I tested LG’s first FlexConnect soundbar for 3 months — this could be the future of surround sound

LG Sound Suite — a new blend of LG audio hardware and Dolby FlexConnect software — blew me away at CES when I saw it in early January. The technology, though still in its infancy, is going to change the way we think about surround sound as it allows you to place speakers anywhere in your room and get calibrated spatial audio sound tuned to wherever you want to sit.

Part and parcel of the technology is the LG Sound Suite H7 Soundbar. Technically, it’s possible to run the Sound Suite software through an LG C5, G5 OLED or one of LG’s new 2026 TVs, but this soundbar enables any TV with an eARC port to partake in FlexConnect’s … well, flexibility.

As the brains behind the brawn of LG’s new platform, the H7 has a lot to offer. Unfortunately, this best soundbar competitor itself isn’t quite as versatile as the technology driving it. Here’s why.

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LG Sound Suite H7 review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A Dolby Atmos soundbar that can connect wirelessly to up to four FlexConnect speakers and a subwoofer
• Who is it for? Anyone looking for an alternative to Sonos or Samsung’s all-in-one audio boxes
• What does it cost? $999 / £899
• What do we like? The FlexConnect integration enables you to set up surround speakers anywhere in your room
• What don’t we like? The aforementioned surround speakers don’t come in the box and will set you back an additional $249 apiece

LG Sound Suite H7 review: Price and release date

The LG Sound Suite H7 is one of those rare products that gets announced at CES in early January and then becomes available to buy shortly after the show ends; it went on sale in mid-January 2026 at a launch price of $999 at Best Buy and Amazon.

Of course, if you only buy the soundbar, you’re not really getting Sound Suite’s full functionality — you’ll at least need a few of the Sound Suite M5 or M7 Speakers to go with it. Those will set you back an additional $249 or $399, respectively. Finally, if you want to add a subwoofer to the mix, you’re looking at an additional $599 for the Sound Suite W7 sub.

If you went all-in on a full Sound Suite system, you’re looking at around $3,200 — much more than it would cost for a comparable Dolby Atmos system if you build it piecemeal.

This is similar, in some ways, to how a Sonos system works. You’d start by buying the Sonos Arc Ultra for close to $1,000, then you’d tack on a Sonos Sub Mini ($399), a pair of Sonos Era 300 ($379 apiece) or both. You’ll get a more robust sound that way, but you can see where LG got its Sound Suite pricing model from.

Your other option for a similar setup would be the Samsung HW-Q990F, an 11.1.4 system-in-a-box that includes a subwoofer and two satellite speakers for $1,800. This is the cheaper option, but will offer less flexibility in speaker placement than LG’s new Sound Suite system.

LG Sound Suite H7 review: Design and controls

LG designed the Sound Suite H7 as a 9.1.6-channel soundbar; it’s impressive that LG managed to cram 12 speakers and eight passive radiators into the soundbar’s 47.2 x 2.5 x 5.6 inch chassis. There’s not enough room between those speakers to truly feel like distinct channels — an issue I’ll cover more when we talk about its performance — but it certainly packs a punch.

Spin it around to the backside and you’ll see the port…er, ports, technically because there are two of them. Only two of them. There’s the HDMI-In port that you’ll connect via a cable to the TV and a USB 3.0 port that can be used to host local media.

There are no other ports here. No optical audio (likely omitted because Dolby Atmos requires an eARC connection) or HDMI passthrough ports. The latter is unfortunate, as it means you’re going to lose a port on your TV without any form of recompense and it’s something we see often on rival soundbars.

For better and worse, every connection besides the TV is wireless. The satellite speakers and subwoofer connect cable-free, and music playback comes courtesy of AirPlay 2 and Google Chromecast. There's even Bluetooth for more old-school wireless connections. Unfortunately, wireless connectivity on board the H7 isn't always the most stable, which creates issues.

LG Sound Suite H7 review: Features

The reason you’d buy an LG Sound Suite speaker instead of, say, something from Sonos or Samsung, is for its Dolby FlexConnect features. The ability to place speakers anywhere in the room and have them play perfectly attuned spatial audio never fails to impress me.

Of course, even better than simply having a room that’s set up for spatial audio is having a central “sweet spot” where you get the best sound possible. LG has enabled this through a technology it’s calling Sound Follow, and it’s like having a calibrator on-call 24/7. Sitting in the sweet spot had audible advantages to sitting on the periphery of the system, and became a spot everyone in the house would race towards when we sat down to watch a movie.

When it comes to wireless playback, the H7 supports Bluetooth connectivity alongside Apple AirPlay2 and Google Cast. If you want to get really fancy, there’s also Tidal Connect and Spotify Connect supported right out of the box as well.

Of course, LG’s ThinQ app is the bridge between you and the soundbar. This is the place you’ll go to get the speakers connected to your Wi-Fi network and, eventually, paired together. There’s not a lot of functionality in the app, but it’s here you’ll find the all-important Sound Follow feature. If you ever need to change the Wi-Fi settings, you’ll come back to the app to do that, but otherwise I didn’t find myself using it all that often.

Samsung QS750F review: Sound quality

As a standalone soundbar, I wasn’t wildly impressed with the H7 — it’s loud but not well-rounded. But pairing it up with the M7 speakers was a totally different experience.

My biggest issue with multi-channel performance — and this applied whether I was watching a movie or listening to music — is that the speakers would sometimes drop the connection. Each speaker requires its own internet connection, and that can lead to just one of them dropping out. They’d usually re-connect within a few seconds, but it wasn’t the best user experience.

Movies

To see how it fared with movies, I loaded up the Dolby Atmos-enabled “Inside Out 2” on Disney Plus. This film is not only a visual treat — and absolutely heartwarming — but it’s got a great audio track that’s perfect for speaker testing.

I noticed right away that, on its own, the H7 couldn’t convey convincing Dolby Atmos. That’s not uncommon on unibody soundbars, but it was slightly more painful given the price. Dialogue was mixed, with some scenes having extremely easy to hear conversations, while other scenes required me to turn up the volume to hear what was being said.

Without a subwoofer, I didn’t get a lot of low-end extension, but again, this isn’t uncommon for a unibody soundbar. Still, musical swells in the movie’s main theme and certain action sequences (pretty much anytime there was hockey involved) all sounded great.

Music

As with movie soundtracks, bass frequencies can get lost while listening to standard two-channel albums — but thankfully, the soundstage is fairly wide thanks to those 12 speakers and eight passive radiators. Placing instruments in their exact locations was a struggle, but live albums like David Gilmour’s “Live at Pompeii” felt truly immersive. This is the first time I’ve heard a live album on a soundbar system and walked away impressed.

Studio albums like The Format’s new “Boycott Heaven” also leaned into the soundbar’s strengths — Nate Ruess’ impressive vocal range sounded excellent across the board.

Overall, the H7’s performance is a lot like Ruess’ former band — exciting and dynamic, but just missing that special something that we’ve seen in the Sonos Arc Ultra.

Samsung QS750F review: Verdict

The LG Sound Suite H7 is the start of something big. I’m still genuinely amazed by Dolby Atmos FlexConnect and LG’s implementation of the technology, despite the connectivity issues I faced. This is the first time I’ve ever wanted to use a soundbar for a live album instead of my stereo speakers. That’s a massive achievement.

Problematically, however, the soundbar is a bit rich. At a lower price or in a total package that includes all the speakers and a subwoofer for under $1,800, the H7 and its Sound Suite stablemates would be an easier recommendation. But the fact that you can get a whole surround system in the form of the Samsung HW-Q990F for a fraction of the cost makes it a lukewarm deal in a hotbed of competition.

Once it drops down in price, I’ll be more forgiving of its shortcomings and I’m very much looking forward to seeing FlexConnect blossom in the next few years.