Samsung soundbar HW-J551 review – Stylish sound for sexy TVs

May 6th, 2015

Appliance News Audio Soundbars TV, Audio & Electronics

So you’ve got yourself a new TV with all the bells and whistles. Not only is the picture quality fantastic, it also connects to the Internet!

This gives you access to services like Netflix, and YouTube, as well as a wide range of apps, including games, fitness and heaps of other content to keep you busy for hours.


The only downside to your new TV is the sound. While most TVs in 2015 look great, they have not lived up to my expectations when it comes to sound quality.

This is due to the new super slim and sexy design not leaving enough room for great audio speakers.

So I went in search of a super solution that offers much clearer sound, as well as the roar and thunder you expect when watching an action movie.

The result – I just got myself the new Samsung Soundbar HW-J551.

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After searching Appliances Online’s wide range of soundbars, the Samsung caught my attention.

I was looking for something silver to match my new TV and wanted a wireless subwoofer so I’d have the freedom to place it anywhere in my lounge room.

It’s a stylish 2.1 channel soundbar that produces an amazing 320 watts of total speaker power.

Opening the box, you are presented with a plastic bag that houses the remote, user manual, two triple A batteries for the remote and an optical cable. Also provided is a wall bracket for those of you wanting to mount the bar under a wall-mounted TV.

Lifting off the first level of foam packaging gives you the first look of your soundbar and the wireless subwoofer.

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The soundbar is elegantly designed; however the subwoofer does not share this elegance. It’s pretty much just a silver plastic box containing a 7” woofer driver with base reflex.

The silver/chrome housing hides an LCD Screen which in turn shows you what mode you are using and also displays your volume levels.

On top, you have a set of chrome buttons that can control the soundbar if you misplace the remote, or it disappears down the side of the lounge or couch.

Connecting it all up was easy; on the back you have two HDMI ports, one USB port and one Digital Optical Audio connector for those of you who won’t be connecting the soundbar via HDMI.

The HDMI ports have CEC and ARC technologies built into them as well – very convenient!

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I nearly forgot to mention this unit also has built-in Bluetooth, which allows you to use the soundbar for more than just watching TV or Movies.

You can now connect your smart device to the unit via Bluetooth and use it as an entertainment system when you have friend over or you’re hosting a small party – once you start playing music through this bad boy, it will get people off their seats and dancing!

Anyone lucky enough to already have a 2015 Samsung TV will also have the ability to wirelessly connect the soundbar to their TV using the TV SoundConnect feature – check out Samsung’s website for compatible models.

One response to “Samsung soundbar HW-J551 review – Stylish sound for sexy TVs”

  1. Paul says:

    Hi, I would like to buy a Samsung HW-J551 soundbar. But I live in the philippines and cant get it here. I can ship one from the US but then there is another problem: we use 220V not 110V

    My question is, is the adapter suitable for 110~220 or 110 only, can it be replaced by a 220 v adapter? Can you send me the specifications of the adapter?

    Thanks, Paul

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