Product details
LG 9.1.5-Channel S95TR Soundbar
Elevate your home audio experience with the LG S95TR Soundbar, featuring a powerful 9.1.5-channel setup that brings cinema-quality sound straight to your living room.
Key Features
-
9.1.5-Channel Realistic Sound
Experience immersive audio with 9 channels, 1 subwoofer, and 5 up-firing speakers that create a surround sound experience, making every movie, show, or song feel like you’re right in the middle of the action. -
Dolby Atmos® Technology
Hear sound from all directions, including overhead, with Dolby Atmos. This advanced audio technology redefines your listening experience, providing depth and clarity that transports you into the heart of the story. -
Wireless Subwoofer
Feel the thunderous bass without the clutter of wires. The wireless subwoofer delivers powerful low frequencies that enhance your audio experience, making every explosion and musical note resonate perfectly. -
WOW Orchestra
Enjoy a richer, fuller sound with the WOW Orchestra feature, which optimally utilizes all speakers in the setup to blend and balance audio seamlessly, creating an unparalleled auditory experience. -
Sleek Black Design
The stylish black finish of the LG S95TR complements any décor, making it not just a sound powerhouse, but also a visually appealing addition to your entertainment setup.
Additional Features
-
Easy Connectivity
Connect your devices effortlessly with multiple HDMI inputs, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi options, ensuring you can enjoy your favorite content without hassle. -
Adaptive Sound Control
The soundbar automatically adjusts sound settings based on what you’re watching, ensuring you hear every dialogue clearly and feel every moment with the right intensity. -
Voice Enhancement Technology
Never miss a word with voice enhancement technology that clarifies dialogue, making it easier to follow conversations in movies and shows.
What’s Included
- LG S95TR Soundbar
- Wireless Subwoofer
- Rear Speakers
- Mounting Hardware
- User Manual
Conclusion
Transform your home entertainment experience with the LG 9.1.5-Channel S95TR Soundbar. Whether you’re watching the latest blockbuster, enjoying your favorite playlist, or gaming with friends, this soundbar is engineered to provide exceptional sound quality and an immersive experience that will leave you breathless. Don’t just watch—experience every moment with LG.
Get ready to redefine your audio experience!
Shae –
LG has stepped it up a notch with the S95TR, giving you the boom you want! But for me it’s not the BOOM I need! Let’s get right into it.
The S95TR is undoubtedly a really good soundbar, I can’t deny that, but I feel with the multitude of enhanced tech within this unit, it still leaves me wanting & craving more. The 9.1.5 channel soundbar provides an immersive audio experience regardless of your position within a room, providing a true sense of submersion in sound. Out of the box without any speaker adjustment, I played music through the bar via my cell phone, and boy did the 810 watts give me a smile! At low volume the sound is strong and absolutely clear, but once you turn up the volume it becomes a full concert in your room. I was confronted by full and rich sound from every direction, especially the rear speakers. Every speaker was firing at the same level, which for me seemed a bit off as I expected the rear speakers to be more of a supporting actor in this “movie of sound”, not a main character. Again, this is without any adjustments to the speakers.
Now you’re probably wondering “why wouldn’t anyone want this?” Well for me, it takes too much to get the full body-soothing sound I’m looking for. Once I downloaded the LG Soundbar app I used the AI room calibration feature to get see how AI determines the best sound setup for my space. Once the calibration is complete you are provided an option to listen to the calibrated sound vs. the sound pre-calibration. There was almost no noticeable difference between the two, minus a bit more bass response from the “before” sound. So that lead me to tweaking the sound settings manually. Within the speaker settings I adjusted and tweaked my speakers for almost 20 minutes and still could not find a happy medium which gives me the solid bass response and supportive rear fill I would expect from a unit of this caliber. To achieve the sound I’m looking for, the volume on this soundbar just particular needs to be extremely high and with the rear speakers at -5. Maybe it’s my own personal gripe, but the lack of sound response that I know can be achieved is a bit underwhelming.
Don’t get me wrong, this is an amazing soundbar! The footprint is slim for a soundbar, and the rear speakers easily blend into your background. The top and side firing speakers on the bar provide crispy and very clear/accurate sound, especially for media involving scenes with people whispering. The surround sound kicks in amazingly especially with action movies. The Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity are super fast and easy to setup. In fact, the setup was even faster than unboxing the unit. I also have to point out the quick and easy ability of connecting the soundbar to other smart devices; smart hub, etc. before I could finish setting up my speaker preferences my smart hub was already ready to cast music to the soundbar.
After listening to and enjoying the soundbar for a few days, I noticed 2 more small hiccups. First, as with a few other soundbars I’ve owned, this too has already had instances where the connection of the subwoofer suddenly dropped. Thankfully, after a few seconds the subwoofer re-connected on its own. But this has happened a few more times since I got the unit. Second, and this is purely personal preference, but I miss having a visual display on my soundbar. I’ve always liked having either a small screen or at least scrolling LED words to show the setting I’ve selected, or the volume level. The 3 LED’s just don’t do it for me. Yes of course it’s displayed if I have the tv on, but I also like using my soundbar for music, so a quick glance at the bar to see what my levels are would be beneficial for me.
*edit* while in the middle of watching a movie the entire soundbar stopped putting out any sound, though all speakers show as connected.
Outside of these very small gripes, I really like this soundbar. If you’re looking for a huge step up for your tv, this is definitely the soundbar to get!
TerryS –
Pairs well with an LG OLED tv. Pretty much plug and play. There is an order you will want to plug them up in. Subwoofer first, then rear speakers then soundbar. In that order. They sound great and I caught them on sale so it was a definite win.
Jeff W –
I was really looking forward to trying out this soundbar system because my previous soundbar “simulated” surround sound using the speakers in the soundbar itself (which sit directly under my television). While the technology that allows that is pretty impressive, it has been my experience that even the best soundbars cannot compete with rear speakers for creating a truly immersive audio experience.
To begin, when opening the box, I was disappointed to see “waves” in the grill that extends along the front of the soundbar. The waves start in the middle of the soundbar and extend to the left side (yet are not present on the right). I would say that the soundbar may have been damaged in transport, but the box was in good condition without any noticeable damage. Therefore, I cannot help but wonder if it was damaged prior to being boxed up (or maybe there was some type of manufacturing issue)? Not sure if it shows up in the picture attached to the review, but the shadows created in the grille by nearby lights are very prominent and easy to see (they look like dents in the speaker grille). Luckily, as far as I can tell, the performance of the soundbar and its speakers are not impacted by this seemingly cosmetic flaw.
Unlike my previous soundbar with a subwoofer, there are no wires needed to connect the soundbar to the subwoofer (or any of the surround speakers, for that matter). While each speaker (the soundbar, the subwoofer, and the two surround speakers) must be plugged in to A/C power, they connect to each other wirelessly. While I was a little worried at how challenging it was going to be to ensure the speakers are all connected to each other (there are “connect” buttons on the back of the accessory speakers), that particular process was literally plug and play. I plugged the power in for each speaker (in the order stated in the directions) and they all connected to each other automatically.
The setup of the system itself does require a smartphone (or tabled) to download the LG Soundbar app. (I already had the app from a previous LG soundbar, so all I had to do was click the “plus” button at the top to add another soundbar system to the app.) I did receive a notice in the app that the LG Soundbar app will be going away and I will have to transition my soundbar systems over to LG’s ThinQ app at some point. (Now is not that time, however, as the ThinQ app does not appear to incorporate soundbars yet [at least at the time I started using the system and wrote this review].)
The setup was actually pretty simple. Make sure the soundbar is in bluetooth mode, connect to your phone, and open the app. There is a calibration routine that you can run, which was helpful for me in that it told me I had the location of my rear speakers reversed (I had the right on the left and the left on the right). I initially had the surround speakers on the floor behind some furniture, which was a problem. The calibration process told me that there were items in the way of the speakers and I needed to provide a clear area around the speakers. Because power is required, it was not as easy as just mounting the speakers to a wall, however, without having to either run an outlet to the speaker or have an unsightly cord dangling down the wall. I wound up moving some things around and placing the surround speakers on a few hip-height pieces of furniture. (This is not really a criticism, by the way, as wired surround speakers require running speaker wire to them and there is no way I want to have to worry about replacing batteries all the time in a battery-powered speaker [although, I am not even sure if they make battery-powered surround speakers].)
Once completed with the calibration, the app allows for fine-tuning by changing the volume associated with each speaker (or group of speakers). There are also different sound effect presets that can be used (such as standard, cinema, clear voice pro, sports, music, game, and bass blast). Personally, I leave the system on “AI Sound Pro” to have the system determine what would be the most appropriate given what I am watching or listening to.
The system can use bluetooth, optical, wi-fi, USB, or HDMI inputs for sound. Chromecast functionality is built in and the system also works with Amazon Alexa, if so desired. It is also supposed to work with Spotify and Apple AirPlay, but I have not tested either of these features as I use the soundbar predominantly with my television (and not as a audio/music system).
One of the things that I found kind of annoying is that I use an Apple TV along with the ARC function on my television. When I start up the system, it takes a bit before there is any audio (and when the system is figuring it out, the picture goes in-and-out two or three times). Sometimes (and I don’t know if there is any rhyme or reason), the audio never comes on and I have to grab my phone to use the Soundbar app to change the inputs from ARC to something else, and then back to ARC, which then seems to fix the problem. My television is relatively new and my Apple TV is one of the most current versions (all of them have the most recent firmware installed), so I do not know if the problem is with the soundbar system, my television, the Apple TV, or a combination of the above. I did occasionally (not often or routinely) have a somewhat similar problem with my previous soundbar, though, so I guess this may be par for the course with these systems?
While this may sound dumb, another challenge I have is that the controls for the soundbar are on the top and they are pretty sensitive to touch, including cat paws. When my cat jumps up on the soundbar, she winds up pressing different buttons on the top an I have to scramble for my phone (and the app) to try and fix whatever it is she just did.
At the end of the day, the last question is how the system sounds? As I am writing this review, my TV (and the soundbar) is to my left and my surround speakers are to the right. The commentators of the basketball game I have on are talking from the television and I can hear the crowd noise through the surround speakers. Watching TV and movies is a joy with this system as well. The bass is rich (and can be adjusted through the subwoofer’s volume setting in the app) and the surround sound is much better than anything that comes from a standalone soundbar (without surround speakers).
Ultimately, I am very happy with this system, but could not bring myself to give five stars given the physical damage to the unit (which may have been an anomaly) and the “startup” issues that I mentioned when I turn everything on. Actually, I would probably give 4.5 stars if I could, but given those issues, it was enough for me to round down to four rather than up to five. Ultimately, though, the system has good, rich sound and the separate surround speakers really makes a difference.
Parker –
This may be one of the best sounding sound bars I have heard. It has great vocal clarity while still sounding full. The rear channel speakers play a huge roll in creating a truly immersive experience. I currently live in an apartment and I frequently have to use the system at lower volumes since I have adjoining walls and even at lower volumes the system out performed my expectations. It is also nice that the unit can use your phone via the app to correct for the space. I am currently using this sound bar with an older LG OLED CX and it does not support the ability to use the WOW Orchestra feature, but I am sure that if your tv supports it, it would only make it better. Overall, this sound bar system creates a great sound that fully envelops the room while maintaining clarity. I would definitely recommend this product if it fits within your budget.
Dave –
Nice sound, semi easy install. Wanted this to match my lg 77 inch OLED. I got it on sale for 999.99. It’s worth that not the 1500 price tag. Overall I’m happy.
SUHD –
The LG S95TR 9.1.5 Channel is a complete all-in-one Dolby ATMOS DTS-X surround sound system that comes with everything you need to greatly improve your TV sound experience. The soundbar is about 49” long, pretty basic, rectangular look, with capacitive and very sensitive touch buttons discreetly on top back edge. The system also includes a good size powered subwoofer and two surround/height speakers. Both the sub and the rear speakers connect wirelessly to the soundbar, all they need is power, so that makes their placement very easy. The only complaint I have is that the power cords are too short, only about 5ft long.
The initial setup is very easy, just plug-in all components in the correct order clearly listed in the installation instructions – that is subwoofer first, then surround speakers and lastly the soundbar itself. Once you turn on the soundbar, it will automatically pair all components together and a green LED light will be lit when connected. There is 1 HDMI input, one HDMI e/ARC output, as well as optical-in and a USB in port.
The soundbar has a vertical row of LEDs that are used as visual indicators for power on, volume level, input type, bluetooth and chromecast connection, etc. I would have loved it if it had a small display or on-screen menu and indicators that you could see on your TV. The LG soundbar app does provide you with additional information like sound decoder, volume level and many other configuration settings.
The remote control looks similar to LG TV remotes but much more basic and pretty cheap looking with very few buttons and because there is no display on the soundbar itself, you’d be hard pressed to use this remote for anything else other than power-on/off and volume control, which can be controlled from your TV remote anyway.
You have to use the App to complete the setup, such as connecting to WiFi network, upgrading the firmware, running the AI room calibration and picking from several sound modes as well as a 3-band equalizer. The Advanced Room Calibration feature seems pretty basic, it uses your smartphone microphone to determine your seating position and speaker volumes. It only took about a minute to complete and I couldn’t really tell the difference before and after.
The default sound level coming out of this system is quite loud and impressive at first. I found myself having to turn the volume down quite frequently. The subwoofer provides plenty of kick and boom to satisfy most movie buffs, though I had to turn that down as well since it was overpowering. I was quite pleased with the immersive surround sound field that was very enveloping but it kind of blended everything together – not enough separation between the channels and definitely hard to distinguish the ATMOS height sounds that are supposed to bounce off the ceiling from the up-firing front and rear speaker drivers.
I paired this with an LG C2 OLED TV and it seamlessly integrated with the WOW Orchestra feature where the built-in TV speakers are paired together with the soundbar. I’m on the fence about this feature at least for movie watching. It further blended the channels and it kind of toned down the volume of the soundbar overall. Dialogue seemed a bit more positional coming out of the screen though, so that could be a plus.
All in all this is a solid soundbar system, meant to be high-end and will make a great addition to any medium size room or large bedroom.
AndreGee –
If it was not for the sales person at Best Buy, Mr. Constantine. I would have spent more money and brought A BOSE soundbar. With this LG system I have my own Home Theater System. The sound is Impeccable !!!!
NAMO –
TLDR: A versatile system that is extremely easy to set-up and is wire-free (minus power). It does not have the best audio quality compared to the big player in the market but does a good job a providing an enveloping surround sound environment with an app that is easy to use and navigate. However, the remote and LED display are useless.
INSTALLATION AND SETUP
I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to set-up the new S95TR. After unplugging my existing soundbar and plugging the HDMI cable into the appropriate eARC/ARC port in the LG, supplying power, things went very smoothly.
The soundbar, sub, and surround configuration is accomplished through LG’s minimalist LG Soundbar App. This is not a ding on LG. Quite the opposite. The app is easy to use and understand without a bunch of fuss and bloatware. Settings, functions, etc. are easily accessible via a one-page interface, with more detailed adjustments available in the simple to access and find settings menu. After my current soundbar underwent a major app design overhaul this spring, I am happy to report that LG’s app is much easier to use than their primary competitor.
While I don’t consider the app and the accompanying documentation perfect, LG has done a good job at streamlining the process. However, this isn’t to say that they couldn’t print a QR code or two in their literature to link you directly to the Play Store or Apple App Store. Come on LG.
Not sure what to expect, I installed the soundbar and powered it up. The LG app recognized the speaker after a few seconds and immediately downloaded a mandatory firmware update. No issues. The update installed without drama and after only a couple of minutes, the soundbar rebooted and was good to go.
The simplicity LG designed into the S95 and the app is impressive. Unlike some of their competition that requires you to manually pair their companion sub and surrounds, LG needs no extra steps. Getting the whole system up and running was frustration-free. After being plugged in, the sub and the surround sound speakers paired at once to the soundbar. Outstanding work LG.
USE
The S95 pairs nicely to my existing LG OLED TV, even with it being several years old and one of the first few generations. The TV recognized the soundbar and was easily setup to use the ARC channel for audio. Buyers of newer LG TVs can use the super slick Wowcast feature and eliminate the hardwired connection altogether. Sweet.
LG’s wireless communications protocol is robust and dynamic. The 4 speakers (soundbar, sub, 2 surrounds) blend together with no discernible lag or awkward timing imbalance. While I could not find specs on the system, the surrounds appear to support the full audio spectrum 20Hz – 20kHz, or close enough that the sub can pick up for what they lack. Sound is enveloping.
LG offers a variety of listening modes, which I find are mostly a gimmick. I find the AI Sound Pro my most used listening mode. Other modes just make the audio sound un-natural and sadly, muted. One thing I find odd, is that by default the surround function is turned off when setting up the system. While this may be the “proper” way to use the S95, I find it odd that LG wouldn’t showcase the surrounds and have them on by default. For those that have a home theater AVR, this setting enables “All Channel Stereo” or “Multi-Channel Stereo” to use the setting name from a competitor.
NEGATIVES
LG has tried too hard to copy their greatest home streaming speaker ecosystem. The minimalist approach to the S95 doesn’t work nearly as well as the competition. The 3 multi-colored LED’s on the front panel of the S95 do absolutely nothing to help out. After installing and trying the speakers, I still have no idea what the different colors really mean or why I would even care. I agree with what others have said around the interwebs, to make the soundbar great, LG needs to have a better display or eliminate the LED’s all together. I get why they are there. My current big name streaming system gives no feedback without directly using the app. LG has tried to remedy this problem by installing the 3 LED’s, but the end result is lackluster and unhelpful. A mark missed. This missed mark also extends to the remote control. With minimal feedback offered via the LED’s using the remote to change functions and control the soundbar turns into a guessing game. To me the remote is useless. It easier just to use the app to get what you want versus the remote. It’s easier, eliminates guesswork, and provides feeback that your commands were sent and recognized.
While the LG offers a plethora of channels, the overall sound quality from each of those channels are not as good as my primary soundbar’s drivers. The LG sounds overly bright, thin, and tinny. Not horrible, or fingernails on a chalkboard, but none the less are inferior to their streaming rival’s products. I think some of this awkwardness could be tuned out via a firmware update, but as used and configured with the LG room correction app, the drivers and audio sound harsher than the competition.
Lastly, I have to comment on LG’s poor mounting solution for their soundbar. I’ve sound bars from 4 different manufacturers now and the LG implementation ties as the worst. Not only are the mounting brackets for the soundbar and surrounds ugly, but the soundbar’s mounting locations are in the wrong place for the American market. The soundbar’s mounting holes are 35” apart, center-to-center. National building code requires wall studs a maximum of 16” on center. This squarely places one or both the mounting brackets out of location of a stud, and if mounting on drywall, forces the buyer to utilize a less than ideal drywall anchor to mount at least one of the two brackets. LG’s competitors have a much better bracket to mount their product, especially the biggest player in the home speaker streaming market. Their bracket is thinner, spans the entire length of the soundbar and is nearly invisible once installed and the speaker mounted. Even with the S95 mounted, the brackets look like cheap after thoughts.
FINAL THOUGHTS
LG has done a good job of updating its S95 lineup. There are a lot of channels to take advantage of the latest and greatest Dolby Atmos mixes in music and movies. Channel timing is spot on with no discernible lag between the sound and video, at least in my use.
Setup is simple and LG should be commended for streamlining the entire process like they have done. The app is easy to use and understand with all the basics and little to no fluff to add confusion. To make things even easier, LG has even included an AI Room Calibration feature to their app. It works as intended, even if more rudimentary than the competition.
While I find the sound quality of my current soundbar superior to the LG, it doesn’t make the S95 bad. It is just a matter of preference. Honestly, my current system should sound better, as I’ve paid more for just the soundbar and sub than this whole LG system retails for. The difference in price helps overcome the perceived thinness (and at times, tinniness) of the LG drivers. Owners looking for a premium system to complement their TV should put this on their list of auditions. The LG S95 offers a full surround experience in one easy-to-use, tidy, package.
RECOMMENDED