Description
What the LG S40TR Is and Who It Suits
The LG S40TR is a 4.1 channel soundbar system, which means a soundbar, a wireless subwoofer and a pair of rear speakers in one purchase. The listing gives a surround sound channel configuration of 4.1, a Number of Items count of 4, bar dimensions of 28.4 inches wide by 3.4 inches deep by 2.5 inches high, a total weight of 12.9 pounds, plastic and metal construction, Bluetooth, and a black finish. Included components are a rear speaker cable, an optical cable, a remote, a battery and a warranty card. It first became available in April 2024.
Getting rear speakers in the box is the point of this product and it changes the value calculation considerably. Most soundbars simulate surround from the front, and simulation is always a compromise. Physical rear speakers behind the listener produce surround effects that no amount of processing from a single bar can match. Buyers comparing systems that include rears should also look at the ULTIMEA Poseidon D60, while those weighing a one piece bar instead can read the Klipsch Flexus Core 200.
How the Rear Speakers Connect
This is the detail that most affects installation and it deserves a clear explanation. The included components list names a rear speaker cable, and Subwoofer Connectivity Technology is listed as Wireless. In systems built this way, the subwoofer contains the wireless receiver and the amplification for the rear channels, and the rear speakers connect to the subwoofer by wire rather than to the bar.
That arrangement has a practical consequence worth planning around. The wireless link runs from the bar to the subwoofer only. The rear speakers still need cable, run from wherever the subwoofer sits to the back of the room. Positioning the subwoofer somewhere central rather than beside the television will shorten those runs considerably. Anyone who wants genuinely wireless rears needs a system where each rear speaker has its own power and receiver, which the Dynasty ProAudio WSA-5RP wireless speaker kit illustrates. Alternatives across the sound bars category vary in how they handle this.
Connections and What Is Missing
Special Feature is listed as Optical Input and USB Port, and an optical cable is included in the box. Optical is an entirely adequate connection for a soundbar and carries stereo and compressed surround formats without difficulty. What it cannot do is carry the higher bandwidth audio formats, and it does not support the control features that HDMI ARC provides, which is what allows a television remote to change the soundbar volume.
The listing does not mention HDMI anywhere in the special features or the included components, and that absence matters. Buyers who want single remote control of volume, or who want to send higher resolution audio from a television, should confirm with LG whether this model has an HDMI ARC port before purchasing. LG’s own soundbar interface, which allows settings to be adjusted from the television screen, is typically tied to that connection. Readers who need a confirmed HDMI eARC connection should look at the Hisense AX3120G.
Size, Placement and Everyday Use
At 28.4 inches wide the bar suits screens of roughly 43 to 55 inches, where it looks proportionate under the display. The 2.5 inch height is low enough to sit in front of most televisions without covering the bottom of the picture or an infrared receiver. Controller Type is listed as Remote Control with two AAA batteries included, and Control Method is Remote.
The subwoofer and the rear speakers both need power outlets or, in the rears’ case, cable back to the subwoofer, so a room plan is worth sketching before installation. The reward for that effort is real: a 4.1 system with speakers behind the seating produces an effect that no one piece bar reproduces, and it is the main reason to choose this over a simpler product. The processor count of 1 in the listing points to onboard digital processing for the surround decoding. Buyers can compare a full one box alternative in the Samsung HW-Q910C.
Highlights
- Rear speakers included in the box, not sold separately.
- Wireless subwoofer with no cable to the bar.
- 4.1 channel configuration for genuine surround rather than simulation.
- Optical cable and remote with batteries supplied.
- Bar at 28.4 inches wide, sized for mid range televisions.
- Complete four piece system at a listed 12.9 pounds total.
Things To Consider
The specification block has a few errors, though fewer than most in this catalog. Speaker Size is listed as 2.5 Inches, which is the height of the bar rather than any driver diameter. Number of Power Levels reads 1. Unit Count is listed as 1.0 Count while Number of Items reads 4, reflecting the four piece system. Product Dimensions describe the bar alone rather than the system.
The more consequential gaps are what the listing does not say. There is no confirmation of HDMI ARC, no driver sizes anywhere in the system, no subwoofer driver diameter, no power rating, no list of supported audio formats beyond the Dolby Audio reference, and no statement of the rear speaker cable length supplied, which determines whether the rears will actually reach the back of a given room. All of these should be confirmed with LG before purchase.
The listing also shows no customer rating and no ratings count at all, so no aggregate buyer feedback is available from this data on a product released in April 2024. On the product itself, a 4.1 configuration has no dedicated center channel, which means dialogue is produced by the left and right channels rather than by a speaker aimed at the seats, and there are no height channels, so Dolby Atmos content will be played back without its overhead layer.
Who Should Buy It, and Who Should Not
This suits a buyer who wants real surround effects from speakers behind the seating without assembling a system from separate components, and who can run cable from the subwoofer position to the rear of the room. That single capability is what makes it worth choosing over a simpler bar.
It does not suit anyone unwilling to run rear cables, and it does not suit a buyer who needs HDMI ARC confirmed for television remote volume control, since the listing does not mention it. Those in the second group should verify with LG or choose a bar where the HDMI connection is explicitly stated.
