Samsung HW-Q700B Review
- Sound quality in movies
- Sound quality in music
- Build quality and construction
- Network elements
- Service and application
- Connectors
Samsung HW-Q700B review in a few sentences
Samsung HW-Q700B will be perfect if we need equipment for everything. It will provide a good experience for fans of all categories of cinema, as well as a large number of music genres. The icing on the cake here is the build quality and, of course, the network functions.
The perfect soundbar for a Samsung TV? Here is a review of the Samsung HW-Q700B, i.e. equipment that will work very well in many salons, and is also multifunctional. It has a lot of options that will be presented in this review. Is the Samsung HW-Q700B noisy? Does the Samsung HW-Q700B play well? Does it work seamlessly with the TV? These and many more questions will be answered by this Samsung HW-Q700B review.
Benefits
- Good sound quality in stereo
- Balanced, warm sound
- Build quality and design
- Connectivity capabilities
- Stable operation of network functions
Disadvantages
- Average multi-channel sound
- No 4K 120Hz support via built-in HDMI
Contents
Set and price
Samsung HW-Q700B comes to us in a standard, chair package. Inside, of course, there is a soundbar, a subwoofer, power cables, an HDMI cable for eARC and a remote control that will often not be useful to us thanks to HDMI CEC and possible control via the application. I only took it in my hand once.
Samsung HW-Q700B costs USD $397.99 , which places the reviewed soundbar in the middle price range. We find in it, among others , Sonos Beam , which costs USD $460.00 , but does not include a subwoofer.
Specification
- Total power 330 W
- 160W subwoofer
- 170W speakers
- Sound system 3.1.2
- Nine speakers
- Support for Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby MAT, Dolby TrueHD, DTS Virtual: X
- Connectors:
- 1 x HDMI input
- 1 x HDMI output
- optical input
- Bluetooth support with SBC codec
- WiFi
- Support for:
- Chromecast
- Spotify Connect
- AirPlay2
- Soundbar weight: 4.8 kg; subwoofer weight 5.9 kg
Build quality and construction
Samsung uses very similar schemes in terms of construction and build quality in its soundbars. The Samsung HW-Q700B, like the Q800A or Q990B models , is also covered with a metal mesh, which gives it an industrial look, and also provides high mechanical strength and little dust. The whole is quite wide, because it is over a meter, which must be borne in mind, especially if our TV has two legs at the ends, such as the TCL C635. It may not fit if the space between them is too small.
The soundbar feels solid thanks to its weight. On the back we find all the connectors that are hidden in recesses. The space around them is large enough to lay cables freely. At the top, in turn, we will find buttons for operating the soundbar, but we will almost certainly use them only when connecting it to the application.
The subwoofer, on the other hand, is worse in my opinion. It is lightweight, and on the front there is a fabric grille that quickly collects dust and any hair. In my case, of course, cat hair, which is hard to get rid of. The grille itself also seems to be non-removable. However, if it is, it sits so firmly that I preferred not to risk damaging it when removing it. The rest of the subwoofer is probably made of glued PCB, and on the back there is a plastic bass reflex and a power connector.
Impressions of use
The Samsung HW-Q700B is a soundbar with a basic configuration, which worked very well in my living room with an area of about 25 meters. For some time, I also used the Q-Symphony function, where the soundbar speakers are additionally supported by the speakers on the TV. In this case it was the Samsung Q80B , to which I connected the soundbar with the help of HDMI eARC and of course HDMI CEC.
The Samsung HW-Q700B soundbar detects the TV automatically, and the soundbar detects the TV automatically. From then on, I controlled the soundbar almost only from the TV remote control, and the controller dedicated to the Samsung HW-Q700B served me only to adjust the subwoofer level when the phone was too far away.
Its operation was very hassle-free, both when operating on the cable and using the beam with the help of network functions, such as Spotify Connect. The connection to the Smart things application was very fast, and the soundbar had no problems connecting to my Wi-Fi network, which was a bit problematic with this year’s flagship Samsung HW-Q990B . Turning on music via Spotify is a very convenient option, although I miss Amazon Music support. In theory, this connection should work, but the Samsung HW-Q700B has subtle issues with it.
The Smart things application itself also allows us to fully control the soundbar with its help. After connecting, we can choose the sound mode from several available, and we also get access to the equalizer and subwoofer power level adjustment. The whole thing is legible and trouble-free. Let us also remember that we can control the device even if we are outside our home network. This allows us to remotely turn off the music if someone forgets, or turn it on if we have, for example, a pet with separation anxiety.
How to set up the subwoofer?
The Samsung HW-Q700B has a dedicated subwoofer that connects to the soundbar wirelessly. Therefore, we have a lot of options for placing it in our room. The best option to set it up correctly is to switch places with it. Put it on the sofa where we usually sit and walk around the room. Place the subwoofer where the bass will sound best. This is the simplest way, and at the same time very effective. In my case, I placed the bass speaker in front of the TV cabinet, right next to the radiator. This resulted in good, strong and fast bass in the listening position.
Sound quality
Samsung maintains its sound known to me from other soundbars. So we are dealing with a warm, slightly darkened sound, with a large accent placed in the regions of lower sounds. It is not even about the amount of bass, but about warming up the whole sound. This results in it being more pleasant, even though it is not completely natural.
Samsung HW-Q700B works great in all kinds of movie screenings. From action movies like Dunkirk , through drama series like Tabu, to soap operas and game shows. In each of these cases, and even in films with usually incomprehensible dialogues, the sound quality is very high. I was able to distinguish words without any problems and not take sentences out of context. He is also very good at action movies.
The subwoofer, despite its relatively low power, is able to make a great effect with explosions, and the soundbar perfectly pulls its capabilities at higher sounds. When turning up the subwoofer, we can also feel the actual vibrations from the passage of the tank, although I do not recommend doing this if you live in an apartment building. It is worth maintaining healthy relations with neighbors.
In the case of drama or horror movies, the reviewed Samsung HW-Q700B soundbar will also work great. The soundbar very well extracts quiet ambient sounds that are simply inaudible on the TV speakers. It gives very nice ambient effects. Games and sports are also an interesting element, because the soundbar works very well in both cases. The effects from games such as God of War sound almost great, and in terms of sport, I checked it mainly at F1, where despite the fact that many current engines do not like the sound of the current Samsung HW-Q700B engines, it proved to be great.
The reviewed soundbar also has great separation. Not once did I have a problem with the sound merging, which can be problematic in scenes where there is a lot going on. However, it deals with the spatiality of the sound a bit worse. The system is 3.1.2, so three front speakers, a subwoofer and reflections from the ceiling. We don’t have any simulation of rear effect speakers here, so we can’t count on the frenzy in this aspect. Nevertheless, the stereo effect is nice. The two channels are well separated, with dialogue played mostly through the center speaker, which does a very good job of this.
In the case of music, the reviewed Samsung HW-Q700B works not so well, because it is not as universal as in the case of movies. It worked well in pop music, hip-hop, and, interestingly, in jazz. It sounded the worst in the case of metal music, because despite good separation, there was a bit of detail missing in the midrange, which is extremely important in the case of guitar sounds.
The bass, on the other hand, looks very good, it is fast and springy, which is important in terms of hitting the rhythm and more entertaining music. Of course, its amount can be adjusted using the remote control or the Smartthings application, which I personally did. In the case of movies, I used a slight boost, and when listening to music, I preferred a gentle descent with the amount of bass. However, this is a personal preference.
The diameter in the Samsung HW-Q700B is not the best in terms of resolution. It is also very smooth, doesn’t have a lot of texture, which I personally like very much in terms of vocals. However, it is warmed up, which increases the pleasure of a calm, non-critical listening session, as well as a background.
Kortez played almost always when I was cooking and, together with the Samsung HW-Q700B soundbar, he made this time pleasant. The treble in the case of the soundbar is a bit truncated. It is delicate, but not dim. We are not dealing with sibilization, as long as we do not have only bare walls, but it does not come to the front even in songs that would like to do it. She maintains a neutral tone while being slightly withdrawn which many people will likely appreciate.
Samsung HW-Q700B review – summary
The Samsung HW-Q700B is a mid-range soundbar. Personally, I get the impression that the producer didn’t quite know what he wanted to focus on. It works well for both music and movies, but it’s not outstanding in either of these options. It lacks a better spatial effect and building a sound stage in terms of movies and midrange details in terms of music, although this applies mainly to guitar genres. It works great for everyday TV watching, older movies, games and sports, and is also very well made and easy to use.
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