LG unveils upgraded 2022 soundbars with Dolby Atmos, DTS:X & IMAX Enhanced

LG's new soundbar line-up for 2022 is spearheaded by the 9.1.5ch S95QR with five up-firing units. The company also unveiled more affordable S90QY, S80QY and S75Q soundbars.

LG 2022 soundbars
Like last year's models, the 2022 soundbars support both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. New for 2022 is IMAX Enhanced certification on the three top models.

They are also LG's first soundbars with three (S90QY and S80QY) or five (S95QR) up-firing units including an up-firing center channel in the soundbar for improved height perspective.


 LG's 9.1.5 channel S95QR soundbar solution

LG unveiled the flagship S95QR at CES 2022 and has now unveiled additional models. Only S95QR comes with rear speakers in the box but S90QY and S80QY support optional rear speakers.

 Also read: Guide to Dolby Atmos at home

The company said that the soundbars support passthrough of Dolby Vision as well as HDMI 2.1's VRR and ALLM but not 4K120 signal passthrough from game consoles, meaning that owners of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X should still connect their game console to the TV and use the TV's eARC output, if available, to the soundbar for the best results.


 LG's S90QY (left), S80QY (center) and S75Q (right) soundbars

Other features include improved room calibration, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant support, HDMI eARC, and 'AI Sound Pro' integration with compatible LG TVs to let the TV do sound enhancement.

An external Wowcast (model name WTP3) dongle can be purchased and connected to the TV's HDMI eARC/ARC port (plus USB for power) to create a wireless connection to the LG S95QR, S90QY and S80QY soundbars. It can "transmit lossless and uncompressed up to 7.1.4 channel sound and Dolby Atmos".

LG's S95QR, S90QY, S80QY and S75Q will be available in May for €1800, €1200, €900, and €550, respectively.

LG will also launch more affordable 3.1ch S65Q, 2.1ch S60Q, and 2.0ch SPQ8 soundbars later this year.

LG 2022 soundbars – specifications
Functions
S95QR
S90QY
S80QY
S75Q
Sound
Dimensions
(cm)
1200x63x135
1200x63x135
1000x63x135
890x65x119
Total power watts
810W
570W
480W
380W
Channels
9.1.5
5.1.3
3.1.3
3.1.2
rear speaker
Included (4.0.2)
Optional
Optional
-
Dolby Atmos/DTS:X
X
X
X
X
IMAX Enhanced
X
X
X
-
AI room calibration
X
X
X
-
MERIDIAN / Hi-Res Audio
X
X
X
X
Spotify HiFi / Tidal HD (TBD)
X
X
X
-
Comfort
VRR, ALLM
X
X
X
-
HDMI (eARC)
4K pass-through with Dolby Vision
X
X
X
X
TV Sound Mode Share, Sound Bar Mode Control
X
X
X
X
Compatible with Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, AirPlay 2
X
X
X
-
Compatible with WOWCAST (WTP3)
X
X
X
-
Sustainability
Eco-friendly product
X (+ Carbon Trust)
X
X
X (+ Carbon Trust)
Energy Star
X
X
X
X
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