I tested Samsung's HW-QS750F soundbar for a week — and now my living room sounds better than my local cinema
Last Tuesday, I unpacked what looked like enough audio equipment to outfit a small recording studio. Four separate pieces. Three power cords. More cables than I'd seen since my old gaming setup. I stood there in my living room, staring at the boxes, wondering if I'd bitten off more than I could chew.
The Samsung HW-QS750F had arrived, and honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect. I'd been making do with my TV's built-in speakers for years, telling myself they were "good enough." But after watching one too many action movies where I couldn't tell what the actors were mumbling about, I decided it was time for an upgrade.
Unboxing Day: More Parts Than I Expected
The box was huge. Not just big—huge. When I opened it up, I found the main soundbar, a subwoofer that looked like it meant business, and two smaller satellite speakers for surround sound. My first thought was about where I'd put everything. My second thought was about all those cables.
Here's the thing, though. Samsung actually thought this through. Most of the packaging was cardboard, which made me feel a bit better about the environment. And once I started setting things up, it wasn't nearly as complicated as it looked. The soundbar connects to your TV with one HDMI cable—that's the main connection. Then you plug the soundbar into power, and you're halfway done.
The subwoofer was even easier. I plugged it in, and it instantly connected to the soundbar wirelessly. No pairing, no fussing around with buttons. It just worked. The two rear speakers took a bit more effort since they connect to each other with a long cable, but the instructions were clear enough that I managed without throwing anything across the room.
The whole setup took me about forty minutes, including downloading the Samsung SmartThings app and connecting everything. If you're more tech-savvy than I am, you'll probably do it faster. If you're less comfortable with technology, maybe give yourself an hour and don't stress about it.
The First Sound That Made Me Stop in My Tracks
I'd queued up Top Gun: Maverick for my first proper test. The opening scene starts with that iconic "Danger Zone" song, and when those first bass notes hit, I actually felt them through the floor. Not like a vague vibration—I mean I felt the music move through the room like a living thing.
The subwoofer sits in the corner now, this compact black box that doesn't look like much until you hear it. Samsung made it smaller than older models, which helps it blend into the room, but they didn't sacrifice any power. When those fighter jets roared across the screen, the bass was deep and rumbling without drowning out everything else. I could still hear every word Tom Cruise said, even when the engines were screaming.
That's when I realized this wasn't just an upgrade. This was completely different from anything I'd experienced at home before.
Movie Night Became an Event
Over the next few days, I threw everything I could think of at this system. The Batman was up next, and if you've seen that movie, you know it's basically three hours of brooding whispers and moody lighting. Robert Pattinson mumbles through half his lines like he's telling secrets to the camera.
But I heard every single word. Every syllable came through clear, even when the soundtrack was pounding away in the background. The soundbar has something called a 5.1.2 channel configuration, which is just a fancy way of saying it has five main speakers, one subwoofer for bass, and two upward-firing speakers that bounce sound off your ceiling. The result is that dialogue comes from the center, right where it should, while everything else fills in around it.
The scene where Batman is riding through Gotham on his motorcycle with "Something in the Way" playing—that gave me chills. The acoustic guitar sounded haunting and close, while Pattinson's voiceover felt like it was coming from inside my head. Meanwhile, the news broadcast playing in the background came from somewhere else entirely. Everything had its own space in the soundscape.
The Rear Speakers Actually Matter
I'll be honest—I was skeptical about those little rear speakers. They're not huge, and I thought maybe they'd just be for show. But during Avengers: Infinity War, there's this scene where cars are crashing and metal is clanging and people are shouting and explosions are going off everywhere. Normally, that kind of chaos would turn into noise soup, where you can't pick out individual sounds anymore.
Not with this setup. Every sound had its place. The rear speakers made things feel like they were happening around me, not just in front of me. When something exploded off to the side, I could actually tell which side it was on. When the soundtrack swelled up, it surrounded me instead of just blasting from the TV.
I positioned the rear speakers on either side of my couch, about head height. The system comes with non-slip rubber pads on the bottom of each piece, which is a small detail but it matters when you're setting things on nice furniture. Nothing wobbles, nothing slides around.
Music Sounds Different Now
I don't usually listen to music through a soundbar. Most audio enthusiasts will tell you that's not what soundbars are for—you want proper speakers or headphones for that. But one night I was cooking dinner and decided to try it anyway.
The bass is where this system really shows off. I played some drum and bass tracks, the kind with thumping basslines that test how much low-end a system can handle. The subwoofer didn't just reproduce the bass—it made me feel it. The room filled with that deep, satisfying thump that you usually only get at concerts or in cars with expensive sound systems.
What impressed me more, though, was that the bass never overpowered everything else. The hi-hats still sounded crisp and the vocals came through clear. There's a balance to the sound that I wasn't expecting. You can adjust the subwoofer volume separately from everything else using the remote, which means if you want to turn down the bass late at night, you can do that without making everything else quieter.
The App Changes Everything
The Samsung SmartThings app is where you unlock the real potential of this soundbar. I'm not usually big on apps—I prefer physical remotes—but this one's worth installing. You get access to way more settings than the remote gives you.
There are different sound modes: Standard for everyday watching, Surround for movies, Game mode for gaming, and Adaptive which automatically adjusts based on what you're watching. I spent most of my time in Surround mode because it made everything feel bigger and more immersive.
But the customization goes deeper than that. You can adjust the bass and treble individually. You can change how loud the subwoofer is compared to the soundbar. You can even adjust how loud the rear speakers are if you want more or less surround effect. There's even a Night Mode that keeps the sound clear but reduces the bass impact, which is perfect when you don't want to bother neighbors or family members who are trying to sleep.
One feature called Private Rear Sound mutes the soundbar and subwoofer completely, sending all the audio just to those little rear speakers. It's surprisingly useful for late-night TV watching when you want to keep the volume down. The sound quality isn't as good—it gets a bit tinny—but it works in a pinch.
Not Everything Is Perfect
Let me be real with you about the downsides, because they exist. The biggest issue is cables. So many cables. You need three power outlets minimum—one for the soundbar, one for the subwoofer, and one for the rear speaker pair. Then there's the HDMI cable from your TV to the soundbar, plus that long cable connecting the two rear speakers to each other.
If you have a glass TV stand or if your speakers need to go across the room from each other, those cables are going to be visible. I ended up buying some cable management sleeves from Amazon to hide them along the baseboards. It's not a huge deal, but it's extra work you should know about.
The rear speakers, while effective, aren't perfect. When I listened to them on their own using that Private Rear Sound mode, I could hear a slight scratchiness in the audio, like the sound you get from phone speakers but scaled up. Most of the time you don't notice it because the soundbar and subwoofer are doing most of the heavy lifting, but it's there if you listen carefully.
The app also has this annoying habit of defaulting back to the main device screen every time you open it. If you're constantly adjusting settings, it gets old having to navigate back to the soundbar controls every single time. It's a minor thing, but it adds up.
Space Is a Real Consideration
This is not a compact system. The soundbar is pretty long—it needs to be to house all those speakers—and the subwoofer, while smaller than older models, still takes up floor space. The rear speakers need to go somewhere behind or beside your seating area.
If you live in a small apartment or have a tiny living room, this might feel like overkill. The system works best when you have some space to work with, so all those speakers can actually create that surround sound effect. In a cramped room, you might not get the full benefit of all those extra components.
That said, if you do have the space, it's absolutely worth it. My living room is decent-sized but not huge, and the system fits perfectly. The subwoofer tucks into a corner, the soundbar sits under my TV, and the rear speakers sit on small stands I already had.
What It's Actually Like Living With It
After a week, this setup has changed how I watch TV. I'm not exaggerating when I say my living room sounds better than my local cinema. The theater downtown has that muddy, overly loud sound that leaves your ears ringing. This is clean and powerful and controlled.
Wednesday on Netflix sounded incredible despite being basic streaming—no fancy Dolby Atmos, just regular stereo. The voices came through clear and natural. The soundtrack felt present but not overwhelming. Even background noises like footsteps and doors closing had weight to them.
When I watched Princess Mononoke—one of my all-time favorite movies—the sound design finally got the respect it deserves. The forest sounds, the musical score, the voices both in Japanese and English dub, everything sounded rich and full. I've seen that movie probably twenty times, but this was the first time I felt like I was hearing it properly.
Some scenes worked better than others, I'll admit that. Nature documentaries like Our Planet sometimes sounded a bit muddled, with the music and sound effects blending together more than I'd like. But action movies, dramas, anything with a strong musical score—those were consistently impressive.
Is It Worth Six Hundred Bucks?
The HW-QS750F costs about $600, which puts it firmly in the middle range for soundbars. That's not pocket change, but it's also not the $1,000+ you'd pay for the absolute top-tier systems. For what you get—a soundbar, a subwoofer, and two surround speakers that all work together—it's actually pretty reasonable.
I compared it to other options in this price range, and most of them either don't include a subwoofer or don't include rear speakers. You're getting a complete surround sound system for less than you'd pay for just a high-end soundbar by itself from brands like Sonos.
Could you spend less and still improve your TV's sound? Sure. There are basic soundbars for $200 or $300 that would be better than built-in TV speakers. But they won't give you this kind of immersive experience. They won't make you feel like you're sitting in a private theater.
My Honest Takeaway
I went into this test thinking a soundbar was just a soundbar. Some bass, better dialogue clarity, maybe a bit more volume. That's what I expected from the HW-QS750F.
What I got was a complete transformation of my home entertainment experience. Movie nights feel like events now instead of just something to kill time. I'm noticing details in soundtracks I never heard before. Dialogue that used to get lost in the mix comes through clear as day. The bass has actual punch without being obnoxious.
The setup takes some time. The cables are annoying. The app could be better. But once everything's in place and you hear what this system can do, those complaints fade away pretty quickly.
If you're on the fence about upgrading from your TV speakers, or if you have an old soundbar that's not cutting it anymore, the Samsung HW-QS750F is worth serious consideration. It's not perfect, but it's delivered something I didn't expect—it's made me excited to watch TV again. And in a world where we're all drowning in streaming options and endless content, actually being excited to sit down and experience something properly? That's worth more than six hundred dollars to me.