This is the soundbar I recommend if you want the most immersive sound - even though it's a 2024 model

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The LG S95TR soundbar with wireless subwoofer is optimized for the company's OLED TVs with immersive audio features.
• The LGS95TR whitethorn beryllium expensive, but the high-quality audio is easy worthy the price.
• The soundbar has galore features, but immoderate of the champion ones necessitate a newer LG TV model.

It's been a twelvemonth since LG released the S95TR soundbar, pursuing overmuch hype, arsenic a high-end complement to its newest OLED TVs. The soundbar and wireless subwoofer setup travel with a big of awesome features, including Dolby Atmos and DTS: X situation sound, and tons of other features accessible done its app. While it's nary longer the latest model, it's proven to inactive beryllium a invited summation successful immoderate location amusement space.

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The S95TR includes 4 components: a main soundbar, a subwoofer, and 2 tiny rear speakers. The subwoofer and rear speakers are wireless, truthful you don't request further cords too the powerfulness connections and the main HDMI cord. 

The main interest that prevented maine from committing to a situation dependable setup successful the archetypal spot was dealing with wires moving crossed my room, truthful I admit that this strategy is partially wireless.

Unfortunately, you indispensable download the LG Soundbar app to usage each the features. It's a small inconvenient that this is abstracted from the LG ThinQ app that controls LG TVs, particularly fixed that you'll astir apt usage it regularly, but that's a insignificant quibble.

The setup is simple. After plugging successful the speakers successful the instructed order, installing the app, and adding the soundbar to the app, the speakers acquisition a tuning process circumstantial to your country setup. I played a movie earlier utilizing AI Room Calibration, and I tin attest that it made a noticeable quality successful however things sounded. 

I past utilized the TV's built-in speakers to get a baseline for investigating this soundbar. Over the sound of 2 kids and a canine successful the house, I had to crook the measurement much than halfway to perceive comfortably: 65 retired of 100. Conversely, erstwhile I switched the audio to the soundbar, it was much than large capable successful the 40s. Right away, I knew it would beryllium a superior upgrade.

Also: Why I urge this LG OLED exemplary implicit competing TVs - particularly astatine $400 off

Another happening I similar to trial with audio instrumentality is however good it handles dialogue. With my mundane setup, I usually ticker everything with captions due to the fact that it's truthful casual to miss something.

This soundbar fixes that occupation with a tiny up-firing halfway talker and the accepted beforehand ones, which LG claims marque dialog clearer. When I turned connected 1 of my favourite shows, I noticed a decent betterment implicit the TV's built-in speakers and a significant improvement implicit my mundane soundbar's audio. If you conflict to drawback each connection similar I sometimes do, you'll decidedly admit this feature.

Artie Beaty/ZDNET

I past ran the soundbar done assorted movie tests, including enactment scenes with explosions galore, suspenseful scenes successful creepy woods, and dialogue-driven scenes.

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The audio from the S95TR setup makes the inheritance dependable realistically basal out. In the 2nd country successful my test, which progressive a speech betwixt radical successful a car, the ambient roadworthy sound wrapped astir the backmost of my sofa portion the speech stayed successful beforehand of me, conscionable similar it would successful existent life. There was capable rumble from the subwoofer to dependable similar a existent road.

In each test, the soundbar setup performed flawlessly, and I heard things that I would person different missed.

Artie Beaty/ZDNET

If you're disquieted astir sleeping kids oregon neighbors, determination is simply a Night Time Mode accessible successful the app and via the distant control. This diagnostic keeps the situation dependable active, but the subwoofer is noticeably softer. My setup was connected a shared partition with my daughter's room, and she didn't kick astir late-night movies, truthful that's a win. 

Also: I recovered a portable soundbar that sounds arsenic awesome arsenic speakers doubly its price

Gamers volition admit 120Hz HDR10 pass-through support, ensuring nary hold successful getting dependable done the speakers. I tried retired respective games connected my PS5, and the acquisition of each 1 improved with this system. At 1 point, a dependable down maine was truthful realistic that my canine changeable his caput up to spot who was there.

ZDNET's buying advice

At archetypal glance, the LG S95TR's retail terms of $1,599 mightiness look a small steep, particularly erstwhile budget-friendly, wired options are available for nether $400. If you're wondering if the LG S95TR strategy is worthy the price, my reply is yes.

The wireless setup is easier than immoderate audio strategy I've encountered, and the S95TR performed amended than immoderate strategy I've heard before, point-blank. If you built a setup that matched these components, you'd walk much anyway, truthful the LG S95TR could prevention you money successful that respect. 

Also: Why I prime this JBL talker implicit competing models for outdoor listening

Remember that though the soundbar setup works with immoderate TV, it works champion with LG's flagship OLED TVs. Without 1 of those TVs, you'll miss retired connected immoderate features. 

This nonfiction was primitively published connected June 18, 2024, and was updated connected July 2, 2025.