Samsung HW-E551

Samsung HW-E551 review

Interest in one-piece soundbars is booming. According to the market analysts at GfK, the UK will see sales leap to 120,000 pieces this year, up from 75,000 in 2011. Their appeal is easy to understand. If you can't fit a multi-speaker sound system in your living room, a single, wide-dispersion enclosure, helped by a subwoofer, is reasonable compensation. But with the new Crystal Surround Air Track HW-E551, Samsung has broadened this appeal further. Rather cannily, the main soundbar has been designed to split in two to form a left/right pair of cylindrical speakers; owners have the choice of conventional stereo or solo soundbar configurations. It's ideal if you want to change your system at a later date.This idea looks likely to catch on. The Samsung HW-E551 already faces competition from Panasonic's own 'transformer' bar, the SC-HTB550. Samsung HW-E551 at a glanceFile format support: MP3, WMAWireless subwoofer: YesRemote control: YesTotal output (claimed): Soundbar 80W nto 3oms, sub 150W into 3ohmsPower consumption: 50W average peakThe Samsung HW-E551 design is predictably slick, although what appears to be a smart metallic finish on both the speakers and the subwoofer transpires to be plastic.