The Samsung K950 Soundbar System: A Revolutionary Home Theater Experience

We are currently at the Samsung spring launch event in New York, where we have been given a private listening session with the HWK950, a soundbar-based surround sound system that is designed to take on a full-on receiver and separate speakers, but does so in a more convenient way. The pricing of this system is quite steep, ranging from $1,500 for the complete setup, which includes a wireless subwoofer and two wireless surround speakers.

The HWK950 system consists of four components: the Soundbar, wireless subwoofer, and two wireless surround speakers. What's inside all those cabinets is really important in understanding how this system works. The Soundbar is perhaps the most crucial component, as it houses three front-facing channels (left, right, and center) and two upward firing channels for the first half of the Dolby Atmos surround experience. Inside the Soundbar, there are two 2.5-inch drivers paired with a 30-micrometer Tweeter for all three channels.

The Atmos array up top is made up of just two 2.5-inch drivers, each one in the Soundbar getting its own 20W amp. It's worth noting that the Soundbar has a user-facing LCD display and is outfitted with two HDMI inputs and one HDMI out. This allows users to easily connect their devices and control the system from their TV or other sources.

The surround speakers are similar, but without tweeters instead relying on full-range 2.5-inch speakers like those used up front. Each of these speakers gets 35 watts of power, with the only thing to plug in being a power cord. The two surrounds get their signals wirelessly from the Soundbar and so does the subwoofer, which packs an 8-inch driver paired with a 60W amplifier and is ported on the back.

This setup gives us a 5.1.4 surround system, with the last digit referring to the four upfiring drivers that bounce sound off the ceiling for a more immersive experience. To get the most out of this system, it's recommended that you have a relatively flat ceiling in reasonable proximity. The cabinetry for each of these parts felt fairly substantial, but we're not talking furniture-grade MDF here – at least it's wood and not plastic.

Samsung has clearly poured many, many man-hours into developing this system, and it shows. This is easily the best home theater sound system Samsung has made yet, with a treble response that is not harsh or shrill in the least but rather quite warm. It's obvious that an engineer put a lot of time into voicing this system, not just pulling parts off a shelf and slapping them together and calling it good.

One thing to note is that the K950 system is being introduced at retail for $1,500, which is a significant amount of money compared to what you might expect. However, with the wireless surround speakers included and the convincing Dolby Atmos effect, this system does offer some impressive features. Samsung also has a smaller k850 Soundbar and wireless sub available, but you give up the rear channels for the lower price point.

Overall, it's clear that Samsung wants to be taken more seriously in the audio department with systems like the K950. While $1,500 is a big ask, we agree that Samsung deserves credit for its efforts on systems like this – they do sound good. We'll look forward to seeing these units come down in price in the coming months and will likely be reviewing them as soon as they're available.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey Caleb Dennison for Digital Trends we are in New York at the Samsung spring launch event where we are getting a private listening session with the hwk950 now this is a soundbar based surround sound system not just a surround sound system but a Dolby Atmos surround sound system that's designed basically to take on a full-on receiver and separate speakers but do it in a more convenient way and frankly it's priced that way too so we're here to find out is it really all that the HW k950 system we'll call it k950 for short is made up of four components there's the Soundbar a wireless subwoofer and two wireless surround speakers but what's inside all those cabinets is really important in the Soundbar there are three front firing channels left right and center and two upward firing channels for the first half of the atmos surround experience the Soundbar has two 2.5 in drivers paired with a 30 mimet Tweeter for all three channels while the atmos array up top is made up of just two 2.5 in drivers each one in the Soundbar gets its own 20 W amp and it should be noted that the Soundbar has a user-facing LCD display and is outfitted with two HDMI inputs and one HDMI out the surround speakers are similar except there are no tweeters instead the outward and upward firing speakers are full range 2.5in speakers like those used up front each getting 35 watts and notice the only thing to plug in is a power cord the two surrounds get their signals wirelessly from the Soundbar and so does the sub Which packs an 8 in driver paired with a 60 W amplifier and is ported on the back this gives us a 5.1.4 surround system with the last digit there referring to the four upfiring drivers which bounce sound off the ceiling for a more immersive experience that being the case you'll want a relatively flat ceiling in reasonable proximity to get the most from this system the Cabinetry for each of these parts felt fairly substantial but we're not talking furniture grade MDF here at least it's wood and not plastic as I said before Samsung says it poured many many man-hours into developing this system and you can hear that immediately this is easily the best home theater sound system Samsung has made yet and you can really hear that in the treble response which is not harsh siblin or shrill in the least actually it's pretty warm and that's a huge change for Samsung it's obvious an engineer put a lot of time into voicing this system not just pulling parts off a shelf slapping them together and calling it good are you ready for a shocker though the k950 system is being introduced at retail for $1,500 that's a lot we could recommend a receivers with full sets of speakers at that price and granted you do get wireless surround speakers here and the atmos effect is convincing also Samsung has a smaller k850 Soundbar and wireless sub but you give up the rear channels and you're still paying $900 in that case we get that Samsung wants to be taken a little more seriously in the audio department and we agree it deserves that for its efforts on systems like this they really do sound good still that kind of pricing right or wrong is a big reach for Samsung and is going to be a tough sell we'll look for these to come down in price in the coming months and in the meantime we'll be pulling in the k950 for a full review just as soon as it is made available early this summerhey Caleb Dennison for Digital Trends we are in New York at the Samsung spring launch event where we are getting a private listening session with the hwk950 now this is a soundbar based surround sound system not just a surround sound system but a Dolby Atmos surround sound system that's designed basically to take on a full-on receiver and separate speakers but do it in a more convenient way and frankly it's priced that way too so we're here to find out is it really all that the HW k950 system we'll call it k950 for short is made up of four components there's the Soundbar a wireless subwoofer and two wireless surround speakers but what's inside all those cabinets is really important in the Soundbar there are three front firing channels left right and center and two upward firing channels for the first half of the atmos surround experience the Soundbar has two 2.5 in drivers paired with a 30 mimet Tweeter for all three channels while the atmos array up top is made up of just two 2.5 in drivers each one in the Soundbar gets its own 20 W amp and it should be noted that the Soundbar has a user-facing LCD display and is outfitted with two HDMI inputs and one HDMI out the surround speakers are similar except there are no tweeters instead the outward and upward firing speakers are full range 2.5in speakers like those used up front each getting 35 watts and notice the only thing to plug in is a power cord the two surrounds get their signals wirelessly from the Soundbar and so does the sub Which packs an 8 in driver paired with a 60 W amplifier and is ported on the back this gives us a 5.1.4 surround system with the last digit there referring to the four upfiring drivers which bounce sound off the ceiling for a more immersive experience that being the case you'll want a relatively flat ceiling in reasonable proximity to get the most from this system the Cabinetry for each of these parts felt fairly substantial but we're not talking furniture grade MDF here at least it's wood and not plastic as I said before Samsung says it poured many many man-hours into developing this system and you can hear that immediately this is easily the best home theater sound system Samsung has made yet and you can really hear that in the treble response which is not harsh siblin or shrill in the least actually it's pretty warm and that's a huge change for Samsung it's obvious an engineer put a lot of time into voicing this system not just pulling parts off a shelf slapping them together and calling it good are you ready for a shocker though the k950 system is being introduced at retail for $1,500 that's a lot we could recommend a receivers with full sets of speakers at that price and granted you do get wireless surround speakers here and the atmos effect is convincing also Samsung has a smaller k850 Soundbar and wireless sub but you give up the rear channels and you're still paying $900 in that case we get that Samsung wants to be taken a little more seriously in the audio department and we agree it deserves that for its efforts on systems like this they really do sound good still that kind of pricing right or wrong is a big reach for Samsung and is going to be a tough sell we'll look for these to come down in price in the coming months and in the meantime we'll be pulling in the k950 for a full review just as soon as it is made available early this summer\n"