The Samsung HW-Q800A is a versatile soundbar from Samsung's 2021 lineup. This 3.1.2 setup is well built and comes with a dedicated subwoofer, which helps produce a thumpy low-bass. It has a neutral sound profile, making it suitable for a variety of audio content. It also comes with Q-Symphony technology, which synchronizes the audio production to the speakers on your Samsung TV, as well as Samsung's Acoustic Beam technology, which helps create a more immersive listening experience, though we don't currently test these features. It has Amazon Alexa built-in, so you can control the bar with your voice. Although it supports Dolby Atmos content, it doesn't deliver a very immersive listening experience. Thankfully, it comes with quite a few sound enhancement features and supports a wide array of audio formats.
Our Verdict
The Samsung HW-Q800A is very good for mixed usage. It has a neutral, balanced sound profile, making it suitable for a variety of audio content. It can produce a thumpy, punchy low-bass, which is nice for action-packed movie scenes and bass-heavy music genres. Its soundstage is a bit wider than the bar itself, and it's quite focused, so sound objects like voices and footsteps feel like they're coming from an accurate location rather than a general area. It also comes with many sound enhancement features, like dialogue enhancement and a graphic EQ and presets for customizing its sound profile. Unfortunately, it doesn't provide an immersive surround sound experience since it lacks dedicated satellite speakers.
- Great build quality.
- Outstanding audio format support.
- Graphic EQ and presets.
- Auto-volume feature.
- Lacks a room correction feature.
The Samsung HW-Q800A is amazing for dialogue-heavy content like TV shows. It has a balanced mid-range and a dedicated center channel, so dialogue is reproduced clearly and accurately. It also has a dialogue enhancement feature, which helps make voices clear and crisp. Also, there's an auto-volume feature that you can turn on through the companion app, which makes the volume more consistent between different programs while keeping the dialogue present in the mix.
- Dialogue enhancement feature.
- Auto-volume feature.
- Some compression present at max volume.
The Samsung HW-Q800A is very good for music. It has a neutral sound profile, making it suitable for a variety of music genres. It can also produce a thumpy low-bass, which can please fans of bass-heavy genres like EDM and hip-hop. There's also a graphic EQ and presets available, letting you customize its sound profile to your liking. It can get very loud, so you can use it at parties, but there's some compression present in the bass and treble ranges. Also, it lacks a room correction feature, so music may sound a bit different depending on the room it's in.
- Extended low-bass.
- Graphic EQ and presets.
- Gets very loud.
- Some compression present at max volume.
The Samsung HW-Q800A is very good for movies. It has a balanced sound profile, and you can feel the deep thump and rumble in action-packed scenes thanks to its extended low bass. It also has a balanced mid-range, so dialogue is clear and present in the mix. While its soundstage is a bit wider than the bar itself, it doesn't have any tricks to make it even wider. Unfortunately, it has to downmix surround sound content into stereo, resulting in a less immersive listening experience. Also, while it supports Dolby Atmos content, it doesn't provide a very immersive listening experience.
- Extended low-bass.
- Gets very loud.
- Poor surround sound performance.
- Sub-par height performance.
Changelog
- Updated May 29, 2023: Added market comparison with the Samsung HW-Q800C to the Surround 5.1 box.
- Updated Apr 06, 2023: Added cable lengths to In The Box.
- Updated Apr 05, 2023: Converted to Test Bench 1.1. With this update, we've added a Mounting test and added information aboutSubwoofer Output, Spotify Connect, and Microphone Mute.
- Updated Sep 23, 2022: Added market comparison for the Samsung HW-S800B to the 'Bar - Dimensions' box.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Samsung HW-Q800A comes in one color variant: 'Black'. You can see the label for the model we tested here. If you come across a variant not listed here, let us know in the comments below and we'll update the review.
Popular Soundbar Comparisons
The Samsung HW-Q800A is a 3.1.2 setup with a wireless subwoofer. It's a fairly high-end model from Samsung's 2021 lineup, and it comes with Q-Symphony technology that helps synchronize the bar's audio production with the existing speakers on your compatible Samsung TV, though we don't currently test for this. It also has Samsung's Acoustic Beam technology, which helps create a more immersive listening experience, though we don't currently test this feature either. Since it doesn't have dedicated satellite speakers, its surround sound performance isn't great, but overall it's a versatile setup with a balanced sound profile, making it suitable for a variety of audio content.
If you want to see more soundbars, check out the best Samsung soundbars, the best soundbars with subwoofer, and the best soundbars.
The Samsung HW-Q800A is a better soundbar than the JBL Bar 5.1 Surround. The Samsung is a 3.1.2 setup with a better soundstage performance that gets louder with less compression at max volume. Unlike the JBL, it supports Dolby Atmos content, and it comes with a graphic EQ and built-in Amazon Alexa voice assistant support. However, the 5.1 JBL has a better surrounds performance, and it comes with a room correction feature and more wireless playback options.
The Samsung HW-Q800C is a newer iteration of the Samsung HW-Q800A, offering slightly better overall performance. The Q800A is an older model with a 3.1.2 setup, meaning it has to downmix surround sound into stereo to play it. The 5.1.2 Q800C, however, has side-firing drivers to bring a more realistic feel to the sound. It's better built, too, with more enhancement features like room correction.
The Samsung HW-Q800A is a better 3.1.2 soundbar than the Samsung HW-Q800T. The HW-Q800A supports Apple AirPlay, and it has lower latency over its Full HDMI In port, making it more suitable for watching videos over this connection. It also has an auto-volume feature, which makes the volume more consistent between programs. It also has a better height performance and a somewhat more immersive surround sound. However, the HW-Q800T has less compression present at max volume, and its sound profile is slightly more neutral.
The Samsung HW-Q990B is better than the Samsung HW-Q800A. The Q990B comes with rear speakers, so it offers better surround sound. Its Atmos performance is better, too, making it a better choice for watching movies. There are also more customization tools on hand, including room correction. The Q800A is a good alternative if you don't have space for rear speakers or if you don't watch a lot of movies.
Test Results
