Samsung S801B Ultra Slim All In One Soundbar Speaker (2022) - 3.1.2ch All In One Soundbar With 10 Speakers Alexa Built-In, Surround Sound Expansion, Wireless Bluetooth Connection And Dolby Atmos

Product Information

It’s certainly worth doing, because Samsung has delivered another dynamite soundbar performance for the price, and it’s a success of teamwork, with both the bar and the subwoofer being essential to the sound. that is, or may reasonably be considered to be, defamatory, libelous, hateful, racially or religiously biased or offensive, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing to any person or entity; I had a problem where it didn’t show up consistently as a Bluetooth target on my iPhone, despite being connected in the Bluetooth settings, but it's hard to know whether to blame Apple or Samsung. It was frustrating, either way. This isn't the fault of the Sonos Arc, of course – other TVs elevate themselves higher than mine does, and don't have this issue. And many other soundbars that have the same kind of speaker array that the Arc does are similarly tall, so would also cause me a problem. Better still, the orchestral score sailed on unaffected above the action in the best Indiana Jones fashion. It sounded just a little thinned of lower mids, and a frequency sweep revealed a significant dip in response centred on 170Hz, just above the crossover point; this is perhaps a gap between the ability of the sub to go high and the super-thin bar to go low.

The Samsung HWS801B 3.1.2ch Lifestyle Ultra Slim Soundbar with Dolby Atmos will give all of your favourite content that extra boost that's to the impressive features alongside incredible power.If you're looking for a relatively discreet soundbar that still provides a showpiece Dolby Atmos experience, this is absolutely it. There's width, there's height, there's movement in scenes… it really makes the most of object-based audio. It also works with Samsung's Q-Symphony feature, where the soundbar and TV speakers work in tandem to create an even larger sound field. The subwoofer connects wirelessly to the main unit, and both units support wireless communication with compatible 2022 Samsung TVs, as long as both are on the same Wi-Fi network, so you wouldn't need an HDMI cable at all. The S800B also isn't bad with music – it doesn’t have a music mode, but I enjoyed the standard mode fairly well. However, it doesn’t have quite the same rhythm and energy as the Sonos Arc for music, which is almost certainly down to that slightly tight mid-range. Standard’ is also the only mode which doesn’t upscale stereo content to the full driver complement; everything else plays two-channel content in 3.1.2, even, surprisingly, the Game mode, which you might expect to switch off all non-essential processing.

It also bests the Sonos Arc when it comes to bass, simply because it has a subwoofer and the Arc doesn't, and there's no substitute for a proper sub (well, except for the Devialet Dione, but that's a special case). We've mentioned that the soundbar's remote has lots of buttons, and using them to change modes can be quite hit and miss. Part of the problem is that the soundbar doesn't have a screen, but instead a series of dots that flash in different colors and patterns to indicate things, which is… not something I'm ever going to learn. While trying modes for the review, I was sitting with the manual open on my lap, looking at diagrams of dots and flashes like I was trying to defuse a particularly whimsical bomb. The HW-S800B's remote control has a lot of options for something you ideally wouldn't really touch… (Image credit: Future) Once on Wi-Fi, the bar can be connected to and controlled from Google or Alexa voice assistants, in addition to the little physical remote control, and most likely your TV remote too. Standard’ mode seemed the clearest rendition of 5.1 material, even though the top drivers are out of action in this mode.There’s a moment 1:16 into Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle where a deep chugging shakes a huge shed before a helicopter bursts through its timbers: the chugging not only had huge weight but stopped and started within each chugbeat, where many small subs deliver this as a blur. This soundbar offers 10 speakers in total which give out an impressive 310W of power. It also comes with a wireless subwoofer to add that little extra boost of bass to your favourite movies. It comes with many different sound modes to suit whatever it is you are watching, these include Surround Sound Expansion, Game Pro, Adaptive, DTS Virtual:X and Standard. There is also Night mode which is perfect for when the family are in bed and also Voice enhancement mode which ensures you never miss a bit of the dialogue in those important scenes.

There's tons of width too, and great precision and movement of sound from left to right. I need to do more testing for our full review, but so far I can't believe how strong the sound is considering what a squeeze it must be in there.It's full across the frequencies, and the bar and subwoofer feel really well-integrated to create a dynamic total sound. Hear the location of a helicopter landing or feel the sound of rain falling from above. The S801B combines Dolby Atmos and DTS:X with our highly awarded market leading technology to take your audio-visual experience to the next level. The sounds of sport, music and everything else comes alive in the 3D space that surrounds you, placing you in the heart of the action. Other ways to get sound over to the S800B include Bluetooth, and if you fire up the Samsung SmartThings app, you can connect the soundbar to your Wi-Fi network, enabling Apple AirPlay 2 and Spotify Connect streaming (but no Google Cast). It also has Alexa built-in, including a mic, so it functions fully as a smart speaker. use of the content you supply does not violate these Terms of Use and will not cause injury to any person or entity. Samsung S801B 3.1.2ch Lifestyle Ultra Slim Soundbar in White with Subwoofer Alexa Voice Control Built-in and Dolby Atmos

Indeed the sub is something of a star. Its bass descends to real depths, creating output from signal even below 30Hz, and it manages to sound not only resounding but astoundingly tight for a subwoofer doing so much from a cabinet so small. The S800B is designed to deliver 3.1.2 channels of Dolby Atmos or DTS:X audio, which means front, center and right sound, the subwoofer bass channel, and two upfiring Dolby Atmos channels. But here's the best part about the Samsung HW-S800B: it sounds pretty damn incredible despite being so small. I was worried that the small size of the soundbar working with a subwoofer would mean the sound is top and bottom heavy, without much strength in the mid-range, but that's no problem at all. The Samsung HW-S800B's small volume maybe slightly restrains it in the mid-range, but the overall freedom of its sound feels impossible for the size. (Image credit: Future)

Transfer your music with one simple tap. Just tap your smartphone anywhere on the Soundbar to hear the rich sound mirrored without any need for manual pairing straight to your soundbar. It has multiple listening modes, including a Night Mode for capping how loud things can be, a DTS Virtual:X mode for upscaling stereo to 3D sound, and a Game mode, among others. It also includes Samsung's SpaceFit tech, which listens to the output of the soundbar and adjust it to compensate for any quirks caused by the layout of your room. The price puts it in line with the Sonos Arc, which is a perfect example of the kind of hefty, tall soundbar the HW-S800B is trying to offer you an alternative to. It also tells you a lot about the kind of quality Samsung is overall aiming for with the audio here, which it largely nails. Converted to Test Bench 1.1. With this update, we've added a Mounting test and added information about Subwoofer Output, Spotify Connect, and Microphone Mute.