(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.

Earlier this year, Samsung Electronics introduced the world’s first 11.1.4 channel soundbar, which helps bring consumers right into the midst of the action with rich, room-filling sound. And it has been Samsung’s relentless audio innovation over the years that has helped bring about the high-end technology and consumer experiences we enjoy today. This innovation is underpinned by a focus on research and development and emerging content formats, as well as a willingness to adapt to consumer feedback and behavior.

In 2016, Samsung released its HW-K950 soundbar, which transformed static sound into three-dimensional formats to allow users to enjoy sound that moves up and down and from left to right. Since then, Samsung has invested in expanding these features, which have now been enhanced to deliver technology that measures room acoustics and delivers richer auditory experiences and sleeker designs. Below, Samsung Newsroom takes a closer look at the captivating experiences delivered by the new soundbar’s upgrades and technological features.

The Inaugural 11.1.4-Channel Soundbar

The newly-released HW-Q950A soundbar delivers a more advanced 11.1.4–channel setup to provide a more vivid surround sound effect in action–packed scenes like those involving car chases and airplanes in flight. By using only four speakers (a main soundbar speaker, a subwoofer, and two rear speakers), Samsung’s 2021 HW-Q950A soundbar produces a standard of high-quality sound that other premium AV receivers would need double the power and number of inputs to match.

Just a few years ago, only high-end, multi-component home theater setups allowed for immersive sound experiences that produced 3D surround sound. But now, with the release of Samsung’s HW-Q950A soundbar and its 11.1.4–channel sound, users can enjoy realistic audio with only their soundbar.

But what exactly do these channel numbers mean? A two-channel system consists of a stereo with two speakers on the left and right, while a three-channel system adds an additional speaker to this two-channel setup for crisper audio output. 3.1–channel setups feature an additional subwoofer (the .1 channel) for low frequency sounds, while 5.1-channel systems add rear speakers to deliver enhanced sound that extends behind viewers. The 5.1.4–channel setup seen in soundbars includes two additional height channel speakers that produce three-dimensional surround sound to deliver the sound of objects moving off-screen.

In 2016, Samsung launched the HW-K950 soundbar, which was the first to deliver a 5.1.4–channel setup and three-dimensional surround sound. Then, the HW-N950 model released in 2018 delivered 7.1.4–channel sound by adding a surround channel to the side of the soundbar. Today, the HW-Q950T model delivers a 9.1.4–channel system by adding a wide surround channel that delivers sound from the front and sides of the viewer for a 360-degree audio experience.

Improving Sound Through Calibration

In typical home viewing setups, depending on the size of the room, sounds often reflect off walls, ceilings and floors, which can cause the audio to sound different than intended. In order to reduce such disparities, Samsung has developed the SpaceFit Sound feature, which harmonizes audio levels and contributes to sounds being delivered as they were originally developed in production.

Recognizing the size and reverberation characteristics of the room, select Samsung soundbars utilize the built-in microphone and DSP in QLED TVs to deliver optimal sound. This collaboration feature is available in soundbar models HW-Q700A and above and QLED TV models Q70A and above from this year.

What’s more, the Samsung soundbar models above the HW-Q900A also include the Auto EQ feature, which analyzes surrounding spaces with a built-in microphone mounted on the subwoofer instead of using the TV microphone. This offers optimized sound by calibrating excessively amplified low frequencies and sounds that are offset by other audio. This feature doesn’t require use of an active TV microphone, is available across all TV models and is an ideal fit for both older and newer televisions.

S Series Soundbars Add Central Speaker for Room-filling Sound

The new S Series Soundbar includes a central speaker and now boasts five channels compared to the four-channel systems in existing models.

This series, which is popular with consumers for its minimalist design and smooth finishes, is the perfect addition to any living room. When groups of viewers watch TV without a central speaker, those sitting near the edges of the room can often only hear the sounds closest to them. Now, with the addition of the central speaker, consumers can enjoy room-filling, immersive audio that replicates a cinema-style environment.

Going forward, Samsung Electronics is also planning to incorporate its Q-Symphony technology in an increasing number of its products. This technology provides realistic 3D sound to allow consumers to enjoy even more immersive audio across a broad range of content.