Customer Reviews

Samsung HT-WS1G Soundbar

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I know very little about the technical aspects of sound equipment so this review is aimed at fellow non-techies. The sound on my Samsung LED TV is WOEFUL despite playing around with the sound menu. From the start, the thing vibrated and distorted the sound at certain levels - very annoying, particularly to my border terrier!

I'd been looking around for a sound bar as I didn't want a massive piece of kit, rather something that has a small footprint and was simple to set up. I saw the Samsung HT-WS1G in Best Buy in Union Square, liked the look of it, thought it sounded good in-store when compared to the other models on display and considered the price reasonable ($299). I went home to do some research and, admittedly, was initially put off by the negative reviews. However, I thought would give it a go as I knew I could always return it.

SET-UP
Set up was pretty straight-forward involving an optical lead and a power cable (great for those like me who want to curl up in a ball when they venture round the back of the TV). There was also an audio input cable should you prefer this option. I do, however, think that the instruction manual could have been clearer when it came to linking the wireless subwoofer to the main speaker. I had to go online because following the instructions just wasn't working. I then almost had to pay a minimum of $18 to ask a Samsung expert online how to remedy my problem - pah! No chance.

Fortunately, there were quite a few postings online from people who had had similar problems and it took a guy from Montenegro to clear it up. Very simply, all you had to do was make sure the TV was off while you were setting the subwoofer up. Why they couldn't put this in the instruction manual is beyond me; 5 words "make sure TV is off" - hardly a thesis.

SOUND
Even without the subwoofer, the sound was so much better but when we finally got the sub linked up - wow! My husband and I kept looking at each other and saying "wow, did you hear that?" every time someone slammed a door on the TV. To us, the sound is rich and deep with different modes to choose from (movie, music, news and a neutral setting). I'd read that it wasn't brilliant for filling large rooms with sound; I don't know how large a room these people were talking about but our living area is about 25' x 12' and it really does give the impression of surround sound.

REPORTED NIGGLES vs OUR EXPERIENCE
I'd read that that subwoofer fan hums quite loudly - I haven't had a problem with this as yet; we haven't heard a peep from ours. Nor have I had any interference with our wireless network so I haven't had to change channels. Weirdly, unlike our Samsung TV, its light comes on when it's on stand-by. Some people have said it's enough to be disruptive if you have the speaker in your bedroom but I don't think it's such a big deal. The sub also comes with a kind of foam muffler thingy should the bass be too much but we haven't had to use it - the dog has been eying it, however, so maybe it will have a use after all.

In all, I'm very pleased with the HT-WS1G. I've had some late nights recently just so I can replay all my DVDs with this new-found sound. I'm glad I disregarded the negative reviews. For the price, it's GREAT!

Please understand...this Soundbar is NOT a full 5.1 channel surround sound system. This is an economical piece of hardware that improves the average tv speaker. It is crisp, full, and loud. The included subwoofer does not rattle the floor but adds a nice fill in for some bass response. Easy to set up. Easy to use. Fits in very well with the TOC Series of Samsung TV's given this one's color. I believe it comes in black as well. Overall, very pleased with it. Very nice sound and is perfect for a small room application. If I had to pick a bone about it...the external wireless subwoofer has a cooling fan that kicks in when you turn off the system. It can take 20 minutes before shutting off. Sounds like a small hum but it's the fan. Definitely recommend based on the price point.

I think in order to really have an appreciation and understanding of this product, the person whom is buying it needs to take a step back and evaluate what it is they are buying this product. In my honest opinion this is a GREAT a person, like myself, and the set up I am trying to utilize it for. I am a HUGE movie buff and enjoy watching movies and sometimes play video games in my bedroom. I have a 40' Samsung Series 7 television with a PS3. This sound bar gives me the sound that I am looking for where I am watching movies, which is a small area. The sound you will get will be clear and an upgrade from the factory speakers you are listening to now. I have above average listening ears and know that if I do want a louder and bigger experience, I can go downstairs to the living room. It will give you multiple selections that will allow you to customize your listening preference. I prefer the "cinema" setting. It allows the subwoofer (which is wireless) to be used for deeper tones and a movie theater style experience. The price, IMO, is set in the middle of everything you're looking at. I like Bose, but it's a little pricey for me just to have in a bedroom. Most of the products that I was looking at were in the $1000+ range. It is also not so cheap that the quality your getting feels like your getting something from a low budget electronics store.


Final Eval: The simple truth is that most television speakers just plan suck and this is a vast improvement. Nice upgrade for small room or casual listening, and the price is right as well.

first thing to do is do not hook up direcly to your tv with the optical cable, this will not give you the best sound from this sound bar. this is why every person is having very low sound. i have a samsung 1600 bluray player with the optical cable in and the other end hooked in to the sound bar. i then went into the bluray set up menu and changed the audio seting to bistream (audio phile) when i did this it will give you the best sound. set up this way it is louder then my tv speakers i have a samsung ln46b750 lcd. hope this helps for people who are having weak sound from the sound bar. i was ready to send it back till i set this up this way. way better sounding now this way.

I purchased this Samsung sound bar because of it's size and thickness after hanging my Samsung 55" LED above my fireplace. I used to use the Yamaha YSP-1000 sound bar. That is one highly rated soundbar. As for the Samsung, it is not bad, plugged it in and it paired with the sub and we were enjoying better sound than we get from our TV, and my wife and I find it loud enough, sound quality is decent, even has a bit of punch from the wireless sub-woofer which has no volume control. Very asthetic looking and blends with the TV real nice. I do not understand some of the bashing I have read about this speaker. You get what you pay for. Samsung $399 Yamaha YSP $1899. However if you want 5.1 surround, 120W of power, lots of options for you listening pleasure and an awesome sound then buy the Yamaha YSP sound bar.

We got this for use with a Samsung UN55B8500. The subwoofer was NOT linked out of the box, though this was easy to fix once I knew the trick (turn off the TV or unplug the audio cable). Sound quality of the 8500 is poor; this was definitely a substantial step up. It's not audiophile-quality by any means, but it is decent for the price. We also thought it was visually attractive.

This speaker should have better integrated with the television, however. In particular, since Samsung sells this to compensate for the poor built-in audio, they should have designed it to work seamlessly with the TV remote. It instead requires yet another remote, a real nuisance. We also found the volume to be a bit weak on some movies and other dynamic material. It was adequate for general TV watching. Finally, the fan was surprisingly loud at times, though most of the time it was either off or inaudible.

Had that been the end of the story, I would have rated it three stars. Fair sound, acceptable price, poor integration.

Unfortunately, after a few days it stopped working -- right in the middle of a movie. The lights remained on, but the sound stopped and it did not respond at all to the remote control. I unplugged it from power, plugged it back in, and it worked for a couple more hours before it died again. Rinse and repeat. This doesn't appear to be a common problem based on others' reviews, but given the other issues and lacking any special Samsung integration, I'm returning it to find something with better performance.

I live in a condo and my living room is small. In addition, as the TV was in the living room I did not want a whole lot of speakers sticking out from every wall, as would have been a case with most home-theater systems. (My wife expressly forbade wires all over the living room and the HOA doesnt allow speakers to be installed in to the wall).

But I still wanted a speaker system that would give decent sound, so that I could enjoy movies and music.

Enter the Samsung HT-WS1G. I believe it is a 2.1 system. But what a 2.1 system it is!

First the installation: It was simple. It took longer to unbox the system. When I connected it to the TV, I used the optical connection and the optical cable was provided in the box! (amazing! - most of the time I have bought electronics, the cables - especially the good ones are never provided and you have to shell out extra cash). My TV is a 32" Vizio and setting up the optical connection was just a matter of plugging in the wire. The sub-woofer is bigger than what I expected. But its got clean lines and looks nice and blends in, in the corner location that I have placed it. The sub-woofer can be hidden from sight, and I have it placed behind the couch. The sub-woofer is just plug in and forget. It linked up to sound-bar automatically. (Though, if it doesnt automatically link up for you, there is a simple set of steps that you need to go through to reset the link between the sound-bar and the woofer).

In my opinion the optical connection is important for 2 reasons: superior sound and the auto switch off feature (more on that later).

Once I connected up the main sound-bar to the tv, via the provided optical cable, I turned off the TV's inbuilt speaker (via the TV's menu). Again, this is an important step to getting the best sound quality out of the sound bar system. That was it, I was getting sound through the sound-bar and the sub-woofer.

What I like:
1. Pretty good sound: You definitely cannot expect to get surround sound from this system. It is going to pale in front of 5.1 system. But it is going to be so much better than your TV, that its going to still sound awesome.
2. Great for small spaces: The only piece that is visible is the sound-bar, the sub-woofer can be hidden from sight. (If you want you can hang the sound-bar for a really sleek and clean look).
3. Auto-shut off: It works flawlessly. The soundbar shuts off power if it detects that the TV is not outputting sound for 20 minutes. I think one reason it works flawlessly for me is because I am using the optical connection.
4. Three major sound modes: Cinema, Music and News. Use them to get the best sound quality for what you are watching. (News removes the bass, whereas Cinema enhances the bass).

Other notes:
1. I use a Philips Universal learning remote. This is great, because I have just one remote and dont have to worry about keeping track one more remote (which the Sound bar uses).
2. I set the volume on the soundbar at the mid-level and leave it at that. For everyday control of the sound-level from the system, I control it through the TV's sound-level. (This works great with my Vizio TV - your mileage might wary depending on the features of your TV). The other important part of my setup was that I could turn off my TV's speakers and the speaker controls still work - they just control the output of the optical connection - NICE).
3. The speaker did not interfere with any of my other wireless equipement (WiFi, cordless phone, etc). Nice

Recommendation:
If you need a relatively small sound-system, dont want to drill holes or have wires hanging all over the place, this is the system for you. The sound quality is nice and clean. The bass of the system is good and makes watching movies enjoyable. Works great for small rooms (I think I probably have a 500sq.ft to 600sq.ft living room - and it works great in it).

I bought this soundbar to fit with a UN32B6000 LED TV I have. I wanted good sound quality without having to run wires around the room.

Installation was a breeze. I struggled a little setting up the connection between the main unit and the subwoofer, but after reading the instructions carefully, everything went fine. Even my Logitech Harmony remote control works great with it.

I'm already used to virtual sound processing. I have a set of Bose Companion 5 for my computer and I really enjoy this technology. It does provide a surrounding sound, but don't expect it to be better than having real surround speakers. The Samsung unit as good as my Bose Companion 5. The sound quality is very good and balanced.

My only complain is the size of the sound bar... It's a little to wide! I'm sure there is a reason to that... Maybe to fit the wireless transmitter, or to get a more surrounding sound. Only Samsung engineers know the answer to that! Also, I'd like to be able to manually adjust the subwoofer's level... but that's only a suggestion, as the factory adjustment is very good!

Bottom line: It's a very good soundbar to match a Samsung LED tv and for the price ($199 at BestBuy), I couldn't be happier!

** I set it to "Movie" preset and it sounds great! Experiment with the presets to find your favorite EQ and enjoy this little beast!

I was super excited to purchase this item and have it easily integrate with my Samsung LCD and Blu-ray player (which I love!). This product is not worthy of the Samsung name. Center speaker was slightly better then the tv's built in speakers. The subwoofer is the true problem. During movie scenes with lots of bass the subwoofer was too loud. The worst part was the subwoofer would cut in and out while characters were speaking in the film. During some scenes of dialogue, tones would literally come from the subwoofer EVERY OTHER WORD. I contacted Samsung and the rep stated that because the system has no adjustable settings, there was nothing they could do. I would not recommend this product to anyone.

Buying this to match my super thin LED Samsung TV was a no brainer. I really wanted this to work. It had the optical input, wireless soundbar and low profile design.

For watching high-quality Bluray movies it performed well.. however it sounded really bad playing back music and regular TV. There are no controls for the Subwoofer so you can't control it's volume.
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