Samsung HW-K950 user review

  • Sonically stunning with a few faults

    UPDATE: Why I went back to wired!
    Only buy this if you don't get wound up by multiple technical issue! These range from continuous rear speaker and bass dropouts to total loss of sound. You may also get instances where you get sound but the bar fails to recognise it's an ATMOS track, so no blue light. It may take numerous resets and button presses to get reconnected. It will also pick most surround tracks and think they are ATMOS when they are not, especially if you have an XBOX ONE (STD, S or X). You will trawl forums asking other owners why this is all happening. You will be told you need to keep resetting or to change settings in your wi-fi router as it may be interfering with the 950. God forbid you should have any other wi-fi devices in the house like smart bulbs or other smart appliances connected to your router. The review I did six months ago and most of it still stands but after using the 950 and then reading through lots of forum posts I needed to update this review. If I were looking to buy this today, I'd pass! I'd also think twice about looking at the next incarnation of this bar when it comes out in 2018.


    I was a Yamaha man when it came to Home Cinema audio. In the past I had their top end receivers but then I became a family man and my system had to become wife friendly. I changed to Yamaha soundbars, first the YSP 2500 and last year the 2700. I loves these “bounce sound around the room” units but they never quite matched the full on sourround experience. I was in my local audio video shop one day and I was enquiring about the possibility of going wireless for surround and was informed about the Samsung HW-K950 that they would b getting in next week. I was intrigued and returned seven days later for a demo. After listening to most of the 2016 Dolby Atmos demo disc I was blown away. This system had suddenly made a small room feel very big. Never in my three decades of enjoying Home Cinema tech had I actually felt I was in a cinema auditorium. The only way it can be describe is like being in a bubble of moving sound. Gone were the days of sound jumping from speaker to speaker. Now we had sound spinning around us with full clarity and that intense volume you get at your local multiplex. Yeah Dolby Digital 7.1 had a good bash at this many moons ago but ATMOS through this beast of a system was now jaw droppingly good. The downside was the price tag. These guys had hiked it and wanted £1499 so I passed and dashed home to do some Googling. I got one for £799 but it turned out to be faulty, not a great start but this happens with tech, I know this and it didn’t sway me from finding the one I now have for £999, an ex-demo model in pristine condition.
    It’s now all set up with my 65” curved Sammy TV and XBOX ONE S. Every time I use it I have a huge smile as it’s still as fabulous as the day I first installed it. Like all speakers they improve with age as they bed in and get worked. My only faults are the lack of a third HDMI input and that we still have no DTS X support when Yamaha’s YSP 5600 does. Yeah on some material the rears have a slight his but so does my old Sony wired 5.1 unit. In the end this is a marvel of audio engineering with added bonus of WiFi networking and Bluetooth too. I’m looking to build a dedicated room in the future and would easily choose the 950 as my go to sound device. Coupled with a good projector this would be an excellent home cinema room. Bravo Samsung!
    This item was purchased for 999 from Musical Images in 2017 . The reviewer replaced this with the product Onkyo ATMOS Receiver and wired speakers.
    Likes: invisiblekid

    Pros

    • Stunningly immersive sound
    • Wireless rears (also a pain at times)
    • Amazing bass response

    Cons

    • Short on HDMI inputs
    • No OSD for set up
    • No DTS X support
    • Slight rear hiss on some material
    • No ARC ATMOS support
    • Continuous Drop Outs
    • Poor customer support
    • Limited options for adjusting sound
    • Wireless Rears and Sub
    • Expensive for it's problems

    Scores

    5
    9
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    9
    5
    3

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Samsung HW-K950

Comments
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Author
Soundhound811
Review score
5 / 10
Average score
6.5 / 10
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