ISSUE386|COMPUTER SHOPPER|APRIL2020 39
LGSL8YG
★★★★★
£449•Fromwww.johnlewis.comSOUNDBARANDSUBWOOFER
VERDICT
TheSL8YGmightnotsoundasengrossingaspremiumDolbyAtmos
soundbars,butit’sagoodwayofgettingthetechonabudget
DRIVERS (^6) • RMSPOWER OUTPUT440W•DIMENSIONS
1,060x57x119mm (soundbar), 390x221x313mm(subwoofer)•
WEIGHT4.4kg(soundbar), 7.8kg(subwoofer)•DOCK
CONNECTORNone•NETWORKINGBluetooth,Wi-Fi•
WARRANTYOneyearRTB•DETAILSwww.lg.com•
PART CODESL8YG
SPECIFICATIONS
SOFAR,DOLBYAtmos soundbars–which
bounce sound off yourceiling to addasense
of height to audioplayback –havemostly
existed at themoreexpensive endofthe
spectrum. That’s why it’s good to seeproducts
like the LG SL8YG, which –while notexactly
cheap –offersAtmos, Google Assistant
controls andeven adedicatedBluetooth
subwooferatamuch morereasonableprice.
It’s finished in grey, with aflat, brush-finish
metaltop,and there’saperforated metalgrille
that wraps around the curved ends and front.
Asmall, centrally mounted, 15-character LED
displaylurks behind the grilletoshow which
source you’ve selected, theaudio formatbeing
used or the menu item you’ve chosen.
EXCLUSIVE OFFER
The whole thing looks understated but slick,
with theMeridianlogo on the toplending the
soundbar an air of audiophile exclusivity.The
UK hi-fifirm has worked on tuning the audio
with LG, and it shows (more on that later).
All thesoundbar’sports and sockets are
housed in asquare-ishcutoutonthe rear.
The selection is prettylimited,however.All
youget is apair of HDMI 2.0 ports –one input
with 4K passthroughand one output with
audioreturn channel (ARC)support –and one
opticalS/PDIF,plusaUSB
Type-Aport that you
can usetoconnect
external media.
That’s prettypaltry
for£449,althoughthis
is also theonly place
where the SL8YG
really fallsshort. In all
otherrespects, it’s as
well appointed as you
couldpossibly expect,
especially in its
supportfor surround-
soundstandards.
Not only does it
have support for
DolbyAtmos –which
is impressiveenough
at thisprice –but
there’s also support forDolbyTrueHD,
DolbyDigitalPlusand DolbyDigital,plus
most DTS-based standards,including DTS X,
DTS-HD MasterAudio,DTS-HDHigh
Resolution andDTS Digital Surround.
The integratedGoogle Assistant and
Chromecast supportbothwork well, too.
Once you’ve set it up via the Google Home
app, theLGSL8YG acts just likeaGoogle
Home or Nest Mini speaker: say‘OK Google’
or ‘HeyGoogle’, askitaquestionortoperform
atask andGoogle’s voice recognition smarts
will endeavour to getthe jobdone foryou.
The one exception to thisiswhenthe
soundbarisinHDMI mode: here, youhave
to press the Google Assistant button on
thereeemmmooottteeecccooonnntttrrrooollltttooogggeeetttiiitttsssaaatttttteeennntttiiiooonnn.
Thesuppliedremotecontrolisneat and
wellorganisedandprovidesaccesstomostof
thesoundbar’scorefunctions.Thatincludes
beingable to adjust thevolume of all the
individualchannels, includingthe height
channel forDolby Atmos.FILLINGTHE SPACE
It’s worthnotingthat as a3.1.2 speaker
system, the SL8YGdoesn’t strictly produce
‘true’ surroundsound;you’d need aseparate
set of rearspeakers forthat. TheAtmos effect
also isn’t all that
dramatic, as audio
that shouldseemto
originatefromupnear
the ceiling sounded
more likeitwas
coming from about
afootortwo above
the soundbar.
Even so,we’dstill
saythe SL8YGdid
great work with
most material we
shoved its way.
Speech presentation
is excellent, and
whenever an audio
event occurs to the
leftorthe right or
travels across ascene–suchasacarzoomingpast–the SL8YG
re-creates theeffect convincingly.
Explosions rock theroomwiththunderous,
rumbling bass, and there’smore than enough
volume to fillsmall to medium-sized rooms.
Youmight have to turndown the subwoofer
level atouch,however,aswefounditslightly
thick and uncontrolled at the defaultsettings.
It also isn’t worth botheringwithany of the
presets otherthan Movie. The rest –Bass
Blast, Music,ASC and Standard–all sound
cccooommmppprrrooommmiiissseeedddtttoooooouuurrrears,partttiiiculllarlllyttthhhe
Musicsetting,whichsacrificesalotofthe
system’s inherent warmth in favour of detail.
Stick with Movie mode,however,and you’ll
be largely fine. With the bassturned down a
little,there’s apleasing sense of balance
between the lower, middle and upper registers,
andalthoughitisn’t incredibly detailedinthe
treble,overall it’s lovely to listen to.TONE SHARK
In fact,the LG SL8YGasawholecomesasa
pleasant surprise.It’s crammed with features,
topped with goodlooksand backed up with
the substanceofhigh audio quality.
Yes, there are compromises –physical
connectivity is limited, forinstance –but that’s
the case with mostmid-priced soundbars.
While there are othersoundbars at around
this price that soundbetter andcreateamore
convincingsurround-soundeffect,few can
match the SL8YG’s audio format support and
overall balance of features.
JonathanBray