Our Verdict
The LG SL6Y is a decently well-rounded 3.1 soundbar. While it has a dedicated subwoofer, unfortunately, its bass response is sub-par and music or movies sound bright and piercing and are lacking thump and punch. It does a good job at handling dialogue, thanks to its dedicated center channel, though the center speaker won't get as loud as some other option available. This soundbar will downmix 5.1 surround sound content to its three front speakers, but this results in sound that appears as if it's coming from in front of you and you don't get as immersive of a listening experience as soundbar systems with dedicated satellite speakers.
- Good center channel performance due to 3.1 configuration.
- Premium and well-built design.
- Sub-par bass response even with dedicated subwoofer.
- Poor surround performance due to lack of satellite speakers.
- No Wi-Fi connectivity options.
The LG SL6Y is a decent soundbar for watching TV shows thanks to its good dialogue handling. Unfortunately, despite having a dedicated center channel, this speaker doesn't get as loud as some other options, but it still makes dialogue much clearer and easier to make out than soundbars without a dedicated center channel.
The LG SL6Y is a decent soundbar for listening to music. The sound profile from this soundbar is quite bright sounding, with a lack of thump or punch, despite having a dedicated subwoofer. While you can easily connect your phone to the soundbar via Bluetooth, unfortunately, it doesn't support any Wi-Fi connectivity options, so all your phone's audio will play through the soundbar, including phone calls and notification chimes, and your range will be limited to line-of-sight. There's also no 3.5mm aux port for easily sharing music via different devices, though it can play music files off of USB drives, which is a nice touch.
The LG SL6Y is mediocre for movies. This is a 3.1 soundbar setup that does a good job with stereo content, as well as making dialogue easy to hear via its dedicated center channel, but unfortunately, no satellites are included for surround sound content. Unlike some higher-end soundbars, it doesn't have upwards or side-firing speakers, so surround content will get downmixed and sound like it's coming from in front of you as opposed to around or above.
Changelog
- Updated Aug 04, 2021: Added more information about auto-off and app device casting features.
- Updated Jul 23, 2021: Updated results as the bar doesn't support 4k passthrough.
- Updated May 06, 2021: Updated results to include the new companion app. Also, changed Rear Level Adjustment to 'YES'.
- Updated Apr 01, 2021: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
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Popular Soundbar Comparisons
The LG SL6Y is an alright soundbar that offers a decent price-to-performance ratio thanks to its fairly affordable price point. This 3.1 setup is good for dialogue thanks to its dedicated center channel speaker, but unfortunately sounds rather bright and lacking in thump, despite having a dedicated wireless subwoofer. See our recommendations for the best soundbars, the best soundbars with subwoofer, and if you're looking for something a bit cheaper, check out our picks for the best soundbars under $300.
The Vizio SB36512-F6 is a better soundbar than the LG SL6Y. The Vizio is an Atmos-enabled 5.1.2 soundbar while the LG is only 3.1. The Vizio sounds much better, does a much better job with surround content thanks to its dedicated satellite speakers, and has Wi-Fi for better wireless music playback. On the other hand, the LG feels better-built and has a screen on the bar to better see your input selections.
The Sonos Playbar is a slightly better soundbar than the LG SL6Y. The Sonos feels slightly better built, has better center channel performance, and has a similar bass response even without a subwoofer. On the other hand, the LG has more connectivity options and a remote control.
The Samsung HW-R550 is a better soundbar for dialogue and TV shows than the LG SL6Y. The Samsung is better balanced for reproducing vocals, it can get loud enough for normal use, and it has a graphic EQ if you want to tweak its sound a little more. However, the LG has better center and surround performances even though all surround content is still downmixed into stereo. If you connect a device to it using its HDMI input, it can also easily pass a full 4k signal, although it won't pass HDR10 content through.
The Samsung HW-R650 is a better soundbar than the LG SL6Y. Both of them are 3.1 soundbar setups that are almost the exact same size and come with a dedicated wireless subwoofer, but the Samsung has better bass response, much better center channel performance, and a fully graphic EQ. On the other hand, the LG does a slightly better job at downmixing surround content and has a larger screen.
Test Results
