STACK #235 May 2024

TECH FEATURE

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BEST SOUND, BAR NONE continued

LG S95TR 9.1.5 Channel Soundbar with Dolby Atmos

The headline act of LG’s 2024 soundbar lineup, the S95TR is for those audio aficionados who really want to elevate their entertainment. The system delivers a total of 810W of power through 9.1.5 channels, including a pair of rear speakers with six channels of their own. The base soundbar packs triple up-firing

channels, boosted by another up-firing channel on each rear speaker. Taken together, the system provides superb voice clarity and LG’s Triple Level Spatial Sound, to envelop you in a virtual bubble of audio. An advanced version of the AI Room Calibration Pro system takes the rear speakers

into consideration too, adjusting volume differences and delay times allowing for the best possible sound quality coming from every direction. Dolby Atmos and DTS:X complete the picture to put you right in the centre of the action. The S95TR soundbar has a deliberately discrete appearance, with a matte colour palette, and materials and finish all designed to reduce distracting reflections. And, of course, you’ll find LG’s Smart Up Mixer, AI Sound Pro, high-speed passthrough and smart home compatibility on this top-of-the line soundbar.

Sony HT-A7000 7.1.2 Channel Dolby Atmos Soundbar

Few companies know sound like Sony, and that really shows in the HT-A7000 soundbar. That audio engineering first shows itself in the X-Balanced speaker units, which use a rectangular shape to deliver more punchy bass, less distortion and better vocal clarity. Rather than packing in a separate subwoofer, this soundbar is completely self-contained with a built in dual subwoofer, five front-facing speakers, two up-firing channels and a pair of “side beam tweeters.” The latter two, located at each end of the soundbar, work in a similar way to the up-firing channels, by bouncing sound waves off the side walls. The end result is an even more immersive soundscape. If you want to push it even further, rear speakers can be added to the

setup, and here they do more work than ever. With these, Sony’s 360 Spatial Sound Mapping technology creates a series of “phantom speakers” in various parts of the room for

the optimal sound field for any space. Complete the setup with an optional wireless subwoofer, which focuses on low-range sound separate from the built-in ones.

40 MAY 2024

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