*slight* disappointment with Samsung MS-650 + W700 Sub, opinions / options?

[walkie]

Hello,

I've been a long time lurker on here and whilst Home Cinema & Hi-Fi may not be the greatest focus of this site I've always found the advice solid in this forum! So...

I post *slight* as it by no means bad and I am not sure if my expectations were just too high. However....

I had a Logitech Z-5500 surround sound for many years before in my old setup and (especially for the money) and honestly I found it excellent, it was loud, punchy and the sub sank so low and deep. It was bitter sweet getting rid of it but after 10 years and getting a new TV I knew it was time to upgrade.

I expect the Samsung combo to blow it out the water but honestly it never quite has. The sub doesn't ever seem to come alive and I have moved it relentlessly around the room, it is punchy and can pick out some low notes but it never has that feeling of your ears vibrating with bass. Is this because the logitech was ported and I think the Bose looks to be too? The clarity of the sounder is fantastic but the loudness and 'surround' feel is lacking at times.

When I was shopping around I was really impressed with the sound demo of the Bose Soundtouch 300 & sub and was adamant that was the combo for me, I didn't want to purchase the Sono's as every man and his dog has one (probably with good reason retrospectively thinking) and the reason for the Samsung purchase - despite never hearing it before was I had just bought a Samsung Q7 65" (which I adore)

So my question is this (I guess)

Should I have gone with the Bose, would the sub sing a little more? Should I have gone with the Sonos? Was I expecting too much from a soundbar and perhaps I was better suited with a more traditional surround sound 5.1 system? Is my setup wrong?

My budget is about what I've already spent, any suggestions, experience would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

 

[Hedge]

What was your budget? I don't see what you spent in first place.

Maybe crossover settings are wrong and the sub is only kicking in real low.

Consider buying a BK sub if you're on a budget. Alternatively look for a second hand option. Samsung and Bose aren't really home cinema titans. (although I guess with sound bars they aren't bad).

Dali make a good sound bar by all accounts.

 

[lucid]

The SW700 sub has distortion-cancelling tech built in. This is something that the Logitec didn't have, and its not part of most other subs either.

I suppose you could sort of think about it like active EQ. The circuit within the sub analyses and adjusts specific frequencies within the incoming signal so that, at whatever volume it's playing, the sub's 10" driver doesn't distort. The consequence is there are far fewer occasions where the sub is resonating at one of its harmonic frequencies, and so the sound is far more controlled than you've been used to with the Logitec.

You're right in part about the difference between a ported versus a sealed sub. The sealed enclosures make the speaker's response far more predictable in-room, and this makes for a product where the performance is far less room-dependent. When you think about it, that's going to be one of Samsung's main aims: They want products where the customer gets consistent performance almost regardless of where the gear is used. In a way, they've used tech to homogenise the in-room response.

It's perhaps a clue why the sub has no controls on the back panel, and why the soundbar menu doesn't give anything more than a small amount of volume adjustment for the sub. In very basic terms, they've taken away the opportunity for customers (or dealers) to 'eff it up ' and then complain that something isn't right, but in the process they've taken away some of the fun of what happens when things get close to the ragged edge. It's very clean taut bass, but you just want more of it. It's just a bit safe.

The Sonos system is for people who either don't understand- or are not so bothered about- HD audio. It's a different solution to the problem of poor telly speakers.

The sub in the Bose 300 system really isn't good at all. Like most Bose products, they impress on a quick demo. However, anyone who has lived with decent audio gear will start to pick up on where the holes are in the Bose sound presentation. The bass isn't that deep and it tends to just thump rather than playing the shape of real sounds. Midrange is another of Bose's Achilles heels

Of the three solutions, the Samsung is the best. What Samsung has done is to buy the US company Harmon Industries (Harmon Kardon). That brand doesn't really mean a lot in the UK, but its kind of the equivalent to the AV side of Yamaha, so it's a pretty big deal. ARCAM is a name familiar to most UK Hi-Fi enthusiasts. They were bought by Harmon and so are now owned by Samsung. AKG headphone and mics, a Harmon business. JBL, Infinity speakers, Mark Levinson electronics, B&Q car audio... all Harmon-owned and so now under the Samsung umbrella.

Buying Harmon was an astute business move because Samsung bought the engineering expertise of the business which is formidable. Products such as your sound bar and sub are a direct result of the newly acquired technical leg-up. This is why the top end Samsung soundbars don't sound like the products of old. They're not coming out of a cost-driven Korean design office. They're born in the performance-driven California Labs design studio.