CES 2016: Samsung introduces its first Atmos-enabled soundbar

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Samsung may not be the first company to produce an Atmos soundbar - that honour goes to Yamaha - but its version does have Atmos rear speakers as well.

We've already tested Yamaha's Dolby Atmos soundbar, the £1600 YSP-5600 - and now comes news that Samsung is joining the party with its new HW-K950 model.

Samsung claims the HW-K950 is the first soundbar to include two Dolby Atmos-enabled wireless rear speakers which makes it capable of delivering 5.1.4-channel sound.

The soundbar itself is just 5.4cm high and uses three forward-facing and two upwards-facing speakers to deliver "a rich, full sound". It connects wirelessly to the subwoofer and rear speakers which means no in-ceiling speakers are required to create the 3D Atmos effect, Samsung claims.

MORE: Dolby Atmos - What is it? And how can you get it?

"Our 2016 line-up of audio products offers the most immersive sound ever experienced in the home," says John JY Kim, Samsung's vice-president of visual display. "Our new soundbar with Dolby Atmos technology delivers the ultimate in cinematic home entertainment."

In other news at CES, Samsung has added a new range of colours and patterns to its Wireless Audio 360 speaker range, which also gets an improved multi-room control app for smartphones and tablets.

UK availability and pricing for the Samsung HW-K950 Atmos soundbar will be announced in due course.

MORE: Samsung to make all its 2016 smart TVs IoT ready

Andy Clough
Andy Clough

Andy is Global Brand Director of What Hi-Fi? and has been a technology journalist for 30 years. During that time he has covered everything from VHS and Betamax, MiniDisc and DCC to CDi, Laserdisc and 3D TV, and any number of other formats that have come and gone. He loves nothing better than a good old format war. Andy edited several hi-fi and home cinema magazines before relaunching whathifi.com in 2008 and helping turn it into the global success it is today. When not listening to music or watching TV, he spends far too much of his time reading about cars he can't afford to buy.