LG S70TY 3.1.1 soundbar for excellent clear voice (AV review)

21/10/2024
By Ray Shaw
In Reviews

The LG S70TY is an excellent entry-level 3.1 soundbar with an added up-firing centre channel to help clear voice.

The LG S70TY can decode Dolby Atmos and DTS:X metadata and downmix to the 3.1 speakers, adding a ‘smidgen’ of front-centric 3D spatial height and surround sound. The centre up-firing speaker, 3.1.1 in LG’s parlance, is not part of the Dolby Atmos decoding system; hence, it is a 3.1 system. It can also upscale stereo 2.0 into faux virtual 3.1.

As such, we will review this and rate it as a 3.1 soundbar with the added benefit of a centre up-firing channel.

Dolby Atmos – sounds good, but the LG S70TY is not really a DA soundbar, and that is OK

In our opinion, true Dolby Atmos needs at least 7.1.4 with dedicated rear speakers.

Left/Right front-firing 2.X.X
Centre front-firing 1.X.X
Left/Right up-firing X.X.2
Left/Right side-firing (Surround 2.X.X
Sub-woofer X.1.X

And dedicated rear speakers

Left/Right front-firing 2.X.X
Left/Right up-firing X.X.2

A total of 7.1.4 speakers to create an immersive 4-metre Dolby Atmos sound envelope over the viewing area. If you read LGs fine print, it says, ‘If there are no rear speakers, the rear field cannot be created’.

In some countries, you can get SPT8-S 2.0 rear speakers (approx. $400) to make this a 5.1 system, but this is not available here. In any case, these do not add up-firing for DA spatial height.

This is fine for all free-to-air SDR content, but get at least a 7.1.4 soundbar if you want decent surround sound and Dolby Atmos. We recommend the LG S95TR 9.1.5 Dolby Atmos 810W soundbar – a real spatial experience.

Australian Review: LG S70TY 3.1.1 soundbar as at 20/10/24

Website	Product Page Manual User Guide
RRP	$699 but on sale at $599
From	LG Online, Harvey Norman, Domayne, JB Hi-Fi, Good Guys, Bing Lee, Appliances Online and many quality CE retailers
Warranty	1-year ACL confers consumer rights against major defects for an extended period.
Made in	Indonesia
LG	LG (formerly Lucky-Goldstar from 1983 to 1995) is a South Korean multinational conglomerate that manufactures electronics, chemicals, and telecommunications products.
More	CyberShack LG News and reviews CyberShack AV news and reviews

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed. You can click on most images for an enlargement.

We are also tightening up on grading. From now on, Pass, for example, means meeting expectations for the price bracket. We consider a Pass mark to be 70+/100, with extra points added for class-leading and excellence. For 2023 reviews and earlier, deduct 10 points from them for reasonable parity.

First Impression – Great for what it really is

Once you forget all notions of immersive Dolby Atmos, the LG S70TY is an excellent 3.1 soundbar with LG’s additional centre-up-firing speaker, which really helps clear voice for the hearing-impaired. This speaker focuses on 1-4kHz, the critical frequency of human speech.

If you compare this to any other 3.1 without that up-firing speaker, you get less crisp speech, which can be out of ‘screen tracking’ with the person speaking. LG aces that.

So, consider this a soundbar that can immeasurably enhance SDR (Free-to-air) and Digital streaming sound.

It is 950 x 63 x 115mm x 3kg, and the sub-wooder is 100 x 377 x 285mm x 5.7kg. It comes with a remote control and wall mount brackets.

LG TV owners – your recent TV may support WOW Orchestra and WOW TV interface

Almost all LG TVs from 2022 can use their TV speakers to supplement the soundbar—it is called WOW Orchestra. Let’s say your TV has 2.0 speakers. This won’t make it a 5.1 soundbar, but it uses the TV speaker to add more depth and on-screen subject tracking.

WOW Interface lets you adjust the soundbar from the TV screen.

Again, we prefer the straight soundbar over WOW Orchestra on the TVs we have tested. Either way, it is an added benefit if you think it enhances your listening experience.

Speakers – Pass+

It is 400W RMS and has seven speakers. Crossover tweeters and centre-up-firing speakers are not part of Dolby Atmos numbering technology.

Left/Right forward-firing full range 2 x 30W 2.X
Left/Right forward-firing tweeters 2 x 30W
Centre forward-firing 30W 1.X
Centre up-firing 30W
Wireless Sub-Woofer 16cm with rear passive port 220W X.1

These are a great addition because most TVs are 2.0 and may have 10-20W RMS output.

Ports – Pass

The HDMI-in is suitable for Blu-ray and set-top boxes. Games consoles and PCs should be connected to the TV ports.

1 x HDMI 2.0 18Gbps eARC to TV
1 x HDMI-in 2.0 supports compressed Dolby Vision up to 4K @ 120Hz YCbCR 4:2:0 at 8-bits. VRR is limited to 60Hz.
Optical In
USB-A 2.0 5V/.5A/2.5W. Only for FAT16/FAT32/NTFS format, and power may not be suitable for external SSD. Plays MP3, WMA, AAC, FLAC and WAV.

Sound processing to 24-bit/96Hz – Pass

Mono or 2D surround to a maximum of eight channels (e.g., 7.1 downmixed to 3.1): Includes Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS Digital Surround, DTS-HD HRA, DTS-HD MA, and PCM
3D sound metadata downmixed to 3.1: Dolby Atmos, DTS:X

BT – Pass

BT 5.1 has SBC and AAC codecs 16-bit/441000Hz. It is Tx – transmit only.

Sound Presets – Pass+

AI SOUND PRO: Artificial intelligence selects the optimal sound settings to suit the content.
STANDARD: 2.1 optimised sound for FTA TV. If the sound stream is up to 7.1, it is downmixed to 3.1.
CINEMA: 2.0 to 7.1 is downmixed to add faux 3D sound by phasing across the left and right front-firing speakers
CLEAR VOICE PRO: Improves the clarity of voices using the centre front-firing speaker.
SPORTS: All sounds downmixed to 3.1, focusing on the commentator.
MUSIC: 3.1 upscale of 2.0 optimised for music.
GAME: 3.1 optimised for game.
BASS BLAST (BASS BLAST+): 3.1 bass sounds are enhanced, but mid and treble are recessed.
SURROUND: Faux 3D sound regardless of the channels in the initially recorded content.
NIGHTTIME: Reduces the general sound volume but raises the volume of soft and delicate sounds.

It does not have room calibration, but you can adjust each speaker’s volume individually.

LG Soundbar App – Pass

The LG Soundbar app allows for customisation of all settings. It also offers firmware updates and an online manual.

It has a separate privacy policy and terms of use, which are benign.

There is also a physical remote control that can control most settings. Our advice: Don’t even try to use the soundbar LEDs to adjust.

How does it sound?

Low bass starts around 40Hz with some room-shaking sound. There is some distortion at full volume (85dB) but not normal listening levels. It quickly rises to 60Hz and is flat (good) to 6kHz (excellent). From 6kHz to 20kHz, there is a slow decline.

This means some deep bass for room shaking, excellent mid-and-high bass for all the musically important bass, great mid for clear voice and excellent treble that defines the sound character and adds a sense of sound direction and a feeling of ‘air’, a reality as though the music were really there.

It has a Neutral sound signature: The audiophile standard is a flat (good) response that neither adds nor subtracts from the original music! The only issue here is garbage-in and garbage-out – the better the music quality, the better it sounds.

Read How to tell if you have good music – sound signature is the key.

How do DA and DTS:X sound? – Sorry no

With or without WOW Orchestra, DA, or DTS:X, spatial effects are minimal and very forward-centric. It cannot build a sound envelope around the viewing area.

But the sound stage is good – a little wider than the TV and it has excellent left/right separation and soundtracking. It adds no overhead or surround spatial effects.

This is an accurate representation of the sound stage.

How does 2.0 music sound? – Pass+

The 3.1 upscale (Music mode) adds better bass and a slightly wider sound stage. It is better than Standard Mode 2.0. It does not have the Meridian tuning/finesse of earlier model soundbars.

Energy use – Pass

It is hard to give accurate figures as it depends on content, codec, volume, and presets. The soundbar uses 10-25W, and the sub-woofer uses a similar amount. It has a sleep mode at <.5W.

CyberShack’s View – The LG S70TY 3.1.1 soundbar for excellent clear voice and will immeasurably improve TV sound

With the caveat that it cannot deliver an immersive Dolby Atmos experience, it is a great addition to any TV—not just LG. And we are not having a go at LG – every soundbar maker with a Dolby Atmos decoder chip uses and abuses the term.

LG’s sound pedigree and quality are way better than most comparable soundbars, and the centre-up-firing speaker sets it apart.

The problem is that at $699/599, it paddles in a hugely crowded market, and you will get decent 3.1 sound (no centre-up-firing) from:

$249 JBL NDB550
$299 Hisense HS3100
$299 TCL P733W
$399 LG S60T
$499 Hisense AX5120 5.1.2 with dedicated rear speakers

If you want real Dolby Atmos

$1995 Samsung Q990D 11.1.4
$1995 JBL Bar1300 11.1.4
$1699 LG S95TR 9.1.5 (and highly recommended)
$1499 JBL Bar1000 7.1.4
$1599 Samsung Q930D 9.1.4
$899 TCL X937U 7.1.4

LG S70TY Ratings

Features: 75 – it is a 3.1 soundbar with an additional centre up-firing speaker
Value: 70 – Depends on how much you value the LG brand and that extra speaker against 3.1 soundbars at half the price
Performance: 80 – It lives up to LG sound pedigree
Ease of Use: 75 – plug and play, remote control and app, but loses points for the HDMI 2.0 connections.
Design: 75 – Standard black soundbar and sub-woofer