Samsung HW-Q800F  Soundbar Review

The Samsung HW-Q800F soundbar has a similar look to its predecessor, the Samsung HW-Q800D. It's a slim, wide bar with a low profile and angled sides. The top and front of the bar are covered in a metal perforated grille, while the side panels feature durable plastic grooves that protect the angled side-firing drivers. The rear and underside of the soundbar are made of hard plastic, which feels robust but not overly thick. A small Samsung logo sits discreetly on the top-left corner, and the physical control buttons are placed on the top panel near the back edge for easy access. A USB port for servicing the soundbar is tucked underneath the unit.

The Samsung Q800F's subwoofer has a cube-shaped design, which more closely resembles the sub that comes with the Samsung HW-Q990F than the one included with the previous Samsung HW-Q800D. It features an exposed driver and passive radiator, giving it a fairly functional look. The enclosure has a solid build quality, and the all-black finish should help it blend in easily with most home setups.

The Samsung Q800F doesn't come with satellites.

The bar is a little too wide to fit between the legs of most 65-inch TVs. It can fit beneath some products with a wide and tall stand configuration, such as the Sony BRAVIA 9. That said, its profile is low enough that it won't disrupt your view if you can't fit the bar underneath your TV.

The subwoofer has the same proportions as the one that comes with the Samsung HW-Q990F. It's a fairly compact cube that most people will probably find easier to stow somewhere than the tall rectangular sub that came with the Samsung HW-Q800D.

This soundbar doesn't come with dedicated satellites.

The Samsung Q800F comes with mounting brackets to attach the soundbar to your wall.

The Samsung HW-Q800F has an excellent build quality. The soundbar's front and top panels are covered in metal grilles, while the back and sides are made of sturdy plastic that feels durable and well-finished. The onboard control buttons feel solid and responsive, with a satisfying click when pressed. The subwoofer is built from a dense composite material with a matte black finish, and while it feels solid and well-constructed, its exposed active driver and passive radiator on opposite sides may be more susceptible to impact damage. The Q800F's design shares a similar build approach to the higher-end Samsung HW-Q990F, though the Q800F features a smaller bar and a lighter sub, and it comes in a mostly black color scheme compared to the Q990F's gray.

• Remote with batteries (2x AAA)
• HDMI cable (4.9 ft/1.5 m)
• 2x power cord (4.9 ft/1.5 m)
• 4x rubber feet
• Wall mount template
• 2x holder screws
• 2x wall-mount template with bar brackets
• 2x screws
• User guide
• Quick start guide
• Roon card

This soundbar has a great stereo frequency response. We measured it in Standard mode with room calibration turned on. Compared to the previous Samsung HW-Q800D, this offering has a touch of extra warmth and punch in the bass region, but not so much that it overwhelms the mid or treble ranges, which are virtually flat. Vocals sound accurate and true-to-life, and there's no noticeable sibilance or harshness at typical volumes. Standard mode also offers a selection of EQ presets that alter the sound.

The bar offers three additional listening modes, and you can see a graph of their measurements. In Surround mode, the soundbar upmixes stereo content to create a wider, more immersive soundstage by pushing audio out to the sides. However, this can come at the cost of focus in the center of the image. Adaptive mode also upmixes content but with boosted treble and bass, making it feel more energetic. That said, at higher volumes, this boost can lead to harsh treble and overwhelming bass. Game mode uses a similar upmixing strategy but skips the extra treble and bass boost, resulting in a less fatiguing sound with more controlled dynamics.

This soundbar performed well in our testing room without the need for extra tuning. We left the soundbar in its default Standard mode with room correction running and didn't make any further adjustments. For those who want more control, Standard mode offers a 7-band EQ and a selection of EQ presets, while the other sound modes let you fine-tune the sound using bass and treble sliders.

The Samsung HW-Q800F offers a wide and well-defined soundstage, particularly in Standard mode. The sound comfortably extends a few inches beyond each side of the soundbar, reaching close to the edges of our testing table. It's noticeably wider than the Samsung HW-Q800D in the same mode, with a focused and coherent presentation that avoids any noticeable gaps in the stereo image. While Adaptive mode also creates a wide soundstage through upmixing, it doesn't feel quite as focused as Standard mode.

This soundbar has impressive stereo dynamics performance using its Standard mode. It easily gets loud enough to fill larger rooms with sound, and there's only a little compression at max volume, so your audio will sound clean and pure unless listening at borderline unsafe levels.

This soundbar includes a dedicated center channel, which helps keep dialogue and vocals clear and present during action-packed scenes. This channel delivers a balanced and accurate response, especially through the mid-range frequencies where speech typically resides.

Since it doesn't offer dedicated satellites, the Samsung HW-Q800F uses side-firing drivers positioned at each end of the bar to simulate surround sound. While this setup creates a wider and more immersive listening experience, the frequency response of the surround channels isn't entirely consistent. The bass is a little boomy, and a dip in the lower-mids can cause mid-range content like dialogue to feel slightly thin. That said, the treble is well-balanced, so sound effects and higher-pitched instruments like violins sound accurately placed within the stereo field.

This soundbar offers passable height performance. It uses two up-firing drivers to bounce sound off your ceiling. Like the Surround drivers, the height drivers have slightly recessed low-mids that can make voices feel a little thin. However, the rest of the mids are well-balanced, so dialogue still sounds clear, even in scenes full of complex sound effects. That said, while the height drivers add some sense of verticality to your audio, it's not enough to make you feel as though sound is coming from above your TV. Still, height cues like flying drones track smoothly across the screen, and the bass is punchy, if lacking a little in low-end rumble. We found Standard mode to sound the most balanced. Adaptive mode adds excitement with boosted bass and treble, which some may enjoy, but it can also make your audio feel a little harsh or boomy at louder levels.

The Samsung HW-Q800F offers a wide range of sound enhancement tools to tailor its performance to your preferences and room. It includes SpaceFit Sound Pro, which automatically calibrates audio based on your room's acoustics, and you can also cycle through several listening modes, including Standard, Adaptive Sound, Game, and Surround, each optimized for different content types. In Standard mode, a 7-band EQ is available (accessed by holding the Sound Control button), with additional EQ presets (Normal, Pop, Jazz, and Classical) to fine-tune the sound. Other modes provide Bass and Treble controls instead of the full EQ.

Additional features include Night mode, which reduces bass and dynamic range for quieter late-night listening, and Voice Enhance, which lifts vocal clarity. There's also Active Voice Amplifier, which monitors external noise in real time and adjusts the center channel so dialogue stays audible. You can control channel levels independently, including Center, Side, and Front Top channels, and enable Moderate Bass, which plays low-end frequencies from the bar instead of the subwoofer, so you're a bit less likely to disturb your neighbors. The bar also supports Audio Sync adjustment to align sound with your display, as well as support for Samsung Q-Symphony, which works with compatible Samsung TV speakers, ostensibly offering you a more immersive listening experience.

The bar offers physical connections for eARC, Optical, and Full HDMI In. There's also a USB port for servicing the bar, but there's still no support for HDMI 2.1-class bandwidth and features from Samsung's mid-range offerings.

This soundbar supports all common audio formats via eARC, including Dolby Digital, Dolby Atmos, DTS, and DTS:X.

This bar's HMDI In port supports all the most common audio formats you'll find on streaming platforms and Blu-rays.

This soundbar's Optical input supports Dolby Digital, DTS, and 2.0-channel PCM, making it a convenient option for connecting older gear or devices that don't have HDMI outputs. Just note you'll need to set the TV's output to Pass-Through to access this input format.

The Samsung Q800F has outstandingly low latency over its eARC connection. Most audio formats play back with low enough latency that dialogue stays in sync with the visuals. You can always fine-tune A/V sync using the soundbar's companion app or remote if you run into any issues.

The HDMI In latency of the Samsung Q800F soundbar is superb, so you shouldn't run into lip-sync issues, regardless of the audio format you're using. If you do run into issues, you can use the Audio Sync feature to manually make any adjustments needed.

The Optical audio latency is amazing. Audio latency over the Optical connection is slightly higher than over HDMI, which is expected. That said, latency for both PCM and Dolby Digital formats still falls within acceptable ranges.

The Samsung Q800F offers superb video passthrough performance. It supports 4k resolution at up to 60Hz. That said, it only supports chroma 4:4:4 sub-sampling at 4k up to 60Hz and doesn't support Variable Refresh Rate (VRR). It can also pass through 8k video at up to 30Hz. Finally, the soundbar also offers support for HDR and Dolby Vision passthrough.

The Samsung Q800F supports a wide array of wireless playback options, making it a versatile hub for streaming audio. It features support for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth playback, Spotify Connect, and Apple AirPlay, giving you plenty of ways to connect your devices. If you own a compatible Samsung TV (2022 or newer), you can also enjoy wireless Dolby Atmos playback over Wi-Fi, eliminating the need for an HDMI cable. Tap Sound lets you play music from your Samsung mobile phone (Android 8.1 or later) simply by tapping it on the left side of the soundbar. Finally, it's also Roon Ready, meaning it integrates with the third-party Roon platform (subscription required), which provides advanced music library management and playback tools. That said, we haven't tested Roon's performance directly.

The soundbar has a small display located on its right-hand side, protected by the front grille. The display can show up to four characters at a time, so it can provide basic feedback like volume level and input source when changes are made. Longer text scrolls across the four-digit screen. Pressing the 'i' button on the remote also reveals the current audio format.

The top of the bar features four physical buttons for quick access to basic controls. You can adjust the volume, mute or unmute the microphone, and use the multi-function buttons to switch between different input sources.

The remote is virtually the same as the Samsung HW-Q990F's. You can use it to adjust most of the soundbar's functions, but there's an app you can use if you'd prefer, too.

The Samsung Q800F offers built-in voice assistant support for Amazon Alexa. You can also use your phone's Google Assistant. That said, connecting the bar to Google Home can be a little tricky and requires the use of Samsung's SmartThings app. Google Home also offers fewer ways to control the bar than Samsung's app. Still, it's nice that you can control the bar with your voice, and even mute the mic completely, too.