Samsung HW-Q600A/XN

With the Samsung HW-Q600A/XN I can turn my living room into a home cinema. Installation of the bar is quick and easy. The virtual Dolby Atmos gives an impressive sound. What I find a pity is that the soundbar does not have built-in WiFi. As a result, I don't stream music to the soundbar via AirPlay. Easy to connect and install Connecting the bar and subwoofer speaks for itself, because I can see which cable belongs to which port. I connect the cables and the bar is ready to be installed. To pair the subwoofer with the soundbar, click the pairing button on both devices. The soundbar light stops blinking and stays on. This means that the pairing is complete. All together it takes about 10 minutes to connect and install. A real home cinema Now that the installation is complete, I am curious about the virtual Dolby Atmos technology. Virtual Dolby Atmos directs the sound from the soundbar to my listening position. This way I enjoy surround sound without separate rear speakers. I turn on a series that supports Dolby Atmos and soon it sounds like I'm right in the middle of the action. The surround sound of the soundbar surprises me. This is because I did not expect the sound to sound so spacious without rear speakers. Customizable Sound Settings The soundbar has different sound modes. For example, I set the bar to gaming, surround, standard and adaptive via the remote control. The nice thing about these modes is that I adjust the sound reproduction of the bar to what I'm watching, playing or listening to. The surround mode sounds spacious and full. The gaming mode sounds crisp and clear, I especially like the detail in sound. In adaptive mode, the soundbar adjusts the sound reproduction to the content that I play, making the sound sound detailed. I think the standard mode sounds flat. Full bass response The subwoofer completes this set. I find the bass sound really an addition, because it does not dominate. I put on music and play different genres. In every genre the bass is present but not dominant. No built-in WiFi Because the bar does not have built-in WiFi, I play songs via Bluetooth. When I play songs via bluetooth, I want to watch another movie via my phone. Unfortunately, the bar then plays the audio from the video. With built-in WiFi, I stream over the network and watch a video on my phone.

This hw-q600a is the successor of the q70r which was well regarded. On paper, the thing has DolbyAtmos and other features that should give a great surround. In practice, the soundbar produces a hollow sound and the surround reproduction is almost useless. If you really go for an immersive surround sound, you will not find this in this soundbar. Then you have to look at a soundbar in a higher segment or go 'full home cinema'. The hollow sound cannot be remedied with the EQ settings. With this budget I would rather go for a good 3.0 soundbar. The subwoofer is also overrated and will not be able to provide you with real deep tones. With this Samsung, this results in a buzzing sound without much body. I myself have switched to the Sonos Beam. I am very satisfied with that so far.

The sound with this set is so much better than the standard speakers in our QLed TV. Nice clear sound, with nice highs and lows. Connected via the HDMI cable and you can do everything with the TV remote control. You can even turn the TV speakers on or off. If you don't require Sonos, this is a great soundbar for better sound while watching TV or a movie.