Samsung HW-Q65T Soundbar Review

The Samsung HW-Q65T soundbar has a sleek, simple design. It's mostly made of a metal grille, and the rest of the bar is made of high-quality plastic.

The sub is mostly made from wood. There's also a fabric covering the front of the sub in front of the speaker.

The satellites have a metal grille that covers their sides and plastic on their top and bottom. They both connect to a wireless receiver module via speaker wires.

The Samsung HW-Q65T soundbar is a bit wide, so it likely won't fit between the legs of a 55" TV. That said, it also isn't very tall, so it shouldn't obscure your TV screen unless your TV sits flush on your table.

The sub is about the size of an average desktop PC. You can place it anywhere you like in your setup since it connects to the bar wirelessly.

The satellites are somewhat tall. They connect to the wireless receiver module via speaker wires, but you don't need to wire them to the bar to get them to work.

Update 09/30/2021: When comparing this soundbar with the new Samsung HW-Q59CT, we decided to drop the Build Quality score from 8.0 to 7.5.

The Samsung HW-Q65T soundbar has a good build quality. The metal grilles on the bar and the satellites help protect the drivers, and the plastic in their build seems solid and durable. The subwoofer is mostly made of wood, however, and the wood behind the fabric seems to flex a bit. Also, the sub's fabric covering the front seems loose, and it looks like it could collect dust and dirt easily.

• Manual
• Remote and batteries (2xAA)
• AC/DC adapter (4.9 ft / 1.5m)
• 2x power cables (Subwoofer and Soundbar) (4.9 ft / 1.5m)
• Power cable (wireless receiver module) (4.9 ft / 1.5m)
• 2x speaker wire for satellites (left and right) (13 ft / 3.9m)
• HDMI cable (4.9 ft / 1.5m)
• Wall mount guide
• 2x brackets for wall mount
• 2x Holder screw and 2x screws

The Samsung HW-Q65T soundbar has a very good stereo frequency response. It struggles to reproduce a thumpy low-bass, but there's still a little extra boom in the mix. The mid-range is quite balanced, so vocals and lead instruments are clear and present, though the underemphasized treble can make them a bit dull and veiled.

Note: Although we played a stereo file for this test, the rear channels also played audio.

With calibration, this soundbar has a very good stereo frequency response. With its Bass set to '-4' and its Treble set to '3', it has a very neutral, balanced sound profile that makes it suitable for listening to lots of different types of audio content. It still struggles to reproduce a deep low-bass, however, which can be disappointing if you like to hear the deep rumble in action-packed movie scenes.

The Samsung HW-Q65T soundbar's stereo soundstage performance is decent. The soundstage is perceived to be wider than the bar itself, which is good. However, its focus is more diffused. While you can follow sound objects like footsteps and voices, they seem to come from a more general area rather than a pinpoint location.

The Samsung HW-Q65T soundbar has a very good stereo dynamics performance. It can get loud, and there aren't a lot of compression artifacts present when you play it at max volume. As a result, it's suitable for listening to music at parties or in large rooms.

The Samsung HW-Q65T soundbar has a fair stereo THD performance. At normal listening volumes, the THD is within good limits, resulting in clean and pure audio reproduction. However, when playing the bar at max volume, there's a jump in THD across the range. That said, this may not be too noticeable with real-life content.

The Samsung HW-Q65T soundbar has a very good center channel performance. Thanks to its dedicated center channel, it can reproduce dialogue in movies and TV shows more clearly and accurately. Its frequency response is a bit bass-heavy, but it shouldn't be too noticeable since there isn't usually a lot of bass reproduced on the center channel.

The Samsung HW-Q65T soundbar's surrounds performance is decent. It comes with two discrete surround speakers, which help represent surround objects more clearly and accurately. Its frequency response is bass-heavy, so you really feel the deep thump and rumble in action-packed scenes, though this can be overwhelming for some listeners.

For a soundbar that supports Dolby Atmos content, check out the Samsung HW-Q850A or the Samsung HW-Q67CB.

The Samsung HW-Q65T soundbar has a decent selection of sound enhancement features. It comes with several EQ presets to help you customize its sound, including 'Surround Sound', 'Game Pro', 'Standard', 'Adaptive Sound', and 'DTS Virtual:X'. The 'Adaptive Sound' feature doubles as a dialogue enhancement mode, so voices sound more clear and crisp. The Dynamic Range Control is an auto-volume feature that helps balance the volume level between different programs, too.

This soundbar is also advertised to come with some sound enhancement features that we don't test. The Acoustic Beam technology is advertised to create a more immersive sound. Also, Q-Symphony syncs up the bar's speakers with the speakers from compatible Samsung TVs.

The Samsung HW-Q65T soundbar comes with several physical inputs. There's a Full HDMI In port, so you can use it as a hub between different devices. However, it doesn't have an AUX port, so you can't wire older devices to the bar for audio playback.

Via ARC, this soundbar supports the most common formats found on soundbars, Dolby Digital and DTS. You can only find these formats on streaming platforms and Blu-ray discs. However, it doesn't support lossless or object-based formats like Dolby Atmos.

The Samsung HW-Q65T soundbar supports Dolby Digital over its Full HDMI In port, which is commonly found on Blu-ray discs and streaming platforms. However, it doesn't support object-based surround formats like Dolby Atmos.

Via Optical, the Samsung HW-Q65T soundbar supports both Dolby Digital and DTS content, which is handy if you like to watch content from streaming platforms and Blu-ray discs.

The Samsung HW-Q65T soundbar has a good latency performance. Via ARC and Optical, it has low latency, making it suitable for watching videos and movies. However, you may notice a bit of a delay between the audio you hear and the video you see over Full HDMI In. That said, some apps and TVs compensate for latency differently, so your real-world experience may vary.

The Samsung HW-Q65T soundbar can passthrough some of the highest-quality bandwidth signals, and you can use it as a hub between devices like your PC and your TV. There's also support for some variable refresh rate technologies, which is great for a tear-free gaming experience. More advanced refresh rate support, such as 4k @ 120Hz, isn't available, so your screen isn't quite as natural-looking as with more premium bars.

The Samsung HW-Q65T soundbar only supports Bluetooth. You can wirelessly stream audio from your mobile device to the bar over this connection, but you can't do that over Wi-Fi, Chromecast built-in, or Apple AirPlay.

On the right side of the bar, there's a small display screen behind the metal grille. It shows the input you're on. Whenever you change a setting or the volume level, it also displays that. However, the screen is fairly small, so you may have to wait for it to scroll through longer messages.

On top of the bar, there are some physical controls that let you power the bar on/off, adjust the volume, and change the input.

The Samsung HW-Q65T soundbar's remote lets you control all of the bar's settings. However, it isn't a universal remote, so you can't use it to control your TV. The manufacturer says it supports Samsung OneRemote, which lets you control the bar using the remote from a compatible Samsung TV, but we don't test for this.