Soundbars continue to get better and better every year. There’s always something coming
out that gets us closer and closer to full home theater replacements, but they’re not
quite there yet. In this video, we’re gonna show you two of the best available new models
for 2019 and see how they stack up against one another.
Hi, I’m Carl with Abt, and here we’ve got the LG SL10YG and the Samsung HWQ80R.
They’re both comparably priced and featured, so why would you choose one over the other?
Well, there’s a few reasons why. Starting off with the design. I wouldn’t
consider either of these compact in any sense, but if your space is a little more limited
you’ll appreciate the Samsung’s width of only 48 and a quarter inches, compared
to LGs at about 56 and three quarters. The LG is a bit shorter, but the obvious difference
is in the width, and I can see that affecting more people than the height.
Next are the inputs. Both have 2 HDMI ins and an out with Audio Return Channel, optical, bluetooth and
wi-fi, but the USB on the Samsung is only for service where the USB on the LG can
play back files. I’m not sure how many people will actually take advantage of that, but it is
an extra input, and for anyone who has music files stored on a USB drive, it’s definitely
a plus. Then there’s the smart assistants. Samsung
uses Amazon and LG uses Google, plus it has chromecast built in. This could be a big factor,
potentially, if you already have a whole home full of smart devices that work with one or
the other. As of the filming of this video, neither brand has said whether it plans on
adding the other service, but, as a consumer, it’d be nice to see both on each speaker. Just so you have that option.
And here’s something that I noticed as well. To use the bluetooth function on the Samsung,
all you have to do is plug in the power, turn on the soundbar, and set it to bluetooth pairing
mode. With the LG I had to plug it in, turn it on, then I had to set up the speaker on
my google home network before I could use bluetooth. I got it to work eventually, but
only after waiting about 10 minutes while an update attempted to download and then eventually
froze on my phone. I had to restart the Home app, wait again, and then I was able to turn
on bluetooth. It was pretty irritating while it was happening. But in the end, it did work,
so that’s at least a good thing. As far as sound’s concerned, I was impressed
with both. Technically, the LG has more power at a total output of 570 watts compared to
the Samsungs 372, but that difference doesn’t really mean much if the power’s not put
to good use. I will say, to me, there was a little more warmth to the LG. The Samsung
was still very good, but it sounded a little sharper where the LG was a little more mellow.
I can’t really say which one is better because they were both good in their own way. I guess
it really comes down to this…... if you place more value on high tones, you’ll probably
be happier with the Samsung. If you like something that has a little more emphasis on the mids
you might like the LG better. Here’s a sound test of both so you can hopefully
hear what I’m talking about………...
Music Playing on the SL10YG
Music Playing on the Q80R
So, with these being the same price, which one would you go for? Make sure to let us
know in the comments. As always, we appreciate you watching, don’t forget to subscribe
and leave a thumbs up if you liked this video, and we’ll see you in the next one.