While some other AV brands can only muster one or two soundbars every year, Samsung’s range for 2022 stretches into double figures. The groundwork for this prolific output was laid in 2016, when the opening of a dedicated Audio Lab facility in California gave Samsung an R&D and production capacity that most rivals can only dream of.

With this facility in place, Samsung has been able to evolve and improve its soundbar performance and features; its home theatre system range was awarded Canstar’s Most Satisfied Customers award in 2021 and 2022, for example. At the same time, Samsung has developed an ever-improving understanding of the fact that not all potential soundbar buyers want the same thing.

This feeds into every model in Samsung’s 2022 soundbar range, which is easily its most diverse to date. In fact, in recognition of the increasing importance consumers are putting on design with their AV buying decisions, Samsung’s soundbar division has followed its TV department by including a specific range of design-led models in its 2022 range. As we’ll see, the sleek lifestyle styling of these so-called S-Series models even extends to personalisation and customisation options in some cases. The beauty of the S-Series is more than skin deep, however. They also incorporate many of the convenience and sound quality features that have helped make Samsung the world’s biggest-selling soundbar brand for the past eight straight years (1).

The 2022 S-Series consists of four models, comprising white and black-coloured variations on two core design concepts. To give you a better insight into what they’re all about, let’s have a look at each of these equally stylish options in more detail…

HW-S800B / HW-S801B

These are black and white versions, respectively, of the same core soundbar design. Key to their unique appeal is an Ultra Slim Design, which sees the main soundbar standing just 38mm high and sitting just 39.9mm deep. This really is exceptionally slim even by soundbar standards, enabling them to be placed beneath even very low-sitting TVs, or mounted on a wall (using a bundled flush wall mount kit) beneath a wall-hanging TV effectively.

Samsung sees the black S800B as being a perfect companion for its new range of Quantum Dot Samsung OLED TVs, and the white S801Bs as a great match for its ever-growing Lifestyle TV range. The company’s unique optional bezel covers which accessorise Samsung’s The Frame range of lifestyle TVs now extend to the S800B and S801Bs for a matching home theatre system decor, giving you the ultimate designer TV and soundbar combination. In truth, however, either soundbar looks lovely under any attractive TV.

The S800B and S801Bs also understand the negative impact that spools of cabling can have on your living room decor. They support wireless connectivity with your compatible TV, wireless connection with their chunky (and colour-matched) external subwoofer speakers, and wireless connectivity with other devices via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Google, Alexa and Apple Airplay 2. It can even receive Dolby Atmos soundracks wirelessly from many 2022 Samsung TVs (the BU8000 range upwards).

Despite such an intense focus on aesthetic design, don’t assume that sound quality has been forgotten. For starters, Samsung has somehow managed to tuck no less than 9 drivers into their slender forms, delivering an impressive five channels of sound alongside the bass channel delivered by the external subwoofer.

The five-channel count includes two up-firing drivers, which bounce sound off your ceiling to deliver the overhead effects associated with the cutting-edge, ultra-immersive Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks now available with films and TV shows, across an ever-growing range of sources(2).

The subwoofer provides bags of bass to underpin a soundstage from the main soundbar that’s so big that it’s hard to reconcile with such an incredibly thin design. The S800B/S801B can even add the speakers of many recent Samsung TVs to the mix, courtesy of the brand’s Q Symphony syncing technology, while an Adaptive Sound feature is on hand to automatically optimise every type of content to the soundbar’s capabilities (3).

HW-S60B / HW-S61B

As with the S800B and S801B, the HW-S60B and HW-S61B are black and white versions respectively of a shared core soundbar design. Aside from both series looking unusually attractive by soundbar standards, that’s where the design differences end. For starters, the S60B and S61B swap the super-slim approach of their S800B/S801B siblings for a much narrower design which is better suited to partnering smaller screens. Their rounded ends give them a soft, living room-friendly appearance too, further enhanced by the high quality fabric that sits over the soundbar’s front edge.

Thanks to their relatively narrow design and lifestyle sculpting, there’s no reason why you couldn’t use the S60B/S61B as a standalone wireless speaker rather than a soundbar if you so desire. Especially as they sport a Music Mode setting option that reshapes the S60B and S61B’s sound to better handle non-movie sources.

The S60B/S61B loses the external subwoofer you get with the S800B/S801B, using its slightly thicker single-bar form to house a pair of horn-type speakers capable of filling your room with a rich, dynamic sound without the need for a dedicated bass speaker. What is more, in another sign of Samsung’s refusal to sacrifice sound quality in its pursuit of lifestyle design, the two horn-type speakers are joined by a dedicated centre channel speaker to help ensure you can hear what actors are saying – no matter the chaos and mayhem that is going on around them.

Impressively for such a compact, good-looking soundbar the S60B and S61B can handle both immersive virtual DTS:X and Dolby Atmos soundtracks (the latter wirelessly if you have a compatible Samsung TV)(4) with sound bolstered by the Samsung-exclusive Q-Symphony and Adaptive Sound features also supported by the S800B and S801B(5).

Great Sound Can Be Stylish Too

Outside of the ultra-expensive end of the hi-fi world, audio fans usually have to choose between stylish looks and serious sound quality. Samsung’s new S-Series proves more definitively than any Samsung soundbar range before it, that the days where enjoying cinematic sound quality in your home depended on partnering your glamorous TV with big, ugly, plasticky speaker boxes are finally behind us.

For more information visit Samsung