Sound quality: In its Standard sound mode LG's SH2 delivers sound quality that falls in the fair range, meaning that it has sonic shortcomings that leave a lot to be desired when listening to music but don't rule it out for dialog. The bass has good impact, but is boomy and does not go deep. The midrange is fairly even, but is somewhat muffled and a bit grainy. The treble is subdued. This model doesn't do a good job of recovering room ambience (the sense of the acoustic space in which the music was recorded), and is somewhat congested. The Cinema sound mode makes the sound field wider and taller than the Standard sound mode, but is louder and echoey and more boomy; the ASC sound mode is similar to the Standard mode. There was no significant difference in sound quality between the optical, analog, and Bluetooth inputs. The system can provide satisfying volume in a medium sized room.
TV setup and ease of use: Good overall. Setup: The soundbar can be controlled by TV remotes from LG and other major brands; it also has LG's Sound Sync feature which provides TV remote volume and mute control of the soundbar via an optical or proprietary wireless connection when used with compatible LG TVs. Activation and deactivation of these features is quick and easy, but not intuitive so easy to follow instructions in the on-line manual have to be referred to. Comes with an optical cable for TV connection, a stereo analog cable must be purchased separately if you want or need it to connect your TV. Ease of Use: The soundbar's volume and mute functions can be controlled by many LG and other major TV brand remote controls, and by LG TV remotes through a proprietary optical or wireless connection when used with compatible LG TVs. The soundbar's own remote is somewhat cluttered - the source selection button label uses non-standard notation so it may be hard to identify and the volume mute button is not separated from the and DSP function buttons. An app remote that operates via Bluetooth can also be downloaded onto an Android mobile device; we found the remote to be easy to use and glitch-free. The soundbar console's power and volume controls are marked with commonly used symbols but the source control uses a non-standard label and all are black on black embossed touch controls. All controls are on the top towards the rear where they are fairly easy to access, but they are hard to see because of their lack of contrast. The console lacks a mute control, but it can be unmuted from the console by touching one of the volume controls. The console displays power status. The source display is visible from arms length; it is momentary and can be recalled without changing the source. The console indicates when the volume is being changed, but does not show the volume level. The muting status indicator can easily be seen from arms length but may not be visible from further away due to its position at the top of the soundbar. While the soundbar provides a visual indication that a DSP mode has been selected, but does not indication what the selection is.
Features setup and ease of use: Fair overall. Setup: Bluetooth pairing is very easy - if no Bluetooth device has previously been paired or the paired device does not have Bluetooth activated the unit is automatically in pairing mode once it has been switched on. An Android mobile device Bluetooth remote app is available for use with this soundbar, and the download instructions are included. Ease of Use: The soundbar's physical remote is somewhat cluttered - the source selection button label uses non-standard notation so it may be hard to identify and the volume mute button is not separated from the and DSP function buttons. An app remote that operates via Bluetooth can also be downloaded onto an Android mobile device; we found the remote to be easy to use and glitch-free. The soundbar's power and volume controls are marked with commonly used symbols but the source control uses a non-standard label and all are black on black embossed touch controls. All controls are on the top towards the rear where they are fairly easy to access, but they are hard to see because of their lack of contrast. The console lacks a mute control, but it can be unmuted from the console by touching one of the volume controls. The console displays power status. The source display is visible from arms length; it is momentary and can be recalled without changing the source. The console indicates when the volume is being changed, but does not show the volume level. The muting status indicator can easily be seen from arms length but may not be visible from further away due to its position at the top of the soundbar. While the soundbar provides a visual indication that a DSP mode has been selected, but does not indication what the selection is. Previously paired Bluetooth source devices have to be manually reconnected whenever the soundbar is turned off and then on again.
