Samsung livens up your living room
listening with a stylish sound bar and wireless subwoofer
Along, thin sound bar such as the Crystal
Surround Air Track HW-E450 is ideal for placing on the same surface as your TV.
This bar can also be fixed to a wall thanks to the supplied bracket, and its
subwoofer can be positioned across the room if desired thanks to a 2.4GHz
wireless connection.
Samsung
HW-E450 Soundbar
To allow for wall mounting the rear
connections face sideways in to small recesses. You’ll have no problem with the
digital optical or mini-jack inputs but the HDMI sockets (one input and one
output) cannot accept thickly braided cables. For TV and optical disc viewing
DTS and Dolby Digital decoding is provided, but despite HDMI sockets,
compatibility sadly doesn’t extend to the hi-res variants of either format,
which are commonly found on Blu-ray movies. Sky customers should use the
optical input to enjoy Dolby Digital decoding, as well as the bar’s handy auto
on-off feature.
On the right end is a USB input for playing
MP# and WMA files stored on flash drives. The other input is wireless,
providing Bluetooth audio streaming. Power output is a claimed 280W, comprised
of 80W per channel plus 120W from the sub and should be plenty enough for most
living rooms.
Aesthetically, both the main bar and
subwoofer are attractively styled, and finished in gloss black. The ported sub
had no controls on it, sporting only a discrete LED that glows a faint blue
when pairing (which should happen automatically) and when in use.
Dimensions
(main unit): 906x45x70mm (W x H x D), dimensions (subwoofer): 175x362x295mm (W
x H x D)
There’s no grille on the sound bar but the
drivers (four mid-range/ woofers and two tweeters) look neat enough. In the center
is an LED display which displays status information, working in conjunction
with the palm-sized remote control.
The handset is littered with buttons and is
able to control other Samsung devices. It makes it easy to alter the volume of
both bar and sub, dim the LED display, switch speaker back to the TV (using ARC
over HDMI) and change source.
There are six DSP modes but annoyingly you
have to scroll through them, which is a bore if you want to revert to a
previous setting in the list. The only other operational irritation is that you
can’t use the screen to navigate through files stored on a USB drive, but it
does display the name of the track name.
The
handset is littered with buttons and is able to control other Samsung devices
In use the HW-E450 unquestionably improves
the aural experience when watching TV over many a flat screen’s built-in
speakers, lifting the performance of all sources connected to it. Conversations
between connected to it. Conversations between Don Draper and Peggy during Mad
Men on Sky Atlantic are rich and resonant and you can clearly hear the
atmospheric sounds of Firth Avenue traffic in the background, sounds which are
normally lost on a TV’s built-in speakers. When Pete Campbell slams down the
phone, the bell sound is emphatic and impactful. Despite the absence of DTS HD
MA decoding, Blu-rays are highly engaging. A major firefight in Band of
Brothers proves how well the HW-E450 creates a broad and dynamic soundstage
with rumbling tanks, disparate gun fire and exploding mortar all ably produced.
The sub has plenty of power, but is a little sensitive, requiring constant
tweaking according to the source. With music, such as Talking Heads’ Stop
Making Sense there’s a good balance between vocals, percussion, guitars and
drums.
Verdict
The HW-E450 combines elegant looks,
user-friendliness and a rewarding level of performance. The lack of hi-res
decoding aside, it’s a versatile unit capable of vastly improving your
listening enjoyment with more or less the greatest of ease.
Features
§ Number
of channels: 2.1
§ Total
Power: 280W (80W x 2 + 120W subwoofer)
§ Connectivity:
Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC), ARC (Audio Return Channel), Bluetooth
§ Sockets:
HDMI in, HDMI out, digital optical audio in, line-in
§ Dimensions
(main unit): 906x45x70mm (W x H x D)
§ Dimensions
(subwoofer): 175x362x295mm (W x H x D)
§ Weight
(main unit): 1.94kg
§ Weight
(subwoofer): 5.3kg
§ DSP
Sound modes: Music, News, Drama, Cinema, Sports, Game, Off
§ Surround
sound decoding: Dolby Digital, DTS
§ Additional
playback features: Smart Volume; 3D effect; DRC; audio sync, auto power link
§ Power
consumption: 0.2W standby; 45W in-use
§ Multimedia
playback: MP3, WMA
Ratings
Plus
§ Stylish,
low-profile design
§ Impressive
sound quality
§ Bluetooth
audio streaming
Minus
§ No
hi-res audio decoding
§ Over-sensitive
subwoofer
§ Build:
9/10
§ Setup:
8/10
§ Performance:
8/10
§ Features:
8/10
§ Value:
7/10
§ Overall:
8/10
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