Experience sound you can feel with the LG SJ9 soundbar

This week I managed to get my hands on the LG's SJ9 soundbar. Sounds wonderfully futuristic doesn't it? Well it kind of is. This slim-line speaker system is specifically designed to deliver three-dimensional spatial depth to the audio of whatever you're watching or listening to. 

The visuals

It has a sleek aesthetic and cosmetically it's just tailor-made to sit beneath a 55-inch TV – I tested mine with an LG OLED 4K TV. There's no ugly cables between components and having an LG TV made it a breeze to pair, I did so both on the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth option. I actually love the look of this thin soundbar. 

The sound

This 5.1.2 channel system boasts total audio power of 500W so you won't be short of volume. It's almost magical how the separate wireless subwoofer takes care of the bass frequencies and you can certainly feel it reverberate. I'd love to hear what films you like to test your sound system on. Here's my list of films I like to use for testing audio. 

• Bass: The intro to Top Gun as the F-14 Tomcats ignite and launch from the Navy Vessel. 
• Mid-Range: The intro to Blade, club scene. 
• Surround: Action scenes from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2. Action coming in from all angles of your room.

How does it recreate surround sound? 

As well as the five speakers in the bar, two upward firing drivers bounce Dolby Atmos encoded signals off the ceiling to place sounds above and even behind you. Pretty neat eh? Certainly makes for an immersive experience, which was never more evident than when watching the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 on my LG UP970 4K blu-ray player.  Throughout the film, Dolby Atmos bounced sound off the ceiling for totally cinematic and true-to-life sound that had me ducking for cover. And there’s even more good news: you actually get the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 DVD when purchasing the LG SJ9 soundbar online or in-store before 31st December, so you can experience the power of Dolby Atmos for yourselves.

Power? 

500w of music power was plenty enough for me. Imagining how dramatic those goals will sound with Dolby Atmos, I'm even planning ahead for sports experiences such as next year’s World Cup. (Not too soon to start picking my team is it?) The built-in Chromecast enables me to stream music whilst pairing up my smartphone through the Bluetooth, meaning I can switch over to my playlist and get the tunes on the go. Call me DJ Smart Phone. 

Final thoughts? 

I haven't really got a bad thing to say about this LG soundbar. It looks elegant, there's nothing superfluous on the settings, it's non-invasive and you don't have to ergonomically design your room to accommodate extra speakers.

Extra tips: 

• When setting up the LG Soundbar use the LG Music Flow app on your phone to connect it to the Wi-Fi and update it.
• If gaming, set to movie mode and put the volume to 12 or higher. This will deliver crisp effects such as gunshots in Halo. 
• The volume on the subwoofer ranges from -15 to +6. Your setting will come down to personal preference and the size of your room. But for a medium sized room keep it set to +3 or 4.

For more information on the LG SJ9 soundbar, make sure you visit: http://www.lg.com/uk/speakers-sound-systems/lg-SJ9.