Samsung HW-Q700C Review | Trusted Reviews

Verdict

One other spectacular soundbar from Samsung, the HW-Q700C delivers a dynamic, cinematic efficiency that can have your partitions shaking. It’s additionally good with music, whereas house owners of current Samsung TVs get a lift from Samsung-specific options. It may benefit from extra sonic refinement, however if you happen to’re disposed to large, loud sounds, you’ll wish to think about the HW-Q700C on your residence.

Introduction

Identical to with its TVs, Samsung is the king of soundbars, anointed for the ninth 12 months in a row when it comes to market share. It’s a run it’ll hope to proceed with the likes of the HW-Q700C.

Pitched amongst its extra reasonably priced (however nonetheless premium) soundbar fashions for 2023, the Samsung HW-Q700C is a soundbar/subwoofer combo that intends to convey an enormous increase in your TV’s sound, that includes an array of options particular to Samsung TVs, but in addition supply some added worth with good options to combine it throughout the residence.

I’ve favored Samsung’s earlier soundbars loads, and on specs alone the HW-Q700C seems like one other winner. How does it carry out within the cauldron of our take a look at rooms? Right here’s my verdict.

Design

• Brutalist look
• Over a metre lengthy
• Hid show

Samsung’s ‘HW’ soundbars have in the previous couple of years conformed to at least one look: large, angular, and fairly brutalist. Like Sony’s soundbars, they share a really ‘robust’, hefty look to them.

Some may describe them as bland, and there’s a skinny line between bland and minimalism, however the HW-Q700C, like its predecessor, is one which doesn’t draw consideration to itself.

At over a metre vast it’ll want a prolonged piece of AV furnishings to take a seat on (and is finest suited to 55-inch TVs and greater), whereas at 3cm tall, it ought to have the ability to match beneath most TVs (particularly if it’s a Samsung). The primary unit weighs in at 4.8kg, whereas the subwoofer is a stocky 5.9kg.

It’s a mirror picture of the HW-Q700B with its grilled, perforated floor with upfiring audio system that may be spied by means of the grilles in addition to a collection of buttons within the center that cowl energy, quantity, and supply enter. In a recessed space beneath, there’s a HDMI out (to the TV), HDMI enter, and digital optical output you probably have a really outdated TV.

The LED show is positioned on the right-hand aspect hid behind the grille. It’ll pop up with notifications for supply inputs or settings, and it’ll show a flag when a Dolby Atmos soundtrack is enjoying, however gained’t return the favour for DTS:X tracks, which I discover bemusing.

The subwoofer is boxy – what else form would it not be? – however just like the bar, it’s effectively constructed and nameless in look. It’s rear ported, so for finest bass administration it must be positioned nearer to a wall.

The distant management (or One Distant Management as Samsung has coined it) is identical because the 2022 fashions, which implies it’s a sublime, slim zapper that’s simple to make use of with buttons for Bluetooth pairing, settings, EQ tuning, and extra.

Options

• Wi-fi Dolby Atmos assist
• Dolby and DTS assist
• Alexa compatibility

Just like the HW-Q700B earlier than it, the Samsung HW-Q700C incorporates a 3.1.2-channel configuration (9 audio system in complete) with a centre, two upfiring audio system, and big selection tweeters plus the 6.5-inch woofer. The system will be upgraded with the SWA-9200S wi-fi set, turning it right into a 5.1.2 system with real rear audio system. That’s an additional £199.99 / $149.99.

There’s an array of Samsung-specific options if you happen to personal a appropriate Samsung TV. Q-Symphony is probably the most notable, syncing the audio system of the TV and soundbar so that you get sounds and dialogue extra precisely positioned on display.

SpaceFit Sound incorporates a microphone in the principle speaker that’ll robotically optimise the sound and calibrate it for the room, bearing in mind objects and surfaces shut by.

Lively Voice Amplifier raises the amount of dialogue above different noisy sounds in a room, whereas Adaptive Sound 2.0 robotically optimises audio content material by figuring out the style (film, information, and many others). If audio is performed at a low quantity, it’ll emphasise dialogue so it’s nonetheless audible. Recreation Mode 2.0 affords directional sound to immerse the participant within the sport they’re enjoying.

Shifting on to connectivity, the HDMI enter can move by means of 4K HDR10+ video and there’s a USB port for service use solely. There’s Wi-Fi, which brings AirPlay 2, built-in Chromecast (regardless of Samsung’s website saying it doesn’t assist it), and Spotify Join. Bluetooth assist is included, although it’s solely SBC.

The soundbar additionally helps wi-fi Dolby Atmos, handy for individuals who don’t have any time for cables. Faucet the bar with a Galaxy Android smartphone and you may fling music to the bar with out obstruction.

Smarts come within the type of Alexa, although it isn’t in-built and requires one other appropriate machine to be linked to the speaker. There may be ‘Works with” Google compatibility although, as soon as once more, the Samsung website asserts there isn’t.

By way of audio soundtracks there’s Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital+), Dolby 5.1ch; DTS:X, DTS-HD Grasp Audio, DTS 5.1, DTS HD and multi-channel LPCM as much as eight channels.

Streaming music as an alternative? Audio codecs embrace AAC, MP3, OGG, WAV, FLAC, ALAC and AIFF, and the HW-Q700C can decode Hello-Res Audio.

Lastly, there’s the SmartThings app, which can be utilized to manage the soundbar, playback, tailor the EQ, flick between supply inputs, tweak the channel ranges, and lots extra. It’s much more helpful you probably have different good merchandise appropriate with the app, and it may be used to shortly set-up the soundbar on first use. The Superior EQ choices aren’t current when the soundbar is set-up in Q-Symphony mode.

Sound High quality

• Thunderous bass
• Superb centre channel for dialogue
• May very well be extra delicate

In our assessment of the HW-Q700B, we described it as hanging a powerful steadiness between worth and efficiency, and the Samsung HW-Q700C is extra of the identical.

With John Wick: Chapter 4 (4K Blu-ray) the HW-Q700C will get off to a powerful begin in its thundering description of Wick’s fist slamming right into a wood submit – you’ll be able to really feel the power, weight, and slam of these hits that’s solely actually attainable with an exterior subwoofer.

The movie’s Atmos observe is spaciously described, discovering a great steadiness between ambient element, dialogue, and rating; like the place Wick talks to one of many elders within the desert – the sound of flags flapping by and wind flowing places you within the scene. Although the HW-Q700C isn’t immersive – it’s front-heavy staging with out rear audio system – its high quality grasp of element does immerse the viewer in one other means.

Gunshots punctuate within the movie’s motion sequences, delivered with loads of snap and dynamism, whereas the sound of Wick slicing up his foes with a sword within the Osaka-based sequence is gory in one of the best ways attainable. As Wick and his adversaries are despatched flying by means of glass partitions, there’s a pleasant sharpness that brings out the Q700C’s dynamic vary.

Dialogue is delivered easily and with weight by means of the centre channel, although at instances there are factors the place Hiroyuki Sanada’s Shimazu in Wick 4 does teeter near sibilance, the HW-Q700C refrains from being overtly sharp.

Like its predecessor, there’s glorious deal with dialogue, which is loud, clear, and naturally conveyed in Highlight (Blu-ray), with a pure efficiency from the Boston accents actors placed on for the movie.

Movies resembling Dune and Tenet with their testing audio mixes fare effectively by means of this soundbar. Jessica’s recitation of the Litany of Worry is audible all through, whereas it brings readability to Kay’s “burn in hell” parting shot to Sator within the catamaran sequence the place on different soundbars could make it sound garbled.

For those who do discover dialogue is difficult to listen to, there’s the Voice Enhancement setting. It’s louder, sharper however not as pure in tone; and it additionally lifts background noises watching The English on iPlayer.

There’s sibilance too with Emily Blunt’s Cornelia Locke, the HW-Q700C doling a bit of an excessive amount of sharpness and brightness to her voice on this mode.

Its efficiency with DTS:X soundtracks isn’t as expansive or as dynamic as with Atmos. With Jurassic World: Dominion, it wanted to be cranked as much as quantity 40 to really feel as expressive as Atmos tracks are at quantity 30.

Top channels aren’t as effectively outlined – there’s extra of an intangible sense of area with Dominion’s DTS observe – however there’s good panning and staging of results as velociraptors chase the heroes by means of the streets of Malta.

A point out of the soundbar’s Q-Symphony efficiency too; it’s dynamic, conveying the distinction between quiet and loud in a way that dearer bars just like the Devialet Dione don’t. The subwoofer retains impression, offering loads of scale when the Atreides household lands on Arrakis, the bass crossover doesn’t seem too considerably altered on this configuration both.

It’s arguably extra detailed in its Q-Symphony mode with the assistance of the TV’s audio system, however not essentially extra delicate. The soundbar additionally helps wi-fi Atmos and regardless of a bit of little bit of distortion throughout arrange, it proved to be very spectacular. Quick-forwarding or rewinding content material didn’t result in it going out of sync or lagging. When you have a appropriate TV, wi-fi Atmos works as seamlessly because the wired connection.

Whereas it’s been principally breathless reward for the Samsung HW-Q700C, there are few quibbles. Quantity 30 is as loud as you’ll want to go for Dolby audio tracks; tread any additional and soundtracks veer in the direction of bombastic.

Bass is described in hefty, assorted, cinematic phrases however can flit in the direction of being too highly effective on the quantity stage I used to be listening at. Bass doesn’t dominate proceedings I ought to add – however the HW-Q700C is a contact missing in refinement and subtlety. When this subwoofer hits, it hits arduous however the general tone Samsung has gone for right here is extra in the direction of weight, resulting in element and sharpness not feeling probably the most resolved. Decreasing the amount to someplace between 25 – 30 and tweaking the woofer to -6 helped for me.

And although the HW-Q700C is spacious, it doesn’t broaden past the confines of the S95C’s 4 bezels. It feels locked to the display fairly than spreading past it, one other facet is the Q700C doesn’t push sound into the room both. In contrast to the step-up HW-Q800C, it lacks side-firing audio system to shovel sound to the edges and add extra width, particularly in the direction of the underside half of the display.

With music there’s many selections in Spotify Join, AirPlay 2, Chromecast, and Bluetooth streaming. Bluetooth affords heat, wealthy bass with Groove Armada’s At The River. Vocals are easily conveyed with a contact of richness. I’d recommend enjoying music (a minimum of on Bluetooth) with Adaptive Sound on because it brings the vocals ahead and provides the observe a greater form and sense of element.

I might not repeat that trick with Wi-Fi because it ladles the already crisp sound with extra sharpness, coming throughout as harsh. Nonetheless, with the identical observe on Spotify Join it has a bigger presence, more room for vocals and devices to strut their stuff, with a crisper midrange that retrieves extra element.

Streaming Qobuz over Chromecast is identical: extra vitality, dynamism, and readability throughout the frequency vary than with Bluetooth, extra energy besides, although it will probably sound too bassy, whereas some tracks are loud to the purpose of sounding harsh. A stream of the Soccer Weekly podcast over AirPlay got here throughout loud and clear. The HW-Q700C’s Bluetooth efficiency is okay, but it surely takes off with its Wi-Fi efficiency.

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