WHAT IS THE LG LAS550H?

The LAS550H is a mid-range 2.1 soundbar designed to add muscle to your movie nights. With 320W of power under the bonnet and a wireless subwoofer in tow, it offers the ideal antidote to the weedy audio performance of today’s TVs – and with built-in Bluetooth, it doubles as a music system too.

Its slim design and wall-mounting capability mean it won’t take up lots of living room space. It isn’t the cheapest soundbar around, but true to form LG has packed it full of features for the money. Let’s find out if it’s worth a punt.

SEE ALSO: Best Surround Sound Systems 2015

LG LAS550H – DESIGN AND CONNECTIONS

The LAS550H is a devilishly good-looking soundbar. Squeezed into a curvy silver cabinet that narrows towards the back, this eye-catching speaker is in danger of upstaging your TV. The silver caps at both ends add a splash of glamour, while a row of four flush buttons on top is the only trace of clutter. It curves round in a single, seamless surface; the speakers peer out from behind a perforated metal mesh.

We’re impressed by the LG’s excellent build quality. It’s weightier than the majority of soundbars at this price and boasts a solid fit and finish across the entire cabinet. There are rubber pads on the bottom for tabletop placement, but you can also wall-mount the bar using the supplied kit.A dot-matrix display on the front spells out the currently selected input, but flicks to volume and setup messages when prompted by the remote.

A recess on the rear houses a useful line-up of sockets, including HDMI input and ARC output, optical digital input, 3.5mm mini-jack input and a USB port that lets you play music files. They’re outward facing, so an angled HDMI adapter might be in order when mounted on the wall.
LG LAS550H – FEATURESThe subwoofer is styled to match the soundbar, sporting an attractive silver finish with the same “3D cube” pattern featured on the BP550 Blu-ray deck. The front-firing woofer hides behind a cloth-covered front panel, with an LED on the front that indicates the unit’s power status. It’s wireless, so you don’t have to worry about placing it near the soundbar, which is a godsend in small or unusually shaped rooms.

The 2.1-channel LAS550H kicks out 120W of power from two 40 x 200mm woofers and two 20mm dome tweeters, bolstered at the bottom end by 200W from the active sub.

There’s on-board decoding for Dolby Digital and DTS, plus a series of sound presets – Standard, Music, Cinema, Flat, Boost and Treble/Bass. Each mode tweaks the EQ in different ways to suit the material. Boost reinforces the mid-range and Treble/Bass emphasises the high and low frequencies.

You can play hi-res music files up to 192kHz/24-bit through the Music Flow app or from USB storage.The LG is equipped with Bluetooth 4.0, which brings with it a series of nifty functions. Download the Music Flow Bluetooth app and you can link up to three devices simultaneously, as well as controlling the soundbar and using the app’s Gracenote-powered Mood Station to find songs that match your mood or activity.

LG LAS550H – OPERATION

Using the LAS550H is a breeze. Having a text-based readout on the front is extremely helpful, as you can gauge volume levels or sound adjustments without having to decode blinking lights as you do on some soundbars.

It’s controlled by a compact remote that keeps clutter to a minimum and makes it easy to find frequently used functions. The rubber buttons are clearly labelled and click satisfyingly when pressed.

If you’re not a fan of LG’s unit then you can control the soundbar through your existing TV remote, or LG’s Music Flow Bluetooth app on your smartphone. It’s simple to operate thanks to the menu structure’s clear, logical flow.Hit the EQ button and you can adjust the bass and treble levels, while the Sound Effect key toggles through the sound presets. The volume keys towards the top are shaped like plus and minus symbols, which is a fun touch, plus all of the sound functions (DRC, Night, Auto Volume, AV Sync, Sleep and Auto Power) get dedicated buttons. On the downside, the Bluetooth controls in the middle didn’t work with our iPod Nano.