The LG SK10Y is the Korean tech company’s 2018 flagship soundbar and its meant to be paired with 65-inch and bigger panels so it’s quite long and will look a bit ridiculous if you pair it with a 42-inch TV. You can also wall mount this soundbar, though thankfully for me the TV bench in my living room was just long enough to accommodate this rather big audio powerhouse.
As LG delivered an SK85 Super UHD TV at the same time (which will be reviewed in the October issue of NXT) I used it as my audio source, connecting it to the TV with the included optical audio cable, and for HDMI AV sources you can use a 4K pass through HDMI port. An included wireless woofer was also quite easy to pair with the soundbar, and while LG does also offer optional two wireless rear speakers for actual 7.1.2 surround sound, we didn’t include them in this test.
Now the SK10Y has its own WiFi and LAN connectivity, which you can use to stream audio and voice control the soundbar with Chromecast, via a Google Home for example. It also contains a host of features to make enhance your viewing experience with surround sound audio, thanks to it’s 5.1.2 channel system (that’s five speakers, a woofer and two upward firing ‘bounce’ speakers for virtual surround sound) and Dolby Atmos. Oh and thanks to LG’s partnership with premium audiohouse Meridian Audio, the SK10Y has Meridian’s Bass and Space technology to ensure that the soundstage is wide and immersive for all listeners. There’s also Height Elevation technology for better speech and music.
To test out the sonic capabilities of the SK10Y we choose the first episode of the new Matt Groening animated show Disenchantment on Netflix Premium as it’s in Ultra HD, and therefore has Dolby Atmos. With this soundbar you can actually specifically adjust the volume of the overhead speakers to match the height of your ceiling, and what this does is ‘bounce’ sound off your ceiling down to you so that you can hear ‘overhead’ sound that matches what’s happening on the screen – in our case a castle’s drawbridge slamming shut. There’s also a peculiar battle scene involving explosions and some squishing that sounded awesome, while vocals were clear and distinct. In particular, Bean, the irresponsible Princess of Dreamland, had a noticeably Bartish inflection to her voice.
Verdict
Rating: 4/5
S$1,999
For a consumer soundbar, the SK10Y does produce the goods with excellent virtual surround sound, clear voices, and decent bass from its 550w system.
