Technology manufacturers love the word ecosystem.
An ecosystem allows different products of a particular company to work better with each other (and in the process keep consumers more loyal to that company). Like Apple's AirPods headphones that connect and easily switch between the iPhone, Macbook, iPad and also the Apple TV streamer. The rival Samsung has also built an ecosystem of products for it, where its televisions can, among other things, benefit from connectivity with the company's smartphones and headphones, so that phone calls and the transfer of audio are easily carried out between the devices. The new Samsung TV - S95D that arrived recently (for the full review) offers this kind of advantage for the buyers of the company's sound bar - HW-Q930D. Of course, it is not mandatory to use the S95D together with this sound bar.
A combination of speakers, TV and sound bar
The S95D TV, like other models of the company from 2020, includes a feature called - Q-Symphony. This solution offers synchronization between the sound bar and the TV speaker, so that they work together, instead of the sound bar simply replacing the TV speakers. This solution became available immediately as soon as I connected the Q930D to the TV via the HDMI eARC connector. This is a connection with a repeat channel. This is basically the only connection that needs to be worked against between the sound bar and the TV. The TV also showed via an on-screen speaker indicator that it supports Q-Symphony.
Not just a sound bar
Besides the sound bar itself, which is built as a long and not particularly high unit, the kit includes two rear speakers that can also be used as additional front speakers and a subwoofer unit. This is a 9.1.4 channel system, where all the parts connect to the sound bar wirelessly, so that apart from electrical connections, there is no need to deal with additional wiring.
The Q930D supports the audio standards: True Dolby ATMOS and DTS:X. You get an indication on the monitor in the sound bar when it recognizes that it is supporting content. The rear speakers support the standards wirelessly, when the sound bar itself knows how to output music from its top for the Atmos standard.
In order to match the sound to the room where the sound bar is located, Samsung integrated a solution called SpaceFit Sound which knows how to match the sound to the room in which you are by analyzing the reverberation directly from the sound bar.
The sound experience you get here is great, you get an enveloping sound with strong bass and clear dialogues. If in the movie you are watching it is difficult to understand the voices of the characters, there is a mode called Active Voice Amplifier which is supposed to sharpen their voice, but it is hardly noticeable.
For situations where you don't want to disturb the other residents of the house, there is an option to switch to a sound mode where the sound only comes from the rear speakers and thus watching the movie is less noticeable to the rest of the family. This is a nice solution, but it is not really recommended to listen through it in this way, only if there is no other choice, because the sound is nothing.
Also a solution for listening to music
For listening to music, the Q930D offers a mode - Sound Grouping in which it plays the music from both the sound bar and the rear speakers, so that they can be spread around the house or put on the balcony where you are hosting a friend and want to hear music in several different rooms. For the music transmission, you can use standard Bluetooth communication from the smartphone, but there is also support for Google Chromecast for transmission via WIFi or Apple's AirPlay.
Easy control through SmartThings
Samsung's SmartThings application allows control of smart products at home and the company's televisions, it also offers control of the sound bar and all the necessary adjustments, so there is no need to mess with the additional remote that comes in the kit (the remote of Samsung TVs also allows you to control the sound bar). The use of the application is recommended, because through it you can easily reach all the settings of the more advanced features.
Price: NIS 4,480
Bottom line, if you bought a Samsung TV, purchasing a sound bar from the same company makes sense, because you enjoy the advantage of better connectivity, convenient control through the same app and also the Q-Symphony feature. The HW-Q930D offers sound that fills the room and allows you to enjoy movies in a richer experience.