Ahead of CES 2020, LG has announced its soundbar line-up for 2020. The new flagship SN11RG is a 7.1.4-channel system with wireless rear speakers, Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and room calibration.

LG 2020 soundbar line-up
LG is expanding its partnership with Meridian Audio, with more models featuring the audio company's fine-tuning. LG also said that the majority of the 2020 line-up supports both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X.

The new line-up is spearheaded by a flagship SN11RG model. It is a 7.1.4-channel system with forward- and up-firing units in the soundbar plus two wireless rear speakers. That is an upgrade over 2019's SL10YG, which was a 5.1.2-channel soundbar. LG added that the new soundbars are also compatible with an optional wireless rear speaker kit (SPK8).



In addition, there are new SN10YG, SN9YG, and SN8YG soundbar with support for both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, HDMI eARC, 4K HDR passthrough, and Google Assistant. More details along with specifications will be revealed at CES 2020 in early January. Another new feature for 2020 is 'AI Room Calibration'.

- "New for LG premium soundbars, AI Room Calibration guarantees more optimized sound by automatically tailoring output to the specific characteristics of the room. These advanced models are self-calibrating, able to recognize and analyze tones to accurately assess the dimensions of a given space and adjusting accordingly. When playing content mastered with Dolby Atmos or DTS:X, this technology allows users to enjoy breathtakingly realistic surround sound with audio that appears to originate from multiple directions. What’s more, LG’s premium soundbars feature an advanced processing algorithm that can upscale conventional file formats to near-studio quality," the company explained.



These are LG's fourth generation Dolby Atmos-compatible soundbars. The company added support for DTS:X more recently. Competing brands such as Samsung and Sony are also offering soundbars that support object-based audio formats.

While Atmos and DTS:X are often associated with room-filling sound, the new audio formats can also bring improvements to less capable setups because each sound is stored as an 'object' rather than mixed to pre-defined channels. This also brings more flexibility to TV audio systems. For the best Dolby Atmos experience you need a full set of speaker units, which is why multiple brands have started to include wireless rear speakers with their flagship soundbars.

LG's line-up usually covers more affordable soundbars, too.

- "Our goal has always been to bring better sound to more people and by offering more great products that leverage our successful partnership with Meridian, our latest soundbars help achieve this," said Park Hyung-woo, head of LG HE's audio and video business. "High-performance, convenient and very versatile, LG’s newest models will make the premium audio experience accessible to more customers worldwide."

The company said that the new soundbars have been designed to "integrate perfectly with LG’s stunning TVs". LG's 2020 TV line-up will be unveiled at CES 2020 in January.