{"id":123684,"date":"2021-02-21T10:37:50","date_gmt":"2021-02-21T10:37:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techweekmag.com\/?p=123684"},"modified":"2021-04-08T07:54:09","modified_gmt":"2021-04-08T06:54:09","slug":"lg-sn8y-review-cool-soundbar-with-a-lot-of-features","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/speakers\/lg-sn8y-review-cool-soundbar-with-a-lot-of-features\/","title":{"rendered":"LG SN8Y : Cool soundbar with a lot of features"},"content":{"rendered":"

In recent years, LG has introduced highly competent and sometimes even outstanding soundbars, fueled by contributions from the British Hi-Fi brand Meridian. Therefore, the collaboration continues, and its latest fruit is the SN8Y soundbar. This compact LG music center offers a lot for its price. And all thanks to support for Dolby Atmos and the sound scheme 3.1.2. Also on board is Google Assistant, Chromecast and room calibration capabilities.<\/p>\n

In the proposed LG SN8Y review, we will take a closer look at the soundbar functionality and its technical characteristics. And at the end, we will try to conclude whether the content matches its price tag.<\/p>\n

Design<\/h3>\n

In a series of annual changes in LG soundbar lines, it is sometimes difficult to notice innovations.\u00a0Let’s put it simply: new soundbars tend to be very similar to their predecessors.\u00a0LG’s industrial design language has barely evolved.\u00a0This is not necessarily a flaw, it is just an observation.\u00a0So in the case of the SN8Y, it’s not surprising or new that the soundbar is similar to the\u00a0SL8YG\u00a0.<\/p>\n

But design staleness doesn’t disappoint.\u00a0The SN8Y is no doubt well built and relatively invisible in the room (assuming you removed the huge logo decal, of course).\u00a0There are also successful solutions.<\/p>\n

It’s nice that LG puts a simple display behind the speaker grill, which dims after a while so as not to distract from watching movies.\u00a0The SN8YG measures 106 cm in width, which is slightly less than many top models.\u00a0SN8Y is a soundbar with a\u00a03.1.2\u00a0configuration\u00a0.\u00a0Stereo radiators plus a center channel and two height channels provide a three-dimensional perception.\u00a0The sound of the high-altitude channels is distributed by two speakers at the top of the unit.\u00a0Therefore, it is better not to place this soundbar in a cabinet niche or completely under the TV so that the speakers look freely at the ceiling.
\n\"LG<\/a><\/p>\n

It can also be hung on the wall, the necessary mount is included.\u00a0Like many Atmos soundbars, the SN8Y’s narrow side hangs against the wall, which is not very strong.\u00a0The SN8YG can be expanded with a pair of wireless rear speakers, turning it into a 5.1.2 soundbar.<\/p>\n

Connections<\/h3>\n

This soundbar doesn’t have many connections, which is quite natural for this price.\u00a0In addition to the HDMI 2.1 port with\u00a0eARC,\u00a0there is an HDMI output for connecting to a TV.<\/p>\n

You can connect another device to it (for example, a console or TV decoder).\u00a0There is also an optical input that can be used for an audio device or a second game console.\u00a0It is possible to play music files from a USB storage device, but this is not entirely practical.\u00a0Better to use an audio player with your display.\u00a0Streaming via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi (Chromecast) is much more convenient.\u00a0For audiophiles, there is the possibility of playing high-resolution PCM audio formats up to 192 kHz \/ 24-bit.
\n\"LG<\/a><\/p>\n

Configuration and management via Google<\/h3>\n

LG is a big fan of the Google ecosystem.\u00a0Most soundbars from the past few years have come with Chromecast and can be customized using the Google Home app on a smartphone.\u00a0The advantage is obvious – connecting to a WiFi network is very easy.\u00a0We open Home and there is a possibility that the application immediately indicates the presence of a device for configuration.\u00a0After a few clicks, SN8Y is already online.<\/p>\n

LG soundbars are not only controlled via Google Assistant.\u00a0They also have a microphone for direct communication with the smart assistant.\u00a0SN8Y can understand voice commands even if the command is addressed to other smart home devices.\u00a0Before a movie, for example, you might ask the soundbar to dim the lights in the room.\u00a0It’s a bit out of the ordinary, but convenient and fun.<\/p>\n

Chromecast built-in support is a huge benefit for those looking to listen to music.\u00a0Support is built into the apps of almost every streaming service, including Spotify, YouTube Music, and Apple Music.\u00a0You can listen to your own music files by selecting them from the DLNA share in certain applications (for example, BubbleUPnP).\u00a0Alternatively, this can be done via the LG Wi-Fi Speaker app.<\/p>\n

Audio modes<\/h3>\n

The hallmark of the new LG SN8Y Soundbar is the AI \u200b\u200bSound Pro feature.\u00a0It determines which audio mode is most suitable for the currently viewed content.\u00a0For example, when streaming music via Chromecast, the soundbar turns on the Music mode (of course, you can also select it manually).\u00a0AI Sound Pro adds bass to movies.\u00a0We can assume that after a while, viewers will completely trust the auto selection.<\/p>\n

The SN8Y soundbar promises to improve the sound of music and movies while compensating for room acoustics.\u00a0After all, these hard floors or giant curtains introduce a noisy tone to the sound that doesn’t match the intentions of the creators.\u00a0Calibration software is available to correct this effect.\u00a0Advanced solutions like Dirac can do a lot, but require a lot of knowledge and expensive devices.<\/p>\n

\"LG<\/a><\/p>\n

The AI \u200b\u200bRoom calibration that LG is unveiling this year is looking for a sweet spot.\u00a0It does not burden the user with extensive manual measurements with special microphones that need to be moved in space.\u00a0The feature can be installed via the LG WiFi Speaker app using a simple step-by-step plan.<\/p>\n

AI Room Calibration is very fast.\u00a0All test tones play back in about a minute.\u00a0By the way, at a fairly high volume, it is better not to calibrate at 1 am.\u00a0At the end of the measurement, you can play a test sound with or without settings to decide which one is preferable for you.<\/p>\n

When watching some films, a slight imbalance of channels in space is noticeable.\u00a0The center is too dominant.\u00a0And the fact that you can tune individual channels through the LG app is a big plus.\u00a0You can substitute the balance.\u00a0In the case of TV shows and movies with stereo sound, really good results are more difficult to get.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h3>\n

The LG SN8Y soundbar, while representing the entry-level in LG’s premium soundbar line for 2020, has some pretty good specs.\u00a0Stereo sound with a center channel is reproduced well.\u00a0Decent front elevation channels provide impressive 3D immersion.<\/p>\n

This results in a much more immersive and immersive movie experience than conventional TV speakers.\u00a0Maybe expensive soundbars with more advanced settings and sound better.\u00a0But that’s another price too.\u00a0The LG SN8Y stands out with a host of advanced features like Chromecast, Google Assistant and powerful room calibration.\u00a0So the “eight” is quite a worthy unit for its price.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In recent years, LG has introduced highly competent and sometimes even outstanding soundbars, fueled by contributions from the British Hi-Fi brand Meridian. Therefore, the collaboration continues, and its latest fruit is the SN8Y soundbar. This compact LG music center offers a lot for its price. And all thanks to support for Dolby Atmos and the […] More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10404,"featured_media":123702,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[646],"tags":[778],"class_list":{"0":"post-123684","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-speakers","8":"tag-reviews"},"acf":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10404"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123684\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}