S80TR

Overview

The S80TR is a complete 5.1.3 system from LG: the soundbar, a wireless subwoofer and two wireless rear speakers come in the box, together with a remote, batteries, an HDMI cable and a wall-mount bracket. The soundbar is 1000 mm wide, 63 mm high and 135 mm deep and can be wall-mounted.

LG lists "11 speakers power 3D Spatial Sound that fills the room" among its key features. A built-in microphone in the soundbar is used for Room Calibration in the LG ThinQ app.

The soundbar has one HDMI input, an HDMI eARC connection to the TV, an optical input, USB, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Over Wi-Fi it supports Apple AirPlay 2, Chromecast, Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect, and it works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. You can control it from the remote, the buttons on the bar, the LG ThinQ app for iOS and Android, or an LG TV remote through SIMPLINK.

What the specs mean

• 5.1.3 speaker setup: 5 main channels, 1 subwoofer channel and 3 height channels. On the S80TR they are split across the soundbar, the subwoofer and the two included rear speakers, so the full count needs the whole set.
• HDMI eARC: the enhanced Audio Return Channel carries the TV's sound to the soundbar over one HDMI cable, including high-bitrate formats such as Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Atmos and uncompressed multichannel audio.
• Audio formats: Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS Digital Surround, DTS:X, DTS-HD High Resolution, DTS-HD Master Audio and LPCM.
• HDMI passthrough (4K120, HDR10, Dolby Vision, VRR, ALLM, HDCP 2.3): a console or player plugs into the HDMI input and the soundbar passes the picture through to the TV. VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) lets a console change the refresh rate frame by frame, and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) switches the TV to its low-latency mode automatically.
• Room correction: LG's room calibration uses the soundbar's built-in microphone to tune the sound to the room.
• Dialogue and night listening: Clear Voice makes voices clearer, and Night Time lowers the overall volume while raising soft sounds.
• LG TV features: WOW Orchestra, TV Sound Mode Share, WOW Interface, WOWCAST. With WOW Orchestra the soundbar and a compatible LG TV play sound through both at the same time.