We've built a streamlined home cinema system around the awesome LG C5 OLED TV

The new LG OLEDs are fresh in the shops, and, therefore, fresh out of the What Hi-Fi? test rooms.

As has become expected over the past few years, they are strong contenders in an extremely competitive marketplace.

This shouldn’t be a massive surprise, given that LG still makes the majority of OLED panels out there no matter the badge on the TV itself, but it is always reassuring to discover, each year, that eyes haven’t been taken off the metaphorical ball by the Korean giant’s fine engineering department.

With the LG ranges over the years, it’s the C-series that tends to hit the sweet-spot for us for providing the best bang for your buck.

The range-topping LG G5 is a remarkable piece of televisual technology, but – inevitably – you must pay a heavy price for the privilege of owning the very best.

The C5 may not feature the flashy new Primary RGB Tandem OLED panel of the G5, nor indeed the MLA OLED technology of last year’s G4, but it does sport more than enough of its premium sibling’s capabilities to make up for most of those tech shortfalls; and, of course, at a far more affordable price.

The C5, then, is the hub around which we centre this amazing home cinema system.

The system

• TV: LG C5 (£1900 / $1999 / AU$3299)
• Soundbar: Sonos Arc Ultra (£999 / $999 / AU$1799)
• Console: Sony PlayStation 5 (£430 / $450 / AU$800)
• 4K Blu-ray player: Panasonic DP-UB820 (£349 / $400 / AU$665)
• Set-top box: Sky Stream (from £15 per month / not available in US or Aus)
• Total price: £3678 / $3848 / AU$6563

LG C5

One of the joys of LG C5 ownership is the ease of set-up.

Quite a few of the best OLED TVs from other brands (we may be looking at you here, Philips) really give of their best only after a thorough rummage around in the settings menus.

While the results are undeniably spectacular once you get things just so, not everyone has the time or inclination to get so hands-on with their TV – and so never benefit from the best it has to offer.

No such worries with this LG.

If you are watching content in 4K (and why wouldn’t you be, whenever possible?), just stick the C5 in Filmmaker mode and you will be set up for some stunningly cinematic images – it’s as easy as that.

Of course, you can tweak things to fine-tune the image, but for most people, most of the time, there is little need.

Our verdict in our review of the C5 says it all really (as one would hope…): “It's probably the best TV for most people, as its exceptional picture quality and uncompromising feature set are certified crowd pleasers. It remains an excellent choice for gamers, too, and its Dolby Vision Filmmaker mode is a major bonus for film buffs.”

We do, however, go on to say, “We wish it had better built-in audio…” This is by no means an unusual complaint for a modern TV, and is still a major issue as far as getting a home cinema set-up to do the name justice.

A flat-panel TV’s sound, in our experience, simply cannot meet the standards of its excellent picture. Which is why you will see in pretty much all our TV reviews the recommendation to invest in a soundbar.

Sonos Arc Ultra

The Sonos Arc Ultra we propose for this system is, simply, the best soundbar on a performance-per-pound basis available. It trumps its multi-Award-winning forebear in every department, which is saying a lot.

If you want Dolby Atmos surround capabilities without having to go down the bulky separates route, this is pretty much the best option now available to you.

The Arc Ultra performs impressively on its own, but there is also scope for upgrading the package by adding a pair of Sonos Era 300s to act as rear surround speakers, and a Sonos Sub in the (relatively unlikely) event that you feel the need to boost the bass performance.

It is the Ultra’s improvements over its illustrious predecessor that really impresses. We wouldn’t have said that the original Arc’s bass was at all a weakness, but the Ultra takes things to a new level, with a tight, tuneful and expressive performance that makes the original sound fairly woolly in comparison.

The extra drivers over the original (the Ultra boasts a 9.1.4-channel configuration, up from the Arc’s 5.0.2) really pay off, with the spatial sound-effect placement particularly impressive.

As we say in the verdict of our full review of the Arc Ultra, when comparing it with the Arc: “It really is quite amazing how much more crisp, spacious, precise and detailed the Ultra sounds.”

The two central parts of this system work brilliantly together, with the sonic abilities of the soundbar beautifully complementing the images of the OLED screen. But what to feed this dynamic duo?

Sony PlayStation 5

It would be remiss not to take advantage of the C5’s gaming capabilities; its full complement of HDMI 2.1 sockets mean it will be future-proofed for many years to come, and can – for the hardcore gamer – deal with both of the current-generation console big boys.

We have selected the PS5 here over the Xbox Series X for a couple of reasons.

First, we think it pips Microsoft’s offering as an overall package; but second, the C5 has a handy trick up its sleeve: you can play Xbox games through the LG’s Xbox app – no console required.

You won’t quite get the performance of a full console, but it’s a really handy and fun way of getting some Xbox action without a large up-front cost.

Panasonic DP-UB820

While streaming is gaining in both popularity and 4K picture quality, we stand by our assertion that the very best performance comes from physical software; so we recommend investing in a Blu-ray player to get the best from this set-up.

If you have a PlayStation 5 with a disc drive, you might be tempted to use the console’s Blu-ray capability. We feel compelled to steer you away from this course of action.

The PS5’s drive is competent, but not up to the standards of the Panasonic DP-UB820 – and it can get almost intrusively noisy in action as well.

Better, we feel, to buy a digital-only PS5, and then invest the savings made towards the Blu-ray player – your TV and sound package deserve the best sources you can give them.

As we conclude in our review of the Blu-ray player, the Panasonic DP-UB820 delivers a hugely immersive and impactful picture, and backs it up with a strong audio performance.

Sky Stream

The final piece of our brilliant home-cinema package comes in the form of the Sky Stream puck.

If you are at all interested in viewing live sports, this is the cheapest way to view them in top 4K HDR quality; if the ultimate picture quality isn’t of such importance to you, you could quite easily forego the Sky Stream, and access Sky Sport and other packages via the TV’s Now app.

Our system verdict

Regular readers will, perhaps, be wondering where the Apple TV 4K – a product that regularly features in our home-cinema systems – has got to.

While the Apple streamer is still the option of choice for the very best video streaming quality you can get, the LG C5’s in-built apps (and it has pretty much everything you could wish for) are very well optimised for quality and perform excellently.

An Apple TV 4K, then, might be an upgrade to be considered in the future, but it is by no means a necessity for this wonderful set-up.

This, then, is a superb home-cinema set-up in its own right – and one that will stand you in good stead for years to come; but, crucially, it is also upgradeable in a number of ways, should the funds and desire arise. And that’s a win/win in anybody’s book.

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Looking for alternatives to any of the components in our system? Then check out our guides to the best TVs, best soundbars and best Blu-ray players