After realizing how fun and didactic it would be to express my opinion on the two amazing LG products: SN9YG and SP8YA, I found it irresistible to compare each of them to find out which is the best soundbar. As far as I can tell, both were really functional and had some great features.
I was a little bit surprised when I found out that LG SP9YA is just the latest model of my LG SP8YA. The most difference between SN9YG and SP8YA is that the setup of SP8YA has 440 watts where as the 5.1.2 set up of PC is 520 watts. I was pleasantly surprised by the sound quality and features of both soundbars I tested. The bass enhancements were especially great for action films and the EQ presets and treble enhancements made dialogue really easy to understand.
There’s been a lot of talk lately about how listening habits can influence a person’s preference between 5.1.2 LG SN9YG and 3.1.2 LG SP8YA speakers. From my perspective the former is a better built speaker and for stereo content it’s not downmixing to mono. The SP8YA comes with a lot more wireless playback options. Plus, it can get louder but with a lot of compression when maxing out the volume.
About LG SN9YG
The 2020 LG SN9YG soundbar is a well-built 5.1.2 setup. It features a heavy bass sound profile. You can use it with different audio content. It also features sound enhancement features that allow for customization and perfect adjustment. Even though the companion app is required to access it, it also offers room correction.
The product is loud and can withstand compression artifacts. It also supports Atmos content. You can play your content directly from the soundbar with a variety of options under wireless connectivity and physical inputs. The soundbar can also be used to connect TVs and other devices, such as a console or gaming console.
Pros:
- Supports Atmos for an optimal experience
- Comes with dialogue enhancement and room correction features
- Features EQ presets
- Can get loud easily
Cons:
- Distortion at maximum volume
About LG SP8YA
The LG SP8YA soundbar is a well-built, 2022-built 3.1.2 setup. It features more EQ presets as well as a 2021 LG TVAI Processor. To get an immersive sound, a compatible LG TV can be used to sync the bar and speakers.
The soundbar’s AI Room Calibration feature can automatically adjust the audio reproduction to match the unique acoustic characteristics in the area where the bar is placed. This feature gives your audio a more punchy and bassy sound. The soundbar supports DTS:X content and Dolby Atmos.
Pros:
- Comes with numerous wireless playback options
- Can get loud
- Features bass and treble adjustments
Cons:
- Has no dedicated surround channel
- Downmixes it to stereo when playing surround signal
LG SN9G vs LG SP8YA: Side-by-Side Comparison
| Specs and Features | LG SN9YG | LG SP8YA |
| Total Sound Outputs | 520W | 440W |
| Number of Channels | 5.1.2 | 3.1.2 |
| Satellite | No | No |
| Dimensions (Bar) | Width 48.0″ (121.9 cm)Height 2.2″ (5.6 cm)Depth 5.7″ (14.4 cm) | Width 41.7″ (106.0 cm)Height 2.2″ (5.6 cm)Depth 4.7″ (12.0 cm) |
| Dimensions (Subwoofer) | Width 8.7″ (22.1 cm)Height 15.4″ (39.0 cm)Depth 12.3″ (31.2 cm) | Width 8.7″ (22.1 cm)Height 15.4″ (39.0 cm)Depth 12.3″ (31.2 cm) |
| In The Box | Optical cableRemote and x2 AAA batteriesPower cable for subwooferWall-mounting brackets and screwsWall-mounting templateManual | Optical cable2x power cablesMounting brackets with screwsAdapter for the soundbarManual with mounting templateRemote with battery |
| Bluetooth | Yes | Yes |
| Wi-Fi | Yes | Yes |
| Surround Sound | Phantom (Side Firing, Bar) | Stereo (Downmix) |
| Height (Atmos) | Phantom (Up Firing, Bar) | Phantom (Up Firing, Bar) |
| EQ | Presets | Presets |
| Audio Format Support – ARC | eARC Dolby Atmos Dolby Digital Dolby Digital Plus DTS DTS:X (eARC only) Dolby TrueHD (eARC only) DTS-HD MA (eARC only) 5.1 PCM (eARC only) | eARC Dolby Atmos Dolby Digital Dolby Digital Plus DTS DTS:X (eARC only) Dolby TrueHD (eARC only) DTS-HD MA (eARC only) 5.1 PCM (eARC only) |
| Audio Format Support – Optical | Dolby Digital DTS | Dolby Digital DTS |
| Chromecast built-in | Yes | Yes |
| Apple AirPlay | No | Yes |
These two soundbars are similar, but there are a few notable differences between them.
Design:
LG SN9YG
The LG soundbar was made to look sleek, sharp and unique with a metal grille on the front. It also has a metal-wrapped side with up-firing speakers that covers two smaller ones.
This speaker doesn’t have anything to blast loud music in your room with, it’s just the main soundbar.
LG SP8YA
The LG SP8YA is designed to function as a speaker for your TV. There is a similar design on the LG SN8YG, with mostly plastic and metal surfaces.
This speaker doesn’t come with satellite speakers, but you can make up the difference by purchasing LG SPK8 rear speakers separately.
Dimensions Bar and Subwoofer:
LG SN9YG
The soundbar is too long so it won’t fit between the legs of a TV. But if you put it in front of your TV, it shouldn’t be that big an issue as long as the screen doesn’t mess up your viewing angle.
- Width: 48.0″ (121.9 cm)
- Height: 2.2″ (5.6 cm)
- Depth: 5.7″ (14.4 cm)
The subwoofer is about the same size as a desk PC and it pairs with the bars wirelessly. You can put it wherever in the room, as long as you connect it to a power source.
- Width: 7″ (22.1 cm)
- Height: 4″ (39.0 cm)
- Depth: 3″ (31.2 cm)
LG SP8YA
The LG SP8YA soundbar is on the wider side, so it won’t fit between the legs of a 55″ TV. However, it isn’t very tall, so you should be able to avoid blocking your TV screen.
- Width: 7″ (106.0 cm)
- Height: 2.2″ (5.6 cm)
- Depth: 7″ (12.0 cm)
The sub is the size of an average desktop computer. It connects wirelessly to the bar, and there are so many places where you can put it to accurately achieve the best sound.
- Width: 7″ (22.1 cm)
- Height: 4″ (39.0 cm)
- Depth: 3″ (31.2 cm)
Back Bar and Subwoofer:
LG SN9YG
The back of the bar is where all the cords are connected. You can’t take this cable off, but it comes with its own power cord in case you don’t have any extra ones lying around.
The back of the subwoofer is pretty plain and since there’s no controls it can take some trial-and-error to adjust the settings. The port is located near the bottom, which may cause problems for taller ears.
LG SP8YA
You can plug the power cable at the back of the bar and put in inputs with universal holes on the bottom so you can mount it to a wall.
The back of the sub has a jack for the power cord and a port for your connection cable.
Build Quality and in the Box:
LG SN9YG
The LG SN9YG has a great design. It’s made from solid plastic and its metal grilles will protect the speakers. The power cable is integrated into the bar but can’t be removed. The subwoofer, on the other hand, is plastic-made with fabric covering three of its sides. It’s easy to accumulate dust or tear it.
HDMI Cable Length: N/A
Digital Optical Cable Length: 1.5 m (4.9 ft)
- Manual
- Remote and x2 AAA batteries
- Optical cable
- Power cable for subwoofer
- Wall-mounting brackets and screws
- Wall-mounting template
LG SP8YA
LG’s SP8YA soundbar has a good build quality. Most of it is made out of plastic, which feels solid and durable. The metal grilles help to protect the drivers as well. The sub is also made of high-quality plastic, but the fabric covering seems like it could get ripped or dirty easily.
HDMI Cable Length: N/A
Digital Optical Cable Length: 1.5 m (4.9 ft)
- Optical cable
- 2x power cables
- Adapter for the soundbar
- Mounting brackets with screws
- Remote with battery
- Manual with mounting template
Sound:
LG SN9YG
The LG SN9YG soundbar has a good stereo frequency response. On the ‘Standard’ setting, it has a bass-heavy sound that’s a little boxy at times and tends to vibrate on surfaces. It’s perfect for your favorite podcasts or albums, but can also be adjusted to another sound. With five different EQs, you can choose to listen the way you want. There’s also a room correction feature that can theoretically improve your audio quality depending on the acoustics of your room, but you’ll need to download the App to use it.
- Tested Present: Standard
- Slope: -0.71
- Err.: 3.30 dB
- Low-Frequency Extension: 29.5 Hz
- High-Frequency Extension: 19.9 kHz
The stereo soundstage of the LG SN9YG is pretty good, though it is quite small. The width of the bar is just as broad as its soundscape, but it sounds pretty focused. Sounds come from accurate point sources rather than from a general area like with most bars or speakers.
- Crosstalk Error: 2.53 dB
We found a bug where the box results were off from 30th Jan 2020. All soundbars reviewed after that date have been updated.
This soundbar has great stereo sound and gets very loud. You can fill a large/crowded room with good sound without much distortion at full volume.
- SPL @ Max Volume: 89.5 dB SPL
- DRC @ Max Volume: 0.95 Db
The LG SN9YG’s THD performance is fair. It falls within good limits at a normal listening volume, resulting in a clean sound. However, if you crank it up to max volume there’s this huge boost in clarity. In particular, the bass and mid-range sounds so much more present from that point on. It might not be as noticeable with your average day-to-day content though.
- Weighted THD @ 80dB: 0.67
- Weighted THD @ Max Volume: 3.62
The LG SN9YG’s center channel is pretty great. Thanks to the 5.1.2 configuration, there’s a dedicated center channel that produces clearer and more accurate dialogue reproduction in movies. It doesn’t get very loud and can sound somewhat bass-heavy, but it’s not a huge problem as there usually isn’t a lot of noise on center channels.
- Localization: Discrete
- Slope: -0.53
- Err.: 4.37 dB
- SPL @ Max Volume: 87.4 dB SPL
- Weighted THD @ 80dB: 3.73
- Weighted THD @ Max Volume: 6.56
The sound quality of the LG SN9YG soundbar is alright. It has side-firing speakers that bounce the sound off the walls, making it seem like it’s coming from a wider angle than just in front of you. Another downside of this setup is that it won’t sound as natural as if you had discrete surround speakers installed in your living room.
- Localization: Phantom (Side Firing, Bar)
- Slope: 0.13
- Err.: 5.99 dB
- SPL @ Max Volume: 92.8 dB SPL
- Weighted THD @ 80dB: 1.58
- Weighted THD @ Max Volume: 3.32
- 1 Rears: No
LG SP8YA
The LG SP8YA soundbar offers a wide stereo frequency range. The soundbar also features AI Room Calibration, which automatically optimizes audio reproduction depending on where you are listening. This feature activates a bass-heavy sound profile, which adds extra thump to your audio. It’s perfect for showcasing action-packed movies or listening to bass-heavy music.
The remainder of the range is quite balanced and suitable for dialogue-centric content such as podcasts or TV shows. Our results might be different because room correction depends on the acoustic capabilities of your room. You can also adjust the bass and treble of your room with some EQ presets.
- Tested Present: Standard
- Slope: -0.58
- Err.: 3.43 dB
- Low-Frequency Extension: 31.3 Hz
- High-Frequency Extension: 19.9 kHz
The stereo soundstage performance of the LG SP8YA soundbar is decent. Although the soundstage may seem a bit larger than the actual bar, it doesn’t have any tricks that can make it sound wider. However, the focus is good. Voices and footsteps, for example, seem to be coming from a wider area than a precise location.
- Crosstalk Error 2.15 dB
The LG SP8YA’s stereo dynamics performance is outstanding. The SP8YA is loud and doesn’t compress too much when played at maximum volume. It can be turned up for parties and listening in large spaces.
- SPL @ Max Volume: 93.0 dB SPL
- DRC @ Max Volume: 1.19 dB
The LG SP8YA has a decent THD performance. At normal volumes, the amount of distortion within acceptable limits, leading to clean and pure audio reproduction. The THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) increases on max volume, especially in the bass to midCon range. This may not be noticeable with real-life content though.
- Weighted THD @ 80dB: 0.53
- Weighted THD @ Max Volume: 2.59
The LG SP8YA Soundbar has a great center channel, which is fantastic for dialogue. It comes with a dedicated center channel which makes movie dialogue sound clearer and more accurate- this setup is ready to go with 3 speakers and 2 subwoofers. Its frequency response is well-proportioned, too. Voices are typically reproduced accurately, and they have a lot of detail in the mid-range.
- Localization: Discrete
- Slope: -0.13
- Err.: 2.11 dB
- SPL @ Max Volume: 89.6 dB SPL
- Weighted THD @ 80dB: 0.53
- Weighted THD @ Max Volume: 2.59
The LG SP8YA’s surround sound quality is so bad that it can’t play anything in surround mode. Even when it does, the soundstage only has stereo sound with no sound objects like voices or footsteps accurately localized. Surround sound audio makes it seem like the sounds are coming from every direction, rather than just the speakers in front of you.
- Localization: Stereo (Downmix)
- Slope: -0.64
- Err.: 3.44 dB
- SPL @ Max Volume: 93.2 dB SPL
- Weighted THD @ 80dB: 0.47
- Weighted THD @ Max Volume: 2.53
- 1 Rears: No
Connectivity:
LG SN9YG
The LG SN9YG can be used as a hub between your devices, your TV and other devices. It doesn’t have an AUX connector, so it won’t allow you to play audio from older devices.
Through its HDMI ARC port, the LG SN9YG supports all audio formats. It supports eARC so that it can play both object-based surround signals as well as lossless formats.
With its HDMI In port, the LG SN9YG supports a wide range of audio formats. You can use it to play all the most common audio formats, including Dolby Atmos or DTS. It can be used as a hub between other devices, such as a Blu-ray player or TV.
The optical port of this soundbar supports Dolby digital and DTS content. These formats can be found on streaming sites as well as Blu-ray discs.
LG SP8YA
There are many inputs on the LG SP8YA. The bar can be used as a hub between devices by having a Full HDMI In port. It does not have an AUX port so older devices cannot be plugged in to playback audio.
The LG SP8YA supports a wide range of audio formats via its HDMI ARC port. You can use Dolby Digital or DTS audio formats, which are often found on Blu-ray discs or streaming services. It supports lossless surround formats as well as object-based formats such Dolby Atmos or DTS:X.
The LG SP8YA supports full HDMI In audio formats. You can also play Dolby Digital or DTS content on Blu-rays.
The soundbar supports Dolby Digital, DTS via Optical and Dolby Digital Plus. This is helpful if you enjoy watching Blu-ray discs or content from streaming sites.
Interface, Bar Controls and Remote
LG SN9YG
The interface is located behind the grille on the right-hand side, towards the front. The interface displays the volume level via the four dots under the screen and lets you know the current input using text.
The touch-sensitive controls of the LG SN9YG are located at the top of this bar. The bar can be turned on/off, adjusted volume, mic muted, or activate Google Assistant.
The remote control for the LG SN9YG is small and simple to use. The remote can be used to control the settings and functions of most bar functions. The companion app can access the room correction function, but not the rest.
LG SP8YA
Behind the metal grille, the LG SP8YA features a small LCD display screen. It displays the input and volume levels. It also shows you how to adjust a setting.
There are several controls located in the middle of the bar. The controls can be used to power on/off the bar, adjust the input level, adjust the volume and play/pause audio. You can also set up Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.
It is simple to use and allows you to control all of the basic functions of the bar. It is not a universal remote so it cannot be used to control your TV.
Verdict
Are you looking for a soundbar that can be used in mixed-use situations? The LG SN9YG soundbar is a great choice. This product is ideal for action movies because it has a powerful bass sound profile.
Other EQ presets are available that can be used to enhance your audio content. Despite its poor height performance, this product supports Atmos. It is loud enough to be heard in a large or crowded room.
It can also deliver clear dialogue when used for TV programs. Other amazing features include room correction and dialogue enhancement.
The LG SP8YA can be used in mixed environments. It has room correction and can be turned on to produce a bass-heavy sound profile. This will improve your audio and give you the ability to enjoy the rumble of your action-packed movies or bass-heavy music.
It also supports Dolby Atmos content and has sound customization options. However, surround content must be downmixed by the soundbar to make it sound immersive.
FAQ for LG SN9YG vs LG SP8YA
What are the main differences between LG SN9YG and LG SP8YA soundbar?
LG SN9YG and LG SP8YA are two soundbars that are manufactured by LG. The main difference between the two soundbars is their size. The LG SN9YG is a soundbar that has quite a large size. It can be placed at the back of your TV or in front of it. The other one, the LG SP8YA, has a smaller size and can be placed in front of your TV for better audio quality.
Another difference between these two soundbars is the price. The LG SP8YA is much cheaper than the LG SN9YG and it also offers better audio quality than its counterpart.
The last difference between these two soundbars is their connectivity options. While both have Bluetooth connectivity.
Which soundbar model has better sound from LG SN9YG and LG SP8YA soundbar?
LG SP8YA soundbar is the best soundbar for LG TVs. It has a 5.1 channel surround sound system and it can produce high-quality audio. It is also quite easy to set up and comes with a remote control.
LG SN9YG soundbar has the same features as LG SP8YA, but it costs less which makes it a better option if you are looking for a budget-friendly soundbar.
How much does the LG SN9YG soundbar cost?
The LG SN9YG soundbar is a wireless soundbar that can be paired with a TV for a better audio experience.
The LG SN9YG soundbar is available on Amazon for $149.99.
How much does the LG SPY8A soundbar cost?
The LG SPY8A is a sleek and stylish looking soundbar that comes with the latest in audio technology, including Dolby Atmos and DTS:X surround sound. It also features multi-room functionality, so you can connect it to your TV, DVD player, Blu-ray player, or other compatible devices for an immersive audio experience in any room of the house.
The LG SPY8A soundbar is a fairly affordable soundbar. It retails for $199.99 and has a 4.5/5 star rating on Amazon.