LG Éclair QP5 Review: A sweet audio treat?
Verdict
A tiny soundbar that produces a big audio, the LG Éclair QP5 is a novel thought that isn't quite executed with aplomb. A lack of overall balance means it'southward not up there with the best meaty soundbars, and a lack of features also means information technology offers less value than other soundbars
Pros
- Elegantly compact
- Impressively large sound
Cons
- Expensive Sound
- Lacks overall balance
- Not much in the manner of smarts/wireless connectivity
Key Features
- Dolby Atmos and DTS:X Supports both immersive sound soundtracks
- HDMI input Can passthrough 4K and HDR10 content from another source
Introduction
Each year LG ships out a bucket load of soundbars and out of all the diverse models, the Éclair QP5 is the most unique.
The Éclair looks similar the sweet confection it'southward named after, which translates to a compact soundbar with an accompanying subwoofer that brings the bass.
And despite its small size, the LG QP5 squeezes in upfiring speakers for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. The subwoofer is described as a low vibration unit that minimises reverberations to stop your side by side-door neighbours from complaining most the noise.
It'due south missing several features you'd expect from a soundbar this pricey, but yet information technology's a unique proposition. So, is the Éclair a tasty care for or does it leave a bad sense of taste?
Design
- Refreshingly compact design
- Suited to forty-inch TVs and bigger
- Upfiring speakers
LG's aesthetic for its soundbars over the past few years has hewn to predominantly black, rectangular-shaped units with speaker grilles at either side. The QP5 Éclair is not i of those soundbars.
To be fair to LG, its design arroyo has evolved with 'lifestyle' soundbars including the lovely-looking SP2 and SP7 efforts. The Éclair, though, arguably trumps them all. Elliptical in shape, it measures 296mm wide, 59.9mm tall and 185mm deep. Having space to fit this bar should be no trouble.
LG recommends partnering with a 40-inch set upwards, and it comes in blackness or white (QP5W) to match your interior. On peak of the speaker is an acoustic grille to disperse sound from the up-firing drivers, with a woven Jersey textile wrapping effectually the midriff, plus a front-facing, three LED display that you can spot from the comfort of the sofa. It's all smart and tidy.
There are concrete buttons and curiously they're hidden around the rear – non the nearly helpful since y'all'll accept to turn the unit around. Those buttons are power, volume, source input and Bluetooth pairing, all of which characteristic on the remote.
The subwoofer is much bigger and matches the woven textile and rounded aesthetic of the main unit. Underneath is a button to initiate pairing betwixt it and the main bar, and in a considered touch, there are clips for the power cables, so they don't struggle beneath its substantial weight (seven.7kg).
The remote sees farther improvements from the 2020 edition (which itself was an comeback). Not too light or too heavy, it feels skillful to concord and there are even fewer buttons to go dislocated by, with icons representing the various audio modes. Its shape has more in mutual with LG's Magic Remote for its TVs, the only difference is the Éclair's remote doesn't have a settings push button.
Features
- No networking features
- Supports Sound Bar app for added tweaking
- No support for rear speaker package
Given the Éclair costs £700, it'south a surprise there are no smarts or network capabilities: no Google Banana or Alexa, no Spotify Connect, no AirPlay ii and no Chromecast.
Information technology as well doesn't back up the SPK8-S rear package sold separately, so you tin can't add rear channels. The TV Sound Share mode is also not available, and neither is the AI Room Scale. That last feature is simply possible with a 2021 LG TV, then not a big miss.
You exercise become Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity with SBC and AAC playback. Connections are found below the rear buttons with a HDMI out (ARC/eARC) and, surprisingly, a HDMI input, plus USB and digital optical. The HDMI input supports 4K HDR10 passthrough.
LG Éclair QP5 is uniform with LG's Sound Bar app, offering another way of configuring the bar from toggling Night Mode to switching betwixt Sound Effect modes (AI Audio, Standard, Game & Movie theatre): adjusting speaker levels, setting values for Bass and Treble and enough of other settings. If you're playing Dolby Atmos content, however, those values are ready in stone.
Dolby Atmos is supported via TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus bitstreams. Dolby'due south immersive rival in DTS:Ten is included, as are various other DTS audio formats (such as DTS-HD High Resolution). Whatever audio format your 4K concrete discs or streaming library supports, the QP5 Éclair can wrangle a tune from it. Hi-Res Audio, though, is off the tabular array.
Sound quality
- Unrefined treble operation
- Large, tall, and wide sound for its size
- Lacks overall balance
What impresses nearly the Éclair is just how big its sound is. Partnered with a 65-inch Television and the QP5's audio encompasses the width of the screen, dialogue placed where characters are talking, furnishings positioned where they ought to be. For its atomic size, information technology produces an unexpected scale and ability.
And despite its small enclosure, it'south a dab paw at producing height and spatial effects. Blade Runner 2049 is total of such effects and the moment where K's spinner lands at Sapper Morton's farm is tangibly placed up in the heights. Some other moment where G is walking dorsum to his apartment in the snowy streets and the announcements for the off-world colonies are convincingly sprayed out wide to create a taller, wider soundscape.
There are some problems though. The opening moments of 2049 see the high frequency sounds ring in an unrefined manner. Dialogue reproduction is not the clearest either, Dave Bautista's Sapper Morton comes across as both mumbly and too bassy. In some scenes from 2049 and Sicario (both Atmos), there'due south an echoey tone to dialogue I've not heard from other soundbars. Information technology doesn't manifest across all the Atmos tracks I lookout man, just it's noticeable when it does.
Decorated action scenes cause a few issues also. The scene in Terminator: Nighttime Fate where first comes across the Rev-nine is a skillful example. The LG strains to depict the various sledgehammer hits and punches with the necessary weigh, coming across as boxed in. Its tendency to pitch sounds too sharp is evident, and dialogue is not e'er well-protected among the chaos.
But the bass is surprisingly weighty and impactful. There's not as much rumble emanating from the ii-inch woofer driver equally it is a low vibration unit, simply the room however shakes when the FBI van slams into cartel safe house in Sicario, and even more than and then when an explosion goes off later in the scene.
Bump the book up when watching daytime TV and the LG avoids distortion and retains a expert amount of particular and clarity with dialogue. Watching Who Do You Think Are (starring Eastender's Danny Dyer) and there's a slight trace of sibilance but nothing also distracting.
Flicking through the audio modes and AI Audio Pro's presence is an improvement over other LG soundbars I've tested. It focuses mainly on the voice and sounds sharp but avoids sibilance, although with this fashion there are moments where dialogue doesn't lift onto the screen. Standard mode is smoother by comparison and manages dialogue more ably.
Comparison the AI, Standard and Movie theater mode with Human being of Steel's DTS-Hd MA soundtrack and I prefer the detail of the AI mode, which is not something I idea would happen. Its focus on voices brings the dialogue out more, it sounds cleaner and separates the diverse special effects improve than Standard. Cinema sounds louder, bigger, more dramatic, and dynamically persuasive, but it's missing some detail. Information technology speaks to a lack of remainder in the QP5's sound that's a tad frustrating.
Musically it's an enjoyable fiddling performer. Billy Joel's Information technology's Still Stone and Ringlet to Me is given a lively, assertive operation with a good level of clarity, detail, and a punchy bassline, too as a sense of space and so notes aren't lost in the mix. Surprisingly there'south no Music mode, with AI Audio Pro and Standard your best bets.
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Should you buy information technology?
You're brusk on infinite An immersive bar that doesn't have up much infinite at all, the Éclair is suited to smaller rooms and apartments with its sound that'due south surprisingly big for its size
You're in need of more performance for the coin The QP5 is short of the features expected and lacks overall sonic balance.
Final Thoughts
The Éclair QP5 is a smart idea but lacks in the refinement to exist a great one. There's a lack of remainder about the QP5's performance that makes it striking and miss.
The the lack of smarts and wireless options makes it non the near value-led proposition either though it has come downwards in toll since it went sale. When on song the Éclair is likable footling performer but its overall execution leaves something to be desired.
How we test
Nosotros exam every soundbar we review thoroughly over an extended period of fourth dimension. Nosotros use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We'll always tell you what nosotros find. Nosotros never, ever, take money to review a product.
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Tested with existent world utilise and different TVs
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FAQs
Does the QP5 back up LG's rear speaker kit?
No, you tin't add together any further speakers to this soundbar
Does the LG QP5 support smart features?
No. There's networking and vocalization assistant support (but there is back up for an app).
Full specs
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Subwoofer?
Audio Formats
Voice Banana
Rear Speaker
Multiroom
Audio (Power output)
Connectivity
ARC/eARC
Colours
Driver (s)
Release Engagement
Model Number
Weight
Size (Dimensions)
Manufacturer
UK RRP
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Source: https://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/lg-eclair-qp5
Posted by: smiththoself.blogspot.com
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