Immersion Front and Centre

 The latest offering from Samsung, the HW-N650 soundbar is aimed at cinephiles and gamers with its brand spanking new ‘Acoustic Beam’ technology. The system works by bouncing sound via a set of precisely placed openings at the top of the soundbar, so sounds travel in sync with the motion on the screen, making you feel like you are part of the scene. Of course, this being Samsung, the system integrates seamlessly with Samsung TVs for the best possible experience.

Surround Sound

 The sound bar uses a 5.1-channel speaker configuration with three forward-firing channels, each composed of a mid-range driver and a tweeter. This results in a dedicated centre channel which is important for dialogue and narration in film or tv shows. The other two channels are upward-firing, which powers Samsung’s new Acoustic Beam technology. These two tweeters fire into pipes with 28 holes in them which essential act like a organ pipe. Sound travels upwards in varying directions to create a large sound field.  The wireless active subwoofer uses a 6.5-inch driver with a rear port to deliver solid sound at the low end of things.

The HW-N650 is all about spatial awareness, generating a wall of sound that is a treat for movies and games. There’s a good feeling of immersion as you physically react to action packed scenes in movies. Despite all the chaos going on, the centre channel ensures the dialogue is crisp.

Easy Connectivity

 Stream music from your smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth. If you have a compatible Samsung TV, you can also send wireless sound to the HW-N650. HDMI inputs are a bit of a commodity on the soundbar with only one input and output, but ARC helps to keep things a bit streamlined by sending audio from the TV to the soundbar via HDMI.