Customer Ratings & Reviews

It’s amazing to hear how good a Soundbar can fill a room. We have a game/theatre room that has a traditional receiver with wired 6.1 speakers and have loved it. We didn’t want to wire and mount speakers in our family room but wanted the same surround sound. We weren’t very impressed with most of the soundbars we heard and didn’t trust one could accomplish what we wanted until we checked out the Samsung Harmon Kardon options they had on display at Best Buy. The HW-950 blew us away. It’s a pretty heavy bar, and looks good under our 75” Samsung TV. There are no distracting lights when it’s on, just a small display on the far right that tells you how it’s connected (HDMI, TV ARC, BT), then goes blank. It will display the sound level as a number when you adjust the volume. It was very easy to set up & easy to register with Samsung.com. We like that there are two HDMI inputs so our son can hook up his PS4. Pairing our iPhones via Bluetooth is really easy and great to listen to our library of music. (Today, I couldn’t hear sound coming from the back speakers while listening via Bluetooth/so I’ll be looking into that.) The speakers on the bar sound great!!! The two back speakers are a good size and quality. They link easily and sound pretty good. They are not really loud but provide a very good surround sound. While watching a 4K movie that was 5.1 it sounded as if we had speakers on the side of our room, as the bar has speakers that project out the side. This has Dolby Atmos and dts-x but we haven’t found a lot that’s recorded in those to enjoy. We’re still glad we have it! This is really loud too, and the sound stays clear. We think the bass is more than sufficient for movies. This does a great job with the volume of dialogue and background noise. There’s no need to constantly adjust the volume. Explosions don’t drown out conversations. It does a great job of separating everything. We bought this as open box. It’s in excellent condition. We saved a little and ended up with a sound system that really does compete with the wired set up. We’re happy and recommend this.

I have had the Samsung N950 hooked up for a little over a week in my main media room and have put it through all of my daily media uses. Streaming Netflix/Hulu, playing Xbox, watching movies, and listening to some music. I pitted the 7.1.4 soundbar against my traditional 7.1 speaker setup that resides in my media room before ultimately transitioning it to my den TV. My 7.1 (non-Atmos) setup includes a Yamaha Aventage RX-A750 receiver, and a full Klipsch (2 floorstanding, center, 2 bookshelf in front presence, rear surrounds, and 10" woofer) speaker system. I wanted to put them head to head out of curiosity, but also because Samsung claims this to be a suitable stand in to a traditional speaker system. I will get into my thoughts on the soundbar system, and then finish up with what I found in the comparison. Design: The system is built like a tank. I had difficulty bringing the box in and up a flight of stairs on my own. The shipping info said it was 61lbs..I believe it. Taking the speakers out of the box is a pretty simple exercise - just a couple of pieces of foam and wrapping and all of the equipment is out. I like when items are well packed because if they put some thought into something disposable like packaging then they surely put a lot of thought into the product. The soundbar, speakers, and woofer all come in an attractive black finish. The soundbar is quite sturdy feeling, and pretty hefty - it has 13 speakers in it for crying out loud! The rear surrounds also have a nice build and weight to them - the weight makes them feel more premium. The woofer is a pretty standard black box that will be fine tucked away or out in the open - nothing really special here. The soundbar and speakers have very nice metal perforated grills that live up to the systems premium price. The WAF (wife acceptance factor) for this system is pretty high, the speakers and soundbar are elegant and fit nicely with the decor. The soundbar itself is pretty large. I have a 60" TV and it is only a few inches narrower (48.25"), so make sure you have enough space for this beast to reside (dims are 48.25 W x 5.25 D x 3.25 H). The power rating, per the manual is 18W x 10 + 10W x 3. The rear speakers are larger than your standard satellites, but still weigh about 5 lbs apiece (dims are 8.25 H x 5.5 D x 4.75 W). Power rating is 35W x 2 for each speaker. The rears have threaded inserts (1/4-20 I believe) for mounting to stands or for wall mounting. If wall mounting, be sure to get mounts that can handle 15+ lbs (mounts rated to just 10 lbs will likely sag). The subwoofer dims are 8.5 W x 15.5 D x 16.5 H, and its rated to 162W peak (so probably 75-85W RMS). The remote is nicely done. It feels good in the hand and has a dead simple layout. For the most part you will be concerned with the volume button, which is a nice rocker switch that has a good tactile feedback when moved. I like when remotes have a simple layout and don't try to do too much. There is a small display on the front of the soundbar that you navigate with the remote. I didn't care for the display due to its size, and the fact it only displays 3-4 characters across at a time (longer menu items scroll). To me this is the only part of the design that feels half thought out. I understand there are constraints due to the number of speakers contained within the bar, but I felt this could have be better laid out. I had trouble navigating the menus with any sort of speed due to this limitation. This setup screams for an on-screen display (OSD) on the TV. Keep the small screen for when you are playing music (i.e. TV is off), but utilize the HDMI passthrough to add a simple OSD. It would have made configuring things so much easier. Initial Setup The initial setup was a breeze. It took me longer to unpack the speakers and necessary cords than it did to set it up. I plugged the soundbar in to power, followed by the rears, and subwoofer. They all automatically connected/paired, which was impressive. The pairing time was only a few seconds (I had to unplug and move things a few times, and they always reconnected super fast). I hooked my Xbox into HDMI1, and another cable went out to my TV. All together it took about 10 minutes to hook up. The right-angle power cord plugs made it easy to plug in behind things, which sped up the process. Sound Setup (Calibration) The sound setup for this system is pretty basic. This is a plus and a minus. On the plus side it keeps things pretty easy for people to configure. On the downside it affects your ability to truly fine tune the system. You can adjust each speaker and subwoofer to +/- 6. Same goes for bass and treble. There are also 3 sound effect modes to choose from that output different channels (2.1, 5.1, 7.1, or 7.1.4) depending on the input. The manual has a nice chart explaining this. I have my XBox set to mix Dolby Atmos for all of its output (Look for the app in the Xbox store - its $15 I believe), so these modes were unavailable to me since it will always output 7.1.4. This is as far as you can adjust the system without downloading the Samsung Smartthings app. From within the app you can adjust the equalizer settings further than just bass and treble. To be honest I would have loved to have seen a microphone calibration setup like I have had with my receivers over the years. It is such an easy way to adjust each speaker for your intended listening position, but I can understand that it may be difficult to implement due to the nature of the soundbar. Sound Quality I felt the sound quality to be, hands down, the best I have ever heard from a soundbar setup. The soundstage was broad, each speaker channel could be identified, and the Atmos mixing really made things come alive. The system filled the room with sound, and made for an immersive listening experience. Watching TV shows on Netflix/Hulu was pretty good. Dialogue came through great, and was very crisp. Some shows are mixed better than others, which is somewhat noticeable at times when the sound becomes a little too sharp. I'm not sure if this is due to the processing being done by my Xbox or the speaker system. Either way it's not too bad, but something to keep in mind. Playing games with the system was excellent, and it really added to the immersion. I played Rise of the Tomb Raider (a game that supports Atmos), and it was awesome to hear the the sounds coming from above. I played a number of other games without native Atmos support (Halo 5, Battlefield One, and PUBG), and I felt they got a little extra bump in immersion with the 'upconverted' signal. Overall pretty great gaming experience. Music reproduction was pretty good. The mids and highs were really handled well, and vocals were super crisp. The lows, and bass were a little lacking for me, but it is tough to get really good lows without larger woofers. Where the system really shined was with Atmos mixed movies. I watched several movies: Thor: Ragnarok, Skyscraper, and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. The sound was fantastic for these movies! The battle at the end of Thor was made that much better with the extra Atmos channels. You could hear the T-Rex roaring above you in Jurassic World, and the helicopters flying overhead in Skyscraper. It was a pretty cool experience to say the least. My only gripe is I wish the subwoofer had a little more kick. I love bass, so this may be a personal preference coming through. At times I wish I could turn the sub up more, but I already had it maxed out. Keep in mind I still found that this subwoofer is still one of the better, if not best, I have heard from a soundbar setup. It never became muddy or overblown even at max levels, which is impressive. Comparisons I said I would wrap up with a comparison to my existing system. My current system definitely comes at a steeper price point - right around 3K, so the Samsung comes in quite a bit cheaper. The amount of setup time required for my original system is in the order of a few days. Running wiring inside walls, mounting speakers, terminating wires, etc. took so much time and effort. Am I glad I did it, yes. Would I do it again, yes - but I would loathe it. The Samsung system took 10 minutes - I can set this system up a hundred times, and still be faster. Sound quality was tough to evaluate. My media room has a vaulted ceiling and a large open area to one side This really affected the Samsung system. It still sounded great, but threw the listening positions out of whack (the ceiling-reflected sound landed up closer to the TV than it did me). My original system for sure sounded better in that room. That is why I moved the Samsung system to my den. It has a flat 8' ceiling with walls closer in on the sides. In a room like this the Samsung sounded, so much better than before. I would not recommend using this system with a vaulted ceiling unless you are able to get those listening positions just right. Overall sound quality - my original system was still better by a decent margin. It provided a richer sound across all EQ levels, a broader soundstage, and greater fine tuning. It didn't require reflecting sound, so the room config didn't hurt it. Was it a couple of grand better - no, and the effort it took to get to that point was tremendous. The Samsung system did trump my original setup with its ceiling-reflected sound, though. It was such a cool listening experience to hear things above your head like that. That is something my current system can't match. Wrap-Up So this brings me back to Samsung's claim that this soundbar system can be a good stand in for a discrete surround sound/receiver setup. To that claim I wholeheartedly agree. This is really a great system, and it is so much easier (and less expensive) to implement. I'm not sure I would have gone the full speaker setup route in the first place if this had been on the market. Take a listen and see for yourself.

I tried Sonos and had a dedicated 5.1 setup. This had a better midrange and soundstage. Atmos was 4th on my priority list so it had to stand on its own. Connected to my Samsung tv it’s a better integration and the direct HDMI ports ensure my tv doesn’t downgrade the signal. I’d give it 4.5 stars if I could.

I recently purchased this soundbar to replace a Samsung receiver and Klipsch speakers. When I heard this soundbar in Best Buy on display, I knew it would make our movie nights much more enjoyable. Installation was a breeze and works with the current Samsung tv remote we have. The wireless speakers and sub sound amazing! I definitely would recommend this to bring home the theater experience!

The Samsung 7.1.4 Channel Soundbar turned our tv room into a concert hall. Wireless Surround speakers on stands and huge bass module pump up the sound. 17 speakers total are just right. Too heavy to mount to swivel mount of tv but amazing sound nonetheless.

==== Summary ==== The Samsung HW-N950 is a fantastic soundbar system that offers genuine 7.1.4-channel surround sound with clear and focused dialogue, crystal-clear sound, excellent dynamic range and soundstage, thundering bass, and excellent object-based audio (Dolby Atmos & DTS-X). All the hardware components are built with premium materials and the fit-and-finish is excellent. Besides the remote, the soundbar can also be controlled & updated via the intuitive SmartThings app. Samsung and Harmon Kardon have hit it out of the park with this premium and great-sounding audio system that enriches your multimedia experience at home. It is a sensational product. *Pros: -17 speakers deliver amazing surround sound - from the front, the sides, and from above. -Genuine 7.1.4 speaker configuration - no psychoacoustics or virtual audio processing trickery. -Dolby Atmos & DTS-X deliver an immersive and dimensional sound experience. No gimmicks. -Thunderous & hard-hitting bass. -4K Pass-Through. -Easy and simple setup (not even 5 minutes). -Can stream music through Bluetooth and Wifi. -The SmartThings app provides additional control over the soundbar. -Amazon Alexa integration & control. Samsung Bixby is supported as well. -Cheaper than building a comparable system using a 9-channel AV receiver with a 5.1.4 speaker package. *Neutral: -Expensive. *Cons: -None. ==== Design & Connectivity Options ===== The first thing I noticed during my unboxing was how BIG and heavy the box was. It was no wonder as each part of the system has quite a bit of weight. The main soundbar unit weighs ~20 lbs, the subwoofer weighs ~21 lbs, and the two rear speakers weigh ~9 lbs. Out of the box, the HW-N950 is a thing of beauty. It's modern, sleek, and clean in design. It is a bit minimalist but I appreciate that quality for its simplicity and ability to easily blend in. The thing feels solid and premium with metal components. It's built like a tank~! Keeping things clean, the soundbar has 4 buttons (Power, Source, Volume Down, Volume Up) and an LCD read-out display that is easy to view from afar. The Source button toggles between Optical Digital Input, ARC HDMI, HDMI, WiFi, and Bluetooth. Another thing that caught my attention was how much longer and thicker the soundbar was compared to my previous Polk MagniFi Max soundbar system. The soundbar is longer than my 55" TV~! It is understandable, however, when you look closely at the specs. Altogether, Samsung has managed to fit in 11 amplified speakers around a total of 17 drivers. After adding in the rear speakers and the subwoofer, there is a total of 512W of audio power goodness. Besides looking good, the HW-N950 is very easy to setup and control as well. As instructed in the manual, I plugged in the subwoofer first, followed by the Left and Right surround speakers and then main soundbar unit. I used the ARC HDMI port to connect to my 55" 4K Samsung TV and used one of the HDMI ports to connect to my LG 4K UHD Blu-Ray player. All the speaker components synced right up and the system was ready to play under 5 minutes. The remote controller is another item of minimalist and clean design. Besides fitting inside the hands comfortably and being pretty light, all the buttons and the general layout was intuitive in use and function. With the remote, one can control additional aspects of the sound system - Subwoofer volume level, Mute, Bluetooth pairing, Sound Mode (Standard, Surround, & Smart), track control when playing music via Bluetooth or Wifi (Play, Pause, Skip), and volume control over each of the speakers (Center, Side, Front Top, Rear, and Rear Top). In addition, Treble and Bass levels can be adjusted. If you connect the N950 to your home Wifi and launch the SmartThings app like I did, then even more configuration options are opened up. For instance, one can open the Equalizer setting and create your own custom EQ setting or select from one of the three predefined ones (Pop, Jazz, and Classic). You can also use the Sleep Timer function to automatically turn off the soundbar after a set amount of time (max of 1 hr & 30 mins). If you want to create custom voice commands to control the power state of the N950 or its volume level, you can do so via the Samsung Bixby app with a compatible Samsung phone (I have a Galaxy S9+). Amazon Alexa is onboard as well for those with an Amazon Echo device. Finally, manual firmware updates can be handled inside the SmartThings app which is very convenient. All in all, Samsung has done a tremendously good job crafting the HW-N950. It's a great-looking system with a clean design, premium build materials, and it's packed full of the latest and greatest audio components and technologies. ==== Performance ==== "Wow~!" and "Dang~!" were the first words that came out of my mouth when I watched Avengers Infinity War, a title that supports Dolby Atmos, after everything was set up. The sound quality and immersion blew me away because it was just soooo good. This is my first experience with an object-based audio technology such as Dolby Atmos and I came out of it truly impressed and awed. It really does feel like you're watching the movie inside a theater. Sound separation is excellent, soundstage is wide and accurate, dialogue is clear and focused, the bass is thunderous and yet clean, and all the environmental sound effects shift around the room seamlessly with good balance. Experiencing such high-quality and immersive audio firsthand was a definite eye-popping and ear-opening experience. Samsung has created a truly magnificent 7.1.4 audio system and I can't say enough good things about it. My wife isn't easily impressed in general when it comes to audio but she gave the N950 a complete thumbs-up. Even when watching regular content such as TV or 2-channel and 5.1/7.1 content, the N950 delivers a great auditory experience. Ditto for music and music videos. Everything just sounds fantastic on this system. ==== Verdict ==== The Samsung HW-N950 receives a 10 out 10 from me and it is a complete win from Samsung. They have created a visually appealing soundbar system that is packed with the latest & greatest audio technologies and outfitted it with premium build materials. The setup process is painless and fast, the remote control functionalities are thoughtful and intuitive in design and usage, and the additional control of the system via the SmartThings app is well-integrated and helpful. And that audio experience...what a fantastic experience it is being immersed and bathed in 7.1.4 audio bliss sound field. If the N950 fits within your budget and/or you don't want to bother with setting up a complicated receiver + multi-speaker setup with numerous wiring, do definitely add the N950 to your home and experience TV and movies in new & fresh ways. You won't be disappointed.

This soundbar is my first upgrade to the home theater I have in my master bedroom. The bedroom is about 20’x20’, so it’s a larger bedroom, but not necessarily a big room. I am using it currently with an older 52” TV and a HD player. The audio system came with one soundbar, one subwoofer, two rear wireless speakers, a hdmi cord, remote, and an owner’s manual. The box is pretty large (weighs roughly 60 pounds) and may not fit in some smaller cars. The setup was really easy. I expected the wireless connection to be more difficult, but it worked surprisingly well. Plug in the speakers in the order the manual specifies, and they connect. There are 2 HDMI inputs and 1 output. There is also an optical input. Each speaker has its own power cord, and the soundbar acts as the receiver as well as front speakers. The N950 has some extra options that give it more functionality. I was able to connect my phone through Bluetooth and play music. Also, the soundbar can connect to wi-fi and act as a wireless speaker. I was able to get Spotify to connect through “Devices Available” and play music through the system. The soundbar can also use the wireless connection to communicate directly with certain newer Samsung TVs. The wireless connection requires the use of the SmartThings app which was a little clunky to get to work with the N950. My TV is older and could not connect wirelessly this way. Also, I didn’t have a way to test the Dolby Atmos feature which is one of the better features. As I mentioned, this is the first part of upgrading the home theater system. After trying both a movie and music these were some of the pros and cons that I found: Pros The overall sound quality was really good even at low volumes. It was pleasant to listen to. The ability to use both Bluetooth and Wireless connectivity. It came with an HDMI cord (always a bonus). The optical input allows you to bring audio from the TV to the soundbar. This is useful if you just want to use the TV audio sometimes. Also, it can allow more items to be connected by going through the TV first. Cons It’s one of the higher price points for a soundbar package. It’s not a super high end audio system. The sub is good, but I like a little more lower-end bass. It’s not a true 7.1 surround sound. I feel like there’s a little missing by not having speakers between front and rear. There are only 2 HDMI inputs. Something as this level should have more capability to connect things. SmartThings app was clunky to get to connect. The owner’s manual is an abbreviated version in the box. You must go and download the full version from Samsung. I needed that extra information to get it to work on the wireless setting. Samsung should have sprung for the extra 14 pages of manual. Overall, the N950 Soundbar is a good set-up. The audio is clear, it’s easy to set up, and has a wide variety of functionality. I’d prefer to see more input/output connections, but it really depends on what you plan to hook up to it.

To achieve true Dolby Atmos, you need speakers mounted in the ceiling. I rent so this system will do. The sound is really good and for movies, especially DA. Music sounds good but not as good as my sound touch 300 where no matter how loud it was, it never distorted. I feel like Samsung could have done a better job in terms of the design and bulk of the speakers. There is a known problem with this model when connecting to a cable source, and that is a crackling sound from the rear speakers. I called Samsung and they offered to pick up the unit and service for weeks on end. I'm not to be inconvenienced for that long for a problem they probably can't fix. I would skip this model unless you find it on sale for under a $1000. The bar itself is very bulky and most likely won't fit along with a TV on a stand.

I am replacing a Vizio S4251 B4 Soundbar (5.1 SS) connected to my LG 65 OLED B7. I have the AppleTV 4K connected to HDMI 1 (not ARC) of my TV. PS4 Pro is connected directly to the Samsung HW-N950. Setup (9/10): I connected the Samsung sub first to power , then the rears and last the Soundbar and everything paired seamlessly. My rears are on Atlantic stands I bought for Vizio rears and reused the adhesives to mount. Due to the power cord being extremely short and both ends are too big to pass through either end of the rear stands, I had to run the cord song the back of the rear stand and use velcro ties to make it look clean. I have my LG OLED B7 connected via the HDMI ARC and it recognized it immediately. My harmony elite remote also noticed my TV was outputting sound via ARC and volume automatically adjusted the Soundbar using TV control. I did not perform an update on firmware due to numerous customer concerns on Samsung and AVS Forum. Samsung is known to not provide release notes on the firmware and the firmware update can cause new issues if you were not having problems from stock firmware. In other words, if you are experiencing zero issues upon setup, update the firmware at your own risk. Note: If you connect the soundbar via the Samsung smarthings app or built in WiFi, the soundbar will update the firmware automatically. The app does allow you to turn off auto updates but I am unaware if you are able to turn it off before the update begins. Built-In LG Apps Test: Played Atmos Demo from LG TV App and it sounds great. I have 10 foot ceilings in my apartment and I could definitely tell effects above. I would rate it a 7/10 as far as Atmos effects from demo. I did not feel as if it was always directly overhead but in the general area of my head. The entire soundstage was beautifully engulfing around me. So for overall sound stage including Atmos I would give it a 9/10 for initial setup. The sub has not been over powering at all on default setting. I have it on an isolation pad and have only turned volume up to 22 since it was late evening and I’m on third floor of apartment. I did not modify the default sound settings initially and was underwhelmed by the Atmos effects. I then tried +3 and +6 for both the front and rear up firing speakers and I noticed a more pronounced above presence but the difference between +3 and +6 at the time did not feel like it made a noticeable difference. Note: Dolby recommends placement of rear speakers 3-5 feet from center axis and Samsung recommends 135-150 degree separation from center. I played with placement some and it improved above effects slightly. Apple TV 4K Test: ATV4K connected to HDMI 1 of the LG and ARC to Soundbar and the Soundbar does scroll Dolby Atmos during shows (I watched Iron Fist S2). iTunes movies I already purchased and were upgraded to Dolby Atmos played and the soundbar scrolled Dolby Atmos notification recognizing the content. PS4 Pro Test: Using HDMI to connect your Blu Ray device or gaming console directly to the soundbar allows uncompressed audio to output from the soundbar. I played various Blu Ray movies (non 4K or Atmos due to Sony's questionable reasoning to not include the updated hardware in the Pro) and the sound was beautiful. Games sounded great also. I left the PS4 audio output to Linear PCM due to forums stating audio will be uncompressed which means the content you are playing will dictate whether full surround will kick in or only a few channels. I also tested Amazon Video on LG app and it shows Dolby Vision and UHD symbol and when playing Jack Ryan Dolby Atmos displayed on the Soundbar also. The Apple 4K TV amazon video app did not show Dolby vision but does say UHD but it did not pass Dolby Atmos to Soundbar so maybe that’s another update amazon needs to pass to Apple TV. Price (7/10): I understand this is suppose to be a flagship soundbar so as a company they decide how much the product is worth and the profits wanted from the sale. Unfortunately I do not agree with the MSRP 1699.99 price tag. My expectation for a soundbar of this price would be minimum of 3 HDMI inputs (4 should be standard), better support for firmware and resolutions to issues, and calibration tools of some kind (here's looking at you Bose).Since Samsung has discounts through Unidays or your employer negotiated discount, I would suggest taking advantage of that which can save you a few hundred dollars and brings the price down to a more consumer friendly price point. Overall (8/10): HW-N950 is leaps and bounds better than my Vizio 5.1 I previously had connected for past 5 years. I love being able to increase the volume by +1 increments compared to Vizio where you were only given "dot" increments which could be anywhere from +5 to +8 between each increase. The rears only come in when the video you are playing calls for it but I don’t notice it being quiet during Dolby Atmos movies/shows. During normal TV and YouTube TV streaming the rears will be silent depending on the show. The Atmos effects are there but I wouldn’t say jaw dropping from above just noticeable. I still need to get a dedicated 4K Blu Ray player to test lossless Atmos and see if it makes a difference.

The Samsung Harmon Kardon HW-N950 7.1.4 Soundbar System is the best soundbar on the market! I upgraded from the previous model, the Samsung HW-K950, and the difference is stunning. The previous model provided very good sound, particularly on Dolby Atmos tracks. One of the drawbacks to that sound bar was that the K950 was 5 channel and did not decode DTS:X tracks. The N950 not only sounds great, with immersive 7 channel sound, but it decodes both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X tracks. While the N950 only increases 12 watts from the previous model, the 512 watts total power is more than enough to rattle the windows and shake the walls. The extra 2 channels make audio more immersive, with clearer voices and more thump during action scenes when watching movies. Harmon Kardon tuned the system and it shows in the clear, crisp audio. The soundbar also allows 4K and 3D passthrough via an HDMI cable. The rear surrounds are wireless from the front unit but still need to be plugged in separately for power. I set up the system in less than 10 minutes and everything synced seamlessly as soon as I powered it up in the order stated in the instruction manual. The rear speakers also have up firing speakers for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X tracks. I suggest adjusting and turning up the levels on the rear surrounds as they are a bit underwhelming after initial set up. The bass speaker also provides plenty of deep rumble and can be adjusted from the main menu. The real star of this system is the main soundbar. It’s pretty hefty and about 4 feet long, but that sturdy build really allows the sound to shine. The soundbar has a center speaker, a left and right speaker, and 2 side speakers which actually face sideways on each side of the sound bar. In addition, there are up firing speakers on each side of the soundbar that send audio bouncing off the ceiling and re-direct it down. The side speakers and up firing speakers make Dolby Atmos and DTS:X tracks immersive and amazing. Set up correctly, it truly recreates the theater experience. In fact, there are details that I picked up on Dolby Atmos tracks on Mad Max Fury Road that I missed in the theater. I truly believe this is the best soundbar system currently available after testing out the competition from Sony. The rear surrounds set this system apart as no amount of audio trickery can duplicate real rear sound. The system is not completely perfect, however. The display on the right front of the soundbar is really small and hard to read unless you’re closer. Also, there are only a couple of HDMI inputs. It would have been nice to have at least 3 HDMI inputs. Also, including a microphone for calibration would’ve really helped as well. I’ve had less expensive surround sound systems in the past that included this feature. The only other complaint would be that the system may be too expensive for some customers. These are minor drawbacks overall because it’s really impossible to get this type of sound without paying thousands more for dedicated speakers and a receiver. Overall, I am very pleased with the soundbar system and think it would please all but the most discerning audiophiles.

If you are looking for one of the best Dolby Atmos sound experiences, this sound bar will not disappoint. It's a great system where you don't need separate receives and speakers. A lot of the new Netflix releases now come with Atmos, as well as Blurays. You'll need a Dolby Atmos compatible device (XBOX One X, Apple TV, etc) connected to one of the HDMI ports and the sound bar connected to your TV via HDMI ARC. (Dolby Atmost does not go through the Optical Cable connection.) You get very immersive '3D sound'. You'll hear sound effects from literally all around you including up above which makes for a very cool and immersive experience. So this is a great sound bar for someone looking for Dolby Atmos and wants to keep up with the latest sound technologies. So why the 3 rating? Well, for a sound system costing nearly $2000 with tax, you would expect it to be feature rich with few issues. Unfortunately this sound bar does not deliver in that regard. Sound bar lacks many very basic and common features that take away from the experience. For example, there is no current way at the time of this review to disable automatic shutdown. Power savings makes the sound bar shut off within 5 minutes of no sound activity. So if you have a movie paused for a bathroom break, expect it to turn off and come back to basic TV speaker sound. Another frustration is how the options are 'too simplistic'. With only 3 basic sound modes, and no option to enable a night mode or modify the dynamic range. Another reason to bring down the rating is due to some very annoying crackling I've noticed from the rear speakers. This occurred during Dolby Atmos content (Daredevil on Netflix) during loud explosion scenes. Crackling from the rear speakers too away from the experience. I wasn't sure if it was an issue with the wireless sync between the speakers and the soundbar, the loud Dolby Atmos effect, or a defect in the hardware. But it happens so rarely I decided to ignore it. Lastly, another major frustration is it comes with an optical port and an HDMI ARC port, but it won't be able to switch between the two. For example, I have the sound bar connected to my TV with HDMI ARC and a turntable connected via Optical Cable. Hitting the input button on the sound bar will switch between HDMI ARC, HDMI1, HDMI2, Bluetooth, and Wifi. No Optical option is available if the HDMI ARC is detected. Disconnecting the HDMI ARC will open that input option for Optical. So I have to choose between the two. The only workaround for this is making sure my TV is turned off so it is not detecting an HDMI ARC signal, and then the Optical option for the turntable will be available. But kinda crappy that I have to resort to this to use a $2000 sound system with an optical source. Even with the minor issues and the large investment, I still don't regret my purchase and love this sound bar.

Was worried about purchasing a sound bar at this price which is more expensive than my 9.2 surround sound amp. First thing I noticed right out of the box is this thing is built sturdy. Not plastic junk. It has some weight to it. Built by Harman Karden for Samsung. The bluetooth sub woofer and satellite speakers paired up seamlessly. Not a whole lot of set up to do. Dial in the power going to each channel for your speaker placement and you're in. If you're like me and TV speakers just don't cut it, even on the best TVs out there. This takes care of that problem in spades. Expensive but build and sound quality is unsurpassed. If you want the best out there that's not a separate full surround sound set up then this is it. Find the PDF. Manual on line and read it. What comes with the unit isn't very comprehensive.

The sound quality is amazing for a soundbar system and it is very easy to setup out of the box to get the basics going, I have it hooked up via (ARC HDMI). I mostly keep it in surround mode and up mixing to 7.1.4 is good, I have all my channels adjusted just right so I don't have to mess around due to the source. I have the EQ left as is default, but you can adjust everything. Movies - Dolby Atmos 10/10 Movies - Non Dolby Atmos 8.5/10 Music - 7/10 This thing really shines with movies and still sounds good with music. The bluetooth/wifi capabilities work well and the USB port works good for music files. My only complaints are the full asking price (Get it on sale) and the manual. I find it really bizarre Samsung didn't include the full manual, I assume to save a few pennies? You can find it on their website under (User Manual ver 00 (ENGLISH).

This system sounds REALLY good. The surround and Atmos is really exceptional and detailed, but there are some major issues that need addressed. First, the subwoofer. It can achieve REALLY low frequencies. That's great, but it really struggles with the higher bass frequencies. I had it placed exactly as detailed in the setup guide, but it's either overwhelming or underwhelming. There is no sweet spot. I could have lived with that, but what I couldn't live with is the ability of this system to work properly with TV brands besides Samsung and apparently LG. I have a brand new Vizio P75, and while this system advertises HDR pass through, it absolutely will not. When I activated HDR on my TV, it caused the system to essentially shut itself down. I contacted Samsung, and the representative told me the HDR pass through was only meant for Samsung TVs and they weren't sure if firmware would fix that in the future. For $1700+ after tax, this is unforgivable and borders on false advertising. If you have a Samsung TV, you'll probably love this product. For everyone else, buyer beware. If you don't want HDR it will suit your needs. If you want full functionality of all your devices, get something else. I returned this soundbar even though I wanted to love it.

Using this with a Samsung KS8000 from 2016. Atmos and general sound is excellent when sources are directly plugged into the soundbar. ARC doesn't work very well on older TV's (this may be negated if you have a newer television). Had problems with the following: Can only cycle through sources, you can't select sources directly (which sucks if you use smart remotes like Harmony) Nintendo Switch only works surround plugged directly in (ARC doesn't work, may be a TV issue)) Some TV apps have glitchy sound through ARC Soundbar is massive, but it backs it up. If you want great sound without having to research and shop for a receivers, speakers, and figure out how to wire, this does it for you.

Incredible sound bar with very easy set up. Watched Jack Ryan on Amazon prime video and Dolby Atmos sound was amazing. You will have to jack up the sound on the surround (back) speakers, they are barely audible with the out of the box settings. Expensive but worth it if you can get it on sale.

This is without a doubt the best sounding soundbar I have had to date.easy setup. Awesome sound and features. Dolby Vision,Dolby Atmos.dtsx over arc from capable tv. And reverse from HDMI 1&2 inputs. Sounds more like a separates system than a soundbar. First day in use as long as it keeps running this way I highly recommend it worth every penny.

Truly an amazing sound! Easy set up and ready to go within 30 minutes! (More so for installing the bracket) Although the speakers connect via wireless bluetooth, they do need a power source. I am extremely satisfied with this purchase! You will be too!!!

Bought the surroundsound to match with my 82 inch Q 60 4K TV and My family an I couldn’t be any happier. Bass and back speakers sound great and perfect. One small flaw is if there is’n an audio coming out of the sound bar it turns off after five minutes. No big deal, definitely recommend this .

I really like this soundbar. The blue tooth subwoofer and surround speakers make hookup a breeze. My TV is a 65" Samsung curved screen which made connecting it really easy to make it play nice together. Played a 4k blue ray with 7.1 Dolby and the picture was of course incredible but the sound was over the top incredible. Really quite amazing. Is it worth the money yes however it isn't cheap. I have played CD's and the sound is great for just music as well. Overall if it is within your budget you can't go wrong with this sound bar. The dialog of the movie or TV doesn't get lost in the surround sound of subwoofer and rear speakers. I have had systems before that dialog would get muddied by all the other sounds, with this system the center channel remains crisp and clear which for me is quite important regardless of the sound level.