mix’ for what you’re watching, while the Auto
Sound Engine maintains the best sound balance at different volumes.
There’s also a range of sound presets, including Standard, Movie, Music
and Bass Blast – the latter should be avoided at all costs due to its
exaggerated bass and forced mid-range.
Finally, as well as Dolby Audio, the SJ9 can also decode Dolby TrueHD
and DTS-HD Master Audio tracks. But, sadly, its talents don’t stretch
to DTS:X.
LG SJ9 – Operation
The SJ9’s compact remote sports a tidy array of black rubber buttons
that cover most bases. It’s fine but a little too small for comfort,
plus the cheap plastic casing is out of keeping with such an expensive
soundbar.
Setup is easy. You can run a Blu-ray deck through the HDMI ports or
simply connect your TV via optical and let the LG play whatever you’re
watching.
Some users have reported issues passing through 4K HDR pictures from a Blu-ray deck, but sandwiched between my Samsung UBD-M9500
player and UE55KS9000 TV I encountered no problems whatsoever. Samsung
happily handshaking with LG? In other news, Labour and the Tories have
formed a coalition.
The MusicFlow app is an alternative remote control, allowing you to
adjust the volume, skip tracks and tweak the EQ from the attractive Now
Playing screen. The rest of the app uses attractive menus with stylised
icons and bold colours. Logically structured menus makes navigation a
cinch – the ‘Music’ sidebar menu is particularly helpful – while the
busy Home page is jazzed up by colourful cover art.
The only thing that grates – and it’s a pretty big thing – is the
app’s puzzling inability to scroll all the way down any list when
browsing my WD Cloud NAS drive. For example, I could only access down to
the letter D in the ‘Album’ list, and the artist list didn’t even get
past the As. None of the other multiroom apps I’ve used suffer this
problem.
LG SJ9 – Performance
I head straight for Atmos favourite Mad Max: Fury Road, the LG turns in a blistering performance with the movie’s ferocious soundtrack.
First up, Tom Hardy’s growling voice sounds absolutely massive,
coming at you like a wall of sound with deep bass and plenty of husky
top-end detail. When the car zooms over the camera from behind, the
roaring engine is placed high above the screen.
As the Buzzards attack Furiosa’s convoy in their spiky cars, the LG
goes into overdrive with explosions so beefy and vigorous it’s like
you’re riding alongside them. Harpoons swoosh, weaponry clanks and
engines roar – it’s a real tour de force.
The LG creates a suitably large soundstage when the cars enter the
sandstorm, pushing effects high and wide. It paints an immersive sonic
picture with precise placement and quick, decisive movement.
The Atmos channels add flavour, lifting those harpoons and tumbling
cars, but this isn’t really what makes the LG’s performance so
enthralling. More important is the SJ9’s immense power and attack. It’s a
remarkably potent soundbar, tackling effects with gusto and filling
even a large room with consummate ease.
It’s smoother, louder and more composed than the SJ8, and unlike its
little brother doesn’t trouble the eardrums when you push the volume
high.
The subwoofer also does a decent job, offering big, weighty bass and
giving explosions a hefty thump. It’s a little too thick and woolly to
truly satisfy, but it follows the action keenly and merges well with the
subwoofer. If you listen to the soundbar in isolation then there isn’t a
lot going on in the bass or lower-mids, but together they form a
cohesive union with no obvious ‘holes’.
Dialogue reproduction is excellent: articulate, full-bodied and locked
to the middle of the screen. I’m also impressed by the LG’s detail
levels. It’s not audiophile grade, but treble is crisp and airy, and you
can hear different textures and subtleties during quieter scenes.
The only issue I have with the SJ9 as an Atmos system – and this goes
for all Atmos soundbars, to be fair – is that it can’t place effects
above you like a full Atmos speaker array. You get a clear feeling of
height and expansion, but it’s all happening in the space around the
screen, rather than above the listening position. The Samsung HW-K850
is more successful in that respect, projecting height effects further
into the room, but it’s still no match for a full Atmos array.
The same is true in terms of surround effects. The soundstage is
certainly wider and more immersive than a regular soundbar, but effects
are merely pushed to the space either side of the TV, rather than
enveloping you in the action.
I was, however, pleasantly surprised by the SJ9’s talents as a music
player. Playing a bunch of CDs and tracks from a NAS drive, the LG
delivers an open, detailed and well-balanced sound with eager support
from the subwoofer. There isn’t enough warmth and nuance to be taken
seriously by hi-fi lovers, but the SJ9’s powerful, rhythmically engaging
performance should impress everyone else.
Just one more annoying thing to report – when playing music, the
subwoofer often takes a couple of seconds to kick in at the start of
each track, leaving you with a bass-free intro.
Should I buy the LG SJ9?
If you accept the limitations of its Atmos performance then the SJ9
is worth every penny of its asking price. It’s an immensely powerful
soundbar, attacking effects with gusto and generating a huge Atmos
soundstage that reaches high and wide.
The sound is anchored by deep and well-integrated bass from the
wireless sub and peppered with crisp high-frequency detail. That all
adds up to a wildly entertaining sound, which knocks the slimmer SJ8
into the proverbial cocked hat. It’s attractively styled and packed with
features, allowing you to stream music from a wide range of sources.
On the downside, I experienced problems streaming from my NAS drive,
and the inclusion of a single HDMI input is a tad stingy for an
expensive flagship soundbar. DTS:X support would also have been nice.
Otherwise, the superb SJ9 is a great advert for Dolby Atmos and a
terrific introduction to the delights of 3D audio.
Verdict
LG’s dazzling Dolby Atmos soundbar sends excitement levels soaring
with its powerful, expansive sound, backed by generous streaming
functionality and a glamorous design.
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