The LG soundbar SJ9 Atmos sounds very good. However, its main draw is Dolby Atmos audio and built-in for a relatively affordable price. Despite still being a chick format, the surround-sound system has captured the enthusiast community’s imagination in a way not many features do.
The good news is that the LG Soundbar SJ9’s up-firing speakers do add some spaciousness to its sound. And if you like watching movie stars hurting other movie stars with very large weapons, the punchy LG Soundbar SJ9 will help you’re, enjoy that.
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LG Soundbar SJ9 Price in USA, UK and Australia
The LG Soundbar SJ9 is the cheapest price with Dolby Atmos speaker features. It also brings a solid array of features including Chromecast multiroom, 4K HDR pass-through similarity, and the ability to add rear speakers if you want.
If you totally must have Atmos, value Chromecast built-in and want to spend as little as possible, the LG Soundbar SJ9 is a decent first option, but for most Atmos soundbar shoppers, the $800 Samsung K850 is worth the more money.
While the LG Soundbar SJ9 is relatively affordable in the US, it is inexplicably expensive in the UK at £1,000. It costs AU$1,699 in Australia, which is comparable to the UK price.
Features of LG Soundbar SJ9
If, on the other hand, you like rock stars trying to hurt you emotionally, then it is not the first speaker system we’d recommend. Compared to its Samsung rival, for example, the LG Soundbar SJ9 lacks nuance, a difference most obvious with music.
Body Design
There is a touch of retro to the LG Soundbar SJ9’s design. The distinctive bottom grille could have been ripped from the front of a Cadillac or a chrome-plated wayside diner.
The sound bar itself is shaped like a large tongue depressor with a series of drivers along the front edge, and two Dolby Atmos-ready height point drivers in the top.
The LG Soundbar SJ9 is 47″ inches wide, relatively squat at 2.3″ inches high and fully deep at 5.7 inches. It includes a bracket for wall mounting. The mesh along the front panel hides an LED display inside which helps you steer the onboard menus — friendly, since there’s no on screen display.
The LG soundbar comes with a relatively solid, wireless system to subwoofer roughly 12″ square features. Behind the front grille we regular a 6-inch driver that is ported at the back of the cabinet.
The small remote control covers all functions, but you probably won’t use it after the initial setup. Your TV remote is good for volume control.
Port and Connectivity
LG Soundbar SJ9 calls the a 5.1.2 sound bar to signify five surrounds plus a sub and two overheads. That isn’t technically correct, but, because the speaker lacks rear channels. Though LG Sound bar SJ9 bills this as a “standalone” structure you can add rears if you like — either a pair of LG H3s or better.
The dedicated SPJ4-S surround kit for $127. Though we didn’t test the kit, LG has confirmed that it will work with the LG Sound bar SJ9. The sound bar offers affinity with Dolby Atmos for atmospheric effects, but like Samsung it does not offer the competing format DTS:X.
Although the unit will decode all other flavors of Dolby, including TrueHD, it will only understand basic DTS surround. The sound bar is HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2 compliant which means it should be able to pass 4K HDR material. It includes an HDMI input and an ARC output for connecting to your TV.
The LG Soundbar SJ9 provides music without cable via both Bluetooth and Wireless network. LG was one of the first companies to jump on board with Google and so the SJ9 features Chromecast built-in. That means Android and iOS users can use one of dozens of Cast-enabled mobile apps and Android users can also stream lossless audio.
Meanwhile LG’s Music Flow system allows access to apps like iHeartRadio and Spotify. The TV also features LG Sound Sync, which lets you stream your compatible LG TV to the bar via Bluetooth.
Sound Performance
The LG Soundbar SJ9 proudly displays its Dolby Atmos drivers on each end of its top panel, and sure enough, they help the LG Sound bar SJ9 project a larger sound than what you get from standard sound bars.
There is less of a sense of the sound coming from a skinny ‘bar, and that’s a welcome change. The LG Soundbar SJ9’s up-firing speakers opened up the sound in a positive way.
With the “Deepwater Horizon” oil rig buffet Blu-ray, the LG Sound bar SJ9 flexed more than ample home theater muscle. We like the LG Soundbar SJ9 the very comfortable Dolby Atmos soundbar system.
We have tried it, but how does it stack up against the higher priced competition? Luckily we had two of the greater Atmos sound bars on hand for direct comparison, the Sony HT-ST5000 and the Samsung HW-K950.
They’re extra expensive than the SJ9, but what does the more dough buy you? While we weren’t able to test with the LG Soundbar SJ9’s main rival, the Samsung HW-K850, the main difference between this and the extra expensive version is the addition of rear speakers. They should sound alike.
We began by using one of our favorite old demo discs, “The home of Flying Daggers” and went straight to the circle of drums scene, and put the LG Soundbar SJ9 through its paces. When eyeless dancer Mei (Zhang Ziyi) jumps and kicks the drums, the bass notes. The songs she produced were satisfyingly deep and powerful.
Sony HT-ST5000 system was clearer overall and its bass definition handily trumped the LG Soundbar SJ9’s to be honest. We were surprised by the way the HT-ST5000 reproduced the bass transients of the drums. They were clean, fast and powerful. The LG Sound bar SJ9 was potent, but nowhere as precise.
When we played still scenes, Mei in the bamboo forest with the Samsung HW-K950. This one had the lead of featuring a pair of wireless surround speakers. We were placed behind us in the Techwirex listening room.
That’s the benefit of a bona-fide 5.1 channel system — it really did produce an extra immersive soundscape with movies than the GL Soundbar SJ9 or HT-ST5000.
When we settled back down and just listened to the LG Sound bar SJ9 on its own—scene after scene of mass destruction with “Transformers: Age of Extinction” — the LG Soundbar While the SJ9 successfully shielded our eardrums, it didn’t seem like it was working too hard.
As for music, the LG Sound bar SJ9 sounded decent enough with the acoustic tunes from Jason Isbell’s new “The Nashville Sound” album, which sound more or less on par with the HT-ST5000. But, we found the subwoofer to be quite directional and had to move it to the side of the speakers for better integration.
Next we compared the LG Soundbar SJ9’s music rendition with the Samsung HW-Q900T. Listening to the soft rock track “Our Love” by Sharon Van Etten, the Samsung instrument sounded more natural with more “air” around it.
Some users on the LG Sound bar SJ9 product page have complained that the sound bar couldn’t pass video properly from a Xbox One S to and LG TV. We tried this ourselves—adding the LG B6 OLED into the mix — and weren’t able to replicate the problem. The TV was able to read HDR information as well as reproduce deep colors from our “Spider-Man 2” test disc.
Advantages
Pro
The LG Soundbar SJ9 is the most affordable Dolby Atmos soundbar system on the market, at least in the US. Home theater sound is dynamic and thrilling similarity with Google Chromecast and 4K HDR offers some degree of flexibility and future-proofing.
Cons
The LG Sound bar SJ9’s subwoofer builds a lot of bass, but definition is only so-so. The sound is not very refined when playing music. The LG Soundbar SJ9 bar lacks DTS :X or DTS-HD Master Audio compatibility. It has no border speakers included.
Conclusion
According to our Techwirex team, LG Soundbar SJ9 is a good sound quality sound bar. So we think this bar will be perfect for you. So you can try it. For those of you who are worried about the LG Sound bar SJ9.
FAQ
Why buy LG Soundbar SJ9?
It is the best bar to fit within your budget. You will get more than your needs High Quality Sound & Dolby Atmos.
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