Eye-popping upscaled pictures? Check. Ear-pounding sound? Check. 10.1 virtual surround sound? Che… wait. What? That’s right, the the LG HT953TV may be a 5.1 surround sound home cinema system, but it also has 10.1 virtual surround sound.
Audiophile Mark Levinson has been casting his professional ear over proceedings here, too, ensuring that playback – particularly stereo – is as luxurious as the looks. And he’s done the trick. The LG HT953TV will grab the attention of any movie fan in search of bracing sonics.
The plethora of speakers, and that 10.1 virtual surround sound mode, ensures that full-HD upscaled DVD sound effects are properly distributed, cocooning you in a chrysalis of noise. Although the 10.1 can sound a little artificial at times.
While the LG HT953TV ensures clean, noise-free and highly detailed upscaled DVD pictures, you can’t help but wonder why LG didn’t equip this with a Blu-ray player, especially at this price. Still, with neat touches, such as a CD player that can burn MP3s straight to some MP3 players, and a remote that can control a docked iPod, you’ll soon forget the lack of Blu-ray.
The LG HT953TV might turn your living room into a spouse-enraging morass of cables and five-fot tall, black sonic monoliths, but it’s a top ranking, middle budget system that delivers the audio-visual goods.
