I’ve already gone on the record to say that I’ve got high hopes for LG’s fancy new Sound Suite system.
LG clearly has high hopes, too, judging from the pricing we’ve just received.
Sound Suite consists of four products – an H7 soundbar, W7 subwoofer, and the M7 and M5 wireless speakers – that can be mixed and matched, so you can build a system to suit your requirements and room.
It’s also one of the first systems to feature Dolby Atmos FlexConnect, which is designed to produce convincing Dolby Atmos sound regardless of the placement of the individual components.
So, you can buy the H7 soundbar on its own, or with the W7 sub and/or a pair of either of the speakers. In that way, it’s rather like a Sonos Arc Ultra, which can be bought and used solo, or partnered with one of Sonos’s subwoofers and/or its Era speakers.
But with Sound Suite, if you have one of LG’s latest and greatest TVs, that can act as the FlexConnect hub and be partnered directly with the sub and/or speakers – no soundbar required.
In total, LG says that there are 27 potential Sound Suite configurations, and that it’s possible to build a 13.1.7-channel system if you so wish.
You will need very deep pockets if you want to go that far, though, because LG has given Sound Suite some very premium pricing in the UK and US (Australian pricing is TBC).
That pricing is as follows:
- H7 soundbar: £1000 / $1000
- W7 subwoofer: £700 / $600
- M7 wireless speaker: £450 / $400
- M5 wireless speaker: £200 / $250
So, the H7 soundbar is priced the same as the awesome, What Hi-Fi? Award-winning Sonos Arc Ultra in the UK (though it is cheaper in the US). That’s a bold move indeed, especially considering LG’s less-than-stellar (albeit improving) recent record in soundbar audio quality.
If you want to build a full system that features the H7 soundbar, W7 sub, and a pair of M7 surrounds, you’re looking at an all-in price of £2600 / $2000.
That’s even more than you would currently pay for Sonos’s top-of-the-range Ultimate Immersive Set with Arc Ultra in the UK (£2426), though admittedly less than the cost of the system in the US ($2806).
Bear in mind that the Sonos system includes a pair of the five-star Era 300 speakers as well as the Award-winning Arc Ultra and flagship Sub 4, and you can see that LG has picked a fight with the toughest kid in school with its Sound Suite pricing.
That’s a real statement of intent, and I think it’s great for Sonos to have a new, ambitious rival. But can LG really overthrow the incumbent?
We will be comparing the two systems side by side as part of our Sound Suite review – stay tuned for that in the coming weeks.
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