Sound quality: Samsung's HW-N950 delivers sound quality that falls in the Very Good range - although it has some noticeable sonic quirks it reproduces music and dialog very well. In the standard sound mode the bass has good impact and goes fairly deep, but is somewhat prominent and boomy. The midrange is fairly even, but a bit grainy and hazy, and depending on the program material can sound a bit nasal and can be somewhat overwhelmed by the bass. The treble is extended, but is a touch smeared and sizzly, and lacks dynamics. This model does a so-so job of recovering the actual room ambience of recordings (the sense of the acoustic space in which the music was recorded). In the Standard sound mode playing two channel program material only the soundbar and subwoofer are active (the rear surrounds are turned off) and the sound field extends somewhat above the top of the speaker array but doesn't extend much beyond the width and lacks front to back depth. The Surround and Smart sound modes sent sound to the rear surround speakers. In the Surround setting the sound image became wider, the midrange became more even but somewhat rougher and a bit echoey, and the bass became less prominent and boomy. In the Smart setting the midrange became somewhat harsher and more echoey, while the bass was similar to the Surround setting. When 5.1 channel program material is played back in the Standard mode sound is heard in the rear channels, and with the proper listener position and adjustment of the speaker volume levels the system can provide a sound field that envelopes the listener to the side and rear, but not from above. The Surround and Smart settings have similar effects on the midrange and bass as when used with 2 channel program material except there is no obvious echo effect; they also affect the sound by changing the levels and possibly the sound mix in the various channels. When playing Dolby Atmos and DTS:X material the width and height of the sound stage expands, and depending on the program material can fill the entire room; audio imaging can extend overhead from the front to the back of the room depending on the program material as well as to the sides and rear. There was no significant difference in sound quality between the HDMI, optical, and Bluetooth inputs and high quality WiFi streaming. Dolby Atmos and DTS:X program material can only be played through the HDMI input. The system can provide satisfying volume in a medium sized room.
TV setup and ease of use: Very Good overall. Note: During setup be sure to follow Samsung's directions for updating the soundbar to the latest firmware (which will be version HW-N950WWB-1005.1 or higher). When we first tested this model it earned a TV setup and EOU score of Fair - we found that if the subwoofer setting had been changed from the factory setting the soundbar did not maintain the new setting; it reset to the factory setting whenever it was turned off and turned back on again without showing that it had reset. According to Samsung this problem was corrected with firmware update HW-N950WWB-1005.0. HW-N950 soundbar systems shipped from the factory with this or later firmware versions will not have a subwoofer setting retention problem, systems shipped with earlier firmware versions will experience the subwoofer setting problem until the firmware is updated. Setup: While this soundbar has the HDMI CEC function (Samsung typically calls it Anynet+) it is not mentioned in the instructions and no setup info is provided. When an HDMI connection is not used the soundbar can still be controlled by TV remotes from Samsung and other major brands; activation and deactivation of this feature is quick and easy, but not intuitive so easy to follow instructions included with unit have to be referred to. The HW-N950 can be set up to receive audio from some Samsung TVs via WiFi; the provided instructions are clear, but the setup is dependent on the TV so depending on the particular TV it may or may not be straight forward. The soundbar comes with an HDMI cable for TV connection; an optical cable must be purchased separately if you want or need it to connect your TV. Ease of Use: See above regarding why this models ease of use has been downgraded from Very Good to Fair. The HW-N950 can work seamlessly with many TVs - it can respond to the volume and mute commands from the remotes of HDMI CEC compatible TVs when connected via the HDMI ARC ports with and HDMI cable. It can also be set to respond to the volume and mute commands of the remotes of many TVs from major brands including Samsung, and it can be connected to and controlled by Samsung TV remotes via a WiFi connection. Its own physical remote is uncluttered and has well labeled controls. App remotes that operate via WiFi can also be downloaded onto Apple and Android mobile devices; we found the sections of these apps that are used when watching TV easy to use and glitch-free. The soundbar console's power, source, and volume controls are well marked and are on the top of the console towards the rear and are fairly easy to see and access. The console lacks a mute control, but if it is muted from the remote pressing one of the console volume buttons unmutes it. The display can be seen from the typical listening position; it can be used by itself or in conjunction with app remote screens. It momentarily shows power status, source selection, a numeric volume level, mute status, the DSP effects mode, and the stereo/surround setting. All settings except volume and mute can be recalled without changing the settings.
Features setup and ease of use: Very Good overall. Note: During setup be sure to follow Samsung's directions for updating the soundbar to the latest firmware (which will be version HW-N950WWB-1005.1 or higher). When we first tested this model it earned a TV setup and EOU score of Fair - we found that if the subwoofer setting had been changed from the factory setting the soundbar did not maintain the new setting; it reset to the factory setting whenever it was turned off and turned back on again without showing that it had reset. According to Samsung this problem was corrected with firmware update HW-N950WWB-1005.0. HW-N950 soundbar systems shipped from the factory with this or later firmware versions will not have a subwoofer setting retention problem, systems shipped with earlier firmware versions will experience the subwoofer setting problem until the firmware is updated. Setup: Network streaming setup is done via WiFi, requires an app download to an Apple or Android mobile device, and is straight forward. The soundbar must be registered with the manufacturer for network functionality; registration requires the user's email and a password. Multi-channel setup is simple and straight forward with clear instructions. Channel levels can be adjusted and levels are displayed during setup, but there is no test tone function to help with level matching. Bluetooth pairing is very easy - if no Bluetooth device has previously been paired, or the paired device does not have Bluetooth activated, the unit is automatically in pairing mode once the remote's dedicated Bluetooth pairing button has been pressed. Ease of Use: The HW-N950's physical remote is uncluttered and controls are well labeled. Apple and Android versions of app remotes that operate via WiFi can be downloaded on to mobile devices. We found both the general sections (used to control the soundbar like a typical physical remote) and the streaming content player sections (used to play audio streamed from the Internet) of these app remotes to be easy to use and glitch-free. Internet streaming is limited content from TuneIn radio, and the apps can't stream content from the audio files of the mobile device that it's been downloaded to. The soundbar console's power, source, and volume controls are well marked and are on the top of the console towards the rear and are fairly easy to see and access. The console lacks a mute control, but if it is muted from the remote pressing one of the console volume buttons unmutes it. The display can be seen from the typical listening position; it can be used by itself or in conjunction with app remote screens. It momentarily shows power status, source selection, a numeric volume level, mute status, the DSP effects mode, and the stereo/surround setting. All settings except volume and mute can be recalled without changing the settings. The console has inputs for HDMI ARC digital video/audio and optical digital audio connections. The optical input is provided as an alternate connection for TVs that lack HDMI ARC, not as a separate connection for another device. These two inputs are covered under one source and the soundbar uses on or the other depending on what's connected. If both are connected HDMI ARC TV connection takes priority. If you switch from the Bluetooth source to another source and then back again you have to manually re-connect the Bluetooth source device.
