The middle man

With its promise of 5.1.2 immersive audio, a tidy design and Google Assistant integration, LG's SN9YG looks tempting at £600. Mark Craven weighs it up

- Mark Craven

AV INFO

PRODUCT: 5.1.2-channel Dolby Atmos soundbar

POSITION: Towards the top end of LG's extensive SN soundbar series

PEERS: JBL Bar 9.1; Samsung HW-Q800T

AS IT DOES with its extensive TV range, LG seems keen to offer something for everyone when it comes to soundbars. At the very top of the pile this year is the SN11RG, a 7.1.4-channel system with a £1,500 price tag and a main enclosure too large for much AV furniture. About a tenth of the price, and considerably smaller, is its SN4 stereo 'bar/subwoofer combi. And somewhere between these two sits the SN9YG.

Selling for around £600, and claiming a 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos/DTS:X sound experience plus plenty of smart tricks, this system will have plenty of potential buyers. It also has plenty of competition from models from Samsung, JBL, Sony and others.

You might look at the features shared between this and the SN11RG and think it's identical, just without the wireless rear speakers. But that's not the case. Such a soundbar would actually be the SN10YG, although for some reason that has not been brought to the UK market.

The SN9YG is more accommodating, with its 1.2m-wide soundbar a fair match for 55in-65in TVs. Height is minimal too (just 5.7cm), making it likely to sit nicely in front of a flatscreen. Design and build quality impress, although understandably more time has been spent styling the brushed-metal 'bar than the black-cloth-wrapped subwoofer.