The all new Samsung N950 soundbar which was revealed in the private viewing rooms of Universal Pictures in Sydney, is a cracker due in part to contributions by Harman the global sound Company that Samsung acquired last year.
This is a soundbar that makes offerings from the likes of Sonos and some of the premium brands sound bar Companies sound pretty ordinary, I suspect that this is because the Samsung acoustic labs in the USA which already had an excellent reputation prior to the acquisition of Harman now have access to some of the best sound engineers in the world today.
It comes with Dolby Atmos, wireless sub and rears, and it works with Alexa.
Instead of having Alexa built in Samsung has enabled the device to activate on an Alexa command direct from an Amazon Echo or Harman speaker.
I really like this because the big problem that’s emerging is that when Alexa is built into a device and you say Okay Alexa all the active devices with Alexa built in kick off, when in reality you only want one device to active. By having an Amazon Echo speaker as the key talk to device you can simply say okay Alexa turn up the Samsung Sound bar.
The other big advantage is that this device is also Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth enabled so that you can easily connect to the device from a tablet or smartphone.
The first thing you notice when this soundbar is turned on is that this speaker has a deeper, louder and very clear sound output especially when watching an action movie.
What I was not able to check was dialogue and clear voice during a drama scene. This is becoming a big issue with several soundbars with dialogue becoming muffled as it battles background sound and overlay tracks. My answer to this is to connect a pair of high quality headphones to the TV.
New wide range drivers and over 500W total power are a major contributor to the output capability of this soundbar which works equally as well with a big action movie as it does a music video.
While it looks the same as other Samsung soundbars up close you’ll see the control buttons are now on top in the centre, and on the screen.
Inside the bar are 13 speakers and the other 4 speakers are in the 7.1 rear speakers deliver the all-round surround system.
Certified for Dolby Atmos AND DTS:X this soundbar delivers just about all you need in a premium bar.
Hass Mahdi, Head of Audio Visual, Samsung Electronics Australia said that the #1 TV maker in Australia is seeing greater demand for products that deliver a rich and immersive audio to support the TV viewing experience
For $1,999 you get the full Monty including subwoofer and speakers. For $1,499 you get the N850, which includes a subwoofer but without rear speakers.
Both go on sale in mid-August.
