LG S80TR Soundbar: Immersive 5.1.3 Channel Home Theater with Dolby Atmos

Imagine sitting in a darkened movie theater in the 1930s. The sound, while groundbreaking for its time, is coming from a single speaker behind the screen – a monophonic experience. This was the dawn of sound in cinema, a far cry from the enveloping audio we enjoy today. Fast forward a few decades, and stereo sound emerges, splitting the audio into left and right channels, creating a sense of width and directionality. The real revolution, however, came with the advent of surround sound in the 1970s and 80s. Suddenly, sounds could come from behind you, beside you, immersing you in the action like never before. This was typically achieved with a 5.1 channel setup – five speakers (front left, center, front right, rear left, rear right) and a subwoofer for low-frequency effects. But even this wasn’t the end of the story. The quest for truly immersive audio continued, leading us to the era of spatial audio.

What is Spatial Audio, Really?

Think of traditional surround sound like a circle of sound surrounding you on a single plane. Spatial audio takes this concept and adds a crucial dimension: height. It’s like moving from a flat circle to a sphere of sound. Instead of just hearing sounds from the sides and back, you can now hear them from above. Imagine a helicopter flying overhead in a movie scene. With traditional surround sound, you’d hear it move from left to right (or vice versa). With spatial audio, you hear it actually flying above you.

This incredible effect is achieved through technologies like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, which we’ll explore in more detail shortly. The key is that these technologies treat sounds as individual “objects” that can be placed anywhere within this three-dimensional soundscape, rather than being confined to specific channels.

Meet the LG S80TR: A 5.1.3 Channel Sound System

The LG S80TR soundbar is a prime example of how spatial audio is transforming the home theater experience. It’s a 5.1.3 channel system, which might sound like a confusing set of numbers, but it’s actually quite straightforward. Let’s break it down:

• The “5”: This refers to the standard surround sound channels: front left, center, front right, rear left, and rear right. These speakers create the horizontal soundstage, placing sounds around you.
• The “1”: This is the subwoofer, dedicated to reproducing low-frequency sounds – the deep rumbles of explosions, the throbbing bass of a soundtrack. It adds power and impact to the audio.
• The “3”: This is where the spatial audio magic happens. The LG S80TR has three upward-firing speakers. These speakers project sound towards your ceiling, which then reflects back down to your listening position, creating the illusion of height.

This combination of traditional surround sound and height channels creates a truly immersive, three-dimensional audio experience.

Decoding the Magic: Dolby Atmos and DTS:X

Dolby Atmos and DTS:X are the two leading spatial audio formats, and the LG S80TR supports both. They’re not just about adding more speakers; they represent a fundamental shift in how sound is encoded and reproduced. Instead of assigning sounds to specific channels (like left, right, rear), Atmos and DTS:X treat sounds as individual “objects.”

Think of it like this: In a traditional surround sound mix, a bird chirping might be assigned to the “rear left” channel. In an Atmos or DTS:X mix, the bird’s chirp is an independent object, and the sound engineer can place that object anywhere in the 3D space – high up in a tree, flitting from one side of the room to the other, even moving overhead. The soundbar’s processor then uses this object-based information, along with the speaker configuration, to recreate that sound with remarkable precision. This creates a much more realistic and dynamic soundscape. The difference isn’t just subtle; it’s a significant leap forward in audio immersion.

The Height of Realism: Up-Firing Speakers

The LG S80TR’s three upward-firing speakers are crucial for delivering the height dimension of spatial audio. One of these is a dedicated center up-firing channel, a unique feature that significantly enhances dialogue clarity.

In many soundbar setups, the center channel (responsible for most of the dialogue) is located below the TV. This can sometimes make it sound like the voices are coming from beneath the actors on screen. The S80TR’s up-firing center channel addresses this issue. By projecting sound upwards, it uses the reflective properties of your ceiling to create the illusion that the dialogue is originating from the screen itself. This makes conversations sound much more natural and lifelike, especially in scenes with a lot of background noise. The physics behind this is relatively simple: sound waves travel in straight lines, and when they encounter a surface (like your ceiling), they bounce off at an angle equal to the angle of incidence. The S80TR’s engineers have carefully calculated the angle of the up-firing speakers to ensure that the reflected sound reaches the listener’s ears at the correct angle, creating the desired height effect.

Wireless Freedom: The Rear Speakers

Clutter is the enemy of a clean and enjoyable home theater setup. The LG S80TR tackles this problem with wireless rear speakers. This eliminates the need to run unsightly cables across your living room, giving you much greater flexibility in speaker placement.

But the benefits go beyond just aesthetics. Wireless connectivity allows you to position the rear speakers in the optimal location for your room’s layout, without being constrained by cable length. This is crucial for creating a truly immersive surround sound experience. The rear speakers provide the crucial sounds that come from behind you, adding to the sense of envelopment and realism. They are synchronized wirelessly with the main soundbar, ensuring seamless audio playback without any noticeable delay or dropouts.

WOW Factor: Seamless Integration with LG TVs

If you own an LG TV, particularly one of the newer OLED evo models (B4, C4, G4 series), the S80TR offers a suite of features collectively known as “WOW” – WOW Orchestra, WOW Interface, and WOWCAST – designed to create a perfectly synchronized audio-visual experience.

• WOW Orchestra: This is perhaps the most impressive of the WOW features. Instead of simply replacing your TV’s built-in speakers, WOW Orchestra combines the sound output of the LG S80TR soundbar with the audio from your compatible LG TV’s speakers. This isn’t just about making the sound louder; it’s about creating a more expansive and detailed soundstage. Your TV’s speakers, often smaller and less powerful, are used to augment the soundbar’s output, filling in any gaps and adding extra dimensionality. The key here is synchronization. The soundbar and TV speakers work together in perfect harmony, thanks to sophisticated digital signal processing (DSP) that ensures precise timing and phase alignment. This prevents any echo or muddiness that could result from two separate sound sources playing the same audio.

• WOW Interface: This feature simplifies control. You can use your LG TV’s remote to control both the TV and the soundbar, eliminating the need to juggle multiple remotes. This includes adjusting the volume, changing sound modes, and even powering the soundbar on and off. It’s all about creating a seamless and intuitive user experience.

• WOWCAST Built-in: This feature allows for wireless transmission of high-resolution audio, including Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, from your compatible LG TV to the S80TR soundbar. No HDMI cable is required for the audio connection. This not only reduces cable clutter but also ensures that you’re getting the full benefit of spatial audio without any compression or loss of quality. WOWCAST uses a dedicated wireless protocol optimized for high-bandwidth audio transmission, minimizing latency and ensuring a stable connection.

AI to the Rescue: Room Calibration

Every room is different. The size, shape, and furnishings of your room all have a significant impact on how sound waves travel and how you perceive the audio. A soundbar that sounds great in one room might sound completely different in another. This is where AI Room Calibration comes in.

The LG S80TR uses a built-in microphone and sophisticated artificial intelligence algorithms to analyze the acoustics of your room. During the calibration process, the soundbar emits a series of test tones. The microphone picks up these tones, measuring how they are reflected and absorbed by the walls, furniture, and other objects in the room. The AI then uses this information to create a customized sound profile that is optimized for your specific listening environment.

This process adjusts various parameters, such as the frequency response of each speaker channel, the delay between the front and rear speakers, and the overall balance of the sound. The goal is to compensate for any acoustic imperfections in your room, ensuring that you hear the sound as it was intended by the content creators. For example, if your room has a lot of hard surfaces that cause excessive reflections, the AI might reduce the output of certain frequencies to prevent the sound from becoming too bright or harsh. Or, if your room is very large, the AI might increase the volume of the rear speakers to ensure that you still get a strong surround sound effect.

Sound That Moves You: Immersive 3D Spatial Sound Mode

While Dolby Atmos and DTS:X are the primary spatial audio formats, the LG S80TR also includes a proprietary processing mode called “Immersive 3D Spatial Sound.” This mode, available within the CINEMA/AI Sound Pro settings, is designed to further enhance the sense of immersion, even with content that isn’t specifically encoded in Atmos or DTS:X.

It’s important to understand that this is a processing mode, not a separate technology. It uses sophisticated algorithms to analyze the incoming audio signal and create a virtualized 3D soundscape. While it won’t be as precise or detailed as true object-based audio, it can still provide a noticeable improvement in immersion compared to standard stereo or surround sound. This feature adds another layer of depth and envelopment.

Gaming Advantage: VRR and ALLM

For gamers, the LG S80TR offers two key features that can significantly enhance the gaming experience: Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM). These features are part of the HDMI 2.1 specification and are designed to ensure smooth, lag-free gameplay.

• VRR (Variable Refresh Rate): This technology allows your TV and the soundbar to synchronize their refresh rates with the frame rate output of your game console or PC. This eliminates screen tearing, a visual artifact that occurs when the frame rate of the game doesn’t match the refresh rate of the display. Tearing can be distracting and can even give you a competitive disadvantage in fast-paced games.

• ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode): This feature automatically switches your TV and soundbar to a low-latency mode when you start playing a game. This minimizes the delay between your actions in the game and the corresponding audio and video output. Low latency is crucial for responsive gameplay, especially in competitive online games where every millisecond counts.

With VRR and ALLM, you can enjoy a smoother, more responsive, and more immersive gaming experience, with audio and video that are perfectly synchronized.

Beyond the Specs: The Listening Experience

All the technical specifications in the world don’t matter if the soundbar doesn’t actually sound good. Fortunately, the LG S80TR delivers on its promise of immersive, high-quality audio.

When watching movies with Dolby Atmos or DTS:X content, the S80TR creates a truly enveloping soundscape. Sounds seem to come from all around you, including above, placing you right in the middle of the action. The up-firing center channel ensures that dialogue remains clear and crisp, even during chaotic scenes. The subwoofer provides powerful, deep bass that adds impact to explosions and other low-frequency effects.

For music listening, the S80TR offers a surprisingly wide and detailed soundstage. Instruments are well-separated, and vocals sound natural and present. While it won’t replace a dedicated hi-fi system, it’s more than capable of providing an enjoyable music listening experience.

And for gaming, the combination of spatial audio, VRR, and ALLM creates a truly immersive and responsive environment. You’ll hear enemies approaching from behind, explosions rumbling all around you, and the subtle details of the game world coming to life.

Some users have noted that the bass response may require some adjustment out of the box. This is not uncommon with soundbars, and the LG ThinQ app provides granular control over the soundbar’s settings, allowing you to fine-tune the bass, treble, and other parameters to your liking. Experimenting with the placement of the subwoofer can also make a significant difference.

Fine-Tuning Your Audio: Tips and Tricks

To get the most out of your LG S80TR, here are a few tips and tricks:

• Placement: Place the soundbar directly below your TV, centered horizontally. If possible, avoid placing it inside a cabinet, as this can muffle the sound. For the subwoofer, experiment with different locations in your room. Corner placement can often enhance bass response, but it can also make the bass sound boomy. Try placing it along a wall, slightly away from the corner, for a more balanced sound. The wireless rear speakers should be placed behind your listening position, ideally at ear level and angled slightly inwards.
• Calibration: Run the AI Room Calibration process after you’ve positioned the soundbar and speakers. This will optimize the sound for your specific room acoustics.
• Settings: Use the LG ThinQ app to adjust the soundbar’s settings. Experiment with different sound modes (Cinema, Music, Game, AI Sound Pro) to find the best setting for your content. You can also adjust the levels of the individual speaker channels, including the center, rear, and subwoofer.
• Firmware: Make sure your soundbar’s firmware is up to date. LG periodically releases firmware updates that can improve performance and add new features. You can update the firmware through the LG ThinQ app.
• Source Material: The quality of the audio source makes a huge difference. For the best experience, use high-quality sources like Blu-ray discs or streaming services that offer Dolby Atmos or DTS:X content.

The Future of Sound: Where Do We Go From Here?

The LG S80TR represents a significant step forward in home theater audio, bringing the immersive experience of spatial audio to a wider audience. But what does the future hold?

We can expect to see further advancements in spatial audio processing, with even more precise and realistic sound placement. Wireless audio technology will continue to improve, offering even greater bandwidth and lower latency. AI will play an increasingly important role in optimizing sound quality, with more sophisticated room calibration and personalized audio profiles. And we may even see the integration of soundbars with other emerging technologies, such as augmented and virtual reality.

The journey from monophonic sound to spatial audio has been a remarkable one, and the LG S80TR is a testament to how far we’ve come. As technology continues to evolve, we can only imagine the even more immersive and realistic audio experiences that await us in the future.