Samsung HT-WS1R Soundbar
Product Description
Samsung Speaker Bar
Features:
- 260W Output Power
- 2.1 Virtual Sound
- Wireless Subwoofer
- Dolby Digital
- Optical Input
Price At Amazon.com: $199.99
Average User Rating: 3.0
No of Reviews: 16
Click Below To Buy at Amazon.com
Samsung HT-WS1R Soundbar
CS
17 Dec, 2009
I heard one of these at Best Buy and was satisfied with the sound quality for the price. All retail stores were out of stock in my area, so I ordered through Amazon.
I attached the audio source via optical audio & configured the wireless subwoofer. Audio played for about 10 seconds before the speaker fizzled and smoke came out of the bottom. Samsung is exchanging the unit. Let’s hope this was just a fluke and not widespread…
UPDATE: Samsung replaced the unit with a functional one. It works fine.
User Rating: 1 / 5
RW3100
17 Dec, 2009
This is truely one of the fist Samsung products that I purchased and was very disappointed with. This product was purchased to increase the sound quality on my new Samsung LCD that I purchased. The sound on this product is flat and there are no controls to customize it to your liking. You cant raise or lower the treble or bass so you are stuck with the basic settings.
Although the added woofer does increase the bottom end which is missing from the LCD speakers, The sound itself from the soundbar sounded less clear and lower than the sound from the TV itself. All in all its a big disappointment that the TV sounded better than a $350 external sound bar.
Another thing that quite annoyed me with this item is a bright white light under the unit that goes on when the unit is actually off. This was used in my bedroom and I do not need a night light that cant be turned off. Dont know if this was a defect or not but it was another thing that added to my huge disappointment.
User Rating: 1 / 5
J. Scaife
17 Dec, 2009
I returned this unit after trying it out for one week. The problems:
- wireless subwoofer was only about 6 feet away but cut in and out constantly and never kicked in at all at anything but the highest volume setting.
- Output of the main bar was much lower than I expected – hardly louder than the built in speakers on the TV
- Unit has to be turned on independently of the Samsung television — another remote to keep track of
- The price – for $350 I expected better
All in all, it seems like this is just a poorly designed product that shouldn’t have been released without significant further testing.
User Rating: 1 / 5
Hopeh1122
17 Dec, 2009
I did not have the smoke and other technical issues that other reviewers had, but I can say that I returned this baby within one week of purchasing it from Best Buy because even at full blast it was pathetic. I believe this is 150 watts (which is not a lot to begin with) but it sounded more like 10. I returned it because at $400 I expect it to be able to drown out my TV speakers, not the other way around. Plus, it also seemed like the bass only kicked in occasionally.
The unit looks nice, the wireless subwoofer is great (if it worked all the time), but if you want a booming home stereo sorround experience, look elsewhere. It might be OK if you want it for a very small bedroom or something, but that’s about it.
User Rating: 2 / 5
Rhett J. Cutshaver
17 Dec, 2009
Bought this a couple of days ago at Best Buy to go along with my new Samsung 46″ LED (awesome!). The soundbar unit sucks. I’ve spent three days trying to get a decent sound out of it, and am returning it to Best Buy this afternoon.
1) The bass, when it’s not cutting out (yes, mine cuts in and out just like all the other reviewers), drowns out everything else. As it’s cutting in and out and completely overwhelming the other frequencies, it makes most shows unwatchable. A simple fix for this would have been to have some way to independently adjust the bass output from the sub…unfortunately, there’s not. All one can do is turn down the bass using the custom eq settings on the TV, and then the sound is crappy overall.
2) The output is (as several reviewers noted), barely more than the standard TV. (Although the LED TV I bought has the speakers facing backwards(?) and this did help slightly by projecting forward sound). Seriously, I turned the soundbar almost all the way up, the TV almost all the way up, switched back and forth between the two and noticed very little difference (except for the overwhelming bass of the sub).
I’m not sure what anyone could use this for. Possibly, if you unplugged the sub, it could (maybe) be useful in a small room to boost a little sound. Or if the speakers went out on your tiny 13″ tv and you wanted another source that was about the same power (lol). Seriously, stay away from this product. If you don’t want to drop the $1,000 or so on a relatively decent surround, then take the $400 you’d spend on this, put it back in your pocket and save a little longer to get something decent. This is NOT a ‘good compromise’.
User Rating: 2 / 5