Samsung HW-T650 Soundbar Review

The Samsung HW-T650 is a 3.1 soundbar from Samsung's 2020 lineup. It has a similar design and performance to the 2019 Samsung HW-R650, though it has slightly more connectivity options. It doesn't have dedicated satellite speakers like some of Samsung's more premium models, like the Samsung HW-Q90R. However, unlike the lower-end 2.1 setups like the Samsung HW-T550, it has a dedicated center channel for better dialogue clarity in movies and TV shows. Its competitors include the LG SN6Y, the Sony HT-G700, and the Samsung HW-R650.

The Samsung HW-T650 soundbar has a simple, sleek design. It's mainly made of plastic, and there's a metal grille in the front that covers the channels and display. On the top-center of the bar, towards the back, there are four physical buttons that allow you to control the bar.

The subwoofer is mostly made of wood. There's a speaker on the left-hand side, and it's covered in a thin fabric that could get dirty or rip easily. The port is on the back side.

There aren't any satellites in this setup.

The Samsung HW-T650 is a fairly wide bar, so it likely won't fit between the legs of a 55" TV. The bar isn't very tall, so it likely won't cover your screen unless your TV sits flush on the table.

The Samsung HW-T650's sub is about the size of an average desktop PC. It connects wirelessly to the system, so you can place it anywhere in your room.

There aren't any satellites in this setup.

On the back of the bar, there are two openings for the input ports and the power cable. There are also universal wall-mounting holes on the underside of the bar.

The back of the sub is made of wood. There's a plastic port at the top. On the bottom, there's a connection for the power cable. There's also a pairing button on the bottom-right.

This setup doesn't have any satellites.

The Samsung HWT650 has a good build quality. The bar is primarily made of plastic, with a metal grille in the front to help protect the drivers. The sub is primarily made of wood, though the speaker is covered with a thin fabric that could easily get dirty or damaged.

• Manual
• Remote with batteries (2x AA)
• Optical cable
• Power cable (2x)
• Adapter (for soundbar)
• Wall-mounting brackets, screws, and template

The Samsung HW-T650 has a decent stereo frequency response. Its bass doesn't extend very low, so it won't be able to fully reproduce the deep thump and rumble in bass-heavy content. However, the overall sound profile is fairly neutral and well-balanced, making the bar suitable for a variety of music genres. It also has five EQ presets (Standard, Surround Sound, Game, Smart Sound, DTS: Virtual X) to help you customize the sound to your liking.

The Samsung HW-T650 has a good stereo soundstage performance. The soundstage feels slightly wider than the bar itself, though it doesn't have any tricks to make it sound wider than that. It also has a slightly better focus than the Samsung HW-R650, and objects seem to come from an accurate pinpoint location instead of a more general area, which is good.

Update 09/22/2020: We've discovered a value input bug that would cause the Dynamics box results to be slightly off. All soundbars reviewed since January 30th, 2020 have been updated.

The Samsung HW-T650 can get loud, making it ideal for use in a large, crowded room or at parties. When you play content at max volume, there isn't a lot of compression, which is great.

The Samsung HW-T650 has a very good THD performance. At normal listening volumes, there isn't a lot of distortion, meaning that you'll get a clean and pure sound. On the downside, when you play the bar at max volume, there's a bit more distortion. However, most of the time, this won't be audible with real-life content.

The Samsung HW-T650/ZA has a very good center channel performance. Due to its 3.1 configuration, it has a dedicated center channel, so it can reproduce clear and accurate dialogue. On the downside, the center channel doesn't get very loud.

The Samsung HW-T650 has a bad surround performance. Since it's a 3.1 setup, it downmixes surround content to a stereo signal. It uses the left and right speakers to mimic a surround performance, but unfortunately, this won't provide a very immersive listening experience. Sound may feel like it's coming from in front of you instead of the sides or behind you.

The Samsung HW-T650/ZA doesn't support Atmos.

Update 08/24/2020: We originally reported that this soundbar didn't have an auto-volume/night mode. However, it does have a DRC mode, which can help reduce loud sounds. We have raised this box's score to better reflect this change.

This soundbar has a decent selection of sound enhancement features. While it doesn't have a room correction feature, it has a dialogue enhancement feature called Smart Sound that can help make the voices and dialogue sound clearer and more accurate. You can also customize your sound by choosing between five EQ presets (Standard, Surround Sound, Game, Smart Sound, DTS: Virtual X).

The Samsung HW-T650/ZA has several input options to connect with your external devices. It has some HDMI ports, so you'll be able to use the soundbar as a hub for different devices, such as your Blu-ray player, your game console, and your PC. On the downside, it doesn't have a 3.5mm Aux port, so you won't be able to plug in your phone.

Update 10/22/2020: After receiving feedback from our users, we retested and confirmed that the bar plays sound while playing Dolby Digital Plus files via ARC.

This soundbar's HDMI ARC port supports Dolby Digital and DTS formats, which are commonly used in Blu-ray discs and streaming platforms like Netflix. However, it doesn't support Dolby Atmos, which may be disappointing for movie fans looking to use their soundbar for a more immersive listening experience.

The Samsung HW-T650 supports Dolby Digital and DTS content through its Full HDMI In port. However, it'll downmix surround content to stereo, so it won't provide the most immersive experience.

The Optical port on this soundbar can play both Dolby Digital and DTS content, although it'll downmix surround content to stereo.

The Samsung HW-T650 can be wirelessly connected to your phone or tablet using Bluetooth. On the downside, it doesn't support Wi-Fi, Chromecast built-in, or AirPlay.

The Samsung HW-T650/ZA can't passthrough the highest bandwidth signals, which may be disappointing if you want to connect the soundbar to your PC or your game console. If you're looking for a 3.1 setup that can pass 4k @ 60Hz, check out the LG GX Soundbar.

The subwoofer connects wirelessly to the bar and only needs a cord for power.

There aren't any satellites in this setup.

The Samsung HW-T650/ZA has a small screen on the left side of the bar behind the metal grill. It indicates the volume level and the current input. The screen is very small and it may need to scroll to display the entire message.

The Samsung HW-T650's controls are located on the top-center of the bar, towards the back. There are four physical buttons that let you control the volume, the power, and switch the input source.

The Samsung HWT650 soundbar has a similar remote to last year's Samsung HW-R650. It has a simple and sleek design, and it can be used to control the settings of your soundbar.

The Samsung HW-T650 soundbar doesn't have a companion app.

The Samsung HW-T650 will turn off automatically if it doesn't receive an audio signal for 20 minutes. Thanks to HDMI CEC, you can use your TV remote to control some of the basic functions of the bar.