Fourteen channels against two point one
Do I need a full Atmos system or is a bar enough?
This is the widest gap on any shelf in this catalogue. The Samsung is a 9.1.4 system — four physical height channels, a wireless dual 6.5-inch subwoofer and 2.0.2 wireless rears — and it states Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. The Denon is a 2.1 bar with the subwoofer built into it, and its listing does not state which formats it decodes. Height channels that exist physically are the distinction that matters: a bar can decode Atmos without having any way to place a sound above you.
| Compared on | HW-Q935GH / Q930H 9.1.4 channel surround soundbar | DHT-S218 2.1 soundbar with built-in subwoofer |
|---|---|---|
| Channels | 9.1.4 — stated; four physical height channels | 2.1 — stated |
| Subwoofer | Wireless, 6.5-inch dual — stated | Built into the bar — stated |
| Rear speakers | 2.0.2 wireless rears, including height — stated | Not stated — none supplied |
| Formats | Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, wireless — stated | Not stated in this listing |
| Calibration | SpaceFit Sound — stated | Not stated in this listing |
| Power | Not stated with conditions in this listing | Not stated with conditions in this listing |
A tick marks the better answer on that line only. Counting ticks does not decide the page — the two verdicts below do, because these products answer different questions.
Buy the Samsung if the room can take a subwoofer and two rear speakers. Four physical height channels are what Atmos was designed around, and nothing simulates them.
Buy the Denon if one box under the television is the whole brief. It is a 2.1 bar and it does not pretend otherwise — but its listing states neither its formats nor its power.
Nine speakers at ear level, one subwoofer, four height channels. The last number is the one that matters for Atmos: those four are physical drivers aimed upward or mounted high, and they are what places a sound above the listener. A bar that decodes Atmos with no height channels reproduces the mix without the dimension it was made for.
No. It means the device decodes the format. Whether it can place a sound above you depends on having height drivers or on a virtualisation algorithm — which is a different thing, and makers rarely distinguish the two on the packaging. The channel count is where the answer is.
9.1.4 channels · wireless 6.5-inch dual subwoofer · 2.0.2 rear speakers · Dolby Atmos and DTS:X · SpaceFit Sound
The only bar in this catalogue with real height channels and real rear speakers — 9.1.4, with the four in the third position being physical drivers rather than processing.
Best for: A room with an ordinary flat ceiling where a full surround system is wanted without running speaker cable.
≈ 559 €
2.1 channels · built-in subwoofer · from a maker that publishes measured power elsewhere
A compact 2.1 bar from a house that states power with conditions on its receivers — and does not state one here, which the page reports.
Best for: A room where one box is the constraint, from a maker whose electronics elsewhere in this catalogue are specified properly.
≈ 211 €
