Samsung has continuously raised the bar for home entertainment systems over the years, earning its soundbars a reputation for superior sound quality and groundbreaking innovation. Signature features such as Q-Symphony and SpaceFit Sound have revolutionized the listening experience, offering users a deeply immersive soundscape that is finely tuned to their listening environments.

This standard of excellence has been recognized by industry experts and reviewers, with T3 awarding the HW-Q990C “Best Soundbar” title for its immersive audio and “exceptional object-based sonics,” and HomeTheaterReview giving the soundbar an “Editor’s Choice” distinction and commenting: “It sounds excellent, regardless of what type of content you send its way.”

This year, Samsung continues to push the boundaries with its soundbar lineup, introducing enhanced AI audio features and connectivity options to captivate consumers and home theater enthusiasts alike.

▲ Samsung Electronics’ 2024 flagship Q-series soundbar HW-Q990D further pushes the boundaries of immersive home audio experience

The flagship Q-series soundbar, HW-Q990D, offers impressive 11.1.4-channel surround sound and an upgraded Q-Symphony feature. Powered by AI, the device analyzes and synchronizes voice channels for clear dialogues and immersive soundscape across all speakers. Paired with SpaceFit Sound Pro for customized audio calibration, the soundbar also ensures an immersive experience in any space, while HDMI 2.1 and 4K/120Hz passthrough provides connectivity options that meets the demands of modern home entertainment systems.

“We are thrilled to once again be acknowledged as the market leader in soundbars, a milestone that reflects the positive feedback from our customers over the years,” said Cheolgi Kim, EVP of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “Building on this success, we will continue to push the boundaries of home entertainment with superior sound quality and advanced connectivity features, leveraging AI-based sound technology to strengthen the consumer experience and Samsung’s position in the global market.”

For more information, visit https://www.samsung.com.

Following the first installment of this series about the significance of hardware innovation in achieving premium sound quality, Samsung Newsroom sat down with its engineers once again to take a closer look at Samsung’s remarkable AI features that helped create a state-of-the-art sound experience.

Embracing AI for Sonic Perfection: Tuning Your Sound to Your Environment

“Ironically, I don’t recall sound engineers being interested in AI in the beginning when we started seeing a boom in the technology,” said Sunmin Kim, Head of the Sound Device Lab, Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. But with an intuition that AI could help improve TV sound, the Sound Device Lab decided to get a head start, about six years ago, in exploring AI and its applications to sound technologies.

Then, a shift occurred. With the advent of the Neural Processing Unit (NPU) and its application to Samsung’s flagship TVs, the possibilities of applying AI technology to TV audio were unlocked. The team fast-tracked machine learning for its TVs which led to significant early successes. Kim is confident that AI has and will continue to exponentially elevate the viewing experience by enhancing TV sound in numerous and profound ways.

▲ “AI plays a critical role in improving the user experience on our screens,” said Kim.

Samsung’s advanced AI applications include a deep learning algorithm that distinguishes and separates the primary voice on the screen from other sounds. Before, an equalizer feature simply adjusted the high-, middle- and low-pitched sounds within humans’ audible frequency range — approximately 20 to 20,000Hz — to improve sound quality. The 2023 TVs and screens go above and beyond, providing deeper and greater details by analyzing content scene by scene and accentuating various audio elements including human voices, background music and sound effects. Additionally, this optimization process happens behind the scenes so that users can enjoy optimal sound effortlessly.

SpaceFit Sound: Tailoring Audio to Your Space

The listening environment and its acoustic properties must be considered to truly optimize sound from TVs. Samsung’s latest TVs come with the SpaceFit Sound feature that leverages AI technology to assess surrounding environments and ensure sound is appropriately adjusted. The feature utilizes the TV’s built-in microphone to automatically identify various factors present in the room, such as the distance between the TV and the wall as well as the room’s acoustic properties, to measure the reflection of the TV’s sound. AI is used to enhance the sound accordingly.

▲ SpaceFit Sound leverages AI to learn the acoustic properties of the environment and calibrates the sound accordingly.

“Through continuous research and analysis, we found certain frequency patterns that are more susceptible to change based on a device’s surroundings, potentially impacting the TV’s sound quality,” said Kibeom Kim. “The built-in microphone identifies changes in acoustic properties and sound caused by factors like a carpet or an empty room to optimize sound regardless of the TV’s location.”

“Traditionally, TVs use a set of dedicated sounds to check sound through the mic. SpaceFit Sound, on the other hand, utilizes real content to analyze viewing environments and modifies sound accordingly,” Kim explained. “The technology was designed not only for real scenarios but also real-time circumstances as the feature automatically and conveniently adjusts sound.”

▲ Samsung’s SpaceFit Sound has become the industry’s first technology to earn the Spatial Sound Optimization certification from VDE.

In recognition of the company’s dedication to innovation and user-centric design, Samsung’s SpaceFit Sound also became the first audio technology to receive the Spatial Sound Optimization certification from Verband Deutscher Elektrotechniker (VDE) in 2021.

Q-Symphony 3.0: Harnessing Hyperconnectivity for Three-Dimensional Sound

Whether it’s through bigger screens or deeper acoustics, today’s viewers desire more cinematic experiences. Q-Symphony is a proprietary technology from Samsung that orchestrates a harmonious interplay between a TV’s speakers and a connected soundbar, resulting in a richer, more vibrant audio experience. As the name suggests, the feature allows two audio outputs to synchronize, similar to a carefully conducted concerto, creating a unified, immersive soundstage. More specifically, the soundbar plays primary audio channels, while the TV speakers add background and surround sounds to create a dynamic and three-dimensional audio experience.

▲ Q-Symphony allows soundbar and TV speakers to work in perfect sync, producing harmonious blends of sound for immersive experiences.

Despite the apparent simplicity in concept, Q-Symphony leverages a wide range of AI technologies to produce and sync sounds with such accuracy. Any gaps in sound levels between the TV speakers and soundbar must be precisely synced to prevent unwanted echoes and achieve perfect audio harmony. Over the years, Samsung engineers have tirelessly worked to refine this technology. Q-Symphony 1.0, which originally utilized the TV’s top speakers, evolved into Q-Symphony 2.0, which controls all speakers with improved channel separation technology for a greater sense of depth and immersion.

The latest Q-Symphony 3.0 takes sound to the next level by integrating the neural processor and AI-based real-time voice separation technology. This advanced Q-Symphony feature provides three-dimensional sound by distinguishing and optimizing various audio elements including voices, background music and sound effects based on the type of content and users’ volume settings. The resulting sound is a perfect replication of the audio track the creators intended.

Samsung’s AI algorithm can also take the input signals and play them through multiple channels, whether it’s the soundbar or all the TV speakers, customizing each channel for powerful and dynamic sounds. In addition to content featuring Dolby Atmos or 5.1-channel audio, content with regular stereo channels can also be processed to create 20 individual channels. This means that any media can be delivered with exceptionally immersive sound quality on Samsung TVs and soundbars.

▲ “Q-Symphony is a revolutionary algorithm by Samsung that can masterfully synchronize audio volume and timing in perfect harmony,” said Kim.

“The sound offered through Q-Symphony is so immersive that viewers feel as though they are physically present on set with so many different background sounds coming alive through the feature,” said Kim.

Unifying Picture and Sound Experiences for Optimal Viewing Experiences

Today, AI sits at the core of Samsung’s audio strategy with its applications extending across numerous products. This widespread adoption of AI has resulted in features like Q-Symphony and SpaceFit Sound that enrich the audio experience, alongside other audio technologies that breathe life into content through dialogue and movement. Additional capabilities include Active Voice Amplifier, which adjusts and improves dialogue clarity with the speaker and surrounding noise in mind, Human Tracking Sound, which dynamically reproduces the sound based on the position of the on-screen speaker, and OTS Pro, which creates a dynamic soundscape based on the movement of objects or the speaker on the screen.

These features are the outcome of two symbiotic AI technologies: a content analysis model and a sound separation model. The neural processors work with both auditory and visual cues, among other signals, to create the perfect audio experience that syncs with what is happening on the screen. Despite the complexity of this process, Samsung was able to bring these features to life by forming a cross-departmental team of engineers and pooling resources across picture, sound and other departments.

The Future of Sound: Reshaping Audio Experiences With Samsung’s Sound Device Lab

▲ (From left) Seongsu Park, Sunmin Kim and Kibeom Kim at the Sound Device Lab are on a mission to capture audio just as the artists intended.

In the Sound Device Lab, there is a clear and unwavering goal that guides every innovation: recreate the original sound as closely as the artists intended, with consumers top of mind. AI is a critical tool that enables Samsung to do this.

Sunmin Kim, who heads the Sound Device Lab, believes that sound is just one side of the coin: “The focus on sound quality is a given, but all innovations that made breakthroughs came from user-centric design. Sound settings and features need to be straightforward and user friendly.”

Seongsu Park noted that 70% of TV sound comes from the product while the remaining 30% is shaped by the space in which the sound is played: “Our products will continue to leverage the latest measurement systems and AI algorithms to analyze space and sound settings for optimal sound quality.”

On a final note, Kibeom Kim also shared the Sound Lab’s ambition in the era of multi-device sound experiences initiated by the Q-Symphony feature: “There is unlimited potential in Q-Symphony to produce audio that works in perfect harmony. We will continue to improve inter-device connectivity and enhance the feature for our users.”

Samsung is committed to delivering premium experiences for consumers, prioritizing their needs through innovative products. With a strong track record as a market leader for 17 consecutive years, Samsung will continue to enhance the viewing experience and drive sound innovation.

Samsung Electronics has been recognized as a leader in the global soundbar market, according to the market research firm, FutureSource Consulting. A newly released report published on February 28 notes that Samsung topped the soundbar market for the ninth year in a row, commanding 20.2% in market share and accounting for 18.4% of the industry sales volume in 2022.

Samsung soundbars, including the premium Q-series lineup, are expertly crafted and fine-tuned for powerful and immersive sound quality, enhanced compatibility with TVs, and sleek and modern design. Features such as SpaceFit Sound have been praised by customers and reviewers for calibrating sounds to fit the acoustic properties of each space for tailor-made sound experiences.

In fact, Samsung soundbars have impressed industry experts and reviewers, with outlets such as AVForums selecting the HW-Q990B as the “Best in Class” Award winner for 2022 and Newsweek commenting that the HW-S800B “delivers impressive room-filling sound” in such a compact form.

This year Samsung is taking its soundbar lineup to the next level with captivating cinematic sounds and premium audio features to win the hearts of consumers and home theater enthusiasts.

▲ HW-Q990C

Samsung’s HW-Q990C is a flagship Q-series soundbar with an impressive 11.1.4-channel setup and Dolby Atmos audio. It comes with the latest Q-Symphony 3.0 feature, which analyzes and processes voice channels and audio elements to deliver perfectly synchronized audio using every speaker in both the TV and the soundbar. It also comes with SpaceFit Sound Pro, which calibrates sounds to match the acoustic properties of each space, and Game Mode Pro, which optimizes sounds by game genres for added realism when played through Samsung Gaming Hub.

“Samsung is committed to providing our customers with an industry-leading home entertainment experience that meets the evolving needs of our customers,” said Cheolgi Kim, EVP of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “Samsung soundbars are the perfect immersive match for Samsung TVs, exemplifying the pinnacle of cinematic sound with smart audio features and enhanced connectivity.”

According to Futuresource, the global soundbar market, which has been showing steady growth of about 5.7% over the past three years, recorded 23.16 million units in sales in 2022 and is expected to reach 26 million in sales by 2025.

For more information, please visit https://www.samsung.com.

▲ (From left) Mingyo Oh, Haekwang Park and Shinhye Choi, at Samsung Electronics’ Visual Display Business behind Premium Soundbar, the HW-Q950A

With the increasing popularity of large screen televisions and the continued addition of further OTT (over-the-top) services, more users are looking to establish a theater-like experience in their homes. On top of that, social distancing measures have required people to go out less, stoking their desire to enjoy premium visual and audio experiences from home.

Full, clear and deep sound plays a crucial role in ensuring that content is delivered as it was originally intended. Paving the way for new audio experiences, Samsung Electronics introduced its high-end soundbar models, the HW-Q950A and HW-Q900A, in May of this year. The new premium models take sound quality to the next level with up to 16 channels and a host of enhanced functions that bring even greater satisfaction to users. Samsung Newsroom met with the product experts of the 2021 soundbar models to find out the secret behind their powerful and precise sound.

11.1.4-Channel Surround Sound That Fills the Entire Room

▲ Haekwang Park, Principal Engineer at the Sound Device Lab, Samsung’s Visual Display Business

Thanks to our ever-evolving content culture, sound is getting richer, fuller and more expressive. The days of one-directional (mono) sound are long gone as we have ushered in the era of multi-directional channels that allow sound to fill up the surrounding space. “Sound is becoming increasingly important as people nowadays watch a wide variety of programs that place more emphasis on audio quality, such as music shows and films,” says Haekwang Park, Principal Engineer from the Sound lab at Samsung’s Visual Display Business.

To live up to consumers’ heightened expectations, Samsung has spared no effort in developing high-quality soundbar products that deliver very realistic sound. In 2016, Samsung brought its first 5.1.4-channel soundbar model to market. This soundbar was equipped with left, right and middle channels, two rear channels, a subwoofer and four upward-firing speakers, and delivered immersive, three-dimensional surround sound. More channels were added to later models, including a surround channel on the side of the soundbar and a wide surround channel to deliver sound from the front and sides. In 2020, Samsung introduced a 9.1.4-channel model.

In 2021, Samsung went a step further with its latest 11.1.4-channel model, the HW-Q950A, which features two rear surround channels. Product planner Mingyo Oh explained that, “The newly added channels are located on the sides of the rear surround speakers. They add liveliness to dynamic scenes involving things like airplanes in flight and car chases by allowing the sound to hit the side walls before it bounces back to where the audience is positioned.” The premium soundbar delivers an outstanding audio experience by filling previously quiet moments with powerful, immersive sound.

▲ Mingyo Oh from the Product Planning Group at Samsung’s Visual Display Business

Delivering Sound Exactly as Intended With Advanced Rendering and Waveguide Techniques

A channel is a passage for sound that dictates which direction it travels. This is why having a higher number of channels provides better, smoother sound. It usually requires costly equipments to offer 11.1.4-channel sound, but Samsung’s HW-Q950A is able to provide a breathtaking 3D surround sound experience with only four speakers thanks to its unparalleled rendering and waveguide techniques.

Rendering is the process of creating a way for the audio output to deliver sound exactly as the artist intended. The Samsung developers made it possible to deliver an optimal acoustic experience with the soundbar system by tapping into its cutting-edge rendering technology. “To provide the most natural audio experience to users, we have carefully designed our products to deliver sound seamlessly. The HW-Q950A soundbar delivers sound that is reflected in various directions and arrives at users’ ears at the optimal angle,” related Shinhye Choi.

▲ Shinhye Choi from the Global Product Marketing Group at Samsung’s Visual Display Business

An advanced waveguide technique is also indispensable when it comes to delivering next-level sound. A multi-channel speaker emits sound in multiple directions, and the waveguide technique allows components in the speaker to deliver sound in the direction intended by the developer. Haekwang Park reported that, “Top-tier experts at the Visual Display Business’s Sound Lab and Samsung Audio Lab in California came together to design the parts that went into the speakers. Our soundbar models are meticulously constructed to deliver world-class sound performance.”

How SpaceFit Sound+ and Q-Symphony Further Elevate the Viewing Experience

Usually, most of the sound emitted by speakers hits walls or curtains before reaching the audience’s ears. This explains why the same sound is heard differently depending on the dimensions and layout of the viewing environment. Samsung’s HW-Q950A soundbar and 2021 TV models deliver stunning sound that tunes into users’ viewing environments by analyzing the dimensions of the space they’re in using SpaceFit Sound+.

SpaceFit Sound+ combines SpaceFit Sound technology, which delivers optimized audio, and Auto EQ (auto equalizer) technology. Together, the SpaceFit Sound and Auto EQ solutions use embedded microphones to thoroughly survey the viewing space, and then feed that data to the soundbar to enable it to deliver a tailored sound experience.

But the collaboration between the Samsung TV and the soundbar does not stop there. Samsung’s innovative, proprietary Q-Symphony technology additionally combines and enhances the sound generated by the TV and soundbar to guarantee optimal sound quality. Normally, when you connect a soundbar to your TV, the sound is emitted only from the soundbar. What’s more, some technical issues involving out-of-sync sound and tone disparities between the two devices had been observed. Q-Symphony overcomes these issues by incorporating a stereoscopic sound effect that allows sound to play through the speakers that wrap around the TV in addition to through the soundbar, providing richer and more realistic sound compared to when sound is produced through the soundbar alone.

Combining Truly Rich Sound With Highly Convenient Functionality

As with other models, Samsung has placed great emphasis on creating a new level of acoustic immersion with the HW-Q950A. But that doesn’t mean it can’t also include a host of convenient features. To begin with, the Active Voice Amplifier (AVA) feature clarifies dialogue in the viewer’s favorite shows to help them hear on-screen conversations clearly amid a variety of background noises. With an embedded microphone, the soundbar automatically measures noise levels and enhances voices if the noise continues for more than three seconds or surpasses a certain threshold.

And the HW-Q950A optimizes sound for different types of scenes, such as those with loud sound effects and dialogue-heavy scenes. For instance, the Adaptive Sound feature analyzes sound signals to deliver an optimal sound experience for each scene. Moreover, Game Mode Pro delivers a powerful, immersive gaming experience with subwoofers and upward-firing speakers. The Tap Sound feature also enables users to simply tap their smartphones on the soundbar when listening to a song to take their listening experience to the next level.

The motto of Samsung’s soundbar developers is to get the basics right when it comes to sound. “We are working our hardest to deliver sound of the highest quality,” the developers related. “We do this by collaborating closely with groups of experts and employing Samsung’s advanced measuring and simulation techniques to set clear standards for what we define as ‘optimal’ sound.”

The developers’ ultimate goal is to deliver a best-in-class acoustic experience to users regardless of the type of content they’re consuming, or the specific features of their viewing environment. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that they make this dream a reality.

Samsung Electronics today announced that its Neo QLED TVs¹ became the first in the industry to receive certification of Spatial Sound Optimization from Verband Deutscher Elektrotechniker(VDE).

Different watching environments — for example, a living room, a bedroom, or a terrace — create different sound experiences. The VDE’s Spatial Sound Optimization certification is given to products that offer a consistent sound experience regardless of the surrounding environment.

To reduce such variation in sound, Samsung has added the SpaceFit Sound feature to its Neo QLED TVs, enabling its products to provide a sound experience consistent to a standard listening environment.

Built-in microphones are utilized to recognize the surrounding environment like curtains, carpets, and walls, which can affect the sound. For example, when the TV recognizes that the carpet in the living room is absorbing the mid-range and treble sound, it calibrates its sound to surroundings by boosting the mid and the treble.

When the TV is placed close to the wall, the bass sound can be distorted since there is little space between the wall and the TV. ‘SpaceFit Sound’ can recognize the issue and reinforce the bass to provide a clearer sound.

As more and more customers seek to personalize their space according to their lifestyles, TVs are being watched not only from living rooms and bedrooms, but also in workrooms, and even in kitchens.

The sounds reflected off the surrounding walls, ceilings, and floors are much louder than the sound we directly hear. This means users can feel the sounds from the same product differently depending on the unique size and shape of the place and wall materials.

While users were previously required to configure the audio manually, ‘SpaceFit Sound’ automatically recognizes the users’ environment so no additional setups are required.

“SpaceFit Sound optimizes the sound from content by analyzing user’s surrounding environment,” said Younghun Choi, EVP and Head of R&D Team of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “What we want is for our customers to just enjoy their TV without any hassle.”

¹ Certified models: Q70A, Q80A, Q90A, Q700A, Q800A, Q900A TVs