Top critical review
1.0 out of 5 starsUPDATED REVIEW: Finally pulled the trigger, but now I regret it
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2019
UPDATE: From 5 stars to ONE
After ONLY 3 months the HDMI ports are dead. The ARC port from the TV died after about two weeks but since I was watching everything through my Apple TV I ignored it since I still had sound by plugging the Apple TV directly into the soundbar. Now I can’t get any TV sound. The only sound I can get is streaming Spotify over WiFi. First it was the random and repeated source changes in the middle of watching something, then the ARC D.IN sound dying, and now neither of the two HDMI IN ports work. I’ve gladly hooked up my Sonos system again, something told me to hang onto it. I was so pleased initially with this soundbar but this thing just turned out to be a huge steaming pile. Just google and read all the problems folks are having with this thing. A big giant waste of money. Samsung will tell me that I need to ship it in for factory repairs ON MY OWN DIME FOR THE SHIPPING and after having to gone through the same process with the last soundbar I bought from them, I’m DONE. Completely finished with Samsung. Do yourself a favor and skip this junk.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
I had been watching this Atmos sound bar for a while. The price had finally dropped by $100 (I’m guessing to match Best Buy at the time) and then when I added it to my cart Amazon gave me another $100 off. So I truly couldn’t resist it with a $200 savings.
Like others have mentioned, this sound bar is heavy. But surprisingly enough, the sub is actually noticeably lighter than my outgoing Sonos sub even though it’s slightly larger in size.
Set up was a breeze. You only need to follow the instructions in the manual with regard to the order of plugging in the components so that everything pairs automatically. After everything paired, I connected the included HDMI cable to the ARC port on my LG OLED TV and connected my Apple TV directly to the bar via HDMI. Lastly I opened the Samsung Smart Things app on my Samsung phone and it completed setup, automatically connected the bar to my WiFi, and registered the product all in about 15 seconds. Then I was good to go.
I had read that Kong Skull Island was a good demo title and boy were they right! Literally within the first 5 seconds, even while the opening credits were starting to appear, the sound just blew me away. The Atmos speakers came alive and filled the room with sound. It was like I was in a 360 degree sound bubble. Truly a great experience. The fact that Samsung could achieve that level of sound in my home without me having to mount any speakers to the ceiling is truly remarkable if you ask me.
The sound effects from Kong Skull Island were so good that after it was over I quickly scarfed down some dinner so that I could hurry and watch Mad Max: Fury Road. This is another iTunes title with both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. So you get lush eye candy in terms of beautiful HDR and some great ear candy thanks to Atmos.
After that I tested out my TV’s built in apps like Amazon Prime, Netflix, etc. At first there was no sound then I realized I had to switch to the TV-ARC input and everything was fine. After I got that squared away, I connected my phone to the bar via Bluetooth so that I could test out music streaming. The sound quality was crisp and clear.
My only complaint is that I wish the Samsung Smart Things app was a little more robust in terms of settings and features. I guess that’s not the fault of this bar but rather that the Sonos Controller has spoiled me. But the sound from this thing is top notch. If you are looking to experience Dolby Atmos at home without installing speakers in your ceiling, then give this bar some serious consideration. It’s a little pricy but worth the money in my opinion. I’m very happy with my purchase.
