Sitting down with three of the flagship smartphone’s designers in the Mobile Communications Business – Dongsoo Kim from the Global Product Planning Group and Jaehyun Kim and Seongkwan Yang from the Audio Group – we took a closer look on how the speakers of the Galaxy S9 and S9+ were optimized for multimedia content.

(from left) Jaehyun Kim from the Audio Group, Dongsoo Kim from the Global Product Planning Group, and Seongkwan Yang also from the Audio Group at Samsung’s Mobile Communications Business

More Speakers, More Sound

Dongsoo Kim reflected on what drove the team to bring the stereo speaker experience to the Galaxy S9: “As more and more people access content through their smartphones, greater emphasis was placed on the screen and creating bigger, higher-quality displays to view content with. Since display technology has already reached this point, we set out to design a high-performing speaker to equal the screen.”

The first step in Samsung’s journey towards stereo sound was equipping the device with two speakers. Whereas previous generations of the smartphone have placed a single speaker at the bottom of the phone, the Galaxy S9 has speakers at both the bottom and the top of the phone, creating a more immersive experience.

“The key was to develop speakers and amplifiers that serve the dual purpose of making phone calls and consuming media,” said Jaehyun Kim. “We poured our efforts into enhancing the quality of the sound and creating greater volume.”

The speaker holes were redesigned to be larger, producing higher quality audio, and the team was also able to increase the device’s volume, making it 1.4 times (3-4 dB) louder than the Galaxy S8.

Over 80 Designs Tested

There are strict procedures to ensure the reliability of Samsung products and multiple stages of testing were involved in designing the speakers of the Galaxy S9.

To achieve greater sound accuracy and precision, the audio designers paid close attention to enhancing the speakers’ dynamic range – the ratio of the quietest to the loudest sounds that the speakers can reproduce – and their frequency range, which controls the pitch.

“Our primary focus was to develop a speaker that is both high performing and stable,” Seongkwan Yang explained. “We carefully examined the quality of the components, testing more than 80 versions of the diaphragm before we were finally satisfied that we had a speaker that functioned seamlessly at both high and low pitches.”

Jaehyun Kim added: “We encountered unexpected challenges as we converted the mono speaker into stereo speakers, so we strived to optimize the device for viewing multimedia content.”

Partnering with Audio Experts

As part of their commitment to create a high-quality sound experience for the Galaxy S9, Samsung joined forces with two global experts in audio technology: premium Harman’s brand AKG, and Dolby.

The developers aimed to achieve high-fidelity sound quality and precision at any volume by leveraging the expertise of Harman’s AKG. Coordinating closely, it took half a year to fine- tune the speakers to meet AKG’s high standards.

“Users with a good ear for sound can immediately appreciate the difference. Samsung’s long dedication in search of enhanced audio, coupled with Harman’s expertise, resulted in the speakers satisfying both sound quality and volume,” commented Jaehyun Kim.

The Galaxy S9 also integrates Dolby Atmos® immersive sound technology, which brings entertainment to life with moving audio that flows all around you, be it over a device’s built-in speakers or through regular stereo headphones. Leveraging Dolby’s deep understanding of what listeners prefer in an audio experience, Dolby Atmos® on the Galaxy S9 makes you feel as if you are inside the action as the sounds of people, places, things, and music come alive with richness and depth and seem to move in three-dimensional space. This feature benefits other types of content in addition to Dolby Atmos® enabled content, through enhancements to sound quality and consistent playback volume across all content.

“During our testing, our results showed that immersive sound could bring a whole new experience to smartphone users,” Dongsoo Kim elaborated. “Since so many people now view premium content on their smartphones, it felt like the right moment to implement Dolby Atmos on our devices.”

Making the Most of an Optimized Audio Experience

The audio developers had plenty of tips about how to enjoy the stereo sounds of the Galaxy S9.

Jaehyun Kim recommended listening to classical music to gain a fuller understanding of the difference: “You can distinguish the individual sounds and characteristics of each instrument. It’s an amazing feeling to hear the audio how it was originally intended, picking out every interaction between soft and loud.”

“Head to the sounds and vibration settings on your phone,” advised Dongsoo Kim. “Take a look at sound quality and effects under the advanced features and turn on Dolby Atmos to enable immersive audio. Users can also enhance their headphone audio experience by turning on the UHQ upscaler and the Adapt Sound feature, taking their listening to a new level.”

Now, one month on from the launch of the Galaxy S9, the team is already carefully considering its next steps in audio design. Dongsoo Kim elaborated: “Our aim will be to create a mobile multimedia experience that is just like holding a cinema in your own hands.”

Samsung’s new Soundbar Sound+ (MS750, MS751) recently launched in Korea and in the US, further adding to the company’s robust lineup of Soundbar Sound+. The Soundbar Sound+, Samsung’s first soundbar to embed the subwoofer directly into the compact body, enters the soundbar market as the most complete all-in-one model when considering its combination of price, design and audio performance. Featuring a compact and elegant design along with Samsung’s most advanced audio technologies to date, the new Soundbar Sound+ is far from your ordinary soundbar.

Expand Your Sound Stage

The Soundbar Sound+ offers listeners an expanded sound stage to create a rich and immersive surround sound environment. The 5 channel (front left/front right/center/top left/top right) soundbar boasts a total of 11 speaker units, each with dedicated amplifiers, including 3 wide-range tweeters, 6 woofers, and 2 vertical wide-range tweeters.

The vertical tweeters situated on top of the unit and spray audio vertically to expand the sound image, making it feel as though you are watching on a larger screen than you really are.

Additionally, the vertical tweeters feature ‘Height Channel Up-mix’ technology, which allows you to enjoy a 3D surround sound as if you are actually experiencing sound of a flight or a bird over the sky.

Deep and Detailed UHQ Audio Upscaling

The Soundbar Sound+ features Ultra High Quality (UHQ) 32-bit audio, which provides a crisper sound, and allows listeners to experience audio nearest to its original recording quality. Samsung’s new soundbar Sound+ not only upscales any music content to 32-bit detail sound, it also reproduces deep and detailed bass to as low as 35Hz.

Samsung’s long-excursion technology increases the depth of the speaker movement, thereby allowing them to deliver more powerful bass. Moreover, by replacing the traditional subwoofer with 6 (2” x 4.3”) woofers, Samsung’s ‘multi-speaker control’ technology enables the multi-array speaker units to move simultaneously, further deepening bass reproduction capabilities.

To reproduce such deep and detailed bass from its compact 3-inch body, Samsung put advanced acoustic technologies from its own Audio Lab to work. The company’s proprietary distortion cancelling technology eliminates low frequency distortion by predicting the distortion at the end of the speaker movement and pre-adjusting upfront. The resulting lows are smooth and distortion free, meaning listeners can enjoy bass-heavy content as it was meant to be heard.

However, to fully enjoy one’s listening experience, audio systems must provide clear and accurate highs together with distortion-free lows. Samsung’s new soundbar Sound+ easily accomplishes this through 3 wide range tweeters that create wider sound dispersion from the source (cross-over range 600Hz ~ 20kHz), resulting in consistently great sound no matter where one sits.

A Streamlined Audio Experience

All-in-one experience of the Soundbar Sound+ enhances its stylish exterior design and streamlines both its set-up and usage.

Samsung Soundbar Sound+ Mount Kit^* allows audiophiles to quickly mount the soundbar directly to their TV by affixing it to the VESA mounting holes. The cable included in the Samsung Soundbar Sound+ Mount Kit enables a single cord connection by having the TV power cord go directly into the Soundbar Sound+, leaving your living room looking neat and uncluttered.

To facilitate a more intuitive user experience, the Soundbar Sound+ allows users to conveniently control both their TV and the soundbar, including advanced audio settings, all through a single remote. The Soundbar analyzes the sound and sets various modes automatically according to the sound characteristics such as movie or music.

“The Soundbar Sound+ delivers clear, crisp, immersive sound yet with improved space constraints from subwoofers,” said Jurack Chae, Senior Vice President of Samsung Electronics. “Samsung will expand its influence in the audio industry by leveraging our technological prowess to produce exceptional sounding audio equipment designed for consumer’s lifestyle.”

Samsung will continue to unveil innovative audio devices, including the new Wireless Audio, which will be released next year.

*Soundbar Sound+ Mount Kit, WMN300SB sold separately (only compatible with Soundbar Sound+ series)

**Cable is included in the Soundbar Sound+ Mount Kit, WMN300SB

With over ten consecutive years of market leadership in home audio and video technology, and with active investments in R&D, Samsung’s new home audio and video product lineup for 2017 features innovative devices that reflect a total paradigm shift for both the company and the industry. In particular, the new lineup centers around sleek, simplistic designs and enhanced integration across multiple devices.

“Delivering clear, crisp, immersive sound is very important to Samsung, and we always strive to create new products that further complement the user experience,” said Jurak Choi, Senior Vice President of Samsung Electronics. “This year, we focused on the audiophile who wants a single, simple solution that not only fits their lifestyle, but that simultaneously delivers an unparalleled home audio experience.”

Samsung’s Proprietary UHQ 32bit Audio Technology Delivers Ultra-high Quality Sound

Highlighted across Samsung’s new lineup is UHQ (Ultra High Quality) audio – Samsung’s proprietary technology that enables 32bits of rich, detailed sound from any source that provides 8 to 24bit sound.

UHQ audio has the ability to upscale audio sources to a 32bit output, for both wired and wireless connections. 32bit sound creates audio which is much closer in quality to the original recording than existing HD audio, delivering rich sound that brings each note to life with incredible clarity.

Samsung has also developed its own audio algorithms to perfect ultra-high quality sound by leveraging the intelligence of existing proprietary technology, and tapping the expertise of its U.S.-based, state-of-the-art audio lab.

Samsung audio has applied ‘Distortion Cancelling’ technology which reduces sound alterations by predicting the movement of internal speaker units in advance, and controlling the units to deliver the perfect sound. This effect works well on a woofer, which tends to output a powerful low-pitched sound with a movement bigger and more unpredictable than other speaker units. The ‘Distortion Cancelling’ algorithm can intelligently predict a woofer’s movement, control it, and play more solid and stable sounds at a low pitch.

Samsung’s new sound profile also includes a ‘Wide-band Tweeter’, which expands and broadens the “sweet spot” in any room, widening the area where optimal sound can be heard. The new profile also includes a ‘Crystal Amplifier’ that removes noise so consumers can enjoy the most accurate and precise sound across the widest range.

H7 Wireless Speaker Delivers UHQ 32bit Audio Technology and Stylish Design

Samsung has also announced new standalone sound technology that reflects the needs of consumers who enjoy listening to hi-fi audio – an advancement that is already gaining recognition and winning accolades from the industry.

Thanks to its stunning sound quality, premium design and intuitive user experience, Samsung’s new H7 Wireless Speaker – which offers 32bit ultra-high quality sound performance – received a 2017 CES Innovation Award. This achievement further reinforces Samsung’s leadership in the category, and is emblematic of the future-forward products the company continues to develop.

This award-winning UHQ 32bit audio technology, combined with a bass response going down to 35Hz, delivers a wide sound range across the human auditory field – from high to low frequencies.

Samsung’s H7 Wireless Speaker also reflects superior innovation in design. With sleek, contemporary metal finishes that appeal to even the most discerning consumers, a compact size and a retro exterior, the H7 Wireless Speaker allows music to be a centerpiece of any room.

The design of the speaker also features a more intuitive user experience supported by wheel control. By turning the wheel, users can not only adjust the volume but also select their favorite playlist from their choice of streaming music services.

New Soundbar Delivers Incredible Sound with Less Room Clutter

The new MS750 Soundbar is Samsung’s first soundbar to embed subwoofer performance directly into the primary unit. This ensures that the bass is equalized and crystal clear, while simultaneously de-cluttering the home. With UHQ 32bit audio, the MS750 delivers powerful home cinema sound on premium TVs, without the need for a separate subwoofer.

Overall, the MS750 Soundbar provides a deeper sense of immersion. This is a result of superior up-firing capabilities and overhead sound that uses vertical tweeters with upmixing technology. When paired with the Samsung Smart Remote Control, the room’s home audio is powered by the same device as the TV unit, further simplifying the experience.

The MS750 Soundbar boasts a small but mighty “one body” design that can be mounted onto your TV with one simple connection, no complicated setup, and no extra space needed. This means that the soundbar and TV can be turned on at the same time, simply by connecting the two units with a designated power cable connection, eliminating the need for two separate power cables, and removing clutter around the TV. The wall-mount solution on Samsung’s newest home audio systems has also been improved, with an optional, user-friendly I-shaped bracket connecting the TV directly to the soundbar. This approach simplifies the mounting experience entirely; because it requires only one connection to install it to the TV and one hole in the wall.

A UHD Blu-ray Player That Completes the Ultimate Home Entertainment Experience

The ultimate content player comes to life with Samsung’s new M9500 UHD Blu-ray Player. With Bluetooth® Wireless Streaming Support and Samsung Smart Remote integration across the UHD Ecosystem, this HDR-optimized device creates the optimal UHD viewing experience. And, with the M9500’s new Private Cinema Mode, TV audio can be transferred to personal Bluetooth headphones, adding flexibility for viewing HDR content at any time, despite what else might be going on around you.

In addition, Samsung’s new UHD Blu-ray player automatically sets the TV screen and audio to the optimal level by analyzing the content source being played at the time, such as HDR, Atmos or DTS-X. This means consumers can now seamlessly enjoy the content they want without changing their TV or audio settings.

Further additions to the UHD Blu-ray player in 2017 include improved mobile integration, giving users the flexibility to enjoy their favorite Blu-ray titles on their mobile device. With a 360-degree feature on their mobile device, users can view the 360-degree photos and videos they’ve captured on any TV, right through their UHD Blu-ray player.