There are lots of ways to access online video services like Netflix and Hulu Plus. You can get a set-top box like a Roku or Apple TV. You can get a connected HDTV. You can get a game console. Or, if you want to put some punch in the audio of anything you stream (and anything else you might watch), you can get the LG NB3730A soundbar. It combines 2.1-channel sound backed by a wireless subwoofer with a suite of online services and apps comparable to any LG connected HDTV or Blu-ray player. It even sounds good, if not quite enough to justify the $399.99 (list) price tag if you already have a way to access online services. If you just want quality sound with Bluetooth, the Editors' Choice Sony HT-CT260 has a more palatable price tag.
Design
The glossy black LG NB3730A is smooth and shiny, with both an alphanumeric blue LED display and touch-sensitive controls built seamlessly into the middle of the plastic panel. Two midrange drivers and a tweeter sit on either side, uncovered by any grille. The back of the soundbar holds a minimum of ports: an optical audio input, an HDMI output, and an Ethernet port if you don't want to use the built-in Wi-Fi. The lack of 3.5mm or RCA stereo audio inputs seems strange, since most other soundbars have them.
The remote is huge for a soundbar, looking more like a midrange HDTV's remote than any speaker controller. It measures 9.2 inches long and has a number pad, a navigation pad, playback controls, four color buttons, Power, Input, Volume Up/Down, and Channel Up/Down buttons for your HDTV, and, of course, a large volume rocker surrounded by audio buttons. This complicated remote is necessary because of the NB3730A's HDTV integration and connected features, explained below. It's a good remote with large, comfortable buttons, but it absolutely dwarfs every other soundbar remote we've seen yet.
Online Services
The NB3730A is unique among soundbars because of its online features. While most soundbars are simply end devices for outputting sound, the NB3730A uses built-in Wi-Fi to serve as a media hub and access the same sorts of apps and services available through LG's connected HDTVs. The soundbar can access Netflix, Hulu Plus, YouTube, and other commonly used online services, along with software in LG's LG Apps library. Most of the menu system is based on the screen display, so you need to connect the soundbar to your HDTV through the HDMI out port.
You effectively need to run two wires between your soundbar and your HDTV to make it fully functional. The HDMI output lets you access the media hub features, and the optical input lets you listen to sound from the TV or any Blu-ray player, cable or satellite box, or game system connected to it. If your HDTV doesn't have an optical output, this soundbar will be nearly useless to you.
You can wirelessly stream music from your mobile device to the NB3730A through Bluetooth, a feature that's becoming much more common in soundbars. ?It's an easy process that can be done by cycling through the input settings with the remote. The Bluetooth prompt appears on the soundbar's own display, so you don't have to pair through the display on your HDTV (but it does show more useful information, like what device is actively paired with it). For the vast majority of interaction with the soundbar, when you're not listening to audio from another source, the screen shows much more information than the LED display.
Performance
Music sounds very good through the NB3730A, even if it loses a bit of treble detail in favor of clear midrange and strong low end. I streamed music from my iPad to the soundbar over Bluetooth, and everything from The Knife's "Silent Shout" to Jonathan Coulton's "Baby Got Back (In the Style of Glee)" came through clearly. The wireless subwoofer worked without a hitch, and "Silent Shout" was rendered with satisfying punch, and without distorting the low end in the song's intro. Treble doesn't sound particularly strong, but it also doesn't sound overly bright, and with the solid midrange the balance isn't hard to like.
The accurate sound and strong subwoofer help when watching movies. In the game scene in Tron Legacy, Daft Punk's sweeping soundtrack and the sound of glass shattering and crowds cheering filled the room, with the dialogue clear against the background noise. In Jurassic Park 3D, the tyrannosaurus scene had clear but slightly distant-sounding raindrops, as if the roof of the jeep was slightly muffled. The roaring dinosaur produced satisfying bass, making the room shake. The treble's lack of punch hurt the clarity of the raindrops and the dialogue slightly compared to the Sony HT-CT260 and the Sharp HT-SB60, a wider soundbar suited for 60-inch HDTVs that can produce a much broader sound field. The sound quality was still very good, but it lacked that last bit of depth the other soundbars provide.
The LG NB3730A is one of the most full-featured soundbars you'll find, thanks to its built-in media hub abilities. If you don't already have a connected HDTV, or connected Blu-ray player, or game system, or Roku or Apple TV, this is a great way to add both online services and better sound to your home theater. It's pricey compared with the Editors' Choice Sony HT-CT260, which manages to offer slightly better sound, and if you have a really big HDTV (60-inch or bigger), you might want to consider the Sharp HT-SB60 instead. Neither has online services and the HT-SB60 doesn't have Bluetooth, but they both offer superior midrange and treble, if only by degrees.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/HCQtm5xYz_M/0,2817,2418664,00.asp
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