Samsung Q60T/XL 5.1 Channel Soundbar (360 W, 9 Speakers, Dolby with Wireless Subwoofer 5.1)

Samsung Q60T/XL 5.1 Channel Soundbar

Samsung Q60T/XL 5.1 Channel Soundbar with Wireless Subwoofer is a premium soundbar. It is a 5.1 bar and it definitely works as one with well-balanced sound sometimes a bit bass-heavy though. It fills the room and your ears with a pleasant sound that you won’t get in any soundbars in this range. Those mid-range speakers could have been better though. Acquisition of Harman seems to be paid off really well for Samsung.

Get ready to enjoy an immersive surround sound experience like never before by bringing home the Samsung HW-Q60T/XL Bluetooth Soundbar. This 5.1-channel soundbar supports DTS Virtual:X so you can enjoy a spectacular surround sound audio experience. This soundbar’s Adaptive Sound understands the sound and optimizes it efficiently according to each scene so that you can enjoy a realistic audio experience, every single time. Also, this soundbar redefines the way you watch movies, TV shows, or videos on your Samsung TV as the Acoustic Beam technology mixes and delivers the audio precisely with the video.

From the manufacturer

Experts in sound innovation

Tested and tuned at the California Audio Lab, where our world-class audio engineers apply advanced acoustic technologies and cutting-edge computer modeling to give you perfectly balanced, room-filling sound.

The sound that wraps around you

The power to make surround sound come to life. Samsung Soundbar supports DTS Virtual:X, which recreates sound to bring it to new heights and take your audio to 3D.

Samsung Acoustic Beam

Don’t let your audio standstill. Samsung Acoustic Beam technology mixes and delivers the sound so it appears to come precisely where the action is happening on screen. Perfect for movie and gaming, it’s a true 5.1ch sound that really moves you.

Q Soundbar and TV, the perfect harmony

The Soundbar Q800T syncs with your Samsung TV, together creating immersive sound. It combines and enhances sound through the soundbar’s speakers as well as the TV’s speakers, giving you a new level of acoustic immersion so you can experience content like never before.

Adaptive sound

Samsung soundbar analyses the sound signal to automatically deliver optimized sound based on each scene. Adaptive Sound lets you hear voices clearly even on low volumes so even quiet conversations are heard.

Sound as good as the picture

Experience the sensation of sound in HDR 10+ content as you should. When you connect HDR 10+ content to the soundbar through other devices, you get lossless, nuanced audio to match the detailed pictures. HDR 10+ picture quality output available with equivalent input. Compatibility with all HDR content is not guaranteed.

Game Mode Pro

Brace yourself for a powerful, immersive gaming experience with subwoofers that enhance the scene and up-firing speakers that provide incredible surround sound. The soundbar automatically switches to Game Mode when connected to your Samsung TV so you can focus on playing, not setting up.

One Remote Control

You don’t need several remotes. Control key soundbar functions like power, volume, and even sound effects with the Samsung TV remote — right from your TV. Function and remote control design may vary by TV model and region. Compatible with selected Samsung TVs.

Pros & Cons of  Samsung Q60T 5.1 Channel Soundbar

Let’s start with Pros

1. The build quality is top-notch on both the main unit as well as the active wireless subwoofer. The main unit is made out of an aluminum grill with fabric mesh beneath it and sturdy plastic and has a good heft to it as it weighs 3.6kg also the subwoofer is made out of wood with matte texture over it and weighs over 6kg. A good amount of weight is needed in any audio device to produce good sound and bass response.

2. The connection process is quite simple. Just connect the main unit to the TV with the inbox HDMI cable through HDMI ARC. If your TV doesn’t have ARC then Toslink will do. Then turn on both the bar and the woofer, they will get connected wirelessly in few seconds. The Bluetooth connection is quite short and simple too.

3. Samsung Q60T 5.1 supports 4K HDR 10 pass-through. So you won’t be needing any AVR to pass through contents from your Blu-ray player or any consoles like Playstation or Xbox to your TV. Just remember to use good quality HDMI cables on both end with good bandwidth.

4. The One Remote is quite nice and small in the hand and is very premium looking and resembles the One Remote you get with Samsung TVs. But I wish the remote was Bluetooth paired just like on the TV.

5. The soundbar has a small LCD screen in the front which is small but gets the job done, unlike the flagship Q950T soundbar which has a screen located in a weird location.

6. NOW ABOUT THE SOUND! THE MOST IMPORTANT BIT!

i) DTS VIRTUAL X! You won’t get it in any similarly priced soundbar and it up mixes any audio to produce a somewhat surround-like sound that is louder, clearer, and wider in the soundstage. It works well with any kind of content.

ii) The main bar has 8 speakers with a center speaker for better dialogues and two upward-firing speakers and mid-range drivers. The bar itself produces very faithful sound with good depth and clarity. The Samsung Q60T/XL 5.1 itself is of 200 watt and has 5.1 channel unlike 2 or 3 channel soundbars like RT30 or RT40 you get in this price segment.

iii) The subwoofer is of 160 watts with a 6.5-inch driver inside it and has a bass reflex port behind it so it produces lows very efficiently and effectively. It can go as low as 24hz. You can feel the rumble and depth of the base and it will produce convincing blast effects from movies depending on the content and placement.

iv) The 5.1 channel surround effect it produces is good and wide for a soundbar and the sound really feels like moving with proper content but it can’t match the surround effects created by separate surround speakers. And there’s a workaround I’ll talk about next. The object-based sound that gets delivered by the two up-firing speakers and the acoustic beam is nice too.

v) It supports the Samsung SWA 8500s wireless surround speaker kit.

vi) The USB port works well too. I just play lossless .flac files with it and update the system occasionally.

vii) The total of 360 watts of power for this soundbar with all those 9 speakers seems a bit low but for a small to medium-sized room, it is more than adequate as our medium-sized drawing room gets filled by the mesmerizing sound it produces at just 30-40% of volume.

viii)Samsung Q60T/XL 5.1 supports Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 which is a quite nice combo. Music files are generally 2.1 channel so play them in DTS Virtual X or Surround mode as these two modes will up mix them to 5.1ch.

Now the cons.

Cons :

1. Mids are a bit shallow just like most of the soundbars. But it’s not bad.

2. Dialogues could’ve been a bit better just like the HW Q60R from last year.

3. Out-of-the-box sound settings were not great so you have to fiddle with it.

4. No NFC or wifi support so the update process is a bit janky.

5. Doesn’t support smart things either.

6. Standard and adaptive modes are lackluster. The game mode works great though.

7. There’s no auto-calibration or room correction mode in Samsung Q60T/XL 5.1.