Tuesday, September 14th 2021
LG Debuts UltraGear GP9 Gaming Speaker, Matches its Displays
LG has gained a pretty good reputation for its UltraGear monitors and the company has now launched its first accessory, the matching GP9 gaming speaker. At first glance, it just looks like a compact soundbar, but looks can be deceiving and that's very much the case here, as not only is it a portable, battery powered speaker, but it hides quite a few features that aren't apparent at first glance.
For starters, LG has incorporated what they call a "Quad DAC" with some help from ESS in the shape of the 9038Pro, which is ESS' flagship 32-bit DAC. LG uses this to deliver virtual 7.1-channel audio and the GP9 is Hi-Res Audio certified. The GP9 also has a built-in noise cancelling microphone, so you can use it for voice chat or online meetings if so inclined.
As this is a portable speaker, it also comes with a 2600mAh battery, which LG claims is good for up to 6 hours of usage, although it's not clear if this is with RGB on or off, as yes, the GP9 does of course come with built in RGB LEDs like any respectable gaming focused product these days.
Connectivity consists of USB-C, optical S/PDIF and Bluetooth, as well as a 3.5 mm output jack that can be used with a headset for those times when the speaker might be too loud. There's also support for DTS Headphone:X and a customizable equalizer that can be configured via LG's XBOOM app. LG doesn't seem to have paid too much attention to the Bluetooth side of things, as only the SBC and AAC audio codecs are supported. Both Google Assistant and Siri are also supported, although it's not clear if this works in a stand-alone mode or requires a mobile device to be connected.
Speak wise, we're looking at two 2-inch "woofers" and two 20 mm tweeters with a total output of a meagre 20 W, so don't expect this speaker to be a floor shaker. LG has also incorporated several gaming presets, such as FPS and RTS modes, in addition to three EQ modes. With an MSRP of US$499.99 we can't see this being a huge seller though, as the GP9 is really quite overpriced for what it seems to offer.
Source:
LG Electronics
For starters, LG has incorporated what they call a "Quad DAC" with some help from ESS in the shape of the 9038Pro, which is ESS' flagship 32-bit DAC. LG uses this to deliver virtual 7.1-channel audio and the GP9 is Hi-Res Audio certified. The GP9 also has a built-in noise cancelling microphone, so you can use it for voice chat or online meetings if so inclined.
Connectivity consists of USB-C, optical S/PDIF and Bluetooth, as well as a 3.5 mm output jack that can be used with a headset for those times when the speaker might be too loud. There's also support for DTS Headphone:X and a customizable equalizer that can be configured via LG's XBOOM app. LG doesn't seem to have paid too much attention to the Bluetooth side of things, as only the SBC and AAC audio codecs are supported. Both Google Assistant and Siri are also supported, although it's not clear if this works in a stand-alone mode or requires a mobile device to be connected.
Speak wise, we're looking at two 2-inch "woofers" and two 20 mm tweeters with a total output of a meagre 20 W, so don't expect this speaker to be a floor shaker. LG has also incorporated several gaming presets, such as FPS and RTS modes, in addition to three EQ modes. With an MSRP of US$499.99 we can't see this being a huge seller though, as the GP9 is really quite overpriced for what it seems to offer.
42 Comments on LG Debuts UltraGear GP9 Gaming Speaker, Matches its Displays
Console>HDMI Extractor>Optical Out to speakers
because the argument here is that the Philips soundbar i linked doesnt have another HDMI port for passthrough.
The only ones I could find are the wrong way.
Nothing really needs to be said that hasn't already been stated but this is probably costs LG $50 make and most of that is probably the battery, the rest is profiteering marketing scam. I don't know much about them but I'm sure $500 would get you one hell of a soundbar if you want something minimal with very good audio for games and moives or if you want real next level audio at your desk $400 would get you pair of Yamaha HS5s or KRK Rokit 5 G4s monitors.
It is a rather odd combination of hardware though, as that high-end DAC paired with such puny speakers don't make much sense.
Even the marketing matches perfectly!Feature wise its a 20W output speaker. You can get better sound from two of those tiny milk cartons you find at 20 bucks I reckon. Or a laptop with some attention paid to audio.
A good DAC is heavily overrated for anyone with a half decent set of speakers/receiver, or a headphone, or any half decent audio setup on the mobo. And if your goal is to use it to play over this junk... I suppose you kinda deserve to pay 499 for it :D
Also the back of Ultragear monitors features a perfect circle with similar R(GB) lighting. Rounded, much like the curve of their monitor there. A circle that is definitely not a rectangle.
Maybe this item confirms that in general, marketing was never smart, it just competes to be the most stupid and we're FINALLY seeing the bottom of it.
And yes, I said it's ridiculously priced regardless of this. That was kind of the point of my response - there's no need for hyperbolic exaggerations to highlight this, and criticism is better when based in a realistic view of the thing being criticized.
Again who cares because nobody is going to use it in such a way. As mentioned above high-end DACs are overrated from the start, diminishing returns kick in pretty quick and you better have everything beyond the DAC (amp, and transducers) there to even hope to potentially take advantage. Which is really, really not the same audience as someone looking at a battery power gaming speaker.