LG SN10YG Soundbar Review

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 5.1.2 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.

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.

There are no satellites in this setup.

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 5.1.2 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 5.1.2 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.

This soundbar enters standby when inactive for 15 minutes. Thanks to its HDMI ARC connection, you can also use your TV remote to control some basic functions of the bar.