Digital Trends

Samsung HT-X810

June 2nd, 2008 | by Mike Kobrin

Testing

We tested the X810 with a wide variety of content from our high-def cable box, the built-in DVD/CD player, a Samsung P2 portable media player, and our laptop. We used an HDMI cable to connect the unit to our Samsung 40-inch HDTV.

In general, we favored the unit's P-Bass setting over the Audio Upscale, which sounded a bit thin despite being intended to interpolate missing info in compressed music. The V-Sound setting worked well for most music and movies, giving the impression of a wider sound stage. The Smart Volume feature seemed to do little more than raise the overall volume; we didn't notice any "evening out" of levels between programs or content.

The video quality from DVDs via the X810's built-in player was excellent across the board, and the unit easily adjusted automatically to our Samsung TV's 1080p resolution.

Movies and TV

The 2008 NBA playoffs in HD were a joy to hear through the X810, especially once we turned on the Smart Volume, V-Sound, and P-Bass features. The announcers' voices were clear even through the intense crowd noise, which was partly handled by the powerful subwoofer. Some sounds appeared to be coming from beyond the right and left edges of the soundbar, indicating competent virtual surround processing.

Action movies like The Matrix had excellent impact; we didn't need to adjust the subwoofer's output to achieve explosive bass levels in the lobby shooting-spree scene. Dialogue was exceptionally clear despite the lack of a center channel, though for some movies (notably Lord of the Rings: Return of the King) we had to tweak the audio settings to improve balance between action and talking.

Music

The subwoofer produces such beefy bass that we actually had to reduce its output slightly in the Sound Edit settings for acoustic jazz, folk, and blues tracks. But for most other music, including reggae, R&B, soul, rap, and rock we left the subwoofer output at the default setting. Our overall impression of the sound is very positive for any genre.

Although the Sound Edit menu gives you access to the subwoofer level and the soundbar's left/right balance, there are no treble and bass tone controls. Luckily the X810's highs and mids are powerful and clear enough that we didn't mind the lack of granular control.

We connected our Samsung P2 portable media player to the soundbar's USB port, but the soundbar only reads content from devices that support USB Mass Storage, so it was a no-go. Our Sony Walkman NWZ-S718F, however, worked fine, and we used the low-budget-looking menus displayed on our TV to navigate the player. The sound quality of the USB input was indistinguishable from that of the soundbar's built-in CD player.

We were pleasantly surprised by the sound quality of Bluetooth audio when we paired the Bluetooth-equipped Samsung P2 -- a very simple process, since the X810 automatically goes into discoverable mode when you switch its input to BT Audio. Most musical genres sounded better than we anticipated, given Bluetooth's heavily compressed signal, though acoustic jazz still suffered from audible distortions in cymbals.

The FM tuner performed admirably once we connected the external antenna, picking up stronger local stations (WNYC 93.9FM in New York). Some people might be disappointed by the soundbar's lack of XM or AM support, but that's not a dealbreaker for us.

Conclusion

The X810 isn't cheap at around $700, but given its extensive features and excellent sound quality, we have no qualms about recommending it wholeheartedly for owners of 40-inch or larger HDTVs from any manufacturer. That said, we'd like to see future iterations have a more polished TV-screen menu, a larger on-board display, and faster switching for inputs and audio settings.



Pros:

• Excellent audio and video quality
• Good connectivity options, including optical HDMI, USB, and Bluetooth
• Easy setup and auto-pairing with wireless subwoofer
• Main unit is easily wall-mountable

Cons:

• Slow input switching
• Audio settings can be confusing
• Included remote can't control cable boxes