TV manufacturers design their TVs to be thinner, sleeker, keeping very little space for good quality speakers. This is the reason flat panel TVs do not sound great. If you are looking for an idea sound, there are home theater systems that deliver it, but purchasing one can cost a lot. They’re also space consuming and hard to buy. There is an easy option you can opt for. Soundbars deliver better quality audio than the speakers on flat panel TVs. Samsung seems all set to make a mark in the home entertainment systems market with the launch of the Samsung HW-M450 sound bar. It’s priced at Rs. 18,990* and it looks like it has everything to offer. Let’s check if it’s worth it.
Design
The Samsung HW-M450 is simple in design. It’s a rectangular bar with curved edges covered with a metal net-like structure. This makes it look solid and sturdy. The Samsung HW-M450 is 35 inches in width, weighing around 9.2 kg. Its simple lightweight design makes it easy to move on a wall or place on a flat surface. The sides and the back of the soundbar are made up of hard plastic.
The right of the soundbar is occupied with four controls - power, source and two volume controls, whereas the left side remains empty. There is a small display panel at the front that displays information on input selections, devices connected and volume levels as you access them. There are two drivers each placed on either sides of the display panel. All the connectivity ports at the back are easily accessible. Also, there are two wall mount sockets at the back with mounts and clips provided in the box. The Samsung HW-M450 is bundled with a wireless subwoofer. It is designed with a patchwork of matte, glossy and brushed finished texture. Beneath the cabinet is a 7-inch subwoofer driver. This compact design subwoofer makes it easy to move when needed.
The soundbar is bundled with a remote control. It reassembles the design of most Samsung Smart TV remotes. The curved shaped remote is stylish and easy to hold. There are very few controls, so it’s easy getting used to.
Features
The Samsung HW-M450 is rated for 320W, bundled with a wireless subwoofer. Connectivity inputs at the back include a USB port to play music stored on a pen drive, a 3.5mm auxiliary jack to connect wired devices, digital optical input and HDMI for lossless audio quality. The Samsung HW-M450 support ARC over HDMI that helps send audio between the soundbar and a TV using a single cable.
In addition to this, if your TV supports CEC, you can control the TV and soundbar using your TV remote. The Samsung M450 supports Bluetooth as well so you can stream music from your phone, tablet or a laptop. If your TV is Bluetooth compatible, you can connect the soundbar to the TV as well. The Samsung M450 supports 3D video passthrough. Unfortunately, it doesn’t support 4K or HDR pass through. This is a shortcoming and it’s only a matter of time before 4K TVs and content are mainstream. The supported audio standards are MP3, WAV, FLAC, WMA, OGG and AAC. There are a few additional features such as Surround sound which adds depth and sense to the sound making it more immersive.
The remote control is simple and easy to use. There is a circular disc on it that lets you select or set functions. The Settings button lets you adjust the treble, bass and audio sync. There are two toggle buttons to control the volume of the soundbar and the subwoofer separately. You can also make use of the Samsung Audio Remote Android app which also lets you control the soundbar.
Performance
The 35-inch Samsung HW-M450 certainly adds value to your TV audio experience. At first, turning on the Samsung HW-M450 soundbar greeted us with a "Hello" message. We played several songs on the Samsung M450. It is impressive with its loud, punchy sound and clear details. Music tracks such as Dream theatre - The Dance of Eternity, Pull Me Under and The Best of Times have a good mix of vocals and instruments. The soundbar was good at delivering perfect tones with clear vocals and instrumentals. The same goes for action movies. We kept the volume at 20, the lowest possible and also cranked it high up to 70 and found that the soundbar delivered clear dialogues and the roaring, booming sound was satisfactory.
Pairing the soundbar to the subwoofer was simple. We were able to set the subwoofer volume ranging from -6 to +6 using the dedicated woofer button on the remote control. Besides this, we were able to increase and decrease the treble and bass with a single button on the remote. This was useful when listening to ambient music. There are five different sound modes such as Standard, Music, Clear voice, Sports and Movie. One annoying bit was the missing Clear voice button on the remote. Every time you want the sound to be more specific to dialogues, you have to switch between the five modes in sequence. Switching on the Surround sound pauses the music for a second and then make changes to it.
Bluetooth connectivity is another very impressive feature. It took no time to establish a connection with a smartphone. The Samsung M450 supports the Bluetooth Power function. When the soundbar is kept on standby mode and the Bluetooth Power is on, it automatically connects to the previously connected device.
Controlling the soundbar from a distance is no issue. We were able to operate it from 15 feet without issues. Also, the Samsung Audio Remote app was simple to use. The interface of this app is neat, clean and easy to understand for a first time user. The benefit of this app is that you don’t have keep the remote with you to control the soundbar.
Verdict
The Samsung HW-M450 is a decent sounding soundbar. The bass is average but well-balanced because of the dedicated subwoofer. The details were decent in both music and action movies. Its simple rectangular design goes well with most home décor. At the given price of Rs. 18,990*, the Samsung HW-M450 is certainly does not offer the best quality sound. There several other well-known brands offering soundbars with great quality sound without a separate subwoofer. If you are purely looking for a feature-based soundbar with a separate subwoofer, the Samsung HW-M450 is worth considering.
