STACK #235 May 2024

TECH FEATURE

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Samsung S800D S Series Ultra Slim Soundbar Soundbars should be heard and not seen – that’s the philosophy taken by Samsung for the Ultra Slim S800D. With a depth of less than 40mm, its minimal footprint means it can be tucked away under your TV or mounted to the wall without distracting from the entertainment experience. But that doesn’t mean the sound is compromised – far from it! Its three front-facing speakers, two up-firing channels and a subwoofer still fill the room with rich, natural sound. If you want to expand the experience, there’s always the option to add on a wireless rear speaker kit, too. Complementing the ultra slim profile, you might want to go for a fully decluttered look. If you have a Samsung TV, you can connect your soundbar wirelessly over either Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. With the right content, you can surround yourself with the cinematic sound of wireless Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. The added bonus of pairing a Samsung soundbar and TV is that you can then use your TV remote to control the soundbar as well, to really streamline your home theatre setup. BEST SOUND, BAR NONE continued

Dolby Atmos Most of these soundbars have bragged about using Dolby Atmos – but what actually is it? Developed by the premier audiovisual brand of the same name, Dolby, Atmos is a spatial sound technology that lets creators and filmmakers precisely position individual sounds in three dimensions within a scene, to create a dynamic surround sound experience. Since it’s built during the creation of the content itself, Dolby Atmos is the ultimate way to immerse yourself in your entertainment. You’ll hear every explosion or whisper in a movie, get the jump on other players trying to sneak up on you in games, or feel like you’re front and centre at a gig. Once you have the right tech to play it back, look out for the Dolby Atmos logo on your favourite content – movies and TV shows on services like Netflix, Disney+, Prime, and others, tracks on Tidal, Apple Music, and Amazon Music, and games on the latest PlayStation and Xbox consoles.

Speakers aren’t usually much to look at, but the Music Frame will be both invisible and the centre of attention at the same time. As the name suggests, it’s a speaker that doubles as a picture frame. The Music Frame packs six three-way speakers, delivering powerful and consistently balanced sound throughout a wide sweet spot in front of it. But you wouldn’t know that from looking at it – it just looks like a regular picture frame, with a swappable insert to let you display any 20 x 25 cm photo or art print. The speaker connects via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Samsung LS60D Music Frame

to your mobile device to play music, podcasts, audiobooks. or whatever else you’re listening to. Or, sync it to your Samsung TV or soundbar and use it as a stylish extra speaker for your home theatre system. Either way, it’s compatible with Dolby Atmos, SpaceFit Sound Pro, and Adaptive Sound, can connect through SmartThings and Google Home, streams content through Chromecast and Apple AirPlay, and can be voice controlled through Alexa and Google.

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36 MAY 2024

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