This is the LG QP5 Soundbar, LGs latest offering for those that need a great-sounding setup, but don’t have the space for a full-size soundbar and sub-woofer. The QP5 Eclair comes with a lot of premium technology for a price of ₹59,990, and today we’re going to tell you whether it’s worth going for if you’re in the market for the compact cinema experience.
LG QP5 Eclair Soundbar Design
Design is one of the most important aspects of the QP5, both in terms of form and function. The main speaker is quite compact, measuring less than 30cm, so if you need a soundbar setup with, let’s say, a monitor rather than a big TV, the Eclair fits in quite neatly.
The subwoofer is obviously larger, but at around 39cm in length and around 29cm in height, it’s not exceptionally large, and should easily fit underneath a reasonably sized desk setup, or even on the table itself.
Weight-wise, the main speaker is just over 1.5kg, while the subwoofer is 7.7kg, so if you’re thinking of mounting the entire setup on a table, you may want to keep that in mind.
Moreover, in the interest of being a compact, fuss-free setup, the subwoofer connects to the soundbar wirelessly, but they both do require power individually.
Moving on to the form of the QP5 Eclair, which is actually quite a step away from your usual soundbars. For one, both the main speaker and subwoofer are encased in Jersey fabric and while LG calls this colour variant Black, it looks more of a deep navy blue in person.
The main speaker gets a metal speaker grille on top, underneath which lie the drivers themselves, while the subwoofer’s inner structure is made of wood.
Also watch: LG Tone Free FP9 Review: clean sound, clean ears!
LG QP5 Eclair Soundbar Utility and Connectivity
For utility, the QP5 comes with a good selection of ports. On the back of the main speaker, you’ll see two HDMI ports a USB port, an Optical Audio In and a power input. It’s worth mentioning that there’s ARC/eARC compatibility for the first HDMI out port, which makes connecting the soundbar to a TV a very seamless process. However, there’s only Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity here, and it would have been nice to see a more recent version since this is a new product.
Along with the ports, you’ll also notice five buttons on the back. These control Bluetooth pairing, volume up and down, changing input and turning the soundbar on or off.
There’s also a couple of LED lights on the front of the main speaker to indicate things like the Bluetooth status and volume level.
However, the buttons aren’t the only way to change basic settings, because the QP5 also gets this nice and simple remote. Using it, you can change the volume level, control bluetooth settings, control playback and even access sound presets for certain types of content.
If you’d like to ditch the remote altogether though, or access even more functions, you can download the LG Soundbar app. It’s available on both iOS and Android, and it offers all of the remote’s functionality and then some more. For instance, it allows you to tune the equaliser for both the main speaker and the subwoofer, to tweak them to your preference. It also allows you to run diagnostics to make sure you’ve got the QP5 set up just right, for the best possible experience.
LG QP5 Eclair Soundbar Sound Quality
In terms of technology, the QP5 is quite well-equipped. There’s support for Dolby Atoms, DTS:X, and the AI Sound Pro algorithm which identifies content and tweaks the sound to enhance your listening experience. Moreover, if you use the QP5 soundbar with a compatible LG TV, AI Sound Pro works with the Alpha 9 AI Processor to deliver a clear, consistent viewing experience.
Power-wise, the QP5 is rated for a total 320W of power output, and it delivers that via a 3.1.2 channel setup. The main speaker outputs a total 100W, using 5 driver units, while the subwoofer outputs the rest of the 220W.
Now, in terms of sound fidelity, the QP5 is pretty good, and that main speaker is deceptively loud for its size. It gets almost obnoxiously loud at full chat, and if you’re going to use this setup in a reasonably-sized bedroom, the sound output should suffice.
Sound reproduction is quite clear, and both mids and highs are well-balanced on the whole. The subwoofer didn’t produce a very impressive show, especially when it came to cinematic content, but I realised it was mostly due to how neutral the default sound profile is. Once I tweaked the equaliser to my liking using the LG Soundbar app, the subwoofer produced more than enough thump, even from some pretty demanding, bass-heavy tracks.
Moreover, since the subwoofer gets bi-directional units, there’s very little vibration, so you should be able to mount it on a lower shelf underneath a desk or even on top of it without any issues.
It’s also worth mentioning that the entire setup is tuned by Meridian, who also tuned the LG Tone Free FP9 earbuds we reviewed earlier this year, so sound quality is certainly quite good thanks to that partnership.
LG QP5 Eclair Soundbar Verdict
So, at ₹59,990, the LG QP5 Eclair Soundbar doesn’t come cheap. It’s a premium price tag for a product that does come with a lot of handy features and good sound quality, but also faces a lot of competition from more powerful options in this segment. That being said, the QP5 Eclair is more geared towards someone that needs a powerful, fuss-free audio setup in a compact environment, and in that particular case, it’s possibly the best in the business.
