Sonodyne Sama 5000 soundbar review

Sleek in design and solid in construction, the Sama 5000 follows the template of keeping things simple and sticking to the one job of boosting the fidelity of TV content. So while it does have aux, optical and Bluetooth (5.4) connectivity, the predominant interface used shall be the eARC capable HDMI output. With a single HDMI cable between the Sama 5000 and your TV, you can elevate your entertainment exponentially. If you’re connecting an external source to the Sama 5000, you do have an HDMI input as well. 

Coming in at less than 3in of profile in height, the soundbar itself is extremely room and placement friendly, with wall-mounting as an option to save on real estate even further. Its 35in width allows it to be nestled comfortably between the chicken leg table stand of our 65in panel. Now, it is capable of supporting a Dolby Atmos signal, but the three full-range drivers placed in an L/C/R configuration rely heavily on DSP to simulate a much larger footprint. It’s aided by a surprisingly light and cardboardy-feeling wireless subwoofer, which is equipped with a 6.5in woofer and a Class D amplifier. Power is rated at 400W in total for the system and it sounds adequate in actual use. 

The virtual Dolby Atmos spatializer is selectable for any mode and certainly adds a chunk of body and richness to the sound, for either music or movies. Sure, it doesn’t provide any rear or height cues, but it's exponentially better than just your tinny TV speakers. Yes, even your TV that claims to have Dolby Atmos. The subwoofer, while surprisingly light and built to a cost, doesn’t seem to be compromised in its intent. Needless to say, it is going to yield best results when placed nearby and ideally, on the same side of the room too. It doesn’t like being pushed to the limit and if you max out the volume level to 30, you can hear the DSP and amplifier working in tandem to prevent the system from going into audible distortion. It’s best to stay shy of the max volume by a few notches. Get the basics right, though and it makes for an entertaining listen with a big and bold delivery that isn’t short on thrills.

Dialogue intelligibility is high with a well-balanced tonal signature. A handy subwoofer level control on the remote allows you to make quick tweaks to the bass output, depending on source and content material. Three modes - music, movies and speech make significant audible changes to the presentation, and unless you’re doing late night viewing, respectful of others sleeping in the house, Music provides the best blend of a wide soundstage, clarity and immersiveness. Movie has an obvious ‘V-shaped’ EQ curve that emphasizes the low-end while the Voice mode boosts the mid-high frequency band and is best used for news and sport commentary only.

It’s not the last word in cohesiveness and the subwoofer can tend to be localised easily if you move it further away from the soundbar and turn up the levels, but as long as you keep your expectations in check, the Sama 5000 is a fantastic value-for-money option that undeniably elevates the TV viewing experience exponentially over the built-in speakers.