Samsung - HW-B650

We bought the Samsung b650F and we were not impressed at all. It was way too crisp with too much treble and not enough low/bass. It actually hurt our ears to listen to. We tried all the settings and couldn’t get it to balance out. The Polk audio signa s4 was on sell for $359 and still might be. That is a very good sound bar/sub for the money. Even the Vizio 5.1 SE we have has better sound than the b650f and that was $120.

I got a samsung b650 for i think 169 bucks, im no soundbar nerd but i love it. Comes with a woofer

I went with this one, and i have nothing to compare it to but i sure do like it. Thank you!

I have the exact Samsung, I’m very happy with it

I'd say b650 is better. A bit more depth to the bass. But the rears, dinky as they are, on the s60tr are a nice to have and add in the mix. If you got good places to put them. I'd probably the lg provides marginally better immersion

Samsung HW-B650F. I got one recently and i love it

I got it for $286. I live in Canada

If you don't need cinema experience the b650f could be good its a 3.1 soundbar with good power and with samsung tvs you can do q-symphony which makes a virtual 5.1 using the tvs speakers

I'd spend a bit more , a soundbar is something you'll have around for years , plus ask to try them out , when I went to buy mine I heard the base b650 and thought it was good , then I heard then q700b and I was shocked on how much more depth it had , I spend the extra 200 and bought that q700b , now I have the q700b , q800c, and q990d , and each one is better then the previous and its noticeable

I just got the Samsung HW-B650 a few weeks ago and I have absolutely no complaints. Comes with a subwoofer and got it on sale at Best Buy for 230. Doesn’t sound tinny at all to me and you can very easily adjust the tone and sound modes.

I’ve probably watched about 3 different Star Wars movies that have Dolby audio and haven’t had any issues. Sounds fantastic in my opinion, especially for the price.

After 3 Weeks, I will be taking this soundbar back. (Paired with my wall mounted 85” TCL QM6K for reference). All soundbars connected via EARC/HDMI directly into the TV. TV sound settings were adjusted and mainly used on the same presets for both bars. I originally had the Samsung B650/ZA as our first soundbar purchase as my wife and I are NOT audiophiles and only watch tv shows and sports. The clarity on the Samsung was insane. No volume adjusting for ads or commercials on streaming apps (you know, the ones that triple in volume and blast your eardrums apart) - sound was crisp and clear across all streaming apps, movies, and sports. The best part was that dialogue in shows and movies (Gran Turismo and Ford v Ferrari were two movies I watched all the way through with this bar) were so clear and easy to understand, while the loud, booming race portions were deep and had nice bass and virtual surround. I don’t care about true surround with rears, and honestly I can’t really tell a difference with upfiring speakers on the bar itself. I think the upfiring noises get lost on the TV screen as the bar sits right in front of the screen with no room on the shelf to pull it out farther, plus our high ceilings don’t help. For the sake of fairness this comparison is based on just the sound bar itself. Overall, the Samsung - for being a 3.1 - seemed like an overall better listening experience all the way around. The audio quality sounded cleaner and just more “firm” across the board. The AX700 I was really excited for as I thought the 5.1 would offer an improvement over the Samsung for a small increase in price, plus being from Costco, I jumped on the offer and returned the Samsung to BestBuy. I was excited for the rear speakers that also had up firing drivers, as I assumed this would create a whole new audio environment for us and our family viewing experiences. Unfortunately, before anyone freaks out, I DO NOT have a way to mount the rears behind or to the sides of my couch - nor do I want to buy stands. I have 3 small children and 2 dogs who are rowdy, so minimalist approach is what we aim for. I ended up installing the rears on my entertainment book-end shelves, which fall 4 feet on each side of the sound bar, angled slightly towards the couch. I was hoping this would suffice to help create a wider sound stage outside of the bar itself that sits center in front of our couch, right under the tv. Immediately knew the upfiring speakers would probably echo and bounce sound, but was still excited to see what it sounded like. I ended up finding the menus to adjust all the settings on this bar, lowered the volume on the RH (Rear High) and increasing the volume on the RF (Rear Front). Adjusted the upfiring speakers on the bar, bass levels, treble levels, etc. Overall, no matter what, it sounds horrible at low levels with surround sound turned on (both Surround Pro and Pure Surround). Sounds are muffled, muddled, and messy. Shows with dialogue have echo and are soft and quiet. Background noises are boomy and loud. Turning surround off helps with 99% of what we watch, but unfortunately no matter what settings we adjust, at lower or normal volume levels, the noise just has that overbearing artificial “echoing” and jumpscare loud “hits” that come from a short and loud scene. Dialogue is impossible on this bar. I’ve set bass and all possible settings to 0 or even into the negatives and adjusted treble along with cycled through all EQ/Mode settings to find one that increases clarity - nothing works. At higher levels watching movies, the AX700 does well. If you enjoy higher than normal volume levels and watching movies, I’m sure this system shines bright. My wife is demanding this bar go back to Costco and she much prefers the Samsung overall. Our family members who actually are Audiophiles agreed as well, there was just something about the Samsung that sounded better. Watching football over thanksgiving with the AX700 was painful as we were constantly having to adjust the volume up and down, all day and night. We don’t have that issue with the Samsung. Can anyone recommend any other bar in the $500-ish range or below that sounds the same as the Samsung B650 as far as clarity and overall clean and level sound? I would like to upgrade the sound stage just a tad for nights when we do want that Theatre experience, but I don’t want a system that’s dedicated to Surround Sound

If your environment allows for rear speakers, then go for B650F. Samsung is the only manufacturer that supports affordable surround expansion kit for even their budget soundbar's. SW-9250s is compatible with B640F and it is less than $150. If you get B650F and get 9250 later it will be great for surround sounds.