While 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound involves placing speakers around your room on a single plane, the concept behind Dolby Atmos audio is to give audio an element of height. If you don’t want to install speakers in your ceiling though, this sound bar is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to pull off the effect.
The LG SJ9 Atmos Soundbar is a 3.1.2 system, but can be easily upgraded to 5.1.2 with a $100 rear channel expansion kit. Assuming you don’t add extra speakers though, that means you get three regular audio channels in the sound bar, a wireless subwoofer for bass, and two special “object” speakers that point upwards, and bounce sound off your ceiling, creating the effect of Atmos surround sound with minimal hardware.
The SJ9 costs at least $700 around the web, but while supplies last, you can grab it from MassDrop for $450. That’s the best price for any non-refurbished Atmos system we’ve seen to date.