LG's new flagship soundbar picks up sounds in the air so you can hear

LG has announced a new 9.1.5-channel Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundbar that features a novel upward-firing center speaker that delivers sailing up to your ears and booming dialogue so you can hear clearly. While up-firing drivers are a big part of how soundbars generate surround sound in general—it's one in five here—LG claims the up-firing center is the first in the world. The soundbar also includes a pair of wireless rear speakers that can now additionally send audio to the side walls of the room, as well as enhance audio immersion.

It's important to note that the new up-firing center speaker is still the same channel as the regular center speaker, but adds to the clarity of dialogue. The same goes for the rear speaker pair's two additional side-firing drivers; This is the same channel as the side speaker of the soundbar. LG claims that its AI Room Calibration can auto-configure the timing of each speaker and sync everything.

This new LG soundbar (model S95QR), combined with its rear speaker and wireless subwoofer, collectively has a power output of 810W. With both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, the LG S95QR is positioned as a premium soundbar and successor to the 7.1.4-channel LG SP11RA soundbar.

Unfortunately, the new soundbar - like its predecessor - still doesn't support passthrough for 4K 120Hz with HDR. If you have a newer 4K HDR TV and a Series X or PS5, you might not want to plug your game console directly into the bar. However, you should still take advantage of Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) support.

The soundbar also supports Auto Low-Latency Mode (ALLM) and can be controlled using smart devices with Google Assistant, Alexa, and "other AI assistants." The older LG SP11RA soundbar had AirPlay 2 support and could be controlled using Siri, but it's unclear from LG's press release whether the new soundbar offers it as well (but we're hopeful).

LG also says there's support for its Wavcast Wi-Fi Audio dongle, which was originally released this past fall, and is available on LG's UK page. Wowcast is a tool that makes soundbars wireless, for situations where it would be difficult to run a cable between the TV and the soundbar. It mounts on the back of your TV and can stream via an HDMI eARC connection between it and the soundbar. LG says the Wavecast will be sold separately, so we expect a US release with the new soundbar.

However, LG did not share the price or release date of the new LG S95QR. The soundbar will be one of the first products from the company to be announced and will be showcased at the virtual CES 2022 booth.