The LG S95QR 9.1.5 Dolby Atmos soundbar gives the ultimate sound for any brand TV, but it is even better with LG’s 2022 Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos-capable TVs.

We make the point that LG is brand agnostic – any brand or model as long as it has HDMI ARC/eARC or Optical Out connections. It has avoided using the TV’s speakers to supplement the soundbar as this has a unique centre channel up-firing speaker. It is part of the LG 2022 Soundbar range – something completely different.

We have tested the LG S90QY soundbar – terrific 5.1.3 Dolby Atmos all-in-one (review), and it has the same front soundbar and sub-woofer with the addition of dual rear speakers. But these are no ordinary speakers. Again, unique as each has three speakers for each side and overhead sound reinforcement. They work a treat for 7.1 surround and add the emphasis needed for 9.1.5 Dolby Atmos.

Note that, unlike the S90QY, this does not use psychoacoustics to bounce signals off adjacent walls making it perfect for larger open-plan Aussie lounge rooms.

As you can imagine, we have tested a lot of Dolby Atmos soundbars. We look for a few main things.

The LG S95QR 9.1.5 exceeds most of these parameters and, in our opinion, is a) the best of the LG 2022 range and b) at the price, the best value, most fully-featured, Dolby Atmos soundbar you can buy.

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed.

LG is the first to incorporate a dedicated up-firing centre channel. In this soundbar, you get

* Now to LG’s unique up-firing centre channel. Dolby Atmos does not support it, so the LG decoder extracts the higher frequencies from the left and right up-firing channels and outputs via the centre up-firing channel. Does it work? The theory is good, but it is more about bragging rights!

It is in basic brushed dark metal with a fabric front speaker grill and metal top speaker grills. The sub looks decidedly old-school with a big side fabric speaker grill and a bass port at the front. The rear speakers are matte-black.

We only make this observation because more and more buyers want ‘décor’ elements like the stylish white Sonos Arc or glass-top Bose 900. LG could take a leaf out of its wonderful decorator, Signature kitchen and laundry appliance range, and offer colour façade options.

It is straightforward. Unpack, place the rear speakers at head height behind your viewing area, and the sub near the soundbar. Assuming you use an HDMI cable with the correct rating, plug it into the HDMI eARC/ARC port on the TV and the soundbar. You can use the TV remote for essential functions if the TV supports HDMI CEC.

If you want to hear Dolby Atmos (DA) content, you need a compatible TV and HDMI 2.1 cable – ‘Ultra-High-Speed’ 48Gbps, 4K@120Hz and 8K@30Hz with no compression. You can read more HDMI cables are not all the same. Which one do you need? (guide).

You can also connect over Wi-Fi/Ethernet (Google Assistant and Apple AirPlay 2), Optical, or Bluetooth – the latter can use both the TV speakers and the BT soundbar or headphones.

We will mention the features you can access via the App or the remote control.

It enables sound calibration, and firmware updates, voice assistance and offers quick access to all settings.

The hardest thing with all surround systems is to set the front and rear speaker levels correctly. The App has a tone calibration mode that sizes up the room and speaker placements and sets all levels to optimum. The difference between the before and after sound experience is palpable.

Now here is something interesting. Before calibration, we had amped up the rears because our seating was about 5m from the screen. After calibration, the sound was far more balanced and natural, with neither the front nor rear speaker dominating the sound stage.

This mode allegedly ‘enables the TV’s AI processor to work with the soundbar for clear, accurate sound’. We set this up using the LG G2 – no difference as far as we can tell. More marketing bragging rights.

You can alter individual speaker volumes to suit your tastes. The hearing impaired may want to ramp up the rear speakers. There is also a night mode which reduces general sound volume but raises the volume of soft and delicate sounds and clear voice mode.

If you enable surround sound, all sound from PCM 2.0 to Dolby Digital and DTS up to 5.1 is upscaled to faux surround sound. We recommend this setting, or all you will get is a front-firing 2.1 stereo, which will be overridden when it encounters DA or DTS:X spatial sound.

Regardless of the 17 speakers, all non-Dolby Atmos metadata downmixes to the speaker’s capability.

It supports 32/44.1/48/88.2/96kHz. If you have high-res 24-bit 96kHz/24-bit music, it streams via Wi-Fi and sounds wonderful.

The HDMI eARC port is 4K@50/60fps, so it does not support 4K@100/120 or HDR10+ Pass through, and the latency increases to about 60ms. We recommend (anyway) a direct connection to the TV ports leaving the HDMI eARC port to pass-through sound for processing.

It uses Bluetooth 5.0 with the SBC or AAC stereo codec, which is fine for smartphone music streaming. You can only stream Hi-res over Wi-Fi/Ethernet.

It supports Wi-Fi 4 N 2.4Ghz band making it Google Assistant, Apple Airplay2 and Alexa compatible via an external remote, smartphone or smart speaker. The two internal mics are for calibration only.

It is pretty long at 1200mm and height at 63mm, so make sure your TV can accommodate that. It is wall-mountable (brackets supplied).

It gets Exceed because of the wide range of pre-sets that can make a massive difference to what you hear. For the most part, you will leave it on AI Sound Pro but change to DA, DTS:X, or IMAX Enhanced with that content. That is just a case of grabbing the remote or App and changing from one mode to another.

With DA, the action happens all around – Exceed. Sound objects come from above, sides and behind. The bass has lots of rumble that helps you feel the intensity. We did not try the IMAX Enhanced mode – no content.

With 5.1/7.1 surround – Exceed – no 3D height channels, but you are still bathed in directional sound, and the rears really add to the experience.

Hearing-impaired will appreciate clear Voice, up-firing centre channel and night mode (together or separately), although the Sonos Arc is the clear voice leader. Pass+

Music lovers will appreciate Wi-Fi steaming or high-res BT music – Exceed.

The sound stage is a little wider than the bar, but with DA and DTS:X content, it reaches out at least a metre wider. Objects feel accurately placed and have clear directionality. Exceed.

Volume is 85dB with minima distortion. Pass+

Note that we did not say ‘the best of all time’. You cannot get a better sound or a wide range of customisations at $2,000 ($1649 if you can get it).

That is not to put down excellent soundbars like the Sonos Arc Dolby Atmos soundbar with optional sub and surrounds (review) with dedicated sub and rears or the Bose Smart Soundbar 900 – Bose’s first Dolby Atmos 5.0.2 soundbar (review) (ditto). These are for different users who will pay well over $3000 for premium brand-name products and want something that looks a little different.

Out of the box, it is a little boomy, and the rears don’t add much, but calibration fixes that. The DA experience is excellent – coherent with few if any sound gaps and distinct moving sound elements instead of the mish-mash of most DA soundbars. The up-firing centre channel helps clear dialogue and directionality.

It gets our unreserved buy recommendation.

I have heard the $2099 Samsung HW-Q990B 11.1.4 soundbar (not reviewed yet), which is impressive. Although the, two of the 11-channels (two side-firing from the soundbar) need psychoacoustics to work. It decodes DA/DTS:X but only passes through HDR10+ video streams to the TV. It is also built for Samsung Q-series TV with Total Sound Collaboration+ using the TV speakers. Buy if you have a compatible Samsung TV.

It scores well in every category. It and other soundbars with discrete rear speakers get over the psychoacoustic limitations of all-in-one soundbars.

LG S95QR 9.1.5, LG S95QR 9.1.5, LG S95QR 9.1.5

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