Samsung HT-E6500 review

Samsung’s latest 5.1 home cinema package might look sleek and modern from the front, but it’s hiding something decidedly more retro – it’s fitted with vacuum tubes, designed to improve your audio experience by producing a warmer sound than other systems. However, it’s still packed with up to date features, including DLNA media streaming, integrated Wi-Fi, Samsung’s SmartHub internet video and 3D Blu-ray support.

The main unit is only slightly thicker than the average Blu-ray player, in order to accommodate the amplifier for the five surround speakers, as well as the chunky vacuum tubes. The pair of tubes is illuminated with orange LEDs, and can be seen through a transparent panel in the roof of the unit. It’s almost a shame to hide them from view by fitting the player in an AV rack.

Otherwise, the unit is rather plain, with a disc tray and touch-sensitive LED buttons hidden behind a mirror finish panel. A fold-out flap hides the single USB port, as well as a 3.5mm auxiliary input. Around the back, there are two HDMI inputs to let you connect a games console or set-top box, as well as one output to connect the system to your TV or projector. There are also digital optical audio and composite RCA inputs, an FM antenna and Ethernet port, along with proprietary connectors for Samsung’s external iPod dock and the optional wireless subwoofer receiver.

Thanks to integrated Wi-Fi, you won’t need to worry about running a network cable from your router to the TV, and won’t need to use the front USB port for a Wi-Fi dongle, letting you use it for local playback from a USB memory stick or external hard disk. With excellent file format support, you should be able to play almost any file – all our test videos played flawlessly, including DivX and MKV files.

If you run out of your own content, there’s plenty more to be found online. The HT-E6500 has the same SmartHub portal as Samsung’s TVs, and it’s incredibly wide-ranging. As well as catch-up TV services from BBC iPlayer, on-demand video from Netflix, Vimeo, YouTube and DailyMotion and social networking from Facebook and Twitter, there’s also a fully featured web browser. Almost any USB keyboard and mouse should work without the need for drivers – there’s only one USB port, so you’re best off using a wireless set with a single USB receiver.

We were interested to see how the vacuum tube-equipped HT-E6500 sounded, although the included speakers have a big part to play in the overall experience. The front speakers are barely any larger than a coffee cup, but the rear satellites are around twice as large. The centre speaker carries over the same design, but is intended to lay horizontal rather than stand vertically.

The player wasn’t especially fast to load Blu-ray discs, taking around 30 seconds, but once running we were reasonably impressed with its audio capabilities. The system could fill our test room with sound at only half volume, with no indications of distortion or sharp notes. The speakers produced superb, clear audio, creating a warm sound that preserved plenty of detail in more hectic film scenes, but kept sound channels isolated for accurate surround effects.

Bass was reasonable, although the passive subwoofer certainly can’t match an active powered unit. At the default settings, we could feel the booming gunshots and explosions of Casino Royale, although you’ll have to push it to its limits to concern the neighbours.

There aren’t a huge range of image options to adjust, so you’ll need to make most major tweaks on your TV. There aren’t even that many audio options, beyond dynamic range control and audio synchronisation settings, although there is an option to calibrate your speaker setup using the bundled microphone.

At £600, the HT-E6500 is by no means cheap. It’s barely any cheaper than an entry level separate amplifier and speaker combination, so if you already own a high-end Blu-ray player there may be better alternatives to choose from. However, if you’re starting from scratch its excellent connectivity and internet functions, capable sound and gorgeous design make it a serious contender for your next home cinema upgrade.