We're only three months into 2026, and I've already spent most of my year listening to more soundbars than I can count from the likes of Sonos, LG, Samsung, JBL and Harman Kardon.
By that metric, I’ll have listened to hundreds of soundbars by the time 2027 rolls around. But after my latest stint with the LG Sound Suite H7, it doesn't matter how a manufacturer pitches their flagship performance if there are connectivity shortcomings.
While the wireless connectivity options found on the Sound Suite H7 are bountiful, including Bluetooth 5.4, wi-fi, Apple AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect, wired connectivity options are slightly less well served.
In fact, that soundbar has a single wired connection option, and that is HDMI eARC. This is an output socket only, and it isn't backed up by any sort of additional HDMI passthrough sockets.
In our full review of the new LG flagship soundbar, we noted that the lack of any additional HDMI socket "feels like a missed opportunity considering LG has prided itself on featuring four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 sockets on its TVs for quite some time".
Now, this isn't an issue that's exclusive to the LG Sound Suite H7, as its main competitor and notable What Hi-Fi? Award-winner is also missing this feature.
The Sonos Arc Ultra, which is a superb Dolby Atmos soundbar by all our metrics, is also missing an HDMI passthrough socket. Now, this is easily the best soundbar that we have on hand, and I look forward to listening to it every time I'm reviewing one of its many competitors, but I'm not sure if I could live with it day to day.
HDMI sockets are a precious commodity in my house. My Sony OLED TV is already limited in that it only has two HDMI 2.1 sockets, and the four in total that I do have are currently occupied by a PlayStation 5, a Sony UBP-X700 4K Blu-ray player, a Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Plus, and a Sky Stream box.
That leaves the rest of my AV devices (I admit I probably have more than the average Joe), such as my Apple TV 4K and Nintendo Switch, without an HDMI socket to call home; so, I rely on the very useful HDMI passthrough sockets built into my Sennheiser soundbar to pick up the slack. It's taking up a precious HDMI 2.1 port, so providing a couple of sockets in return is the least it could do.
There are some limitations, such as the fact that these sockets are HDMI 2.0 and don't support the latest gaming functions; however, my ageing Nintendo Switch doesn't support VRR or ALLM, so I'm not too fussed.
We've seen plenty of other soundbars on the market that provide HDMI passthrough sockets too. I have to give Samsung some kudos here: the HW-Q990F offers two HDMI inputs, both rated to support up to 4K/120Hz signals and Dolby Vision and HDR10+. Now that's more like it.
While I really do rate the Sonos Arc Ultra highly, I think Sonos should really consider upping its game in this specific area.
We've seen comments and feedback from various online platforms, with people venting their frustration to Sonos and, more recently, to LG about the lack of HDMI passthrough.
The really frustrating part is that the last LG soundbar that we reviewed, the mid-range, four-star S70TY, featured an HDMI 2.1 passthrough that supported 4K/120Hz gaming. It therefore feels like LG has taken an unnecessary step backwards in this regard.
Controversially, I'm at the point where I probably wouldn't even consider a soundbar unless it had HDMI passthrough.
That might sound extreme, as sound performance is and always will be paramount, but people (myself included) are expecting more from their soundbars these days.
Therefore, functionality is becoming as important as performance, and I think a few soundbar manufacturers need to recognise that.
MORE:
Read our full LG Sound Suite H7 review
As well as our Sonos Arc Ultra review
And check out our picks for the best Dolby Atmos soundbars
