l would like to share my experience after comparing and testing two soundbars – Samsung HW-M360 vs Samsung HW-K850. The Samsung HW-M360 was rated 4.5, while the Samsung HW-K850 has a rating 6. The soundbars are equipped with a different number of buttons, power, volume down, volume up, input for the HW-M360 and power, volume down, volume up, source for the HW-K850.
Each of the models under consideration has active amplification type. A noticeable difference is the number of channels that HW-M360 has 2.1 and HW-K850 has 3.1.2. These rivals can be compared in terms of power, 200 (overall) versus 350 (overall) according to devices. The built-in subwoofer is not implemented in any of these models. An external subwoofer can be connected to any of the units in this comparison. Audio features and specs of considered models we rated 6 out of 10 in our ranking.
Soundbars do not have AirPlay support. The HW-K850 can play audio from Spotify.
Wireless Internet connection is realized only in the HW-K850. Soundbars from this comparison have Bluetooth support. There are 1/1 HDMI inputs/outputs in the Samsung HW-M360 versus 2/1 HDMIs in the Samsung HW-K850. The HDMI Audio Return Channel (ARC) is implemented only in the HW-K850. Connecting devices via USB is possible in both models. We rated the connectivity of the HW-M360 at 5 out of 10, while the HW-K850 was rated 7/10.
The manufacturer of the HW-M360 provides a device control application. Soundbars in this review are not equipped with a microphone. The Samsung HW-M360 may become part of a multiroom system.
Dolby Atmos audio decoder is onboard the HW-K850. Devices from this comparison cannot process surround sound due to lack of DTS:X. The same score of 4/10 was put to the soundbars for multichannel surround support.