LG's line of OLED TVs continues to lead the market when it comes to showcasing the benefits of OLED panel technology. With truly incredible images, aided by deep blacks, vivid colors and an infinite contrast ratio, it's no wonder more and more people are turning to OLED. The new release of the current year's LG C1 OLED (successor to last year's popular LG CX) and the G1 Gallery OLED series (which manages to boost brightness, thanks to a new evo OLED panel structure) won't bolster LG's reputation for Leading the way in OLED TVs too, while game overlays, low input lag, and extensive HDMI 5 support make it a great option for those planning to plug in new family consoles like the PSXNUMX. However, there is one area where LG's line of OLED TVs seems to be lagging behind the competition: audio.
Sound the alarms
The primary consideration for any TV purchase must be its image. How clean is the 4K resolution, the brightness of the reflections, the smoothness of the movement, the impact of HDR? A TV that excels in everything except image quality, after all, is not a TV that anyone would recommend. But we've reached a point where many of the major TV manufacturers offer unusual picture quality in their designs and have to take other considerations into account to truly stand out from the crowd. This is something we thought about in the first month of the year, and TV manufacturers seem to focus their 5 lineups on gaming features (following the release of the PSXNUMX and Xbox Series X), such as sound. and surroundings, rather than improving image quality. A Panasonic representative even said: “We have reached a point where there is truly no more we can do. . It's terrific, and there's only going to be incremental improvements at this point; So we focus on the quirk set, we check with the players, and I think you'll be surprised how it's been improved.
Side-firing sound on Panasonic JZ2000 OLED TV (Image credit: Panasonic) Panasonic's OLED line has long established itself in the TV audio world, offering very similar picture quality on models medium and high cost, but changing the general volume and the difficulty of the speaker system. Last year's Panasonic HZ2000 offered 1000W of Dolby Atmos audio and up-firing speakers, while the HZ2000 settled for less than 125W. The current year's flagship model, the JZ140, takes it further with speakers. sideways for more active sound and in all directions, even if you cut the total audio output dropped to 60W (although let's face it, no one was going to go up to XNUMXW anyway). Samsung had a similar achievement a few years back after a XNUMX QLED TV lineup that skimped on its audio offering. The company went on to create its OTS (Object Tracking Sound) audio system, and its flagship QLED and Neo QLED sets now come with OTS+ (a ten-speaker speaker system with side-firing audio) which is ramping up dramatically. verticality of the system's sound, while its mid-range models are satisfied with a more basic OTS system. Samsung's budget QLEDs, like the QXNUMXA, offer a software solution called OTS Lite. These systems aren't perfect—they don't offer Dolby Atmos, for one thing, probably due to the unique design of Samsung's OTS monitor—but they do show an evolution in the Samsung TV lineup. While Sony's Acoustic Surface Audio technology splits a bit, literally shaking the panel on its displays to produce (often lazy and garbled) sound, it effectively shows a TV maker looking to try new technology and offering something different. to the rest of the market. . . Suffice to say, though, that LG isn't exactly taking the same path.
Resting on his laurels
LG Z1 8K OLED TV (1) (Image credit: LG) LG's 1 line of TVs shows little has changed in terms of built-in audio capability, with the same 1W Dolby Atmos speakers in the LG B1 OLED, LG C1 OLED, and LG G1 OLED, while the entry-level LG A9 has 1W instead. Keeping in mind the wildly variable costs of these models, last year's B-Series model launched at $XNUMX / $XNUMX / AU $XNUMX for a size of XNUMX inches, while the new G-Series costs €XNUMX / €XNUMX (around AU$XNUMX) for the same size, surprisingly with no change in audio output. Our reviews for the LG CXNUMX and LG GXNUMX so far have also proven one of the main complaints of LG's XNUMX models, namely the lack of bass clarity, which was also an issue with the soundbar. high end. hasn't altered either. That's not to say LG hasn't worked hard on other things, like its upgraded aXNUMX Gen XNUMX AI processor, new Game Optimizer settings, and creating its entry-level AXNUMX OLED sound. On the software side, progress is also being made, with LG's AI Sound Pro processing technique "identifying voices, effects, and frequencies to optimize sound by genre for a more immersive experience." But the latent hardware, output, and design have yet to see the kind of evolution seen in other TV brands. We can't shake the feeling that built-in sound has become a second consideration for LG, which means that those looking for a full sensory experience or an all-in-one home theater display won't find it with the company for he. instant. . There are ways around this, of course. An elevator soundbar or Dolby Atmos speaker would help things along, and the extensive eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel) support on the best LG TVs means lossless audio pass-through is indeed possible. If you're happy with an existing sound system, you'll be in a good position to upgrade your TV to something from the LG OLED line. Today's televisions are slowly beginning to offer more complete home theater systems on their own, or at least in a premium-line model from a television manufacturer; on this front, LG could do more. Today's best deals on LG XNUMX OLED TVs