What Hi-Fi? Verdict
A worthwhile small-room system, but you get more living room oomph from some rivals
Pros
- +
Great build and design
- +
decent performance
- +
wireless upgrade options
Cons
- -
Lacks the power, scale and punch of the best in class
Why you can trust What Hi-Fi? Our expert team reviews products in dedicated test rooms, to help you make the best choice for your budget. Find out more about how we test.
Samsung has been making a habit recently, of creating products that offer a lot of class for the money.
The HT-X30 is a case in point: the product's build quality is superb throughout, from the stylish and well-designed main unit, to the five compact satellites that can be placed on stands or shelves and form an attractively discreet presence in the room.
Upscaling player not the be-all and end-all
The HT-X30 features an upscaling DVD player, so you can scale your standard-def discs from their native resolution of 576i to either 720p or 1080i.
That said, if you have a high-quality display, you may find that its internal scaler is better than that on offer here, in which case best results will result from setting the Samsung to output 576 lines and let your TV do the scaling. In any case, the Samsung's picture is respectably stable and vivid, with good control of motion and decent insight.
Decently detailed sound with Samsung HT-X30
Samsung offers an optional wireless receiving module, allowing you to connect the rear speakers without cables. Whether you do this or not, the speakers produce a detailed sound, though it lacks the scale and the punch of rivals.
