Samsung adds 'Atmos-phere' (review)

The tryst occurred at the fashionable Old Claire Hotel, Chippendale, Sydney, a 19th-century pub restored to its former grandeur with a fashionably distressed look to it. Just as well – this interlude demanded timber rug-strewn floors, generous spaces, and soft furnishings to set the scene.

Sammie wanted to show off her new $1999.95, 500W, Dolby Atmos Soundbar so what better way to do it than invite journalists to experience it with, naturally, a humongous 88” curved SUHD TV, a 4K Blue-ray player, and a stack of 4K Blu-ray, HDR movies with Dolby Atmos sound.

How do you test Dolby Atmos? One word does it justice – LOUD!

{loadposition ray}

iTWire has already reported on the Soundbar Atmos qualities here so if the review interests you check this out for more detail.

I chose Warcraft – The Beginning, the movie based on the game, partly because I had not seen it (and it was too early in the day for the gory of Mad Max Fury Road – for a list of Atmos titles click ) and partly because I knew there would be lots of fighting, colour, movement, and action to test the Soundbar.

Let’s get the movie review over – it was good, entertaining and easy watching if you like fantasy, wizards, and magic. It is about Orcs (big mean looking buggers with fangs – but some have a heart of gold) trying to take over another beautiful world called Azeroth, by coming through a portal from their dying world Draenor, and slaughtering the poor humans, led by King Llane Wrynn.

The sound was recorded for Atmos and DTS:X and the film is shot in a 2.35:1 ratio (for theatre) hence the 88” screen really did it justice. To convert ratio into something you may more easily understand, it is like 16:6.8 and the 3840 x 2160 resolution over a 4200R gentle curved radius was magnificent.

OK, now to the sound

Atmos is probably best described as filling the room with additional sound – not just the directional sound from the front or rear speakers. Switch it off (or play non-Atmos content) and you have 5.1 (left/centre/right front, left/right rear, and a subwoofer). Good, perhaps even great sound from the Samsung Soundbar certainly matching the fidelity of my top-draw Pioneer 5.1 AV system at home.

Switch it on, and all bets are off – this is amazing sound. You still have the directionality, but you are immersed in sound. Dolby refers to this as “128 simultaneous independent audio objects in a mix for realistic sound.” It is created from the “metadata” of the sound recorded on set. It is not obtrusive or distracting – it simply puts you in the action zone. I have tried 7.1 sound systems, and frankly Atmos sound eats it.

I am sure there are some catches to using a Soundbar over a separate speaker/Hi-Fi. For example, the “4” segment of the 5.1.4 refers to the four upwards firing Atmos speakers. This sound needs to bounce off the ceiling so it may not be as effective for vaulted or high ceilings. I suspect the sound absorption of curtains and furnishings may affect it as well. However, the test room was large — at least 5 x 5 metres — and volume was only set half way.  It is nice to know that there is room for “ludicrous” sound should you want it.

For the techy, it uses HDMI ARC to connect to the TV, has Wi-Fi (for streaming, updates and Samsung’s Multi-room speakers, Bluetooth, and 2 x HDMI additional connections. The 500W rating is made up of 11 x 18W speakers, 1 x 162W sub-woofer, 4 x 35W Atmos speakers.

There are no specs on total harmonic distortion or frequency response — quality-wise it produces a full range (20-20) of crystal clear, crisp sound, free from volume enhanced distortion — even at ludicrous levels.

Using the established sound signature as a guide I would classify it as “warm and sweet” sound (bass/mids boosted, treble recessed) but that is a little academic as the Soundbar equaliser can be changed to suit your tastes.

Back to the TV

The 88”, KS9800, curved, 4K sells for $29,999 and is the pinnacle of Samsung’s Quantum Dot technology. Let’s just say it was very impressive — extreme contrast, superb detail on HDR, blacker blacks, and realistic colours. I have seen smaller 4K SUHD, Series 9 units and they deliver what this does — just smaller and more affordable.

The 4K Blue-ray player

It is also curved to match the TV and its key features include:

• Cinema quality at home: With HDR (High Dynamic Range) technology, it delivers dynamic Ultra High Definition content in exceptional quality on Samsung's HDR-capable SUHD TVs.
• More vivid and breathtaking colour: It offers twice the colour range and up to 64 times the colour expressions of Samsung's existing conventional Blu-ray players on Samsung's HDR-capable SUHD TVs.
• Bring TV to life with UHD upscaling: It upscales content into higher definition video for display on UHD TVs, giving crystal-clear images and great resolution.
• Outstanding 4K streaming service: Access content from online providers such as Netflix as well as your favourite offline shows via the Internet.
• The ultimate universal disc player: fully compatible with CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs.

Thanks Sammie for a very enjoyable, if loud, three hours.