Lg Sj7 Sound Bar Flex 320w Wireless Speaker System Review

When is a soundbar no longer a soundbar? How about when it's a 2.1 organisation that in certain configurations looks nada like a soundbar? That's actually the appeal of the LG SJ7, a home theater speaker system with versatility every bit its primary selling point. Available for $499, the SJ7 takes what might be the primary complaint near soundbars off the table: Y'all tin get plenty of stereo separation. Of grade, this comes at a price in the visual sense—the neat single slab you typically retrieve of as soundbar is cleaved into a pair of bar-shaped stereo speakers. That said, audio quality is solid, and the SJ7 is a supremely versatile option for home theater buffs.

Design

The all-blackness SJ7 ( at Amazon Canada) consists of three visually like main pieces: the dual soundbar speakers and the subwoofer. The soundbar speakers each mensurate two.9 by 13.4 by 4.three inches (HWD), and the single subwoofer measures 12.6 past half dozen.seven past 9.9 inches and tin be placed almost anywhere in the room (the floor is fine).

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Backside the front-facing grilles on the soundbars, each unit houses dual midrange drivers and dual tweeters, all 2.three inches, arrayed at the far ends of the front end panel. Both speakers come with tray-like stands that permit them to exist placed upright, but they likewise accept tiny condom feet on the bottom to keep them from moving when placed lengthwise. They can likewise be wall-mounted.

The secondary speaker is portable and can exist used on its own, running off an internal battery (good for roughly four hours). In wired mode, the speakers evangelize 60 watts per channel, and the sub delivers 200 watts. In wireless mode, the output decreases to preserve battery life.

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The left speaker is the primary unit, and on its left side panel, there are plus/minus buttons, an F button (for Function, when switching between Bluetooth and wired audio modes), and a power button. The power button actually controls both left and right speakers—assuming they're plugged into their adapters. The left speaker also has connectedness ports on its rear panel—an Optical input (a cablevision is included), HDMI in, HDMI out, a USB service port, and the AC adapter connectedness. Setting up the system is straightforward—the sub automatically pairs with the two paired speakers, and and so information technology's a matter of connecting input cables or pairing Bluetooth devices.

On the right speaker, along the back panel, there's a different array of connections, including a USB port (service-just), and a power adapter connector. At that place's also a switch for the speaker's manner—it tin be turned off, or switched between Portable, Rear (for a pseudo-environs feel by placing the speaker backside yous), or Sound Bar modes. When the left speaker is powered up and Sound Bar is selected on the right unit of measurement, the 2 speakers pair (provided they're near each other). On the right side panel, there are rubberized buttons for play/pause, Bluetooth pairing, and volume.

The left speaker has an LED readout behind its grille, displaying messages like BT when y'all're in Bluetooth mode, or HDMI when playing sound from an HDMI source. The input mode can be switched between using the F push (on the remote or the left speaker itself). Switching between the sources will break the Bluetooth pairing, but the speakers will automatically re-pair if your most recently paired device is in range and fix.

The subwoofer's front grille covers a 6-inch commuter, and its dorsum console has a port for air to escape through. There's a pairing push (the sub communicates wirelessly with the speakers), and a connection for the power cable. Information technology would be nice if the sub had its ain private knobs, but you can adjust bass and treble on the remote command, so it's not a huge deal.

The included remote control has several buttons, including ability, the aforementioned F button, and plus/minus for Volume. There are too controls for Sound Effect (in that location are four modes: Adaptive Audio Controls, which is the default; Standard; Bass Blast; and Cinema), Dark Book (which adjusts the EQ by lowering the frequencies that tend to go through walls and disrupt neighbors and housemates), EQ (with bass and treble adjusters), play/pause, and track astern/frontward. And then in that location are more advanced controls for environs setups, including rear book up/down, AV Sync (which synchronizes audio and video), Surround Manner, Auto Volume (raises low volumes and limits higher volumes), and Machine Ability (for automatically powering up when the input source turns on). The remote runs off 2 included AAA batteries.

The SJ7 is uniform with LPCM, Dolby Digital, and DTS Digital Surround audio formats, and ships with the aforementioned optical cable, a power cable for the sub, and 2 power adapters with removable cables for each speaker. In all, the system will take up 3 wall plugs.

Movie Performance

For home theater testing, nosotros arranged the speakers in diverse physical arrays—vertically, as a separate stereo pair, pressed together in a more traditional soundbar setup, and in rear mode (with one speaker placed behind us). In stereo, with the speakers separated, the SJ7 performs quite nicely. The second scene in Pacific Rim is assault the stormy high seas—the SJ7 delivers some serious rumble here, fifty-fifty in Standard mode. In Cinema mode, the dialogue in loud scenes like this becomes obscured—Standard mode proved far more intelligible, but the bass rumble dies down a chip. Boosting the bass a couple notches in the EQ settings, however, does the play tricks, with crisp dialogue and deep, low rumbles living in harmony.

You can kill the stereo separation if you prefer to accept both speakers sitting under the Television receiver, looking similar a unmarried unit—simply it does seem to lessen the intensity of the audio experience. Surround mode doesn't do much in this scenario—nosotros recommend keeping it off, as yous're only non going to go much of a real surround experience with a 2.1 organisation.

Music Performance

For music testing, we stuck with the vertical stereo array. While you can use these speakers in a traditional soundbar array—under the Idiot box and pressed against each other, you won't get any real stereo separation on your music. Also, when listening to music, nosotros used the Standard listening way, only some listeners will prefer Bass Blast mode—when listening at lower volumes, Bass Blast is a nice way to yet go some bass presence. For a more than nuanced approach, yous can adjust treble and bass on the remote, but for testing purposes, we kept these settings flat. As far equally utilizing Surroundings style while listening to music, don't. Stereo mixes exercise strange things through pseudo-surround algorithms.

On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the system delivers some serious thunder even without the Bass Blast effect on. At peak volumes, the SJ7 will rattle your walls, and at elevation volumes with the Bass Effect on, the SJ7 even rattles itself a bit. This isn't a complaint, notwithstanding—information technology's unlikely you'll need to accomplish these intense, high volumes and utilize the Bass Blast simultaneously; even in Standard mode, this subwoofer has some boot.

Beak Callahan's "Drover," a rail with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a amend sense of the SJ7's overall sound signature. The drums on this track can sound overly thunderous on bass-forward systems; through the SJ7 in Standard mode, the drums sound natural and full, with a pleasant roundness to them. Callahan's vocals also have nice richness, but enough well-baked high-mid edge to keep things clear and defined. One time y'all showtime messing with the EQ, anything's possible—you can make this sound signature far brighter or bassier, and in Bass Blast fashion, the drums brainstorm to sound a lot less natural. So there's a wide range of sound signatures inside the SJ7, just LG offers a nicely balanced baseline every bit a starting betoken.

On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick pulsate loop gets plenty of high-mid edge to retain its sharp assail, along with a nice sub-bass dial on the synth hits that punctuate the beat. From here, you lot tin punch things up to super-boosted bass levels if you lot wish, only the vocals and the higher-mids and highs on this track are delivered clearly and cleanly in Standard way. Later several listens, I decided my favorite audio signature was probably Standard Fashion, but with the Bass EQ additional 2 or 3 notches, depending on what was playing. Boosting the bass slightly offers a solid experience without going overboard the style the Bass Nail effect tends to.

Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene in John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, also benefit from a slight Bass EQ boost. In Standard style, with no EQ added in, this track still sounds full, rich in the lower register instruments without going too far, and crisp in the highs.

Conclusions

For $499, the LG SJ7 is a versatile soundbar with a solid sound feel that is as at home playing music and film audio. If what you lot're after is a legitimate environs audio setup, or ane that can mimic one—this isn't information technology. Despite the bells and whistles of the special furnishings, the SJ7 sounds best in plain old stereo, with some separation betwixt the speakers. The EQ, and the fact that the right speaker tin can be used on its own, are all dainty touches. If you're looking for a more traditional soundbar, we're fans of the more affordable Polk Sound Signa S1 and the pricier Sony HT-NT5, both of which accept subwoofers, as well as the Zvox SoundBase 570 and the Sonos Playbase.

LG SJ7

The Bottom Line

The LG SJ7 breaks the traditional long soundbar into a stereo pair and adds a modestly sized subwoofer, with solid audio quality yous can arrange to your taste.

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Source: https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/lg-sj7

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