Samsung has announced the HW-N950 and HW-N850 sound bars are available for pre-order and will now be co-branded with Harman Kardon.
The $1,699 HW-N950 and the $1,199 HW-N850 feature both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X compatibility and will be available starting Aug. 20. These prices are a $200 premium from the HW-K850/HW-K950. The HW-K950 received a CNET Editors’ Choice Award.
The HW-N950 and HW-N850 sound bars are the first collaboration between Samsung and Harman Kardon, the latter of which performed sound tuning on the Samsung-designed product.
The 7.1.4 channel HW-N950 features a main bar with both up-firing and side-firing speakers in addition to two wireless surround-sound speakers. The bar also includes a wireless subwoofer.
Meanwhile, the HW-N850 boasts a 5.1.2 channel design that includes both the speaker bar and wireless sub but lacks the wireless rears.
The sound bars will also include Samsung Smart Things compatibility, Bluetooth streaming and 4K-compliant HDMI inputs.
Samsung acquired the Harman International group in March 2017 and has since collaborated with the brand’s marques on a number of products, including the AKG headphones bundled with Galaxy phones.
Given that LG now offers the SK10Y Dolby Atmos sound bar at a sub-$1K price it will be interesting to see how the two products compare. Look out for the LG review soon.
