Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Enjoy crisp audio with our Samsung Sound + soundbar setup and unboxing guide

Soundbars provide a great way to boost your TV’s audio output for a reasonable price. At less than $500,
Recommended Videos
Samsung’s Sound + HW-MS650 is an excellent option, offering powerful, balanced sound and a litany of useful features to bolster your home theater. To help you get started, our Samsung Sound + soundbar setup and unboxing guide will walk you through all the important information, so you don’t have to call customer service to get everything up and running.

What’s in the box?

In addition to the Sound +, you will find the following:

  • An A/C power cable
  • An optical cable for digital connection
  • A remote with two batteries
  • A wall mount template and a user manual
  • Wall mount brackets
  • Feet extensions
  • A cable management clip

The soundbar does not come with HDMI cables or the drywall anchors or screws you need for mounting purposes.

Hardware setup

All the ports and jacks are located on the bottom of the soundbar, rather than its rear. There is a power port, an optical port, a jack for a wireless subwoofer dongle (not included), an auxiliary jack, and HDMI in+out (with ARC support). There is also a port which routes power to a Samsung TV so you can reserve an extra wall outlet if need be.

Speaking of HDMI ARC, that should be your first priority when it comes to TV connection. If you don’t have an appropriate cable, though, optical will work fine as well; just make sure to remove the plastic caps from the ends.

There are also two buttons hidden in a small alcove to the right of the ports. Here you will find the “Wi-Fi Setup” button, which will enable the soundbar to connect wirelessly with a Samsung TV, and the ‘SPK ADD” button, used to connect with the Samsung mobile app.

Features and design

The attractive soundbar is clothed in black and carbon gray, with speaker mesh across the front and a few onboard control buttons on the right side. Frankly, it is unlikely you will be using these, given the inclusion of a remote, but it is nice to know they exist in case you run out of batteries (or if the remote decides to disappear inside a couch).

The remote itself has some cool features, including dedicated bass control, surround sound activation, and sound mode switching. If you have a Samsung One Remote and a matching Samsung TV, you can use that remote to control the soundbar via the TV’s interface.

Software setup

To get the soundbar working properly with your TV, head into the audio settings and switch “sound out” to Optical/HDMI ARC. If you want to listen to music with the soundbar, Samsung’s Connect app can be fairly useful. Once downloaded, it will walk you through the steps to connect to your soundbar, and it offers compatibility with tons of popular music streaming apps.

Caleb Denison
Digital Trends Editor at Large Caleb Denison is a sought-after writer, speaker, and television correspondent with unmatched…
There’s a rare deal on the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones today
Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones seen in black.

The massively popular Sony WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones rarely appear in headphone deals, so if you've had your eye on them for quite a while, you're in luck because they're currently $51 off on Walmart. From their original price of $400, you'll only have to pay $349, but only if you hurry because we don't expect stocks to last long. You're going to miss out on the offer if you take too long, so don't hesitate -- add the wireless headphones to your cart and check out as fast as you can.

Why you should buy the Sony WH-1000XM5
The best headphones that you can buy right now are the Sony WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones, and it's not even close. At the heart is their outstanding wireless sound, supported by top-quality active noise cancellation that uses two processors and eight microphones to block all unwanted sound, as well as crystal-clear hands-free calling using four beamforming microphones and advanced audio signal processing. The wireless headphones also offer Bluetooth multipoint connection so that you can quickly switch between different devices, touch controls for functions like adjusting volume and calling your digital assistant, and Speak-to-Chat and Quick Attention features to stop your music and let ambient sound in without having to take them off.

Read more
Sony’s premium soundbars will finally get support for VRR, ALLM
Sony HT-A7000 Dolby Atmos soundbar close-up of top panel.

It's been a long time coming, but the wait is almost over. Sony's premium home theater soundbars are set to receive a software update that will add support for variable refresh rate (VRR) and auto low-latency mode (ALLM), two HDMI 2.1 gaming features that have been absent since these products launched.

The soundbars in question are the Sony HT-A5000, HT-A7000, and the multi-wireless speaker HT-A9 system. All three are scheduled to receive the update this fall, but Sony has declined to share specific timing, saying only that there will be more information closer to the rollout date.

Read more
What is Roku? The streaming platform explained
A roku powered TV hanging on a wall running Roku OS 12.

How do you get your Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, or Prime Video fix? Chances are it's through a streaming device or smart TV, and there's a good chance that it's through a Roku device or one running its pioneering streaming operating system. At this point, cord-cutting is old news, and Roku was one of the earliest companies to drive the adoption of web-based streaming with its self-contained, app-driven devices.

Today, watching something "on Roku" is standard parlance and the company's popular platform can be found baked into some of the biggest TV brands in the world as well as in its own lineup of streaming devices sticks, and set-top boxes. Even so, that doesn't mean you totally get what a Roku actually is. What is Roku? How does Roku work? Do you need a subscription to use it? Is it just a device you buy, or is it software?

Read more