- Table of Contents
- Intro
- Our Verdict
- Test Results
- Differences
- Compared To Others
- Deals
- Discussions
The LG SN10YG is a 5.1.2 channel setup with Google Assistant built-in. It has a bass-heavy but otherwise neutral sound profile suitable for a variety of content. Thanks to its full array of physical inputs and wireless connectivity options, it's easy to use this bar as a hub between a few devices. However, its surround and height performances are just alright. There's also some distortion present at max volume. That said, this setup still offers versatile overall performance, and has several sound enhancement features such as room correction and EQ presets available.
Our Verdict
The LG SN10YG is good for mixed use. It has a bass-heavy sound profile that can bring out sound effects in action movies or the thumpy bassline in hip-hop tracks. It offers several sound enhancement features including EQ presets, dialogue enhancement, and room correction so that you can tweak its sound to your liking. It can also get loud with few thumping and compression artifacts. It supports Atmos, although both its height and surround performances are just alright overall.
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Supports Atmos and DTS content.
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EQ presets available.
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Has room correction feature.
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Distortion present at max volume.
The LG SN10YG is decent for dialogue and TV shows. Although it has a bass-heavy sound profile, its mid and treble ranges are both quite neutral. It also has a dedicated center channel that can help reproduce clear and accurate dialogue. If you want more control over your audio experience, there's a dialogue enhancement feature as well as an auto-volume/night mode available. However, the dialogue enhancement feature only works with DTS-enabled content. You can also stream to the bar via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Chromecast built-in.
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Has dialogue enhancement and auto-volume feature.
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Distortion present at max volume.
The LG SN10YG is very good for music. This soundbar has a thumpy and boomy sound profile that's well-suited for genres like EDM and hip-hop. If you prefer a bit less bass, there's a few EQ presets available to help tweak your audio to your liking. This bar can get loud, but there are minimal thumping and compression artifacts at max volume.
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EQ presets available.
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Has room correction feature.
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Distortion present at max volume.
The LG SN10YG is good for movies. It has a bass-heavy sound profile that can help bring out the intensity of sound effects in action flicks, and it supports Atmos content, although its surround experience falls a bit short since it doesn't have satellites. Still, it offers quite a few sound enhancement features if you like to customize your audio experience. It can also get loud without too much compression.
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Supports Atmos and DTS content.
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EQ presets available.
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Has room correction feature.
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Distortion present at max volume.
- 7.9 Mixed Usage
- 8.1 Dialogue/TV Shows
- 8.1 Music
- 7.7 Movies
- Updated Mar 26, 2021: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
Test Results
The LG SN10YG is a 5.1.2 setup from LG's 2020 lineup, replacing the LG SL10YG, which is a model from 2019. Just like most of the soundbars from this manufacturer's 2020 lineup, it has Meridian Technology built-in as well as Google Assistant. It's also very similar to the 2020 LG SN9YG in both looks and performance, but it offers two Full HDMI In ports within its larger design. Its main competitors are the Sonos Arc with Sub + One SL Speakers, and the Samsung HW-Q80R.
The LG SN10YG Soundbar has a sleek black plastic look. It has two round metal grilles on the top of the bar to protect its up-firing speakers. There's also a metal grille that runs along the front and sides of the speakers.
The subwoofer is made of hard plastic. Fabric covers three of its sides, but it can rip or collect dust. Its port is found on its back side.
The LG SN10YG 5.1.2 doesn't have satellites. If you want a soundbar with satellites, check out the Samsung HW-Q850A.
The LG SN10YG is very long and most likely won't fit in between the legs of a 55" TV. However, it's quite low in height, so it shouldn't block your view of the TV unless the screen sits flush to the table.
The subwoofer is about the size of an average desktop PC. It connects to the bar wirelessly, so you can place it anywhere you like, as long as it's connected to a power source.
There are no satellites in this setup.
The LG SN10YG has one opening on the left-hand side for its inputs. The power cable connects towards the middle-right of the bar. There are also universal holes located on its underside if you want to wall-mount this soundbar.
The back of the subwoofer contains its port. The power cable connects above the port while the pairing button is located a bit further up, towards the top center.
The LG SN10YG has a great build quality. It's made of good quality plastic. It has two round metal grilles to protect its up-firing speakers and a long metal grille to protect the front face and sides of the bar. The subwoofer is made of plastic, but it has a fabric wrap to protect its speakers which can get dirty or rip.
- Manual
- Optical cable
- Remote and batteries (2x AAA)
- Power cable for subwoofer
- Wall-mounting plates with two screws
The LG SN10YG has a good stereo frequency response. Its bass is well-extended, so you can feel the thump and boom of sound effects in your favorite action flicks. The rest of the response is very neutral sounding, which makes this bar well-suited for a variety of audio content. However, some may find the bass a little too boomy. If you like to tweak its sound profile, there are several EQ presets available.
This soundbar has a good stereo soundstage. The soundstage is about the size of the bar itself, which is somewhat wide. It has really good focus, though, so objects are perceived as coming from accurate pinpoint locations, rather than general areas.
The LG SN10YG has good stereo dynamics. It can get decently loud and it performs well at max volume, as there aren't many pumping or compression artifacts present.
The LG SN10YG has an alright THD performance. There's a bit of distortion, particularly in the bass-range at a normal listening volume. However, when pushed to its max volume, there's a big jump in THD, particularly in the bass range. This may not be so audible with real-life content, though.
The LG SN10YG has an excellent center channel performance. Since it has a dedicated center speaker, it can reproduce clearer and more accurate dialogue in movies. It also has a fairly neutral sound profile, which further helps out vocal-centric content.
The LG SN10YG has a mediocre surround performance. The bar uses side-firing speakers to bounce sound off of your walls to give you the impression of a wide surround sound. However, this setup doesn't provide the most accurate and clear representation of surround objects in the soundstage, and it won't feel as real as discrete surround found with home theater speakers.
The LG SN10YG has a fair height performance. It uses its up-firing speakers to bounce sound off of your ceiling and walls to help give you the impression of height. However, the localization of objects is diffused, and it doesn't sound as real as discrete localization provided by down-firing speakers.
The LG SN10YG has fantastic connectivity features. It has a room correction feature, which helps to improve its sound based on your room's acoustics. There are a few EQ presets available if you prefer to customize its sound: 'AI Sound Pro', 'Bass Blast', 'Standard', 'Movie', and 'Music'. There's also a dialogue enhancement feature called 'Dialogue Control', which works with DTS-enabled content to help reproduce clear voices with less background noise.
This soundbar has a wide selection of physical inputs, and you can even use it as a hub between your TV and your devices. However, it doesn't have an AUX input, so you can't directly connect older devices to the bar. On the upside, it does have a USB port, which is handy if you have music stored on a thumb drive or external drive.
The LG SN10YG has outstanding audio format support via its ARC port. It supports Dolby Atmos as well as eARC, which allows you to play advanced object-based surround signals as well as high-quality lossless formats.
This soundbar has fantastic audio format support via its Full HDMI In port. It can play all common surround and object-based formats, which are found in content from streaming services as well as Blu-ray discs, for an immersive experience.
The LG SN10YG supports Dolby Digital and DTS formats via Optical In, which are usually found on streaming platforms or Blu-ray discs.
The LG SN10YG has outstanding wireless playback options. You can easily stream your favorite albums via Wi-Fi or Chromecast built-in. If you prefer to use Bluetooth, it's available only after updating it through Google Home via Wi-Fi.
When used as a hub between your PC and TV, the LG SN10YG can pass through the highest quality signals, resulting in clear and crisp text on your TV.
The subwoofer connects wirelessly to the bar, so it only has a power cable.
There are no satellites in the LG SN10YG's setup.
The interface is located behind the metal grille towards the right-hand side of the bar. It displays your current input as well as your volume level.
There are touch-sensitive buttons located on the top of the bar. You can turn the bar on/off, select the input, adjust the volume level, play/pause, mic mute, and control Google Assistant.
The LG SN10YG's remote is fairly small and straightforward. You can control all of the bar's functions using the remote. However, you can't use it as a universal remote.
The LG Wi-Fi Speaker app allows you to control most of the same features or settings found on the remote. However, you can only adjust bass and treble from the remote. That said, you can cast audio files using the app.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The LG SN10YG comes in one color variant: Black. You can see the label for the model we tested here. If you come across any other variants of this soundbar, let us know in the discussions so we can update our review.
Compared To Other Soundbars
The LG SN10YG is a 5.1.2 setup from 2020. It offers a thumpy, boomy sound profile that's well-suited for movies or music as well as a variety of sound enhancement features if you prefer to tweak your audio. Like many soundbars in LG's 2020 lineup, it has Google Assistant built-in. However, unlike the LG SN9YG, which is a similarly performing 5.1.2 setup from 2020, it has two Full HDMI In ports. Check out our recommendations for the best soundbars 5.1, the best soundbars for music, and the best soundbars for movies.
The LG SN9YG and the LG SN10YG are both 5.1.2 setups with similar performances but are priced very differently. While both are similarly well-built and have the same sound enhancement features, the SN9YG is a bit shorter in length. It also performs better for vocal-centric content like TV shows. However, the SN10YG has the edge for music and movies. Its height performance is significantly better, and it offers two Full HDMI In ports.
The LG SN10YG is a better soundbar than the standalone Sonos Arc. The LG comes with a wireless subwoofer, which helps it reproduce a thumpy, boomy bass. It offers more sound enhancement features such as EQ presets, and it has a larger variety of physical inputs. However, the Sonos offers a better height and surround performance.
The LG SP9YA is a slightly better soundbar than the LG SN10YG. The SP9YA offers a more neutral sound profile out-of-the-box, which some users may prefer over the SN10YG's more bass-heavy sound. Also, the SP9YA supports Apple AirPlay connectivity. That said, the SN10YG offers better surround and Atmos performances.
The LG SN10YG is overall a better 5.1.2 setup than the LG SL10YG. While both soundbars are similarly well-built, the SN10YG offers a significantly better center, surround, and height performance. It also has a room correction feature, and it supports eARC. However, the SL10YG can get louder with less pumping and compression artifacts.
The JBL Bar 9.1 is a better soundbar for most uses than the LG SN10YG. The JBL has a better-balanced sound profile suitable for a variety of audio content. It uses unique detachable satellite speakers, and it has a significantly better surround performance. You can even wirelessly stream audio to it using Apple AirPlay. However, the LG offers more sound enhancement features as well as two Full HDMI In ports.
The Samsung HW-Q80R is a better 5.1.2 setup overall than the LG SN10YG. The Samsung has a better-balanced sound profile, and it has a graphic EQ so that you can really tweak its sound. It can get much louder, which is well-suited for house parties or crowded rooms, and it offers a better center and height performance too. However, the LG has a room correction as well as an auto-volume feature. It also has a better surround performance, and you can wirelessly stream your favorite audio to the bar using Chromecast built-in too.
Depending on your listening habits, you may prefer either the LG SN10YG or the Samsung HW-Q850A. The Samsung comes with discrete satellite speakers that offer a better surrounds performance. It also has a graphic EQ for sound customization, and it gets louder, though with more compression at max volume. However, some listeners may prefer the LG's bass-heavy sound profile out-of-the-box and its room correction feature.
The Sonos Arc with Sub + One SL Speakers and the LG SN10YG are both 5.1.2 setups with different strengths. The Sonos is better-built, and it comes with two satellites to help give your audio a more immersive feel. It can get loud enough for a house party or crowded room, and its surround performance is significantly better. However, the LG has a few EQ presets if you like to tweak its sound profile, and it offers more connectivity options, both physical and wireless.