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Official LG SJ9 Thread

570K views 2K replies 325 participants last post by  Ceejus 
#1 ·
I've searched these audio forums and haven't found an official thread on this piece of equipment.

Official Site: http://www.lg.com/us/home-audio/lg-SJ9-wireless-sound-bar

Currently for pre-order on Frys and B&H-Photo-Video-Audio as of several days ago.

I've pre-ordered mine through Fry's and it's expected to be delivered next week. I plan on pairing this soundbar with my 65" LG B6. Will post opinions on it when it's set up next week.
 
#5 ·
I too have a 65" B6. I'm really looking forward to your thoughts on this soundbar. I was going back and forth between the SJ, the Sony HT-ST9, and the Sony HT-ST5000. The SJ9 makes the most sense for me.
 
#6 ·
Hey there, just wondering why the SJ9 makes the most sense for you - because it is an LG and matches your TV?

I am in somewhat the same boat - trying to decide between the LG SJ9 and the Sony HT-ST5000.

In addition to trying to decide between the LG E7 and Sony A1E.
 
#10 ·
Meh I bit the bullet. I confirmed with BuyDig that it was in fact in stock and ready to shop and not just a pre-order listing. Should have it soon! I'll report back with my impressions.
 
#13 ·
Well that was fast! Looks like it's waiting for me at home already. Helps that BuyDig is in NJ and I'm in NYC. What's especially nice is that I opted for the free shipping option. :) I'll post pics tonight. Really excited!
 
#16 ·
First Impressions

It came in a huge box that was mostly empty space. The sound bar was packed at the very top of the box with the subwoofer underneath. The subwoofer was flanked by two large pieces of styrofoam just for structural integrity.

The sound bar is deceptively heavy and does require two hands to handle. The grill on the sound bar is quite fine, but trying to shine a light through it barely revealed what the drivers looked like. The upward firing drivers were much easier to see. I have a feeling these will be hard to keep dust free.

As you'll see in photos, there's a remote, optical cable and cable ties. There are holes in the back of the sound bar for the cable ties/cable organization. The subwoofer is covered by cloth on all sides with the bass port in the back. The subwoofer cone is forward firing and is covered by a honey comb grill. I find this a nice touch since that'll keep my toddler's small fingers from reaching the comb.

The display on the soundbar is directly to the right of the center speaker. It's not apparent in the photo, but the display brightens when changing volume or changing settings, but dims after a bit.

I connected it as follows BDP7501 -> SJ9 -> 65B6P (to HDMI2 port, the ARC port). I can now definitively say that the sound bar can pass a 4K HDR signal! I'll test with a Dolby Atmos disc tomorrow.

I've watched a few movies and some TV along with listened to some hi-res music and this soundbar does a very good job. I've heard things that didn't hear with the internal TV speakers. The hi-res music I played sounded very good. I don't have a comparable set of speakers to compare it to, but I do listen to hi-res audio on my computer with a pair of Audeze LCD-XCs driven by an Apogee Groove. The detail from the soundbar was respectable!

Overall I'm really happy with this!
 

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#19 ·
Oh you misunderstand and apologies if I wasn't clear. This blew my socks off. The problem is this is my first sound bar and my only frame of reference are the built-in TV speakers, so I don't want to sound overly enthusiastic about this new thing that's obviously better than what I was used to. "Respectable" was only in reference to detail retrieval compared to the LCD-XCs.
On my TiVo Premier XL4, I changed audio output from PCM to Dolby Digital -- that made a huge difference. Fuller-bodied and more detailed sound! Hate to sound cliche, but a veil was lifted! :laugh:
 
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#20 ·
Thanks for your info. your take on the Atmos implementation would be great. Other soundbars like the Samsung use the bouncing against the ceiling - I gather the LG does not go this route.
 
#21 ·
The SJ9 does the same thing. The two upward firing speakers seem to be angled at 45 degrees. Unlike some other Atmos sound bars I looked at, there doesn't seem to be a facility for calibrating those speakers to the height of your ceiling. Not sure how useful that is anyway.

Also, I tried using LG SoundSync via Bluetooth to connect the soundbar to my 65B6. It works fairly well and sounded fairly good. Changing the volume showed the regular B6 volume bar (with a Bluetooth icon next to it) rather than the "+" and "-" icons when controlling the volume via HDMI-CEC/SIMPLINK. The issue I found is that it wouldn't automatically reconnect via Bluetooth after turning on the TV and required manually reconnecting.
 
#22 ·
Hey gang,

I recieved and set up mine this morning (UK).
I've connected it to my LG 65OLED B6 via Optical and it's replacing a Logitec Z906 5.1 system.
I'm still playing around with it but here are a few first impressions:

Really nice design of both the Soundbar and Subwoofer.
Initial connection to the TV was via Bluetooth but that was a dissapointingly incosistent connection. It would drop out for a split second every now and then. I'm currently using an optical cable.
Sub connected perfectly first time to the bar.
First play of a song from Spotify was underwhelming but then I tweaked the EQ. Sub, Treble, Bass were set to 0 and it for sure needs them tweaked. It sounds quite thin with them at 0. I do like a warm sound though.
Once tweaked the sound is incredible. Very clear with strong bass and a lot of detail.
I needed to do an update to the soundbar to enable the soundbar to be useable with Google Home.
'Casting' to the bar is good but when you stop casting you need to manually change the input back to 'Optical' via the remote. Not happy about that.
There is no way I can see to double check that the signal the soundbar is recieving is 5.1 or not. The surround effect in movies is unimpressive to be honest. My TV is outputting Dolby Digital but that is all I can tell. Any help with this one is appreciated.

If you guys have any questions I'm happy to answer if I can.
 
#26 ·
Thanks for sharing! One thing I noticed. Upon turning it on for the first time. Everything sounded a bit muddy...as if the low-end was a bit too emphasized. I checked the sound mode setting and Bass Boost was on by default. Did you notice the same thing? I set it to standard and I'm quite happy with it. Another thing I noticed: sound mode is disabled while a Dolby Atmos track is playing.

Out out curiosity, what did you set your Sub, Treble and Bass to?
 
#24 ·
You sure you have it set up correctly?

Because the reviewer from Digital Trends said it sounded "excellent"
That reviewer is talking about the Atmos effect from above. I haven't been able to test that yet. I'm only talking about the 5.1 surround effect. The rear effect isn't what I'd hoped. Unless I'm not feeding it the right signals? I'm sending it the same material that worked well on my previous 5.1 setup though.
 
#43 ·
Folks - wondering what your opinion is after having the lg bar for a few days. Thrilled? Satisfied? Pros and cons.

I had the Onkyo atmos bar and while atmos sounded great - everything else was flaaaaat. Now I have the Sony nt5 which sounds great when it works. But 25% of the time is spent fiddling to get connections right because the sound just stops. No fun. So Im considering the Lg. Thoughts?
 
#44 ·
Overall I love it! Very satisfied. I haven't experienced any sound drop outs like you mention.
Pros:
  • Dolby Atmos
  • Supports 4K/HDR passthrough
  • Good design
  • Great clarity, wide soundstage even when listening to regular Dolby Digital sources
  • Different sound modes to suit your taste
  • Ability to customize sub, bass and treble
  • Support for hi-res audio playback (though I have yet to try this for myself)

Cons:
  • Only 1 HDMI input port (might be a deal breaker for some)
  • No ability to calibrate sound bar to your room a la the Yamaha YSP-5600
  • Subwoofer can only be connected wirelessly, which limits placement options.
  • Subwoofer dimensions are relatively large and can limit placement options
  • Limited DTS support (still have to do some testing myself, but not a deal breaker for me)

Concerns:
  • Nowhere in the specs does it specify the DAC used to output hi-res 24/192.
  • LG Soundsync with compatible LG tv (via bluetooth) was gimmicky.
  • Non removable grill means keeping the speakers dust free (especially the upward firing ones) will be near impossible.
 
#52 ·
So, I'm frustrated that I can get this bloody soundbar to do what I want! Thinking about returning it to be honest.

Here's the scenario:
I've got it connected to my LG B6 via Optical. The sound output setting on the TV is set to LG Sound Sync (Optical). The soundbar tells me that whatever I play to it it's recieving a "PCM" signal (Info button on the remote). That PCM signal is not getting interpreted correctly as a 5.1 signal. I suspected that it wasn't but now I'm sure. I was unsatisified with the surround effect so I bought two LG H3s with the intention of setting them up as the rear surrounds (As LG proclaim I can!). Set them up and lo and behold the soundbar is just splitting the sound over itself and the rear speakers. No discreet signals. The soundbar still reports it's getting a PCM signal.
Changing the TV's sound output to Audio Out (Optical) the soundbar now reports it's getting a "Dolby Audio" signal. Not THIS is a correct 5.1 signal and it outputs correctly to the new rear surrounds.
BUT when I play nomal TV and the TV's Spotify app etc. it splits that signal over the soundbar and two rear surrounds.
As there is NO WAY to adjust how the soundbar processes the input signal I can't solve this. Every other system I've owned has had the ability to cycle through audio modes that interpreted the signal in a different way. The available sound 'modes' are nonadjustable presets so one is stuck with them whether you like them or not.
This soundbar is a closed box with little to no oppertunity to tweak it to my liking.

Am I missing something gang?
Thanks!
 
#53 ·
Have you configured your cable box (or whatever you use) to output the correct signal? I had to change a setting on my TiVo to output Dolby Audio rather than PCM which made all the difference for my TV watching. Perhaps the spotify app has a similar setting?

Also, just so you can cross it off the list, is it possible for you to connect your B6 to the SJ9 via HDMI-ARC and see (hear) if that makes a difference?
 
#60 ·
After going through 3 soundbars now, I wish there were some actual reviews out on this. I think to be safe Im gonna wait before plunking down the cash.
 
#61 ·
Wow, 3 in how many weeks?? I admire your caution. This is one of the few things I've purchased without reading a formal review. I'm also surprised that this isn't getting more press. Isn't the SJ9 LG's first Atmos sound bar?
 
#64 ·
I have a question about my LG SJ9, hope you guys can help. My devices (Xbox One, AppleTV 4) do not support bitstream out for TrueHD or Atmos for media. Though the Xbox does have this for blu-ray now. So my best way to get Atmos/TrueHD content would be to got for PCM output right?

I tried this, on Xbox One this is calleds Uncompressed 5.1 and on Apple TV "highest quality available" (= PCM) . However if I do this I lose the voices in movies/tv shows. I ran a surround speaker test clip from Dolby and it show that the center speaker and subwoofer are not working in this mode.

If i switch to output Dolby Digital all works fine, but then I lose the TrueHD/Atmos. What is happening? Can anyone help?
 
#75 ·
I've never had dropouts while watching regular TV or 4K Bluray with Atmos or DTS. I do notice occasional dropouts of a few seconds when using the Youtube app on the B6. My B6 is on wifi, which might be the issue.
 
#66 ·
I have a question for owners, how it's sounds in general without atmos content, did anybody had a chance to compare it to other soundbars. I am looking for good soundbar and trying to decide between lg sj9, bose ST300, and definitive technology studio. Went through 4 sony htnt5, i think they need to recall it, all stopped working in couple of months. Really interested in this soundbar, probably not going to use atmos but looking for good sound.
 
#67 ·
I can't compare it to other soundbars but from my point of view the non-Atmos sound is very good in general. When it gets a Dolby signal it has a very wide sound stage. Quite impressive. It very clear and once the sub is tweaked it has a very large full sound. The soundbar itself has almost no bass compared to something like the Bose soundbar though which is a shame considering the price.

Regarding the price. I'm not sure I understand why it's so expensive as it has quite a few limitations in terms of tweakability etc. What do you guys think about the price? I've never had another soundbar but it's not 3 times better than my £300 Logitech Z906 system.
 
#69 ·
OK. Satisfication Update!

Previous setups:

V1: LG B6 > LG Sound Sync > Optical cable > SJ9 = Controllable via LG TV remote control but ONLY outputting PCM therefor very shallow soundstage and no 5.1 rear signals passed to LG H3 rear surrounds = Unsatisfied Ed.

V2: LG B6 > Optical > Optical cable > SJ9 = Not controllable via LG TV remote control but outputting Dolby signal therefor wide soundstage and discreet 5.1 signals being sent to LG H3 rear surrounds = Still Unsatisfied Ed

V3: LG B6 > HDMI ARC > HDMI High Speed cable > SJ9 = Controllable via LG TV remore control AND outputting Dolby signal AND a MUCH wider soundstage from just the soundbar AND discreet 5.1 signals being sent to the LG H3 rear surrounds = VERY happy Ed!

The problem I had was that I had a very specific set of requirements from this soundbar and for a while I didn't think it would be able to tick ALL my boxes. The only thing it still does that's suboptimal is that it shares the sound from things like OTA broadcast TV and the Spotify app equally over the soundbar and the rear surrounds. If there was a way to enable an automatic switch to discern whether a singal was 5.1 or not and output the appropriate signal to the surrounds then everything I want would be GOLD!

Worth reiterating how much better the soundstage is over HDMI. I just watched the scene in Avatar where Jake spends his first night on Pandora and WOWOWOWOW! I seriously thought I had the rear surrounds on. Fantastic!

Sorry for being a bit of a killjoy folks. I just worked myself up into a worry as I'd been looking forward to this soundbar since it was announced. I'm looking forward to sharing this with my girlfrield later as she went to work today with me sitting in front of the TV scratching my head.

:):):):)
 
#297 ·
OK. Satisfication Update!

Previous setups:

V1: LG B6 > LG Sound Sync > Optical cable > SJ9 = Controllable via LG TV remote control but ONLY outputting PCM therefor very shallow soundstage and no 5.1 rear signals passed to LG H3 rear surrounds = Unsatisfied Ed.

V2: LG B6 > Optical > Optical cable > SJ9 = Not controllable via LG TV remote control but outputting Dolby signal therefor wide soundstage and discreet 5.1 signals being sent to LG H3 rear surrounds = Still Unsatisfied Ed

V3: LG B6 > HDMI ARC > HDMI High Speed cable > SJ9 = Controllable via LG TV remore control AND outputting Dolby signal AND a MUCH wider soundstage from just the soundbar AND discreet 5.1 signals being sent to the LG H3 rear surrounds = VERY happy Ed!

The problem I had was that I had a very specific set of requirements from this soundbar and for a while I didn't think it would be able to tick ALL my boxes. The only thing it still does that's suboptimal is that it shares the sound from things like OTA broadcast TV and the Spotify app equally over the soundbar and the rear surrounds. If there was a way to enable an automatic switch to discern whether a singal was 5.1 or not and output the appropriate signal to the surrounds then everything I want would be GOLD!

Worth reiterating how much better the soundstage is over HDMI. I just watched the scene in Avatar where Jake spends his first night on Pandora and WOWOWOWOW! I seriously thought I had the rear surrounds on. Fantastic!

Sorry for being a bit of a killjoy folks. I just worked myself up into a worry as I'd been looking forward to this soundbar since it was announced. I'm looking forward to sharing this with my girlfrield later as she went to work today with me sitting in front of the TV scratching my head.

Hello

One question :) So i can buy Lg h5 to my lg sj9 to get real 5.1 surround ?

Cheers
 
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