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 chrome cast 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.