Verdict
LG ’s USC9S is a soundbar that ’s a sartor - made partner for C2 and C3 OLEDs , carry a wealth of features and knavish integration with LG TVs , but it ’s sharp and at times spirant sound stop it short of a good word .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
LG ’s object lens for its soundbars is to increase the attach charge per unit with its TVs . After all , if you buy an LG TV , does n’t it make sensory faculty to stick with the same blade to hike the audio ?
And that ‘ synergy ’ is all over the LG USC9S ( or SC9 in the US ) . This is a soundbar design in tandem bicycle with LG’sC3 OLED , packaged with a bespoke wall - mount bracket to combine them for an all - in - one audio - ocular software program .
And there ’s more mutualism on the tabular array as LG is put a big emphasis on its WOW audio engineering to meld the interface and speech sound from the idiot box and soundbar into one whole .
LG ’s soundbars have n’t of necessity hit the heights of its challenger in late years , so what to make of this in style feat ? After testing the soundbar , here are my thought .
Design
Grey and anonymous would be two words to describe the USC9S , and while that may sound uncomplimentary , it is clean this soundbar has no aim of hog the limelight from the boob tube .
It looks very similar to the main legal community from theS80QR soundbar system , though it double down on its useful vibe by omitting the Jersey gray acoustic textile . Like the S80QR it has three upfiring Speaker but only two to project Dolby Atmos audio – the nerve centre speaker is dedicated to lifting dialogue onto the screenland .
LG has ditch the gentle - to - read LCD display for something more impenetrable – essentially a series of dots that are nigh indecipherable as to what they could mean .
It ’s slightly mitigated by the speaker ’s articulation pronouncements click through configurations , but you could no longer see what type of soundtrack is playing on the bar itself . I assume the minimum nature of the display is to encourage utilisation of the WOW user interface , but that seems an inelegant answer to something that was n’t a problem .
Connections are in a recessed country on the unit of measurement ’s underside , with an HDMI input , end product ( eARC / ARC ) , digital optical out and a USB stimulus . The accompanying subwoofer seems to be going for the anon. feeling too , though its size and weight ( 7.8 kg ) paint a picture it ’ll have a hard clip hide out of sight .
Included is the wall - mount bracket for attaching to the C3 OLED , though I did n’t coiffure that up , using the saloon in its more conventional position . The angle bracket is compatible with boththe C2and C3 OLEDs , and fits with the 55- , 65- and 77 - inch models .
The remote is the same one that ’s featured with LG ’s soundbars for eld , mimicking the curve , ergonomic bod of the TV remote though smaller and lighter . button are kept to a lower limit and even more minimal is the usance of ikon over inscription for each clit , but the symbol are simple enough to get the centre . It would have been interesting if LG had decided to waive a remote have all the WOW Synergy going on between the cake and the TV .
Features
LG ’s soundbars tend to go for the full - course meal when it get to features , and the USC9S is filled to the brim .
vocalisation assistance includesAlexaandGoogle Assistant , but since neither are built in , the USC9S needs a link to another compatible gimmick to enable hands - free surgical procedure .
Where wireless connection are concerned there is Chromecast , AirPlay 2,Spotify Connect , Tidal Connect ( withMQA financial backing ) and Bluetooth 5.0 ( SBC , AAC ) . Hi - res audio is supported up to 24 - bit/96kHz ; and the USC9S can play Dolby Atmos , Dolby Digital , DTS :X , DTS Digital Surround andIMAX Enhancedsoundtracks .
It can also passthrough HDR10 andDolby Visionthrough the HDMI input , along with VRR andALLM accompaniment . An upgrade from the S80QR is musical accompaniment for refresh rates up to 4K/120Hz for game console .
There are eight level-headed fashion in total in IMAX Enhanced , AI Sound Pro , Clear Voice Pro , Music ( developed by LG ’s audio partner Meridian ) , Standard , Cinema , Sports , and Bass Blast . With A.I. Room Calibration the bar can assess the acoustic prop of a room and adjust the audio .
In WOW Interface and WOW Orchestra come the reason LG wants you to invest in this measure over its competitor . WOW Orchestra is LG ’s rendering of Samsung ’s Q - Symphony , which sees the speakers in the TV and soundbar oeuvre in concert to expand the soundstage . I ’ll go into detail on the burden that has in the next department .
WOW Interface aims to make it easier to command the TV and soundbar by share the same interface . I must allow I was n’t all that clear as to how to bring up the soundbar ’s user interface when connected to an LG C3 OLED , but it appears you may achieve it by heading to the Home Hub ( which is n’t made clear in the manual of arms ) . There ’s a far quicker ( and simpler ) elbow room of changing the modes by bring up the ‘ quick options ’ carte du jour on a 2023 LG television .
There ’s also the LG Sound Bar app , which became my preferred mode of operating the stripe , mainly because it has all the entropy needed ( and more ) . you may switch between audio mood and input signal , check what character of audio is playing ( Atmos , DTS :X , PCM , etc . ) , adjust the intensity of each speaker , control volume / music and add more speakers to the system . It is the most comprehensive manner of make out the bar and is mere to utilise .
If you do want to add more speakers , the USC9S is compatible with the SPQ8 - S rear speaker software system . It is available in the US for $ 99.99 and in the UK at Richer Sounds .
Sound Quality
Can a soundbar be cinematic in scale but also ill - disciplined in tone ? That ’s where the USC9S finds itself , a soundbar subject of impart heft and ordered series to any TV it ’s partner with , but also get from issue that have plagued LG ’s TVs and soundbars of late .
But have me start with the respectable news . The upfiring essence work well in carving out a infinite for dialogue when watching Daisy Jones & the Six on Prime Video . Dialogue is elevated and sits on the screen rather than feeling as if it ’s coming from slightly below .
I find the options for the ‘ height ’ channel rather bourgeois – nudge it up to about ‘ +3 ’ and you really start to hear both clarity and separation of dialogue from the rest of the raceway in a film like Interstellar , where there are scene where it ’s heavy to recognise between what ’s being say and the film ’s cacophonic strait blueprint .
And dialogue sounds clear and crisply take for the most part , whether it ’s in the activity scene of Tenet , the quieter and tense scenes in Nope , or the more loquacious scenes of characters in Industry on the iPlayer . Choosing Standard mode range more emphasis on dialogue , making it easier to sift through what ’s enounce in dialogue - weighty programming .
The USC9S treats its hearing to a big and expansive soundscape . This is n’t true dousing without the rear speakers to help , but there ’s depth to the opening night section of Ghost in the Shell as the camera move through the cityscape , and when K ’s spinner demesne at the source of Blade Runner 2049 , I can hear it descend from above the telecasting clear than I can on the Sony HT - A5000 .
There ’s a propellant vitality to the Malta pursual in Jurassic World : Dominion ( DTS :X ) , and the mix of the effects – the thrum of Owen ’s motorbike as he cannonball along through the metropolis , the chasing footsteps of the Raptors , and Michael Giacchino ’s score all enmesh and build towards a kinetic and exciting scene that was so thrilling I ended up watching it again .
And the accompanying subwoofer is a creature , but in a near way of life . It does vocalize odd at first – reminiscent ofLG ’s Éclair subwooferin that it go big , but seems to have neutered the rumbly vibrations from the cause unit .
The subwoofer offers plenty of slam , bring forth a powerful , room - excite experience that ’s explosive with a movie like Interstellar where I can feel the ship accentuate and clasp as it descends through the atmosphere to shore on the water planet . Or in Dominion , where the blue frequency provide heft to give the dinosaur fight scenes touch on .
The WOW Orchestra feature run well enough in synchronising the speakers in the bar with that of the TV . Having tried it with both a C3 and G3 OLED , it presents a similar effect as Samsung ’s Q - Symphony with a crisper tone to sound that emanate from the projection screen , which is n’t too cark and even normal give the difference in the size of the drivers . The location of sounds sits on the screen door and vocalise as if it ’s coming from where it should be .
However , there ’s a slight meanwhile when pausing / restarting content in WOW Orchestra fashion . There ’s also what looks like a unlike crossover voter with the sub . There ’s not the same degree of weight to effects in Ghost in the Shell , the soundstage is thin and humble with WOW Orchestra engaged with more mogul and heft up when listening to the photographic film in its ‘ normal ’ eARC mode.aaa
And though I cite that the LG soundbar treats dialogue with clearness , it is susceptible to sibilance . Riley Keough ’s voice in Daisy & the Six can be too acute ( both in WOW and eARC modes ) ; and it ’s a like effect with female characters of Ghost in the Shell .
This becomes a bigger way out at gamey volumes , but even at scurvy level ( around 35 ) , there are still trace of sibilance . I can hear it in the baseline test in Blade Runner 2049 as well as the conversation between K and Sapper at the farm , so it is n’t just distaff voices that are affected .
The bar can be too sharp and discriminating at the top final stage of the frequency stove ; the ringing sound of the chains in the dinosaur pit in Dominion and gunshots are harshly reproduced and grate a piffling .
The USC9S is also not the subtlest - sound bar either , but I doubt many will be trouble oneself give the hullabaloo it ’s capable of .
The LG USC9S is n’t excessively convincing with music . Again , it sound too frosty – not coarse but teetering towards sibilance with voice and threefold banknote . The Music mode sounds too compact , hemmed in within the bar .
The balance across the frequency kitchen range does n’t vocalize right to my ears either . Streaming Norah Jones ’ I Do n’t recognize When from Tidal , the measure does n’t seem to stick out voices out from the prevention – the musical instrument and her voice get mixed up with , leading to a crowded sensory faculty of space . This is n’t for every track , of line , and there are birdcall that sound ripe , but more often the LG is an awkward combination of too promising , shrill , and irritable .
The Bluetooth performance is rather weak too . The volume needs to be sprain up to get anywhere tightlipped to how euphony sounds over Wi - Fi , and the warmheartedness of the Bluetooth connection affects its signified of detail while sea bass is muted . Switch to Wi - Fi and there ’s better Libra and punchiness , but there ’s also the progeny I note previously .
flutter through the modes for a better proportionality and none allow music to really swagger its stuff . AI Sound Pro foreground everything and lose out on vocalization , while Cinema is very refined , as if it ’s trying to be 3D. What does it say about the tuning of the Music manner when Standard turn out to be the best of the bunch ?
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Should you buy it?
The LG USC9S is tailor made for LG ’s C - series OLED , even more so if you ’re bulwark - mounted the telecasting .
I can see what LG is sample to do , but the USC9S could do with toning down its levels of sharpness .
Final Thoughts
There ’s a soupcon of disappointment about the LG USC9S soundbar , especially viewed in the context of its £ 1000 price . If we ’re principally focalise on match this ginmill with the LG C3 or C2 OLED , then it easily serve up a better sound than either of those television can muster , but it ’s compromised by sounding too sharp .
And that ’s a shame as with Dolby Atmos and DTS :X soundtracks the USC9S offers an exciting and electrifying sound . The upfiring centre channel for negotiation is useful , and WOW Orchestra feature works in combine the tv set and bar ’s speakers , but the crosswalk for the bass could be bring off well .
chip in the WOW bracket packaged with the bar , this is a corner manakin for those with an LG C2 or C3 OLED , in a similar guise to the GX paries - mount soundbar for the G - serial OLED . A decent endeavour , but a smoother whole tone and better operation with music would have catapult this bar to recommended territory . gibe out ourbest soundbarlist for more options .
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We test every soundbar system we refresh thoroughly over an extended period of time . We utilise industry standard tests to compare feature properly . We ’ll always tell you what we find . We never , ever , accept money to review a production .
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FAQs
Yes , the LG USC9S soundbar can play DTS :X , DTS - HD Master Audio and other DTS audio recording formatting . However , you ’ll need to ensure that your television receiver can perish - through DTS audio otherwise it ’ll appear as PCM / LPCM audio .
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