Samsung HW-N850 Soundbar Review & Comments

Hi – I found this review of this sound bar very useful. I've now ordered the Samsung HWN850 and the new TV, the Samsung QE49Q70R.
One thing I'm confused about (being a newbie in these matters!), I see that the sound bar supports Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Atmos, plus DTS Digital Sound, DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS:X.
My question is how do you select which format – do you choose one that's best for films and one that's best for music, how does it work?
Thanks for any advice.
 
Hi – I found this review of this sound bar very useful. I've now ordered the Samsung HWN850 and the new TV, the Samsung QE49Q70R.
One thing I'm confused about (being a newbie in these matters!), I see that the sound bar supports Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Atmos, plus DTS Digital Sound, DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS:X.
My question is how do you select which format – do you choose one that's best for films and one that's best for music, how does it work?
Thanks for any advice.

When it comes to audio formats during movies it will be done automatically, most blu rays will have the correct audio track selected by default. With music you can experiment with the sound modes available via the remote.
 
not sure if this is right, but watching dolby atmos content on Sky Q connecting like this:
Sky Q HDMI <connect> OCB in HDMI port 1 (for sound and audio) - cable 1

OCB HDMI ARC port 4 <connect> to soundbar ARC port - cable 2

Enables me by playing "curfew" program DOLBY ATMOS is displayed on the LED read out on soundbar. However, if you stop start it doesn't always display DOLBY ATMOS on the LED read out, but seems the same sound.
There as far as i know Netflix (TV APP), does not support on Samsung TVs to output Dolby Atmos (may work on Sky Q netflix app?), however on Amazon Prime i cannot find any Dolby Atmos content all seem to just say 5.1 i looked at a lof of titles.
 
not sure if this is right, but watching dolby atmos content on Sky Q connecting like this:
Sky Q HDMI <connect> OCB in HDMI port 1 (for sound and audio) - cable 1

OCB HDMI ARC port 4 <connect> to soundbar ARC port - cable 2

Enables me by playing "curfew" program DOLBY ATMOS is displayed on the LED read out on soundbar. However, if you stop start it doesn't always display DOLBY ATMOS on the LED read out, but seems the same sound.
There as far as i know Netflix (TV APP), does not support on Samsung TVs to output Dolby Atmos (may work on Sky Q netflix app?), however on Amazon Prime i cannot find any Dolby Atmos content all seem to just say 5.1 i looked at a lof of titles.

For Amazon try Jack Ryan, make sure you select the UHD version

cheers
 
When you view titles like JackRyan it doesn't explicitly say "Dolby Atmos" it just says 5.1?

I only tested it with 1 title from Sky Q (Chernobyl)
 
When you view titles like JackRyan it doesn't explicitly say "Dolby Atmos" it just says 5.1?

I only tested it with 1 title from Sky Q (Chernobyl)

No it doesn't mate, just start the uhd version and change the sound options on your Samsung to dd+ Atmos should engage and show on the bar display

Cheers
 
ok i played it and yes when i check settings my Samsunf Q9FN has automatically switched to Dolby Digital+

when i played it did not flash on LED on soundbar "Dolby Atmos" but when i pause or switch to main menu (showing all episodes) it flashes "Dolby Atmos" so i assume during viewing it just doesn't flash it but it is recognising its in Dolby Atmos?

Is that the correct behaviour?

P.s is it true all 4K UHD HDR content on Prime is Dolby Atmos? seems silly they do not advertise this.
 
ok i played it and yes when i check settings my Samsunf Q9FN has automatically switched to Dolby Digital+

when i played it did not flash on LED on soundbar "Dolby Atmos" but when i pause or switch to main menu (showing all episodes) it flashes "Dolby Atmos" so i assume during viewing it just doesn't flash it but it is recognising its in Dolby Atmos?

Is that the correct behaviour?

P.s is it true all 4K UHD HDR content on Prime is Dolby Atmos? seems silly they do not advertise this.

I am only aware of jack Ryan having Atmos, not sure if they have added more titles

Sometimes I miss the Atmos notification, and I just do as you have done and pause/play to confirm the signal is coming through

Just to warn you though mate, Samsung tvs are a bit stupid with how they handle audio, now you have it set to dd+ if you watch normal 5.1 non Atmos material the tv will not auto switch to standard dd it will change it to 2 channel pcm. You have to go in and change it back

Cheers
 
I see what you mean with Samsung tvs. Watching normal sky Q it's on dolby digital a bit confused if I have the HDMI input audio format correctly set (bitstream) for this soundbar?
 
Bought this from Reliant Direct a week ago and I'm getting a lot of grief with HDMI/ARC and CEC.

It's connected up as following:-
Soundbar HDMI Port 1 (ARC) <-> LG C7V HDMI Port 2 (ARC)
Soundbar HDMI Port 2 <-> Panasonic Blu-Ray DP-UB820
Soundbar HDMI Port 3 <-> NVIDIA SHIELD

LG C7V HDMI Port 1 <-> BT Set Top Box

At first, I had some grief getting audio from the TV to the soundbar, then it settled down for a while. Few nights ago, I noticed the audio from the BT Set Top Box and/or Live TV was crackly - I powered everything off and back on, seemed to fix it.

Two nights ago, the crackly audio returned and got worse. Power cycle didn't fix and then eventually it decided there was going to be no audio at all.

I swapped cables, plugged and unplugged things, turned Simplilink (LG's implementation of CEC) off and on, switched to PCM with no avail. I left it until yesterday morning, went back to it and then went into LG sources menu and removed the soundbar, plugged in and out and eventually the CEC Gods decided there should be audio and it came back.

Jump forward to last night and similar thing happened but without the crackly audio build up and it just dropped the audio from the STB/Live TV again. I couldn't be bothered to faff on last night and left it until this morning again. This morning, after 30 minutes of faff in LG's sources menu and adding and removing things, the audio is back again.

I've come from a separates set up with a Denon X4200W where everything just worked fine for the last three years to this waking hell of being unable to just sit down and listen the TV on a night. Needless to say I'm a bit fed up with it. The Denon was connected to the TV on ARC and it just worked without issues.

Has anyone had similar experience with this combo of LG TV and Samsung soundbar? I don't know if the problem is the TV not liking the soundbar or the soundbar just being borked. It was bought from Reliant Direct (via Amazon) so I'm fairly confident of being able to return it without too much grief, but would really like to know the cause and if possible fix... I don't have a spare TV lying around to try things out with, though.

[EDIT] Bit of googling brought up a 22 page long moan fest about Samsung and HDMI CEC. Guess this thing is going back...

Solved: HDMI-CEC Not Working and HDMI-ARC Not Listed As An... - Page 22 - Samsung Community - 74601
 
Last edited:
Just to add, the HT-ST5000 has a much higher wattage than both the N850 and N950 (Samsung at 372w vs Sony at 800w).

The frequency response for the Samsung N850 and N950 is also worse on both the low and high frequency ranges.

Frequency Response (amp) = 34Hz~17kHz

Compared to Sony's HT-ST5000

Frequency Response (amp) = 30Hz~24kHz

What this means is that the HT-ST5000 can pump out a lot better sound with the range of bass, mids, and treble being a lot better both for lower and higher frequencies than the Samsung N850 and N950.

If your just looking at having a soundbar up front, comparing the N850 and HT-ST5000 is no comparison. Sony hands down has the better higher quality, higher wattage soundbar.
Even if you bring in the rears of the N950, but the actual quality of the sound is much better on the Sony.
The Sony is nowhere near as good as the n850.... The sony has massive reliability issues too and probably won't last people over a year. I've had two htst 5000s in a week and wouldnt recommend either. The n850 is much better value pound for pound..
 
Went for the sony. Fantastic bit of kit
Great stuff...the first one I had was good but was damaged in transit and was a return...the second one the sub wouldn't connect..so I got a refund and got this...saved £700😂👌
 
Anyone having trouble with this soundbar, loosing connection with the sub, autopower of etc?
Unsure if I should buy this or the q70r
 
Bought this from Reliant Direct a week ago and I'm getting a lot of grief with HDMI/ARC and CEC.

It's connected up as following:-
Soundbar HDMI Port 1 (ARC) <-> LG C7V HDMI Port 2 (ARC)
Soundbar HDMI Port 2 <-> Panasonic Blu-Ray DP-UB820
Soundbar HDMI Port 3 <-> NVIDIA SHIELD

LG C7V HDMI Port 1 <-> BT Set Top Box

At first, I had some grief getting audio from the TV to the soundbar, then it settled down for a while. Few nights ago, I noticed the audio from the BT Set Top Box and/or Live TV was crackly - I powered everything off and back on, seemed to fix it.

Two nights ago, the crackly audio returned and got worse. Power cycle didn't fix and then eventually it decided there was going to be no audio at all.

I swapped cables, plugged and unplugged things, turned Simplilink (LG's implementation of CEC) off and on, switched to PCM with no avail. I left it until yesterday morning, went back to it and then went into LG sources menu and removed the soundbar, plugged in and out and eventually the CEC Gods decided there should be audio and it came back.

Jump forward to last night and similar thing happened but without the crackly audio build up and it just dropped the audio from the STB/Live TV again. I couldn't be bothered to faff on last night and left it until this morning again. This morning, after 30 minutes of faff in LG's sources menu and adding and removing things, the audio is back again.

I've come from a separates set up with a Denon X4200W where everything just worked fine for the last three years to this waking hell of being unable to just sit down and listen the TV on a night. Needless to say I'm a bit fed up with it. The Denon was connected to the TV on ARC and it just worked without issues.

Has anyone had similar experience with this combo of LG TV and Samsung soundbar? I don't know if the problem is the TV not liking the soundbar or the soundbar just being borked. It was bought from Reliant Direct (via Amazon) so I'm fairly confident of being able to return it without too much grief, but would really like to know the cause and if possible fix... I don't have a spare TV lying around to try things out with, though.

[EDIT] Bit of googling brought up a 22 page long moan fest about Samsung and HDMI CEC. Guess this thing is going back...

Solved: HDMI-CEC Not Working and HDMI-ARC Not Listed As An... - Page 22 - Samsung Community - 74601

I bought my n850 for a steal (£374.50) from Hughes Direct (via eBay) in June. It's been working flawlessly until a week ago, but has recently begun to loose audio from my TV (Panasonic TX-50CX802B) connected from ARC to ARC. It's now just lost audio from my FIRETV (4K) connected to HDMI1 of the soundbar.

I seems if I hold down the sound settings button for 30 ish seconds, it performs some sort of reset (factory?) , and the sound returns. This doesn't last long though, and drops usually within a day.

I've not changed any settings, or cables, so I'm a bit confused as to why it would start happening after a solid 4 months.

Any ideas?
 
I noticed this too, I don't believe it's your N850 it's the tv arc connectivity. Not sure if it's the latest FW update I had for my Q9fn but definitely loses ARC connection more often then usual.
 
I'm over the moon with this soundbar..top notch sound. I literally ducked the other day thinking something was flying past me... These are my settings...

Treble 0
Bass 1
Sync 0
Centre +1
Side 0
Front 0
Rear +1
Subwoofer +3
Virtual surround ON
 
Is sync 0 default or you tweaked this?
I always wondered what does centre, front, rear and side do? Anyone know?
 
Is sync 0 default or you tweaked this?
I always wondered what does centre, front, rear and side do? Anyone know?

The settings are to raise audio levels, unfortunately Samsung assume we all have Square rooms and have the bar in the middle so only allow adjustment in pairs

centre - yep the centre
front - is the two top speakers which bounce of the ceiling to give the atmos effect
side - the two end speakers which are designed to bounce of the side walls to give the 7.1 additional surround effect
rears - control the levels on the swa9000s assuming you have bought them, if not, it does nothing


the main front left and right do not have any adjustment, the theory is you set this using the master volume and then either lower or higher the other speakers using the above adjustments to get them to match best you can

sync will be the audio delay,dependent on the gear attached then it may need to be adjusted, usually when you have lip sync issues
 
thanks for the post. I take it the centre, front, side and rear are referring to the volume or is this the EQ aspect?
 
Do any other owners have any issues with intermittent audio drop outs on the bar.
Happens every few minutes on all sources?
Some of the Older Samsung bars have had this issue but it seems like the n850 and the q80r both had this problem.. Any ideas anyone? Cheers
 
I thought that issue was resolved with the FW update ages ago?
 

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