The Samsung HW-N850 comes sizzling on the heels of the producer’s flagship HW-N950 ‘Cinematic’ soundbar, and is basically the identical however with out the wi-fi rear audio system. Meaning you continue to get upward and side-firing audio system on the entrance, a wi-fi subwoofer and help for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X.
Because the soundbar itself is similar to the N950, you additionally get the identical wonderful construct high quality, Harman Kardon tuning, hi-res audio help, and wi-fi streaming by way of WiFi and Bluetooth. Throw in a helpful distant management, HDMI connections that cross HDR10 and Dolby Vision, and Samsung’s SmartThings app, and the N850 appears to be like like a tempting prospect.
The query is: does the N950 justify the additional value, or is the N850 sufficient for many residing rooms? Let’s discover out.
Value and availability
The Samsung HW-N850 really affords first rate worth, particularly in the event you store round. It has an inventory value of £1,199/$1,199, however is broadly obtainable for simply £999/$999. When you think about you’re getting a 5.1.2 system with help for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, that’s a sexy value.
There are different soundbars from the likes of LG and Sony which provide comparable options at comparable costs. Nevertheless in the event you’re contemplating the N850, the actual query is do you spend the additional £500/$700 and go for the extra immersive HW-N950?
There’s is the choice to purchase the SWA-9000S (£129/$179) wi-fi speaker pack, turning your N850 right into a 7.1.2 system with real rear channels. Nevertheless, not like the N950, this may nonetheless lack rear prime channels, leading to a front-heavy overhead presence in longer rooms.
How vital these elements are will rely in your room and your finances, however the N950’s potential to ship a full 7.1.Four-channel immersive audio expertise does go a way in direction of justifying its increased price ticket.
Design
The Samsung HW-N850 makes use of an similar casing to the top-of-the-range N950, so that you get the identical minimalist design, and the identical very good construct high quality. You additionally get the identical black end, with steel grilles on the prime, entrance, and sides, and brushed steel edges and rear panel.
The N850, just like the N950, is meant for bigger display sizes of a minimum of 55-inches, but regardless of its dimension the soundbar is surprisingly discreet. You have to a minimum of 83mm of clearance beneath your display, however there may be the choice to wall mount due to an included wall bracket.
The scale and weight of the N850 is comprehensible, when you think about there are a complete of 13 drivers constructed into the cupboard. These drivers kind seven audio system, with three entrance channels, two width channels, and two upward-firing drivers for the entrance top channels.
The minimalist method extends to the LED show, which is positioned on the entrance on the far proper of the soundbar. It lights up when it receives an instruction, and supplies suggestions on the quantity, inputs, varied settings, and whether or not the sign is Atmos or DTS:X.
This straightforward show will get the job executed, however we wish to see it present extra data, particularly given the dearth of any onscreen menus. The identical simplicity applies to the controls on the soundbar, with primary contact delicate buttons for energy, enter choice and quantity.
The offered distant is ergonomically designed and comfy to carry, with all the required buttons sensibly laid out, making controlling the N850 an efficient and extremely intuitive course of. In the event you join utilizing HDMI ARC, you even have the choice to make use of your TV distant as a controller.
In a recessed space below the soundbar you’ll discover the connections, which embody two HDMI inputs and an HDMI output with ARC (Audio Return Channel). All of the HDMI connections help 4K/60p, Four:Four:Four, Rec.2020, Excessive Dynamic Vary (HDR10 and Dolby Imaginative and prescient), 3D and HDCP 2.2.
There’s additionally an optical digital enter, and built-in WiFi and Bluetooth. On the underside you’ll discover a USB port for service updates, a connector for the two-pin energy cable, a button for WiFi setup, and a button for pairing the wi-fi subwoofer if mandatory.
This sub is a bass-reflex mannequin with built-in amplification and a side-firing Eight-inch driver. It enhances the design of the soundbar, and will pair mechanically. If not, you possibly can manually pair by urgent the pairing button, and there are indicator LEDs to indicate the connection standing.
Options
The Samsung HW-N850’s major characteristic is its help of each Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. That is much less widespread than you may think amongst soundbar, with even LG’s flagship SK10Y solely supporting Dolby Atmos.
The N850 isn’t fairly as immersive because the N950, with no surrounds or rear top channels, but it surely nonetheless boasts no fewer than seven audio system. The entrance three channels are composed of three drivers every, whereas the peak and width channels use single drivers.
The drivers are individually powered by a complete of 372W of built-in amplification, and the soundbar and sub reportedly have a frequency response that goes from 34Hz to 17kHz. Samsung doesn’t break these numbers down, but it surely’s protected to imagine the sub is dealing with all of the decrease frequencies.
Not like the N950, it doesn’t embody wi-fi rear audio system with upward-firing drivers, so it might probably’t ship real 5.1.Four with rear encompass and overhead channels. You should buy the SWA-9000S wi-fi audio system individually, however that solely provides surrounds, making a 7.1.2 system.
The N850 has been tuned by Harman Kardon, guaranteeing a sound that’s each open and dynamic, while retaining clear voicing. The soundbar helps Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Atmos, together with DTS Digital Sound, DTS-HD Grasp Audio and DTS:X.
There are three sound modes to reinforce the audio: Customary, which decodes the incoming audio; Encompass Sound Growth, which upmixes the audio to make use of all of the obtainable audio system; and Sensible, which analyses the incoming sign, and chooses the most effective obtainable processing.
To permit customers to simply entry their music libraries and streaming providers, the N850 consists of built-in WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities. The previous is simple to setup utilizing Samsung’s SmartThings app, and the latter could be paired by merely urgent the pairing button on the distant management.
So far as music playback goes, the N850 helps varied lossy and lossless audio codecs together with AAC, WAV, OGG, ALAC, AIFF and FLAC, with excessive decision help as much as 32-bit. Samsung additionally consists of UHQ 32-bit upscaling for the best high quality audio playback.
The N850 consists of Alexa abilities, so utilizing the Alexa app you possibly can allow Samsung Wi-fi Audio, then below Sensible Residence choose gadgets and uncover the soundbar. This can allow the 3PDA abilities and permit you work together together with your N850 utilizing Alexa voice management.
Efficiency
Earlier than you get on to really listening to content material, you’ll have to setup the Samsung HW-N850.
Fortunately this course of is comparatively simple, and all you must do is place the soundbar beneath your TV (ensuring you don’t hinder any of the drivers) and place the subwoofer in direction of the entrance of the room (however not within the nook).
The soundbar and sub ought to pair mechanically, making a 5.1.2-channel system. Then all you must do is ready the degrees for the entrance, centre, aspect, prime, and sub channels utilizing an SPL meter. In the event you don’t have one, there are many free SPL meter apps obtainable.
Because the setup of the N850 is basically similar to the N950, now we have the identical criticism we did for the flagship soundbar. Set-up is just too primary in comparison with a number of the competitors, with no devoted microphone or set-up app for room equalization.
Taking the time to set the speaker ranges appropriately pays dividends, leading to a cohesive system with well-integrated bass. There’s a powerful entrance soundstage that has width and house, and nice tonal steadiness due to using the identical drivers on all of the audio system.
Contemplating its the N850’s primary characteristic, we instantly began by testing its efficiency with immersive audio. Kicking off with Dolby Atmos, the Samsung revealed a wall of sound on the entrance of the room that had each top, width and loads of bass.
This was hardly surprising, with the side-firing drivers serving to to widen the entrance soundstage, and the upward-firing drivers creating the entrance overhead channels, whereas the wi-fi subwoofer has loads of oomph. What was lacking was any sense of encompass or rear overhead channels.
In consequence this wall of sound was decidedly front-heavy, with all of the sonic motion within the first half of the room. Whether or not it’s a difficulty will depend upon the size of your room and the dimensions of your finances. When you have an extended room, then the sense that sound is primarily targeted on the entrance will depart an aural hole behind you.
To fill this hole you will have two choices, you possibly can both purchase the SWA-9000S (£129/$179) wi-fi speaker pack and add precise surrounds, or get the N950. Nevertheless even in the event you do get the wi-fi rear audio system, you continue to received’t have rear overhead channels: solely the N950 can ship full 7.1.Four.
This distinction between the 2 soundbars was evident when watching Prepared Participant One in Dolby Atmos. The N850 created a powerful entrance soundstage that had nice width, and a loads of top to the results.
The dialogue was clear and targeted on display, and the sub delivered the massive bass moments with actual affect. Nevertheless the sense of immersion that was obvious when testing the N950 was merely not there, particularly as autos roared throughout you through the chase sequences.
It was the identical when watching Atomic Blonde in DTS:X. The N850 dealt with dialogue and the 80s soundtrack effectively, whereas additionally ship the bone-crunching motion due to the sub and a strong mid-range. Nevertheless the sense of full immersion in an setting was typically lacking.
When listening to plain Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Grasp Audio soundtracks, you will have the selection of decoding the soundtracks of their authentic kind, or utilizing the encompass sound enlargement mode to take full benefit of all of the obtainable audio system.
We frequently use Gravity to check a system’s tonal steadiness and results steering, and apart from the soundstage being targeted on the entrance, the N850 did a terrific job in Customary mode. Switching to the Encompass Sound Growth mode and the combo felt barely extra open and immersive.
The front-heavy nature of the N850’s soundstage is irrelevant when coping with two-channel content material, and due to Harman Kardon’s tuning it’s a superb soundbar in relation to music. Whether or not we listened to Weapons ’n’ Roses, Nick Cave, Suede or Kate Bush, the Samsung dealt with all of them with readability, element and spectacular stereo separation.
Different soundbars to think about
As we’ve already talked about, the LG SK10Y is price contemplating. It’s priced in the identical vary because the Samsung HW-N850, and affords the identical 5.1.2 configuration utilizing a soundbar and subwoofer mixture. It’s been developed together with Meridian, so it sounds nice. However whereas it does help Dolby Atmos, there’s no DTS:X, which provides the N850 the sting.
The Sony HT-Z9F helps each Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, and is significantly cheaper at £649/$898. Nevertheless it’s additionally restricted to three.1 channels, utilizing three audio system on the soundbar and a wi-fi subwoofer. Sony claims it might probably create a 7.1.2-channel expertise due to digital encompass know-how, however whereas this may work to a level, it might probably’t evaluate to the extra immersive N850.
Last verdict
The Samsung HW-N850 is a superb soundbar that delivers a powerful all-round efficiency. Due to the mixture of ahead, aspect, and upward-firing drivers, together with a wi-fi subwoofer, it is ready to produce a 5.1.2 immersive audio expertise.
The soundbar is attractively-designed and intensely well-made, whereas the N850 as a complete affords loads of helpful options. It will possibly detect and decode each Dolby Atmos and DTS:X with none points, and was equally as efficient with common soundtracks.
The sense of immersion is nice, though the dearth of rear audio system does imply the soundstage can be somewhat front-heavy. Nevertheless, in case your pursuits transcend merely TV and movies, that wall of sound actually lends itself to music, no matter whether or not you stream by way of WiFi or Bluetooth.
In the event you really wish to immerse your self in object-based audio, then the Samsung HW-N950 is your greatest wager. Nevertheless for these with smaller rooms or a restricted finances, the HW-N850 is a good different.