It looks the part, and delivers on gaming audio, but lacks when it comes to music—and there's an absurd price tag attached to it.

The LG Ultragear brand is known for its gaming monitors, but they've since branched out with the LG Ultragear GP9 soundbar. It looks the part, and delivers on gaming audio, but lacks when it comes to music and there's an expensive price tag attached to it.

Gaming can be an expensive hobby, but you don't get many gaming speakers that match the price of the LG UltraGear GP9.

With a current retail value of $499.99 from LG's website, can a gaming soundbar really live up to that kind of price tag?

With added features such as the built-in battery, internal microphone, and a wide array of ways to connect to the device, on paper at least, the additional price might seem justified. But the LG UltraGear GP9 falls short of the portable speaker competition thanks to a very meager five-hour battery life, the lack of any IP rating, and a fairly bulky and awkward shape.

LG states a battery life of five hours, but in testing, it was clear that the five hours was actually LG being generous. It was something I was only able to achieve when turning off the speaker's stylish lighting and keeping the volume down to a minimum, otherwise three to four hours depending on the volume is actually more accurate. If the portability of the LG UltraGear GP9 is tempting you, just remember that the 2,600mAh battery isn't going to stand up against other truly portable speakers.

Weighing 3.3lbs, it compares to carrying around a laptop with you, which beyond taking to your yard for a barbeque, isn't really practical.

LG has clearly gone the extra mile in a bid to make something truly unique with this gaming soundbar, mixing immersive game audio with a technically portable format, but when you look at other portable speakers, such as JBL's range of portable speakers, the GP9 is nowhere near as portable and lacks protection from the elements.

The LG Ultragear GP9 offers multiple ways to connect to your devices, including USB-C, optical, Bluetooth, and even has an auxiliary out for connecting your headphones when needed.

Thanks to the intuitive buttons on the top, it's quick and easy to change between sources. This lets you switch between optical or USB-C to Bluetooth, for music on the go with a simple press of a button. The microphone button on the volume slider makes it super easy to switch to the built-in microphone too, perfect for when you want to chat in Discord, but are fed up with wearing a headset.

Unfortunately, there isn't a way to use Bluetooth and a wired connection at the same time. The Bluetooth aspect feels like it was added "just because" rather than because it was actually needed. The lack of portability doesn't make this a Bluetooth speaker and feels more like an afterthought rather than a primary focus.

So far, you might be thinking this gaming soundbar doesn't sound worth investing in. But now we've got most of the bad stuff out of the way, we can focus on the bread and butter of this soundbar; its usage in gaming, which ultimately is likely the main reason you're considering buying it anyway.

The soundbar features three buttons for quickly switching between gaming audio modes. FPS mode offers precise multidirectional audio, making it easier to identify the location of sounds such as footsteps or gun shots. RTS mode creates a wider and more immersive audio, bringing the world to life around you. And the EQ sound mode lets you create your own audio profile in the UltraGear Studio app.

I tested all of these sound modes, and was honestly blown away by just how rich, detailed and immersive the sound is. After only a few minutes of testing the RTS mode on Amazon Game's New World, I already wanted to spend less time listening through my new Astro A50 headset.

As I hit rocks and chopped trees, not only was I pleasantly surprised by the booming bass of the initial strike, the sound of my axe hitting the tree, and my pick hitting the rock carried throughout the valley in which I was farming, I could even hear the faint echo of people in the distance. The hustle and bustle as they gathered around to play music in the nearby town was something I hadn't noticed before.

If you play multiplayer games, or just enjoy hanging out in Discord, using a gaming soundbar or anything other than a headset can often cause more issues than they are worth. But this is another problem that LG has solved in an attempt to justify the higher price for the LG UltraGear GP9.

Normally when using speakers, the sound from your game, and even your friends talking, can cause echos. This can not only become annoying for you, but also those you are chatting with. But the GP9's built-in microphone has been designed to separate voice from the speaker audio, making it a viable option to completely replace your headset and use the soundbar not only for games, but also for platforms like Discord too.

Using the built-in microphone is optional, with gamers simply needing to press the button on the volume wheel when they want to activate it.

The larger, weightier design might not be great for using the LG UltraGear GP9 as a portable speaker, but it does look seriously cool as a gaming soundbar. With customizable RGB lights on the front, as well as the logo in the middle, it's hard to deny that it looks the part.

The GP9 has been tuned for playing games not listening to music, which becomes very clear when listening to your favorite songs on it. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't sound bad, but it isn't great either, especially when you consider the price. Compared to other Bluetooth speakers, you'll find much better elsewhere if you value distinct separation between mid to high frequencies.

Essentially, the GP9 is bass-heavy. Like, really heavy. And that's thanks to its two bass radiators. It has a tendency to vibrate at higher volumes, which isn't something you really want when listening to music from varying genres.

It's clear this soundbar was designed for gaming and nothing else. That's not to say you couldn't listen to music on it while you're gaming, working, or doing some chores around the house, but it's not worth investing in solely for listening to music on.

In addition, if you enjoy relaxing to a movie on your computer, you might want to slip your headset back on, because the LG UltraGear GP9 struggles to offer an enjoyable experience. As with the music side of things, the GP9 fails to separate sound frequencies, simply offering loud, indistinguishable audio that adds no real impact to the movie. I played several scenes from Army of the Dead on Netflix, as well as Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings on Disney+, and both were quite disappointing.

I have to admit, I'm completely blown away by how incredibly immersive games sound since upgrading to the LG UltraGear GP9. I can honestly say that I have noticed sounds in games that I didn't even know existed. But is that alone enough to justify such a premium when compared to other similar devices, such as the Razer Leviathan which costs half the price and almost sounds as good?

At a retail price of $499.99 directly from LG store, the UltraGear GP9 is hard to justify. But with retail giants like Amazon offering the GP9 for a much more reasonable $249 it's an audio delight for gamers that is perfect for taking away the strain from prolonged headset usage.

If you purchase the GP9 with the mindset that you're investing in a gaming speaker, then there's no doubt you'll be pleasantly surprised with what's on offer. No matter whether you're playing an MMO, FPS, or an entirely different genre, I'm confident this soundbar lives up, and even takes over the competitors in this particular market. However, if you go into this thinking you're going to get a soundbar that offers a decent all-around experience, you're not going to be happy.

Just know exactly what you're buying here, and you won't feel let down.

Kegan is an avid gamer across multiple platforms and has had a keen interest in computing from a young age, building his own rigs to expand his knowledge of technology. Although he graduated from university with a mental health nursing degree, he has followed his passion for tech and has been freelancing for 5+ years.

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