Good System -- No Regrets
By Happy Customer on
June 26, 2012
Review submitted for
LG
3D Wi-Fi Smart Blu-ray Home Theater System - Bluetooth, Wireless Rear Speakers
(LGBH9220BW)
Pros: Reduced Wires, Good sound, Good price, Very convenient
Cons: Bass Crossover Not Great
Other Comments: I'm amazed that more people haven't given this set a chance, though I'll admit that I was a bit leery to take the plunge myself, given the lack of available reviews. Also, the generic complaints about the wireless rear speakers did have me concerned.First, let me comment on the wireless rear speakers: they work as advertised. I don't know if I just got lucky, the complainers were unlucky, or if my set is just waiting to die (I've only been able to watch a couple movies with it so far), but I've not had any issues with them thus far. There isn't any discernible delay with the wireless processing and the speakers sound pretty convincing.The additional features of the set are quite nice, especially the Bluetooth connectivity, and the remote is fairly intuitive with a good menu-driven UI. No complaints there, though it would be nice if the set offered more granular control of the audio settings. The set works well with my wireless router and offers a number of internet services. Honestly, though, I've primarily used the services offered by my Vizio (E3D420VX) TV, if only for the fact that the remote for my TV includes a qwerty keyboard on the back, making searching much easier. Speaking of the TV, you'll probably need to use the optical audio out as, though the LG unit does offer ARC for HDMI, my TV does not; this probably applies to several TVs.Concerning the dimensions of the set, that is something of which to be mindful as, though the main unit isn't very tall, it is quite wide (~17.5 in.) and fairly deep (~12 in.). It just barely fits into the TV stand that I have. Also, you'll want some additional free space behind and above the unit as it does use an exhaust fan (the fan seems to run quietly as I haven't heard it yet). A fan is used on the wireless rear receiver as well, though it also seems to run quietly. The speakers are about a foot tall and, unfortunately for cheaper mounting stands, the mounting bracket is located about 7 in. from the base. I wasn't convinced that the curve for most of the universal mounts that I've seen would accommodate these speakers, so I just have them resting on furniture and shelves (there are rubberized footings on each speaker, so I haven't heard any vibration issues). Also, for those who are interested, the speakers do not have any ducts.Now for the important consideration: sound. Let me state upfront that these are not audiophile-quality speakers; you'll definitely know that you're listening to a HTIB set. That said, I've been pretty pleased with the set thus far. The speakers don't really sound boxy and, for 2.1 listening with music, they handle themselves pretty well. As a comparison, I'd probably rate them just under a comparable (and much more expensive) Bose set. I'll admit that the set sounds a bit muddled for my taste, but that could be because I'm basically just running out of the box at this point, and haven't yet been able to tune the system to my living room. The subwoofer is punchy, but doesn't seem to have an ideal crossover setting as sometimes it is either a bit underpowered or too noticeable (this could have to do with room placement – my room isn't exactly acoustically ideal). Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I can really exert much control except through a fairly coarse equalizer, though I might (hopefully) be wrong.Regarding the 5.1, excuse me, I mean 9.1, performance, I'm left a tad disappointed. For sounds like gunshots, breaking glass, and other things non-musical, the rear speakers are a joy to listen to; however, when they start playing music, they seem to overpower the front speakers and, since they cannot take advantage of the relatively distant subwoofer as effectively as the front speakers, this is somewhat problematic. Ultimately, they just sound a little harsh when compared to the front speakers. Let me reiterate, though, that I haven't yet had time to delve into all of the settings, and I should also note that the only movies I've watched thus far have been on DVD – Blu-ray movies might fare better. It could also be that the encoding on the movie itself just isn't ideal for my setup… after all, the last movie I watched, Inception, did seem to present the most problems with regard to the soundtrack. This is reinforced by my experience listening to music using 5.1 under one of the sound effect settings, Bass Blast, whereby the rear speakers did not seem nearly as overpowering (and actually, produced a sound that was just a notch under the 2.1 musical setting). The center channel sounds reasonably good – not great – and, overall, handles dialog convincingly. I haven't been especially impressed with its handling of vocals compared to just a standard 2.1 setting, when listening to music, though. As I mentioned before, the subwoofer doesn't meld perfectly with the other speakers and can be overpowering at times, but this could also be a placement issue or some other correctable issue – I really just need to experiment some more.As an update to the above, I did watch a Blu-ray recently, and, when using the bypass sound effect (basically, just use whatever is on the disc without any further massaging), the rear speakers sound very good. My experience is still limited, but has so far been pretty favorable.As far as I can tell, the whole 3D 9.1 sound thing is a gimmick, but I knew that going in, and it should be fairly obvious as there are not any 9.1 encodings out there for Blu-ray at this point. Again, I can't say that I've spent enough time with enough variation in media to truly make a judgment on this point, but I very much doubt I'll change my mind. Considering that the 3D sound was not really a selling point for me, that's not a problem.The only significant concern that I have with this set is with regard to how specific all of the components are. The set presumes the use of a wireless rear receiver (there aren't any rear speaker ports on the main unit and, even if there were, it probably wouldn't be able to power them). Also, all of the speaker wire inputs are proprietary so, unless you want to splice standard cables with the connectors from the included cables, you're stuck with what is supplied, though what they supply is certainly ample for my requirements. Also, the convenience of having everything integrated into one main unit would also be problematic if it ever dies. However, as long as the amplifier itself doesn't die, I suppose that it is somewhat flexible in that regard as it does offer 2 HDMI inputs (none of which I'm using, at this point).Overall, this is a solid system that I'm glad to have purchased. At [$] this is a very good purchase, especially if you're just starting without any Blu-ray player or anything, like I was. It sounds good, offers very convenient features (I love playing music via Bluetooth with my phone, for example), and the wireless rear speakers really help in removing clutter without requiring running wire through the ceiling or walls.
Yes, I recommend this product
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