Review: LG S95AR Soundbar

There aren’t many all-in-one soundbar solutions that give you as much sonic immersion for your money as LG’s S95. Many modern soundbar brands prefer to sell high-priced single bars, with add-on speakers available for an additional fee. LG provides a subwoofer, dual surrounds, and LG’s unique mix of five (not four) height channels to put you in the center of the action for 3D sound formats like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X from the get-go.

The latest-model S95AR offers a modest upgrade over last year’s S95TR (8/10, WIRED Recommends), including a revamped subwoofer and a $200 price hike to go with it. It's perhaps no coincidence that the S95’s biggest rival, Samsung’s 11.1.4-channel Q990, has also raised its price in recent years, keeping LG’s slightly less elaborate 9.1.5-channel setup the more affordable option at full price.

I still prefer Samsung’s warmer, more musical sound signature, but the S95AR is a thrilling performer that offers similar (if not better) value, along with exclusive features for owners of newer LG TVs. If you’re looking for a one-stop setup that gets you close to a multi-component home theater solution, but with much less hassle, the S95AR is among the best soundbars around.

Battered but Brisk

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

For the second time in two products from LG, the S95AR landed on my doorstep in a somewhat abused state, with notable dents to its metallic acoustic grille. The system seemed otherwise no worse for wear, and while its 50-inch width pushes to the edges of midsize consoles, its height of less than 3 inches fits neatly below most TVs. Setup was mostly uneventful, allowing me to get it connected and spinning sound through the four-piece system in short order.

I say mostly uneventful because, as was the case with the last LG soundbar I reviewed, the S95AR requires you to plug in its components in a certain order: subwoofer first, then surrounds, then the bar. I did not do this, and the left rear surround wouldn’t connect. Unplugging everything and reconnecting it in order fixed things (or perhaps it was just the power cycling), and I had no other connection issues over several weeks.

LG’s ThinQ app has grown up over the years, now standing as a capable and mostly stable control center for all software setup and settings. The app found the bar nearly instantly and made it easy to connect to my network, futz with speaker channel levels, and perform LG’s AI Calibration that tunes the soundbar to your space. You can easily change inputs or sound modes and “Effects” from Music and Cinema modes to Night mode for softening the bass when the kids (or neighbors) are tucked in.

There’s also a separate remote for many of these controls, but due to the bar’s lack of any real visual display, using it for anything more than a quick volume adjustment or input switch is a hassle, as you’re relying on voice cues. That could be helpful for those with accessibility issues, but otherwise, the app is your interface.

Fully Stocked

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

Nestled within the main bar are front, left, and center channels that handle the majority of your music and TV content, dual side-firing drivers to bounce sound off your walls, and a trio of “height” channels to bounce effects off your ceiling, including LG’s unique center height channel for enhanced immersion with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X mixes. You’ll get three more channels in each football-sized surround speaker, including front, side, and height channels, and an 8-inch side-firing subwoofer.

At the main bar’s back side, you’ll find an optical port (good for connecting legacy audio devices and older TVs) and dual HDMI ports, one of which connects the system to any modern TV over HDMI eARC/ARC. You’ll want to choose HDMI over the optical port, as it’s necessary for high-end formats like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, and should also let you control power and volume on the bar with your TV remote.

I was pleased to find that the S95AR’s spare HDMI port offers high-bandwidth pass-through for gaming features like VRR at up to 120 Hz, so serious gamers won’t lose a TV input. If you own one of LG's best TVs from the past few years, you may also be able to connect the soundbar wirelessly over LG’s WowCast system, but I was unable to get this to work with my LG B5 review model—the TV could see the bar and attempted to connect, but would ultimately just spin out.

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

WowCast aside, I wish the S95AR offered one more HDMI input, especially since LG’s 2025 TVs don’t support DTS decoding, even though its soundbars do. That means a Blu-ray player or other device sending a DTS signal needs to be connected directly to the soundbar to decode the signal for new LG TV owners to get the full benefit of formats like DTS:X. It’s not detrimental, but it is an annoying (and inconsistent) limitation.

The S95AR supports all major DTS and Dolby audio formats, and just about any other audio files you’ll encounter, including WAV and FLAC files at up to 24-bit/192-kHz resolution. An abundance of streaming options includes AirPlay and Google Cast, as well as Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, and Bluetooth, covering nearly every angle. Amazon Alexa is supported with a third-party device, but there’s no built-in smart assistant.

LG TV exclusives include the previously mentioned WowCast, Wow Interface for controlling some settings directly from the TV, and Wow Orchestra for using LG TV speakers and the soundbar in tandem. I’ve never understood the appeal of the latter, and that was again the case with the B5—avoiding TV speakers is the main reason to get a soundbar, after all. But hey, it’s there if you want to add even more (worse) speakers to the S95AR’s already expansive configuration.

Taut and Enveloping Sound

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

Right out of the box, the S95AR submerges you in the action with impressive clarity, punch, and fluidity. I found myself tweaking the surround sound channels a bit, especially when faced with loud effects like the almost invasive babbling brooks of my latest gaming obsession, Ghost of Tsushima. Otherwise, the system is remarkably hands-off by default, offering poise and balance between registers and seamless movement between its multitude of speakers.

The height channels were the biggest standouts, providing striking overhead effects in Dolby Atmos demo scenes that translated to thrilling cinematics in regular mixes. The first time Scott Lang puts on the suit in Ant-Man seemed to pull me into the scene by the collar, surrounding me in a barrage of overhead sweeps and swirling effects like the cyclone of air in the old-school vacuum he gets sucked into. The rat growling in the walls popped up so realistically from the left surround speaker, I was almost tricked into looking down the hallway.

The system continued to impress over several days of testing, offering clear and detailed effects, rich symphonic soundtracks, and decisive dialog in everything from action flicks to sitcoms, without the need for the available Clear Voice mode. Not once did I worry about the action overriding the details, even as the boomy subwoofer poured forth earth-shaking explosions and barreling freight trains.

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

The bass was sometimes less articulate than I’d hoped for, especially with music streaming where the sub had trouble keeping up with tricky bass lines or drum beats. Music in general can sound flat in the Standard mode, but experimenting with the different options was delightfully effective. The Music mode is much more spacious for stereo playback, while AI Sound Pro adds some fun virtualization, particularly successful with complex electronic mixes.

You’ll get better all-around performance from the often pricier Q990, not to mention add-on systems like the Sonos’ Arc Ultra and Era 300s, but the S95AR is a great setup for the money, especially for newer LG TV owners—and as usual, don’t sleep on last year’s model.