Samsung perfects the home theater with top-notch multichannel soundbar

Samsung Electronics Co. is not only the world’s biggest TV and memory chip maker but also the global No. 1 soundbar brand thanks to its top-notch premium soundbar system that creates a true cinematic experience to home theater fans with the industry’s most multi-channeled sound system.  

While size matters most in the overall TV market nowadays, it is sound richness, backed by multi-directional channels, that is the latest trend in soundbar systems, Lee Jung-hoon, an engineer at the Sound Lab at Samsung Electronics’ Visual Display Business, said in an interview with The Korea Economic Daily on Friday.

“Samsung soundbars boast the industry’s most multi-channeled sound system, which makes them popular among audio enthusiasts,” added Lee.

The South Korean electronics giant in March introduced its new flagship premium soundbar system, the HW-Q900C, which is powered by the 11.1.4 channel, a surround sound system consisting of 11 audio channels, which includes one sub-woofer speaker and four height speakers.

A multi-channel speaker emits sound in multiple directions, allowing its users to enjoy more immersive and realistic audio experiences, explained Lee.

Thanks to such a top-grade sound system, Samsung Electronics retained the top position in the global soundbar market for the ninth year in a row in 2022, with a 20.2% share by sales value and an 18.4% share by sales volume, according to UK-based market research firm Futuresource Consulting.

The research company projected that the global soundbar market would grow to 26 million units in sales in 2025 from 23 million in 2022 after expanding at an average rate of 5.7%.

UNRIVALED AUDIO TECHNOLOGY

Powered by the latest sound technology, Samsung Electronics is set to continue to lead the burgeoning global soundbar market driven by the growing demand for home cinemas in line with the proliferating over-the-top (OTT) market, which makes people lavish money on not only large-screen TVs but also high-quality audio system.

As TVs become larger and slimmer, the embedded TV speakers are downgraded with less power and lower sound quality, said Shin So-young, a visual marketing strategy PM at Samsung Electronics’ Visual Display Business. This is why soundbars are becoming more popular because they complement TV sound systems with more realistic sounds, added Shin.

Samsung Electronics’ latest soundbar system is fitted with the Q-Symphony technology, which allows both the TV sound system and the soundbar to deliver harmonized audio for richer sound.

This is what makes the Samsung Electronics’ soundbar different from peer soundbar systems that block TV sounds during operation, said Kim Han-kil, an engineer at the Sound Lab at Samsung Electronics’ Visual Display Business.

“We have applied the latest TV neural processing unit (NPU) processor, optimized for deep-learning algorithm, to upgrade the Q-Symphony technology in the new model,” said Kim.

The HW-Q900C can deliver more clear voice quality because it uses technology that separates dialogue sounds and emits voices independently from the front speaker, said Lee. Most soundbars without such technology deliver muddy and cluttered voice quality.

This is the only soundbar system available in the world that enables its users to enjoy high-quality, Dolby Atmos-powered sound wirelessly. Dolby Atmos is the latest spatial audio technology guaranteeing the most immersive sound experience, according to Dolby Laboratories Inc.

Samsung Electronics’ latest soundbar also comes with SpaceFit Sound Pro and Game Mode Pro, which make game playing more realistic with optimized sounds for different game genres.

Write to Ye-Rin Choi at rambutan@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.