Review: Lovesac StealthTech

What's better than sinking into your couch, cuddling up under a blanket, and starting a movie for a relaxing night in? Add snacks and a glass of wine, and it's nearly as good as when you could stroll through the aisles of Blockbuster with your friends. But video stores are out, and hidden surround sound has arrived. 

Surround sound speakers can be ugly and hard to assemble if you want to mount them and hide wires. If you rent or move around a lot, that method might be completely impossible. To remedy this, Lovesac has boosted its Sactional couches with StealthTech, which includes hidden speakers and subwoofers. 

I've been living with one for a few months, and it has proven just how bad my standard TV speakers were. Once it's set up, you can easily control the volume, and it feels like being in your own private movie theater, without the sticky floors. 

Sactional couches are made up of seats and sides that you can configure however you want.  StealthTech adds a subwoofer that screws into the bottom of a seat (you just need your hands, no screwdrivers here!), and new sides, called Sound and Charge, that visually look the same but are internally equipped with front- and rear-facing Harman Kardon speakers that use Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. They also have a wireless charging pad built-in, so you no longer have to finagle a charger to reach you while you lounge. Just take note of where it is so you'll remember when the cover is over it.

Those sides plug into the subwoofer, which is then plugged into the wall. Once you have everything hooked up and ready, you can turn the seat over and set up the couch as normal. Until you turn the system on and hear it, you'd never know this was anything but a plush couch.

Included in the StealthTech line is a center channel that plugs into your TV (and then connects wirelessly to the subwoofer). This center channel alone sounds great, like adding a standard soundbar to your TV. But the real draw, obviously, is the hidden speakers and subwoofer in the couch itself.

The discreet surround sound is impressive. My October scary movie marathons were a little spookier using this system. I rewatched Signs for the hundredth time, and hearing that alien clicking coming from over my shoulder was chilling.

There's a remote for quick controls, but the app is a great addition. I selected my couch's layout and where each StealthTech piece is—there are currently only recommended layouts, so if yours is different, you can only choose what's closest to it. I was also able to choose the color and type of fabric for my cover so the sound is properly adjusted to travel through it. 

You can cycle through four sound modes: movies, music, TV, and news. Those auto-adjust the speakers and subwoofer to what Lovesac thinks works best for that mode, but you can edit as you please, add more bass, and adjust the speaker balance and treble. You can also turn the entire system off, which I do when I just want some background noise from the TV.

Sactionals are meant to be organized and reorganized as you add more pieces or your living space changes. You can make U-shaped, L-shaped, square, or regular old rectangular couches. In theory, they are simple to put together—no tools are needed and all the pieces connect with clamps and wooden squares called shoes that the feet click into. 

In practice, they're actually quite annoying and hard to deal with, and the pieces come in so many heavy boxes. They ship through FedEx, so you may want to have some cash or freshly baked goodies for your delivery driver. For this price, someone should really come and set it up for you.

Trying to add the new sides and subwoofer seat to my completed setup was exhausting to do on my own. I ended up having to wait for my partner to get home to help me finish. When it was all done, I couldn't figure out why the subwoofer wasn't working. Then I realized the plug had come out from the actual device, which was underneath the seat. I had to pick up the whole thing. I wish it was designed in the same vein as storage seats you might find in an Ikea couch, which are on hinges, so if you needed to reset or replug in the device you could just lift up the top of the seat. Lovesac does have storage seats, but they aren't compatible with the subwoofer.

Lovesac Sactionals are one of the best couches we've tried, but also one of the most expensive. A standard three-seat sofa, which in Lovesac world includes three seats and five sides, costs nearly $4,000. 

If you're buying a Sactional for the first time, you can add StealthTech to your order. You can also buy the pieces separately to add to your current setup. The upgrade kit includes two Sound and Charge sides (left and right), a subwoofer, a center channel, and a power hub that can be hidden in the side. However you do it, you're paying an additional $3,700, or more if you want to add more speakers.

Cost aside, this is the comfiest couch I've ever sat on, and now it's also the most high-tech. Even the covers don't look like covers (I was used to couch covers that look like a sheet tucked into cushions). I haven't had it long enough to test its long-term functionality as a surround sound system, but the pieces have been fine so far (I had none of the quality issues of older versions). That makes me think the people running Lovesac listen to their customers.

Unlike other couches you might pay a few hundred dollars for now and then shell out another few hundred dollars to replace when they give out (like when my Ikea couch broke after only a year), these should last well. If you can swing a two-seat couch right now, or even just a large armchair—with or without StealthTech—you can add a piece whenever you have the cash or as your family grows. Pieces for Lovesacs also make pretty good gifts, if people know you need one.