LG Sound Bar review: An elegant wireless home theatre

LG has been into the home theatre segment in India with large screen televisions and Blue-ray products. Their recent launch is the LG NB5540 Sound Bar, an elegant looking and sleek 4.1-channel home theatre system, which boasts to pack 320 Watts of power output. We had a hands-on review with the product, and we must say that it definitely sounds great.

The LG NB5540 Sound Bar is not like any conventional home theatre audio system, which leaves you with messy wires and boxy surround speakers. Sound bars and surround sound systems are shrinking in size, but struggle to maintain the rich music output. The LG NB5540 Sound Bar looks the other way.

The LG NB5540 is a sleek and shiny 4.1-channel surround sound unit with four speakers within the chrome encased bar and a separate wireless subwoofer. The main speaker bar is encased within a durable and slightly heavier plastic chassis with a gun-metal finish and features a chrome-plated front grille. The unit conceals four speakers, two in front and two towards the ends. The sides feature vents, which is also sealed with a chrome-finished grille. The speaker bar is arc-shaped and looks very elegant, when placed under the television or mounted on the wall. The center of the bar features a VFD display, behind the grille. The grille is perforated evenly, leaving the good view for the rear VFD display. When switched on, the green display looks through and when in standby, the display turns off it almost vanish and seem like it isn’t there in the first place.

The bar unit has a very low profile. It can be rested below the television set itself, without hampering any of the TV’s controls (if any) underneath. The rear panel sports all the connections required for its operation. These include an HDMI in and out port for routing a set-top-box, DVD/Blu-ray player, Media receiver or media player, via the sound bar. A USB 2.0 has been included for those who wish to connect an external storage for playback of MP3 music. Additional ports include an optical audio input and a 3.5-mm audio jack for external media players. Connectivity via Bluetooth is also available for portable smartphones, tablets and laptops. The top of the bar features four round buttons—power, function and volume. The sound bar runs on a 25V DC external power brick and can be controlled by a fully-functional IR remote control. The bar is wall-mountable, with screw holes and plates provided in the box.

The other part of the Sound Bar is the subwoofer. As expected, the subwoofer is heavy and bulkier. The subwoofer is powered with its own integrated power supply unit. The bottom comprises of a thick aluminium plate/cover, which also doubles as a heatsink for the internal amplifier. The entire subwoofer is concealed with a black sheeny cloth with just an LG logo on the front (and a power/link LED below it) and a pairing button on the rear. The rear also sports a bass reflex port towards the lower half. The subwoofer is connected wirelessly to the sound bar, which makes installation and setting up a child’s play. Not a single wire, apart from the audio input, and power, are required for connecting the speakers together.

Setting up the home theatre system is a breeze. Once the speakers are connected to the television set, a simple power on automatically connects with the subwoofer. Using the remote to sweep between the inputs—HDMI / Bluetooth / Optical / USB and Auxiliary.

We tested the Sound Bar system in two places—in a medium-sized hall at home, as well as a conference room at our office. We did not expect the audio system to perform with a big sound, given the size of the bar and the subwoofer it bundled along. But we were wrong—to our surprise, the speaker system had a powerful audio output, enough to put almost every mainstream home-theatre system to shame.

Since the sound bar is a single, long unit with four speakers within it, the only place it could fit was in the centre of the television set (either below or above). The speakers cannot be moved to adjust the direction of the audio, however, the sound bar did a good job to deflect the audio accordingly. Additionally, the wireless subwoofer can also be placed out of sight and at variable distance and places to get a perfect bass reproduction. Using the speakers at the factory preset levels are pleasurable, unless you want to pump up the bass for additional boom. Variable modes for Cinema, Sports, News, Music, Bass, and Standard can be used to your preference. Cinema mode automatically enables 3D surround, to give you a theatre effect while watching movies. The bass reproduction is good enough and we did not find any rumble or jarring, whatsoever.

The music quality is great, although there is a slight loss in highs and mids in various test modes—especially, but tad, noticeable when listening to an orchestra. But overall, the audio output is superior, when compared to the regular. If you are opting for the LG NB5540, we suggest that you place the subwoofer and the sound bar in locations according to your seating area. Try not to place the subwoofer too close to the walls, which tends to block the rear bass reflex port. This will cause jarring and leave a bad bass reproduction, spoiling the overall audio quality. Also make sure you don’t have any lose window-panes and door handles—the bass is heavy and can cause rattling at even medium output.

To roundup the entire experience with the LG NB5540, we must say that the Sound Bar is elegantly built and will definitely match your interiors without leaving ugly wires and cables hanging around. The audio quality is good and quite above average for a tiny performer at its size.

The LG NB5540 retails for an MRP of Rs 38,990 and is available for a street price of around Rs 33,500. The gorgeous design and the excellent connectivity it offers, along with the good audio reproduction, however, does not justify the price tag. We would definitely recommend the LG NB5540 Sound Bar if you are looking for an elegant audio system to match your interiors, if you don’t like wired connections and looking for good audio quality.

GENERAL

· Channels - 4.1

· Total Power - 320W

FEATURES

· Automatic Power on/off

· A/V Sync

· SIMPLINK

· 3D Video Signal Pass Through

· USB Host

· Audio DAC

· Audio Return Channel (ARC)

· Sound Sync (with LG TV)

SPEAKER

· Front - 40W x 2

· Surround - 20W x 2

· Subwoofer - 160W (Wireless)

AUDIO SOUND MODE

· Standard (By pass)

· Cinema (Movie)

· Music (Natural)

· News (Clear Voice)

· Sports

· Bass

· D.Loud(Loudness)

· Dynamic Range Control

· Auto Volume Leveler

AUDIO FORMAT

· LPCM

· DTS 2.0

· MP3

· WMA

· FLAC

· OGG

· Dolby Digital

CONNECTIVITY

· Wireless Audio Streaming via Bluetooth®

· Wireless Sound Sync

· HDMI Out

· HDMI Input

· Optical Input

· USB

· Portable Audio In (3.5mm)

INCLUDED ACCESSORIES

· Remote Control

· Batteries

· Optical Cable

· USB Gender

· Wall Mount Bracket

POWER

· Power Consumption - 30W

· Standby - 0.5W

DIMENSIONS / WEIGHT

· TV Matching - 47" and above

· Subwoofer (W x H x D) - 11.7" x 13.0" x 11.7"

· Shipping Dimensions (WxHxD) - 43.0" x 13.9" x 17.2"

· Net Weight - 20.4 lbs

· Shipping Weight - 34.1 lbs

WARRANTY / UPC

· Limited Warranty

· UPC

· 1 Year Parts and Labor