Introduction
The Samsung HW-C450 is sound bar that is as slim as HDTV and it is less than 2 inches thick. It includes six drivers and a built-in amplifier. The Samsung HW-C450 is being price at about $300, for this price we will have to say that it gives out impressive sound. When we compare this, it can be commendable to other average sound bars in the market. Unfortunately, the impressive sound quality is only applies to watching TV or movies, but it fails when we listen to songs. There is no HDMI connectivity and no video pass through. However, if you are looking for a sleek speaker then this would be the Sound bar that will fit your requirement, as you cannot find such slim sound bar anywhere.
Design
The design of the Samsung HW-C450 follows the usual Samsung’s glossy black finish; it is only 1.77inches deep and 3.62 high so it should fit under any HDTV without displacing the screen size.
There are six total drivers in the front with a small LCD display along the top. Unfortunately, the size is too small and it is quite difficult to see from the back. There are a few touch-sensitive buttons besides the display so you do not have to be purely dependant on the remote alone. The subwoofer is wireless thus making it less messy.
The simplicity of the remote is simple as the actual sound bar’s design. It only has the important functions such as volume with the buttons easily differentiated by colors. One commendable fact is that we are able to adjust the subwoofer volume in the remote. It is quite unfortunate that the sound bar lacks video pass through options and you will need to connect the video cables directly from the source to your TV. It comes with a mini-jack input and mini-jack to stereo RCA Adapter cable and the USB port at the back is only used for firmware updates.
Setting up the Samsung HW-C450
The HW-C450 can be wall mounted with the supplied bracket or placed on a shelf. The wireless subwoofer automatically links with the speaker and it ran smoothly as we did not experience any dropouts, noise or other malfunctions. We feel that putting the sub within a few feet away from the speaker would be the best as the speaker and subwoofer tends not to perform when placed to far. This would be your ideal choice if you do not like setting up complex home theater settings. All you have to do is hook up the AC power plus analog and/or optical digital connections to your sources and you are all set. Once the two-channel speaker levels are fixed, you can just adjust the subwoofer volume level from the remote.
Sound quality
The speaker’s tonal balance is quite rich and it does not hold back on detail or power. Do bear in mind that true-surround envelopment is not its key feature but it can project a wide and spacious sound feel. Music listened to on Blu-ray sounded quite natural, but there was less feel of virtual surround sound.
When we watch movies, we find the sound to be quite clear, sharp and realistic. When we turned on the Smart Volume from the remote, the background sounds were softer than the dialogue. In the beginning, we were not sure if the Smart Volume was actually working. In fact, it was working so well we did not hear the usual adverse effects of dynamic range compression. The wireless subwoofer’s bass was full, but not particularly powerful.
The sound however was less impressive with CDs, but not a great choice for buyers who play a lot of two-channel music. The HW-C450 sounds best with movies.
Pros and cons
The Samsung HW-C450 is a good home theater system with a very thin design, which comes with a wireless subwoofer. When you compare its size we can and commend that, it has solid sound quality on movies. It comes with three inputs that consist of two optical and one mini-jack. The Samsung HW-C450 is easy to setup and the “smart volume” control function is fantastic while watching movies.
The downside of the Samsung HW-C450 is its lack of HDMI connectivity, which is a great loss. It is not that great for listening to music and it has no true-surround effect. For those people who are concerned with dust accumulation the glossy back showed dust after a day. The speakers are a bit too exposed.
Conclusion
The Samsung HW-C450 is an extraordinarily thin sound bar home theater system with minimal space consumption that sounds great with movies but lacks HDMI connectivity. People who do not like setting up their home theatre system would find this apt. All you have to fix the optical cable to TV and it connects by itself to subwoofer with minimal setup.
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We have a PN58B860 Samsung Plasma and we were not really satisfied with the sound quality, so we decided to buy the Samsung sound bar to boost it. The Samsung bar has made a great difference and we are pleased with its sounds quality. The plus point is that there is remote control for volumes for the sound bar and it is turned on automatically. Negative side of this device, increasing the volume can be tricky if the TV picks up the signals ; can result in a huge ‘Not Available’ message popping up on the television screen – staying as a nuisance for about 5 seconds, hindering the picture viewing. Another confusing thing is that it takes about 20 minutes for the sound bar to turn off automatically, after the television shuts down. Overall, this sound bar is worth its price for its sound quality. It just needs a firmware upgrade. It’s only a bit disappointing that plasma televisions are not equipped with better sound quality, given the price we are paying for it.
I have a 52” Samsung LCD and I purchased this sound bar to enhance the sound quality. I am very impressed, as the sound produced is MUCH better than the original television speakers. Setting it up was a breeze, and all I needed to do was plug in the sound bar to the television. Then I attached the subwoofer, and voila, it was ready for the show! I like the ability to control volume with the television remote – adds to the convenience. The only issue is it causes a “Not available” note to appear on your television screen for about a few seconds, but that’s not a major setback. The good side is, I’ve watched a few Blue-Ray films and I was very, very satisfied! So overall… a good sound bar to buy.
Samsung HW-C450…totally amazing!!! I must say that this is the best affordable sound bar that the market has to offer. I can say this because I have bought a few sound bars in the market, and I have actually tested all the others available. I’m the sort of person who knows quite a bit about 5.1 and 7.2 channel theater systems. I own speakers such as Cerwin Vega and Dolby Surround System. I can tell you that you shouldn’t expect every corner of your house to vibrate with this sound bar, but for a one pc speaker, this device is excellent in its class.
As a whole, I have a lot of good words for this device. It totally creates the ‘WOW’ factor for your sound system, compared to the average sounds that you hear from the standard television speaker. This speaker works great to enhance the televisions sound. However, this device is not intended to be a surround system to feel the movie effect, so you won’t actually feel the house rumbling. But if you’re a considerate neighborhood person who doesn’t want to disturb you’re next door friends, then this is satisfying enough, for personal clear sounds. This system doesn’t provide bass, but apart from that, it works very well to sync actual sounds with the illustrated speech on television. So, really, it depends on what is your purpose for buying this.
One thing for sure, it sounds way, way better than the standard television speakers. But I have to highlight some complications. First things first, there are times both the TV and sound bar remote do not function at the same time. And that is super frustrating! I press every button on both the remotes and nothing works! Although this problem does not occur constantly, there are days when it occurs more than once in an hour, or at least once in 5 days. Another peculiar habit of this sound bar is that, for no apparent reason, it switches itself from input 1 to input 2, usually when a movies is already halfway through. Yet, despite all that, I actually like this sound bar a lot.