It’s certainly worth doing, because Samsung has delivered another dynamite soundbar performance for the price, and it’s a success of teamwork, with both the bar and the subwoofer being essential to the sound. Setting up the Samsung HW-S800B just for working with your TV is as easy as it gets: plug it into the wall, plug it into your TV, and plug the subwoofer in separately. You're straight off, with the two units instantly syncing wirelessly, and TV sound coming straight over HDMI ARC. We've mentioned that the soundbar's remote has lots of buttons, and using them to change modes can be quite hit and miss. Part of the problem is that the soundbar doesn't have a screen, but instead a series of dots that flash in different colors and patterns to indicate things, which is… not something I'm ever going to learn. While trying modes for the review, I was sitting with the manual open on my lap, looking at diagrams of dots and flashes like I was trying to defuse a particularly whimsical bomb. To do this, it includes eight separate speaker drivers in the soundbar unit, and another two in the subwoofer. That's a huge number for the amount of space it takes up, and it explains the quality of the directional audio. Prices valid in stores (all including VAT) until close of business on 28th November 2023. (Some of these web prices are cheaper than in-store, so please mention that you've seen these offers online.)

Samsung S801B 3.1.2ch Lifestyle Ultra Slim Soundbar in White with Subwoofer Alexa Voice Control Built-in and Dolby Atmos Whatever you end up paying, for your money you'll get a brilliantly-engineering superslim bar, not only useful for its size but sophisticated in having Wi-Fi to allow plenty of streaming options. Its excellent little subwoofer allows the combo to deliver a high quality sound which justifies even its full price, especially given the bar’s slender dimensions and style advantages. There's a lot of speaker power in the Samsung HW-S800B's small body. (Image credit: Future) Samsung HW-S800B review: Price and release date The mini-HDMI used on the Samsung S800B is very rare – and it really looks like a full-size one could fit… (Image credit: Future)

It's full across the frequencies, and the bar and subwoofer feel really well-integrated to create a dynamic total sound. Q-Symphony is compatible with 2022 Samsung TV (AU7000 TV and above). For a complete list of compatible models, please refer to samsung.com for more information. If you're looking for a relatively discreet soundbar that still provides a showpiece Dolby Atmos experience, this is absolutely it. There's width, there's height, there's movement in scenes… it really makes the most of object-based audio.

Adaptive Sound works well, automatically boosting voice clarity at low volumes, as well as optimizing audio based on frame-by-frame content analysis. This leads to an increase in overall performance. There are also Dialogue, Sports, News, and Movie settings. Q-Symphony allows owners of compatible Samsung TVs to take full advantage of their optional speakers while synchronizing audio from both devices. It also bests the Sonos Arc when it comes to bass, simply because it has a subwoofer and the Arc doesn't, and there's no substitute for a proper sub (well, except for the Devialet Dione, but that's a special case).The S800B is designed to deliver 3.1.2 channels of Dolby Atmos or DTS:X audio, which means front, center and right sound, the subwoofer bass channel, and two upfiring Dolby Atmos channels. Hear the location of a helicopter landing or feel the sound of rain falling from above. The S801B combines Dolby Atmos and DTS:X with our highly awarded market leading technology to take your audio-visual experience to the next level. The sounds of sport, music and everything else comes alive in the 3D space that surrounds you, placing you in the heart of the action. The gentle rumble of Kingpin's machine in Into The Spider-verse really shows the subtle power of a subwoofer. Without being loud and without shaking the room, it makes clear the scale of the giant spinning machine as the sub gently thrums in the corner, in a way that a single-unit soundbar can't really match. For any content that you submit, you grant SAMSUNG a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free, fully transferable right and license to use, copy, modify, delete in its entirety, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from and/or sell and/or distribute such content and/or incorporate such content into any form, medium or technology throughout the world without compensation to you.

Treble-led effects especially always lift right out of the mix – in some cases, this just serves to make it even clearer when the mid-range struggles to quite do the same. But the strong treble adds prominence and thrills in many cases – a brighter and sharper effect to gunshots, laser fire or the a door slam. ul>

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Indeed the sub is something of a star. Its bass descends to real depths, creating output from signal even below 30Hz, and it manages to sound not only resounding but astoundingly tight for a subwoofer doing so much from a cabinet so small. The S800B also isn't bad with music – it doesn’t have a music mode, but I enjoyed the standard mode fairly well. However, it doesn’t have quite the same rhythm and energy as the Sonos Arc for music, which is almost certainly down to that slightly tight mid-range.Object-based Dolby Atmos connects wirelessly with Samsung Soundbar. Experience the ultimate 3D sound whether it be movie or music without the need for HDMI cables. Depending on your source, this may not be much of a problem – the Dolby Atmos version used by streaming services is 'lossy' anyway, so not having eARC isn't the end of the world. But if you love 4K Blu-rays for their maximum fidelity, which offer lossless Atmos sound, you don't quite get the best of them here. As for music, once we’d connected the bar to Wi-Fi using Samsung’s SmartThings app we enjoyed pretty enjoyable tunes sent by AirPlay 2 from an iPad Pro. There’s a wide stereo spread, just a little peakiness on female vocals (that thinning again), and this was accentuated when we tried any sound mode other than Standard. A strong pass here. The result is a superb performance with a soundstage that has both width and height, as well as a solid bass foundation that adds overall depth and impact. This makes the Samsung HW-S801B soundbar ideal for music, which is especially useful because you can stream lossless audio over Wi-Fi. There are a great many features included, such as Samsung’s SpaceFit Sound+ and Q-Symphony, which will work when used with a recent Samsung TV, but the key takeaway for all users is the inclusion of Dolby Atmos and DTS Virtual:X processing. (Why not actual DTS:X, given its upfiring drivers? Presumably because very few TVs will pass DTS:X to their HDMI ARC output from a connected device, while no streaming services use DTS:X sound.)