LG S40T 2.1 ch.Soundbar with Wireless Subwoofer, TV Synergy, Wow Interface, AI Sound Pro (2024 New Model)

Very pleased for the money! (LG S40TR)
I love home audio, car audio etc. but I didn’t want to break the bank, so this setup is perfect for our living room. Its not for everyone though, hope this review will help you out.During movies this setup is REALLY immersive. (Keep reading for details) MAKE SURE you change the audio setting to “Cinema” on the remote! I leave it on cinema all the time, even just watching TV or YouTube, unless I’m listening to music then I switch to the music mode.On our TV we were able to change the TV settings to allow the TV remote to adjust the volume of the LG system, and it also turns the TV off and ALL the speakers off with one button! Which is really convenient. I only use the LG remote to change the audio profile when switching from cinema to music.Its a wireless system, so of course that means Bluetooth enabled if you want to play music or maybe an audio book from your phone / tablet. Maybe you are cooking in the kitchen and have an open home layout you can watch the media on your phone and use the speaker system for the audio via Bluetooth. Use the sound bar or the LG remote to activate Bluetooth and just connect your device.This is NOT a system that requires a separate audio receiver with AM/FM. If you need to connect a vinyl player, and already have extra speakers you want to add in, then this is not the system for you. This system works great with smart TVs / projectors / game consoles / streaming devices etc.I’ve had no connection issues or dropped signals whatsoever and its been in use for a few months now, I’m really satisfied with the wireless setup. Even with multiple devices in my house, Xbox, PS5, PC, laptop, cell phones, tablets, wireless security cameras, even the refrigerator uses WIFI and we’ve had zero connection issues with this system.The subwoofer sounds great while playing music and movies, I can hear it thump from upstairs, it will fill your room with really loud sound, but it probably wont bother the neighbors. If you have the volume up a good amount you wont be able to talk with an “inside voice” to someone across the room very easily to give you an idea of how loud and powerful this setup is. Its not underwhelming in any stretch of the imagination, unless you are trying to fill a dance club with sound. With that being said this system would function very well for playing music during a reasonable sized house party with like 20 or so guests give or take.It works perfectly for my significant other and I, as we don’t host often at all and its usually just us two watching the TV. We set the two satellite speakers on either side of the couch facing directly at the TV, and the surround effect sounds awesome while watching a movie or TV series. That is the optimal seating position, being directly between the left and right speakers on either side of you. If you have another couch that isn’t directly facing the TV, the surround sound aspect may not sound as convincing from that position. If you always have a bunch of people in the room in different seating positions trying to watch a movie you probably need a 5.1 or 7.1 system instead.The subwoofer is powered / active so you will need to place it near an outlet, or run an extension cord, though I wouldn’t want a passive subwoofer that doesn’t require power as my main home theater sub. The two satellite speakers are wired together via speaker wire (L&R) and one power cord, but then they wirelessly connect to the subwoofer and sound bar. Directions are clear and easy to read with pictures and diagrams so you shouldn’t have any issues. I think it’s awesome having a clean looking setup without having to run speaker wire across the floor, or up the wall. Just the L&R speaker wire that is hiding behind the couch. Plenty of slack on the speaker wire about 10-20 feet if I had to guess.Once the speakers are set up and connected, you need some audio. First you need to plug an HDMI cable into the sound bar’s HDMI ARC port, then into the HDMI ARC port on your TV. That will allow audio / video to travel in BOTH directions from your TV and the sound system. Standard HDMI ports only allow audio / video to travel in one direction. If your TV is older and doesn’t have an HDMI ARC port, I’m fairly certain you can use an optical cable instead, but I’m not positive as its been over 2 months since I set everything up.***You may have to change the audio settings on your TV to activate the ARC setting from your TV***If you have a game console / laptop / streaming device / DVD or Blu-ray player etc., you would then run a separate HDMI cord from said device into the sound bar’s standard HDMI port. Then you should be good to go.I would highly recommend searching up a “surround sound test” video on YouTube at this point to make sure you have the speakers arranged correctly.If you are using a projector with Bluetooth capability, you can wirelessly connect the projector to the sound bar for your audio. If your projector does not have Bluetooth, you can use an Amazon Firestick with Bluetooth capability. You would just connect the Firestick to the projector, and then use the Bluetooth on the Firestick to connect to the sound bar for your audio. Note older Firesticks do not have Bluetooth. If your video is on a USB flash drive or some other USB drive, you should be able to connect the drive to your projector and then run an HDMI cord into one of the HDMI ports on the sound bar, though I have not tested this myself. In theory you should also be able to use a USB Bluetooth transmitter / receiver plugged into your projector to wirelessly connect to the sound bar for audio instead.From the optimal seating position, as explained above, the sound is awesome! You can hear a vehicle in a movie passing from left to right in real time, or gunshots that sound like they are ricocheting around you! Its really cool, in my opinion better than a movie theater because you get to sit in the perfect position at home and its more of an intimate experience if that makes sense.Another example is from “House of the Dragon” TV series (no spoilers), while the new dragon riders were down in the dragons pit, it was all quiet and eerie, then some small rocks fall down in the distance (you don’t even see them fall on screen) and we had to look around our room for a second, as we thought something really fell down in real life! Such a cool experience! If you were watching that on regular TV speakers you wouldn’t even notice those little details, with this setup it sounded like the rocks fell down right next to you. I wouldn’t want to watch a movie without this type of experience moving forward because you are really missing out on a big part of the emersion.

Good Value
I’d been perusing surround sound systems for quite some time when I came across these. Most surround systems that advertise they are wireless, are not truly wireless. This system connects to one another via Bluetooth, making them truly wireless, with the exception of the connection between the two rear speakers. One of the rear speaker connects via Bluetooth. There is a small-gauge wire that must be run between the two rear speakers. Easy set up. The speakers recognized each other quickly and synced to the television. Upon initial set up, we were disappointed to learn that our current television did not have an optical input, so we performed a quick setup via Bluetooth. I was a bit disappointed with the sound quality and volume with that setup. We just weren’t perceiving a surround effect and  lot of programming didn’t allow for the effect to be realized. At one point, the Bluetooth connection became unusable. Fortunately, we had an HDMI cable on hand. With a little re-configuring of the television inputs, There was a noticeable improvement in the surround sound of the speaker system. I had previously been drooling over a competitors true-wireless system but the price was over $1000. I couldn’t justify spending that much for the limited amount of television and other video entertainment we customarily watch. I believe that the original set up I was interested in would provide more of a surround feel than this inexpensive setup but for the price, it is well-worth the investment. I would surmise that an optical cable input on your television would also provide great sound. I’d recommend this surround sound speaker system for those who want to experience surround sound without spending thousands of dollars.  

Punchy base, Very loud and clear sound. Quality of the product is next level with app support

The sound quality is quite impressive, and all the connections seem to be functioning smoothly. However, I did observe that the mid-channel (center channel) may not be as prominent, which may result in more instrumental sound than vocals and low dialogue volume in films.

Good product, beyond my expectations..