Samsung HW-Q800C Soundbar Overview: Standout Midrange Efficiency

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Samsung sells a dizzying variety of soundbars, which may make selecting something other than its multi-speaker Dolby Atmos flagship, the HW-Q990C (or older Q990B), fairly complicated. The HW-Q800C, which sits a step or two beneath the Q990, stands out as a best choice for these seeking to dive into 3D soundscapes and nice sound at a extra affordable value.

The Q800C is a chip off the previous Q990 block, borrowing the identical angular hexagon profile and loads of trickle-down options in a pared-down bundle. As a two-piece system, it’s simpler to include into your listening room than Samsung’s priciest bar, whereas its included subwoofer provides it a cinematic edge over stand-alone choices just like the Sonos Arc and different rivals.

The kicker is which you could often choose up the Q800C for effectively beneath its $1,000 MSRP, usually as little as $700, which makes its spectacular sound high quality and beneficiant function set all of the extra attractive. Whereas not with out its limitations, that is a compelling Atmos bar that’s effectively price contemplating on a midrange finances, even when it floats below the radar.

Simple Setup, Loads of Extras

Samsung makes practically every part easy with its soundbars, although unboxing the Q800C will be the exception. Its L-shaped packaging appears nearly designed to confound, requiring you to open a number of ends to dig every part out. That stated, after renegotiating its place and releasing the contents, I had the subwoofer and 46-inch bar in place and belting out sound very quickly.

You’ll almost certainly be connecting the system to your TV over HDMI ARC/eARC, which affords one of the best sound and simplified management over energy and quantity together with your TV distant. Most newer TVs will discover the bar and ship sound routinely, however older setups could require you to decide on it as an exterior machine. In case your TV is notably seasoned, chances are you’ll want to attach over the Q800C’s optical enter, however this negates Dolby Atmos, which type of defeats the purpose.

The Q800C helps Dolby’s object-based Atmos sound format at full decision from sources like 4K Blu-ray straight from the bar’s spare HDMI enter, or in compressed kind by way of streaming companies. Not like Sonos’ and Bose’s prime soundbars, the Q800C additionally helps Dolby Atmos’ major 3D-audio competitor, DTS:X, alongside nearly each different main audio format you’ll encounter.

The Q800C affords some Samsung-only methods, together with the power to supply Atmos wirelessly from choose fashions just like the model’s Q-series TVs or work in tandem with their onboard TV audio system by way of the proprietary Q-Symphony system. Customers of any TV can get pleasure from different trendy options like a built-in voice assistant by way of Amazon Alexa, and Spacefit sound calibration to routinely analyze your room and modify efficiency accordingly (although I’m unsure I heard a lot enchancment there).

Connecting the bar to your Wi-Fi community by way of the SmartThings app permits you to dig into settings like channel ranges and EQ, and logging on unlocks high-quality streaming over Spotify Join, Tidal Join, and Apple AirPlay. Google’s Chromecast is conspicuously absent (within the US model anyway), however Bluetooth streaming is obtainable instead.

Thrilling, Swirling Sound

{Photograph}: Samsung

After spending numerous hours listening to Samsung’s newest soundbars, it was no shock to seek out that the Q800C serves up sensible sound throughout all kinds of content material. The sound profile is highlighted by full-bodied midrange and bass frequencies, treble that sings with candy lyricism in brass and strings, and stable dynamics that carry out every part from delicate dialog to potent explosions (or each directly) with tempered stability.

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