LG Sound Suite hands-on at CES 2026: Dwelling theater powered by Dolby Atmos FlexConnect

Dolby launched its FlexConnect know-how a number of years in the past, vowing that it might enable prospects to place soundbars and audio system anyplace in a room. The corporate stated the platform would then reconfigure the sound robotically, taking into consideration any places that could be additional away from the middle candy spot. At CES 2026, LG is the primary to place Dolby Atmos FlexConnect in a soundbar, providing the so-called Sound Suite that additionally contains satellite tv for pc speaker choices and a subwoofer. You don’t want each member of the lineup to make use of Dolby’s tech, so you may choose and select which objects work finest on your front room.

The centerpiece of the Sound Suite is the H7 soundbar. This 9.1.6-channel speaker is configured for spatial audio (Dolby Atmos) and helps lossless audio as much as 24 bit/96kHz. The standout on the spec sheet for me is the six up-firing channels, which ought to improve the feeling of overhead sounds. A lot of the soundbars I evaluation have solely two of these.

What’s extra, the H7 is provided with a function referred to as Sound Observe that tracks the situation of your telephone to reconfigure the audio when your place modifications. Perhaps you progress to a snug chair as a substitute of the couch proper in entrance of the TV. The thought is that you just don’t need to undergo by means of subpar audio throughout a film or present simply since you aren’t in the perfect spot.

Then there are the M5 and M7 audio system. When used with the H7 soundbar, these are the satellite tv for pc audio system, however LG cautioned me in opposition to calling them “rear” items. Whereas it’s true a pair of them can be positioned behind most individuals’s sofas, the corporate defined that there’s extra audio content material popping out of them than conventional rear channels present. As such, two of the M5s or M7s which might be used to enhance the audio system inside one among LG’s impressively skinny TVs are doing extra work than simply beaming sounds which might be designed to return from behind.

The M5 is a 1.1.1-channel speaker whereas the M7 is 2.1.1. Just like the H7, each help Dolby Atmos and lossless music. What’s extra, the whole Sound Suite arsenal has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, together with AirPlay 2, Google Solid and each Spotify and Tidal join. The entire shebang additionally employs LG’s personal AI Sound Professional and Room Calibration Professional, and the entire settings are personalized within the ThinQ app for Android and iOS.

Every speaker can be utilized independently ought to the necessity come up, and as I already talked about, you may choose and select which parts will work finest for you — as much as 4 whole audio system. So you may go for the H7, sub and two audio system or 4 of both the M5 or M7. You may also get a smaller setup with two audio system or simply the soundbar and subwoofer. Dolby Atmos FlexConnect remains to be in play it doesn’t matter what mixture you determine on. I ought to notice the optionally available W7 subwoofer is sort of giant, however you should use it standing upright or laying flat, in accordance with LG.

After all, none of this implies something if Sound Suite doesn’t truly sound good. I’m comfortable to report LG’s assortment of audio system are sonically spectacular. I used to be capable of get a great sense of how they’ll carry out in a fairly demo room at CES. Watching a wide range of film clips in Dolby Atmos, I flipped backwards and forwards between a setup with 4 M7 audio system and a extra sturdy configuration of the soundbar, subwoofer and M7 audio system. Whereas I most popular the general tone and tuning of the 4 M7s, I can concede the larger assortment provided extra immersive sound and higher directional audio. That stated, they each offered glorious readability and pristine element.

With Sound Observe, you may shortly have Sound Suite reconfigure the audio based mostly on the situation of your telephone with only a faucet. Let’s say you progress from the sofa to a snug chair and need to modify the sound to that spot. You are able to do that within the app. And whereas I may inform a slight distinction in a side-of-the-room location and the middle candy spot in entrance of the TV, the correction did provide an enchancment over the unadjusted audio.

I used to be additionally capable of take a look at standalone mode, the place you may shortly use any Sound Suite speaker individually for music. Sound high quality was constant right here too, and the system allowed me so as to add a second M7 speaker for a stereo pair with a number of faucets in LG’s app. General, the Sound Suite lineup gives numerous flexibility when it comes to options and configurations. Actually, LG says that between the H7, W7, M5 and M7, there are 50 doable combos.

Sadly, LG hasn’t introduced pricing or availability but. Given the capabilities of the Sound Suite system, I don’t count on the extra sturdy collections to return low cost. Nevertheless, I do suppose the corporate will provide a number of completely different bundles that may hopefully present a reduction over shopping for every part individually.