This fun, compact, tech-packed bar promises to blow away your TV’s built-in speakers, while adding fancy tricks like built-in Alexa Smart, AirPlay 2, Google Assistant and Dolby Atmos. Priced at a sliver under £450 at the time of writing, it faces stiff competition like the Sonos Beam Gen 2. With a few Samsung-specific tricks in its arsenal, though, this could (in theory) be a better choice for Samsung TV owners. The HW-S60B should be comfortably nestled under most TVs without demanding attention or dominating the room. You can also rest assured that wall-mounting provides an unobtrusive experience that allows you to focus on the TV itself, rather than hugging a giant black bar on your living room wall. A dedicated subwoofer is included, and a separate rear speaker can be added if you want to enhance the surround sound. It also supports Samsung’s Q-Symphony technology, which allows the bar’s speakers to work in conjunction with the TV’s speakers when combined with a compatible Samsung TV and bar. They are advertised as having two up-firing channels that seem to be related to Samsung’s Acoustic Beam technology, but they do not play sound like more traditional up-firing height drivers. Overall, they do not offer as many features as Samsung’s premium models like the Samsung HW-Q990B, such as room correction, no voice assistant support, and no control through the SmartThings app. It’s a simple 3.1 bar that sounds fairly neutral right out of the box, so voices and lead instruments are clear and present in the mix. As with other Samsung products, there are plenty of customization tools, including graphic EQ and a wide variety of presets. Surround sound and Dolby Atmos are supported, but unfortunately, you will need to downmix to stereo to play these contents. Bass is also lacking, and is most noticeable in action movies and bass-heavy music.
