[Oil of OLED]

Thinking out loud, I literally just ordered a Pioneer LX501 & Sib Evo 5.1.2... and like some I bet, wondering if I should have just waited for this bar? Not looking forward to the long run of HDMI & 5 speaker pairs and hide it somehow in my small space. Then there's the space and heat for the AVR.

Been out of hifi so long, is there huge diff in the sound quality, for those who've had both, or might this bar (w/ 2 more sides & heights) have been just as good or better without the hassle/space?

The bar is incredible when it gets an Atmos signal but IMHO it struggles a lot with non-Atmos inputs. When I watched Battlestar Galactica without the Xbox Atmos app, I would just hear a thin crackling noise from the rear speakers. The same audio plays great on the tiny Bose surrounds. The Xbox Atmos app is buggy, too! Pioneer/Focal won't have the 4 height channels of the Samsung, but it is probably a better choice & worth the effort.

 

[Oil of OLED]

The 2017 Samsungs do DD+ over ARC, no reason to think the 2018s won’t.

OK, interesting. Really surprising that they are stubborn about this fix if they sell TVs that run Vudu and presumably Netflix Atmos too someday

 

[william06]

It’s really a shame to hear that some of you are having these issues with the k950. I do not want to jinx myself but other than some of the desired features mine works beautifully. No buzzing or drop outs and very decent rear channel level. After having it one year. I would hate to risk disposing it for that reason alone. I have figured work around for a few of its missing features. So not willing to invest the cost of whab presently is the value of a55” OLED for the few upgrades.

 

[eturk]

The bar is incredible when it gets an Atmos signal but IMHO it struggles a lot with non-Atmos inputs. When I watched Battlestar Galactica without the Xbox Atmos app, I would just hear a thin crackling noise from the rear speakers. The same audio plays great on the tiny Bose surrounds. The Xbox Atmos app is buggy, too! Pioneer/Focal won't have the 4 height channels of the Samsung, but it is probably a better choice & worth the effort.

Thanks for the feedback!
Maybe in future I'll get another pair of the Sib Evo Atmos for rear & upgrade to a 9.2 AVR. Oh my

 

[QuiXilverZA]

It?s really a shame to hear that some of you are having these issues with the k950. I do not want to jinx myself but other than some of the desired features mine works beautifully. No buzzing or drop outs and very decent rear channel level. After having it one year. I would hate to risk disposing it for that reason alone. I have figured work around for a few of its missing features. So not willing to invest the cost of whab presently is the value of a55? OLED for the few upgrades.

I completely agree. I bought mine recently and besides the buggy atmos xbox app I love it. Rear speakers are great and sub is great. Non-atmos content is good enough. Only issues I had was for some reason the sub and rears unpaired from the soundbar and the sub was crackling and firing hard. I had it on an extension cable so not sure if that affected it. Also did a re-pair and it works fine.

My gripe is lack of dts:x support which the n950 gets. I don't see why we can't get the update.

 

[william06]

Just a suggestion to the op you might want to rename this thread to the N950 anticipation thread. As this item has not been released yet and very few specs have been released. Nothing on video arc pass through etc. how many inputs or outputs, dtshd, usually a formal thread is started by a new owner. Based on information so far this is one of the more expensive Atmos soundbars. They need to release a lot more specifications and features.

 

[mehdis82]

This seems like the perfect wireless 7.1.4 setup except that it doesn't support Google Cast I wish Sony Z9F rear speakers had upfiring speakers and it would have made it perfect.

 

[iFenixxZ]

Any info regarding Dolby Vision and eARC?

 

[Ellebob]

You probably won't see any products with HDMI 2.1 which has eARC until late this year or next year. I would hope it could handle DV but who knows.

 

[ivallt]

I agree Dolby Vision isn't happening. And you can always work around that with an AVRkey.

Do 2018 Samsung QLEDs send DD+ over ARC? That will determine whether or not they fix it.

Seems that Samsungs promo video i posted from NY is trying to toute how you only will need one cable, so lets hold tight until saying Dolby Vision isnt happening. We can hope cant we.
I asked Mark on his youtube channel to update this thread once he does some testing on the N950. He said he will be getting a demo to test.

 

[New_to_4K]

Seems that Samsungs promo video i posted from NY is trying to toute how you only will need one cable, so lets hold tight until saying Dolby Vision isnt happening. We can hope cant we.
I asked Mark on his youtube channel to update this thread once he does some testing on the N950. He said he will be getting a demo to test.

Which Youtube channel is this?

 

[william06]

Seems that Samsungs promo video i posted from NY is trying to toute how you only will need one cable, so lets hold tight until saying Dolby Vision isnt happening. We can hope cant we.
I asked Mark on his youtube channel to update this thread once he does some testing on the N950. He said he will be getting a demo to test.

They also promoted the k series as one cable .

 

[ivallt]

Which Youtube channel is this?

The video posted above from AVS HERE

 

[NorthJersey]

Samsung doesn't license for Dolby Vision in any of their products; they are firmly in the HDR10+ camp
so no chance that any of their 2018 hardware will support Dolby Vision

eARC won't be available until HDMI 2.1 is available in components, which won't be until at least 2019, as the hdmi 2.1 spec was finalized late last year

 

[william06]

Samsung doesn't license for Dolby Vision in any of their products; they are firmly in the HDR10+ camp
so no chance that any of their 2018 hardware will support Dolby Vision

eARC won't be available until HDMI 2.1 is available in components, which won't be until at least 2019, as the hdmi 2.1 spec was finalized late last year

Your very right so really the two so called major difference are the addition of dtsx and the two side speakers.

 

[New_to_4K]

DV Passthrough

What is the importance of DV Passthrough in the soundbar?

My OLED and Blu-Ray already support DV, why do I need it in my soundbar?

 

[Ellebob]

You don't need to license DV to repeat the signal which is what the sound bar would do. If you are processing the DV signal then you need to license it, TV for instance needs to pay the licensing fee and have appropriate processing circuitry. However, the DV signal needs to be recognized to repeat it. Sometimes this can be upgraded with firmware, I am not sure if that is possible with the Samsung. Many other devices have had DV upgrades that only repeat the signal.

 

[Ellebob]

What is the importance of DV Passthrough in the soundbar?

My OLED and Blu-Ray already support DV, why do I need it in my soundbar?

Because you can't get the lossless audio formats on Blu-ray via ARC or optical. So if the Sound bar passes through (technically repeats) the DV signal then you will have the best of both worlds audio and video.

 

[ivallt]

Your very right so really the two so called major difference are the addition of dtsx and the two side speakers.

Samsung doesn't license for Dolby Vision in any of their products; they are firmly in the HDR10+ camp
so no chance that any of their 2018 hardware will support Dolby Vision

eARC won't be available until HDMI 2.1 is available in components, which won't be until at least 2019, as the hdmi 2.1 spec was finalized late last year

More info i found on the exhibit discription boards from another youtube video by another author:

Next Gen Wide Range Tweeter - inversed dome-type aluminum tweeter for wider sound stage -600Hz-20Khz
High Linear Excursion Tranducer - Linear excurious up to 3.6mm enhancing low frequency performance (K950: was 1.9mm)
Usability:
- 4k Video Pass Through (HDCP2.2)
- Wi-Fi/Bluetooth
- HDMI 2in/1 out
-Alexa 3PDA
-Smart Things
-Wall Mount available
- TV One Remote

Size: "Matched with 55" TV "
The rear surrounds look to be Atmos as well with woofers on the front and top. What did the K950 have?

 

[william06]

More info i found on the exhibit discription boards from another youtube video by another author:

Next Gen Wide Range Tweeter - inversed dome-type aluminum tweeter for wider sound stage -600Hz-20Khz
High Linear Excursion Tranducer - Linear excurious up to 3.6mm enhancing low frequency performance (K950: was 1.9mm)
Usability:
- 4k Video Pass Through (HDCP2.2)
- Wi-Fi/Bluetooth
- HDMI 2in/1 out
-Alexa 3PDA
-Smart Things
-Wall Mount available
- TV One Remote

Size: "Matched with 55" TV "
The rear surrounds look to be Atmos as well with woofers on the front and top. What did the K950 have?

All the K950 specs are widely available on the Samsung site and the many dealers selling the unit no need to repeat them here.