Been looking at getting this after hearing this in action. Cheapest I’ve seen it so far
Samsung Dolby Atmos Soundbar Series 9 HW-N950 $1198 Pickup or + Delivery @ Retravision
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midniteoz on 22/02/2019 - 08:23 retravision.com.au (290 clicks)
Last edited 22/02/2019 - 08:46 by 1 other user
Last edited 22/02/2019 - 08:46 by 1 other user
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link??
doesn't ATMOS require rear speakers that are meant to be placed quite high up in a room?
It bounces sound off the ceiling. I have heard some Atmos soundbars that are pretty good but it is nowhere near the effect of good quality speakers above your head.
Like 4K upscaling its good, but not the best.
Atmos allows upward-pointing drivers to bounce sound off the ceiling. The effect is nowhere near as good as real speakers though. This soundbar will be worse still because it has no control over the placement of the Atmos drivers.
Completely agree with you that a true 7.1.4 setup will ALWAYS win out in every aspect.
This is great though if your on a smaller budget or have less space for speaker stands or are renting and cannot install the speakers into the ceiling or walls. Minimum cables and no wires running from satellites to soundbar make it look very clean (you also get a wall mount if you want to do that).
If you check out the reviews on the HW-N950 the main theme I have seen from critics is their surprise at how much the soundbar delivers for immersive sound and a lot regard it as a top alternative to true Atmos setups.
How is this compared to the Sony HTZ9RF?
I have this soundbar and can say that it does a great job of Atmos/DTS:X as long as you are in a square room to optimize the side/top speakers on the bar and the two satellites to bounce their sound and come back at you correctly (giving you the surround 7.4 experience).
If you have an odd shaped or open room like a lounge that flows into a kitchen area you will notice gaps in your surround sound because of the above reason.
I think this is a worthy purchase for anyone who wants to have a great sound setup but is on a budget for Atmos (you can spend a lot more on all the independent speakers and Amp) or for people like me who do not have a massive space for their TV but still want a great immersive experience.
NOTE: There is no calibration options on the Soundbar so what you will need to do is hook it up to a device that can play video and download the Dolby Atmos sound test file for 7.4 (can be found on AV forums). You can then play the file and manually set the speaker levels with a SPL Meter or a phone app that does the same thing.
Pls share the sound test file link.
https://www.avsforum.com/forum/90-receivers-amps-processors/…
Post 83 has the link and it's a 1:1 copy hence ~22 GB file size.
Thanks. It seems to require a torrent app to download. I don't have any. Do you which one is good?
I bought one 4 months ago and after two units broken out of the box still waiting for it to be returned by the service center. Samsung refused to replace the second one so now have a "second hand" repaired one for what I paid new. Yes this post is somewhat of a vent but for a premium-ish soundbar to have two out of two broken out of the box to me seems like a poor quality product.
That sucks mate.
I ordered mine from an AV store in Adelaide and they shipped it up to me in NSW and nothing was faulty or damaged. Cannot remember what courier they went with but that could be a factor for your broken soundbar. On what grounds did Samsung not agree to return the second unit? What was not working on arrival?
The second soundbar was not replaced on grounds of Samsung labelling it a minor fault and refused my request of refund or replacement. The service center that replaced the first one provided the second soundbar outside of original packaging and they themselves wrapped the individual components in plastic, and gave me the first soundbars cables and remote. I felt i received a refurbished soundbar and when I plugged it in one of the external speakers did not power on. So in one sense Samsung is right that it's a minor fault but on the other hand I now feel I have a refurbished AND repaired soundbar I bought as new and I feel ripped off. No doubt I got extremely unlucky which happens sometimes. All the same it has left a very sour taste in my mouth and won't be buying a matching Samsung TV for the soundbar. And for completion of the story I have lodged an appeal with VCAT to get the refund. If that decision falls my way will look at that Sony soundbar another poster enquired about. It has been an exercise in patience.
I passed on the Samsung QLED televisions and grabbed myself an LG 4K OLED (C8 65) and man are those blacks and contrast amazing. Can't recommend LG OLED televisions highly enough.
I know the gap is closing more and more with the 2019 Samsung QLEDS looking really good, but the LG OLEDs true black is still to me the most impressive visual technology.
As a note the Samsung HW-N950 works perfectly with my LG TV for DTS:X and Atmos. I can also confirm the soundbar will pass through HDR to the TV if you are using an Xbox One X.
under consumer law you are entitled to a full refund?
I bought the previous model HW-K950 and have had a similar experience. The Subwoofer died after a few months, had to take it to their service center. It got replaced, i think with a refurbed sub. It sounds great when it's working, but the Soundbar frequently loses connection to the attached Samsung TV and has sporadic issues with connections to the Xbox and Bluetooth devices too. Between this and the unreliability of almost every Samsung product I've ever owned (had multiple TV's) i wouldn't buy this unless the price is crazy good.
$1009 at ebay binglee after Discount