3D-surround sound might just be the best thing since, well, surround sound, but full multi-speaker Dolby Atmos systems might be more than some people want to deal with setting up. Aiming to provide a solution to this problem, Samsungintroduced a pair of Atmos sound barsat CES this year, and when we got tospend some time with one of themin April, we were fairly impressed with what we saw.
Now those sound bars are inching toward release, with both models going up for pre-sale today. These units fit a lot of sound into a relatively small package, and because of that, they aren’t exactly cheap: theHW-K950 retails for $1,500, while the trimmed-downHW-K850 can be had for $1,000.
Packing Atmos sound into such a small package is impressive, but it isn’t the only feature making these sound bars so easy to use. Both models also feature a fully wireless subwoofer and, in the case of the HW-K950, wireless surround speakers.
As the price tag suggests, the HW-K950 is the current top of the line, offering 5.1.4-channel sound. This is produced by three channels featuring a 2.5-inch driver paired with a 30-mm tweeter in the sound bar itself and two 2.5-inch ceiling-firing drivers on top, with each driver here getting its own 20-watt amp. The surround speakers are similar, minus the tweeters, and also feature the ceiling-firing drivers, completing the Atmos array. Finally, the 160-watt subwoofer features an 8-inch driver.
TheHW-K850is similar in terms of its shape and footprint, but only provides 3.1.2-channel sound. This model leaves out the surround speakers, with just the two ceiling-firing speakers in the sound bar making up the Atmos array. While the surround speakers don’t make a showing here, the wireless subwoofer is still present.
Samsung has given a release window of this summer for both sound bars, but so far no concrete launch date is available. For a closer look at theHW-K950, see ourhands-on coveragefrom earlier this year.
