Samsung has released its new Sound+ MS750 – a product developed by its state-of-the-art, California-based, Audio Lab. For a sound bar - it is very impressive.
Before we get into the Sound+ it is important to know the back story – Samsung has invested in what is arguably the world’s best sound lab and the results are just beginning to flow with its R series wireless speakers and now the Sound+ range with the amazing Dolby Atmos 5.1.4 K950 and the current MS6501 and MS650 bars.
It is headed by Allan Devantier, a veteran audio engineer from Harman Kardon and Infinity. He has been there since 2013 and the lab now has 23 staff – 4 of whom have PhDs, 7 with Masters and 8 active musicians.
“The sound lab is second to none – no other sound lab in the world has what we have including two different use anechoic chambers, a prototyping facility and more. We know sound,” Devantier said without a hint of ego.
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The new Sound+ MS750 (US site) gives rich, room-filling sound, delivering depth and dimension, along with a user experience that is defined by quality and simplicity. Featuring 11 speakers (three wide-range tweeters, six woofers and two 'vertical' wide-range tweeters) and dedicated amps, including a pair of up-firing vertical tweeters, the MS750 is designed to fill the room with premium sound, creating an immersive cinematic and audio experience for any home.
Note that the sound bar is not Dolby Atmos despite the up-firing tweeters – that is the domain of the K-950.
“Samsung home entertainment products are designed to provide a rich and premium experience that can easily fit into the design of the home and lifestyles of our customers – whether streaming favourite TV shows, watching 4K movies on Blu-ray, or listening to music,” said Carl Rose, Vice President of Consumer Electronics, Samsung Electronics Australia.
“The MS750 delivers an incredibly immersive quality of sound in a clean form factor that is easy to install and aesthetically pleasing, creating the perfect home entertainment experience for apartments and large homes alike,” Rose added.
Media and specialist sound/Hi-Fi writers listened to the MS750 with and without the optional sub-woofer and rear wireless speakers and critiqued a range of content from pop to movies.
I found the upper registers very clean and crisp – you could hear the vocals and speech in movies very clearly and while the bass was there is was not overpowering – unless you wanted it to be. The smart Sound+ also analyses the music and automatically switches to the best EQ preset.
Even at 100% volume the distortion cancelling technology was very impressive – a kind of pre-amp analyses the sound sine wave and adapts it for the speaker to make it reproduce a near identical sine wave.
I listened with and without the subwoofer and rear speakers and frankly for the average unit dweller (that buys sound bars) you don’t need them. If you have a larger lounge or media room then they might be a good investment.
In addition, Samsung Labs have redefined audio cut over frequencies to bring its wide-range tweeter down to 700Hz – the results are impressive with good directionality, and separation.
Specs
- Channels: 5 (processes Dolby 5.1)
- Frequency response: 35Hz-20kHz
- Ports: 2 x HDMI in, 1 x HDMI Out ARC/CEC, Bluetooth (for smartphone music streaming),5mm audio in, Optical
- Control: Via Samsung TV One remote or separate remote
- Codecs: AAC, FLAC, ALAC, OGG, MP3, WAV
- Upscaling: Any music source to 32bit UHQ
- Passthrough: 4K 60Hz, 3D video, and HDR
- Dimension/weight: 1150 x 80 x 130 mm x 8.3kg
- Wall mount kit available including attachment to Samsung TVs and power sharing
- Optional rear speakers (works with Samsung Multiroom Audio or SWA-9000S
- Optional sub-woofer takes bottom end to 27Hz
Pricing and availability
The MS750 costs A$999 and SWA-W700 (subwoofer) costs $799 will be available from early August.