SP8YA

Overview

SP8YA is a 2021 LG Dolby Atmos sound bar with a separate wireless subwoofer. The bar is 1060 mm wide, 57 mm high and 119 mm deep, comes in black and can stand in front of the TV or be wall-mounted with the included bracket. LG suggests it for TVs from 49 inches.

LG lists 440 W of total power: two front channels at 40 W each, a 40 W center channel, two up-firing front height channels at 50 W each and a 220 W wireless subwoofer. The sound tuning is credited to LG's partnership with Meridian Audio.

The TV connects over HDMI eARC or the optical input, and the bar has one HDMI input, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi and a USB port for music files. Over Wi-Fi it supports Chromecast built-in, Apple AirPlay 2 and Spotify Connect, and it works with the Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. It works with the TV remote and the included remote, has touch controls, and LG lists an app for iOS and Android. LG also lists Sound Bar Mode Control and TV Sound Mode Share for use with LG TVs. Sound modes include AI Sound Pro, Standard, Music, Cinema, Clear Voice, Sports, Game and Bass Blast. High-resolution audio is listed up to 24-bit/96 kHz.

What the specs mean

• 3.1.2 speaker setup: three main channels (left, center and right), a subwoofer and two height channels that fire upward and reflect off the ceiling.
• Dolby Atmos and DTS:X: Dolby Atmos lets creators place each sound where they want it to go, including overhead. On SP8YA the up-firing drivers play the height channels. LG also lists Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Digital, DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS Digital Surround.
• HDMI eARC: the enhanced Audio Return Channel carries the TV's sound to the sound bar over one HDMI cable, including high-bitrate formats such as Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Atmos and uncompressed multichannel audio. Plain ARC is limited to compressed formats.
• 4K HDR passthrough: a console, streaming box or Blu-ray player can plug into the sound bar's HDMI input. LG lists 4K passthrough with HDCP 2.3 and Dolby Vision and HDR10, so the video goes on to the TV while the bar decodes the sound.
• Room correction: LG lists Custom Room Tuning, set up in the app, which adjusts the sound bar's settings to the room.
• Wireless surround expansion: LG's SPK8-S rear speaker kit (sold separately) adds two rear speakers. The speakers are wired to an included wireless receiver, which connects to the sound bar without a cable.