Samsung HW-Q950T vs Denon Home Sound Bar 550

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Votes 1 1
Rating 5 5

HW-Q950T vs Home Sound Bar 550 comparison chart

Overall
Samsung HW-Q950T
8.4
Denon Home Sound Bar 550
7.4
10
9
Multichannel surround
9
6

Samsung HW-Q950T vs Denon Home Sound Bar 550 review

Samsung HW-Q950T
vs
Denon Home Sound Bar 550

To get acquainted with the specs of the devices, we suggest you familiarize with the comparison of Samsung HW-Q950T and Denon Home Sound Bar 550. It shows us that the HW-Q950T is a better choice as a home soundbar than the Home Sound Bar 550. According to the results of our comparison, HW-Q950T received 8.4 points out of 10 possible, and Home Sound Bar 550 was rated 7.4 points.

Advantages Samsung HW-Q950T over Denon Home Sound Bar 550

  • Comes with 2 separate speakers
  • Separate subwoofer provided
  • Possible to create a multi-room system

Advantages Denon Home Sound Bar 550 over Samsung HW-Q950T

  • Available the Apple Music service

Audio features

The HW-Q950T is rated 9 of 10 against 4 for the Home Sound Bar 550 according to the audio features rating.

HW-Q950T
9
Home Sound Bar 550
4

It worth understanding the difference between the two types of amplification: a passive soundbar does not have its own amplifier and receives amplification from the signal source, while an active soundbar has a built-in amplifier. The same active type of amplification is used in the HW-Q950T and the Home Sound Bar 550.

There are stereo soundbars and multichannel ones. It is with the help of multichannel devices that you can get volumetric sound. It is worth noting one of the main differences, the HW-Q950T has 9.1.4 channels, while the Home Sound Bar 550 has 2.1 channels. Also, the output power of the soundbars under consideration is different, Samsung HW-Q950T has 546 (overall) W, and 53 (overall) W has the competitor.

HW-Q950T Home Sound Bar 550
Built-in channels9.1.42.1
Amplification typeactiveactive
Output power, W546 (overall)53 (overall)
Separate speaker (in package)20
Separate speaker connectionswirelesshas not

Subwoofers

Soundbars can have a built-in or external subwoofer. The first type is inseparable from the soundbar body, but for the second, you can choose a good location for deep bass. The HW-Q950T comes with an external subwoofer. Samsung HW-Q950T has the ability to handle wireless connections from an external subwoofer, while Denon Home Sound Bar 550 only has wired connections.

HW-Q950T Home Sound Bar 550
Built-in subwoofer
Separate subwoofer (in package)
Separate subwoofer connectionswirelesswired

Multichannel surround

Unlike stereo, when reproducing multichannel sound, each specific direction of sound corresponds to its dedicated channel with a separate independent loudspeaker, which creates a three-dimensional sound stage. The HW-Q950T received rating 9 out of 10 for multichannel audio processing, but the Home Sound Bar 550, in the same category, earned 6 out of 10 points.

HW-Q950T
9
Home Sound Bar 550
6

The peculiarity of Dolby Atmos is that this format is object-oriented, that is, each object of the audio signal is sounded separately and linked to its spatial location. If we consider the models in terms of support for Dolby Atmos, then both soundbars can work with this technology.

DTS:X is an algorithm for processing sound scenes by the processor, linking directly to objects, rather than channels, and calculating the optimal distribution of sound output in a room. This ability to reproduce surround sound with DTS:X technology is included in each of these soundbars.

HW-Q950T Home Sound Bar 550
Dolby Atmos
Dolby (other)Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II
DTS:X
DTS (other)has not

Streaming services

The possibility to listen online to millions of songs from one device has become a reality thanks to streaming services. For the ability to work with streaming services, the HW-Q950T received 6 points, and the Home Sound Bar 550 - 10 on a 10-point scale.

HW-Q950T
6
Home Sound Bar 550
10

The popular Spotify service is available on both soundbars.

HW-Q950T Home Sound Bar 550
Apple Music (AirPlay)
Amazon Music
Spotify
Other streaming serviceshas notPandora, SoundCloud

Connectivity

The existence of a sufficient number of current connectors significantly expands the functionality of the device. For example, only through HDMI is it possible to implement the transfer of object-oriented formats, and the presence of a Bluetooth connection will allow remote control, etc. Connectivity of competitors was rated 8 out of 10.

HW-Q950T
8
Home Sound Bar 550
8

The presence of Wi-Fi in the soundbar allows you to get rid of wires when connected to a sound source and get minimal audio latency when playing content from streaming services. Wireless connection via Wi-Fi is possible on both devices.

Bluetooth connection is now one of the main communication protocols for speaker systems, which provides excellent quality and minimal audio latency. The availability of Bluetooth protocol, we can see in both models. The HW-Q950T has 2/1 HDMI inputs/outputs, but the Home Sound Bar 550 got 1/1 HDMI inputs/outputs from the manufacturer.

HDMI ARC is a very usefull technology that creates a two-way communication channel between a TV and another device. This is convenient since there is no need to use optical and other cables in the system. HDMI ARC is basic for both soundbars. Connecting external devices via USB can be done on both models.

HW-Q950T Home Sound Bar 550
WI-FI
Bluetooth
Ethernet (RJ45)01
NFC
HDMI input/output2/11/1
HDMI ARC
HDMI eARC
HDMI CEC
Optical digital input/output1/01/0
USB1 (USB 2.0)1 (USB 2.0)
Coaxial digital input/output0/00/0
Analog audio input/output (RCA)0/00/0
Headphone output00
Subwoofer output01

Features

Voice control is designed to make operating the device more convenient. This allows you to control basic soundbar functions from anywhere in the room.

Proprietary applications allow you to control your soundbars remotely. This is possible both via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. The ability to control the soundbar using the application is implemented in each of the competitors. Both soundbars have a built-in microphone.

Some soundbars can be part of a multi-room system and it is an affordable solution for sounding the whole house. The HW-Q950T has the ability to use a multiroom system.

HW-Q950T Home Sound Bar 550
Voice controlAmazon Alexa, Google Assistant
App control
Microphone
Remote control
Multi-room

Dimensions

HW-Q950T Home Sound Bar 550
Size (Wx H x D), cm/in122 x 5 x 12.7/48 x 2.7 x 5.465.7x7.3x11.9/25.9x2.9x4.7
Weight, kg/pounds6.8/15.73.5/7.8
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