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-T60M 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.

This soundbar doesn't come with satellites. However, it's compatible with the Wireless Surround Kit, which is sold separately.

The Samsung HW-T60M is a fairly wide bar, so it likely won't fit between the legs of a 55 inch TV. That said, 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.

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.

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 good stereo frequency response out-of-the-box. It has a fairly neutral sound profile that's suitable for most types of audio content, though the treble range is a bit underemphasized, so audio may be a bit dark. There's a little extra boom in the bass range that can please fans of bass-heavy music, but its low-bass isn't very extended, so you don't feel thump and rumble. It also has bass and treble adjustments as well as five EQ presets (Standard, Surround Sound, Game, Smart Sound, DTS: Virtual X) to help you customize the sound to your liking.

With calibration, the Samsung HW-T650 has a very good stereo frequency response. With its bass set to '-4' and its treble set to '3', it has a very neutral, balanced sound profile that's suitable for listening to lots of different types of audio content. That said, it still struggles to reproduce a thumpy low-bass, so you don't feel the deep rumble in bass-heavy music or action-packed movies.

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 tested 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, so audio reproduction is clean and pure.

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. Unfortunately, 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 3.1Ch Soundbar has a great center channel performance. Due to its 3.1 configuration, it has a dedicated center channel, so dialogue is accurately localized to a pinpoint location in the sound image. Also, its frequency response is quite balanced in the mid-range where vocals are reproduced, so dialogue is clear and detailed.

The Samsung HW-T650 has a poor surround performance. It has to downmix surround content into stereo in order to play it. Unfortunately, this doesn't sound as immersive, and surround objects aren't as clear or real as they are with a discrete localization. Also, its frequency response is quite bass-heavy, so your audio may be boomy and muddy.

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 fair selection of sound enhancement features. There are some bass and treble adjustments as well as EQ presets to help you customize its sound, including 'Standard', 'Surround Sound', 'Game', 'Smart Sound', and 'DTS: Virtual X'. Its 'Smart Sound' preset doubles as a dialogue enhancement feature, so voices are more crisp and clear in your audio. However, it lacks some more premium features like a graphic EQ or room correction, so it may sound a bit different depending on the room you're listening in.

The Samsung T650 has several input options to connect with your external devices. It has some HDMI ports, so you can use the soundbar as a hub for different devices, like your Blu-ray player, your game console, and your PC. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a 3.5mm AUX port, so you can't 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, which are commonly found on Blu-ray discs and streaming platforms.

Note: We updated our methodology for testing latency. After retesting this soundbar, we've updated our results.

The Samsung HW-T650 has an incredible latency performance. It has fairly low latency via ARC, Optical, and Full HDMI In, so the audio you hear is in sync with the video you see. As a result, it's likely suitable for watching movies over these connections. However, some apps and TVs compensate for latency differently, so your real-world experience may vary.

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

The Samsung T650 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.

The Samsung HW-T650 3.1Ch Soundbar 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 let you 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 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 bar's basic functions.