LG SL5Y vs Samsung HW-S50A review

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l would like to share my experience after comparing and testing two soundbars – LG SL5Y vs Samsung HW-S50A. The LG SL5Y was rated 5, while the Samsung HW-S50A has a rating 4.8. The soundbars are equipped with a different number of buttons, power, volume down, volume up, function for the SL5Y and power, source, demo, volume down, volume up for the HW-S50A.

Audio features

Each of the models under consideration has active amplification type. A noticeable difference is the number of channels that SL5Y has 2.1 and HW-S50A has 3.0. These rivals can be compared in terms of power, 400 (overall) versus 40 (overall) according to devices. The built-in subwoofer is not implemented in any of these models. An external subwoofer can be connected to any of the units in this comparison. Rate 7 out of 10 received the LG SL5Y for audio features and specs, but the Samsung HW-S50A received 6 out of 10.

Streaming services

Soundbars do not have AirPlay support. The units in this comparison do not support Spotify.

Connectivity

Both models do not have a wireless Wi-Fi interface. Soundbars from this comparison have Bluetooth support. There are 1/1 HDMI inputs/outputs in the LG SL5Y versus 0/1 HDMIs in the Samsung HW-S50A. As in the SL5Y, so in the HW-S50A there is the HDMI Audio Return Channel (ARC). We rated the connectivity of the SL5Y at 7 out of 10, while the HW-S50A was rated 8/10.

Features

None of these soundbars can be controlled using the app. Soundbars in this review are not equipped with a microphone. The models under consideration cannot become part of a multiroom system.

Multichannel surround

Dolby Atmos audio decoder support is not implemented in either the SL5Y or HW-S50A. Devices from this comparison cannot process surround sound due to lack of DTS:X. The same score of 6/10 was put to the soundbars for multichannel surround support.

Advantages LG SL5Y over Samsung HW-S50A