Recently, we see more and more manufacturers publishing so-called Multiroom speakers. These are speakers that you can place in different rooms of your house, which receive music from your smartphone or tablet via a central point. In the review we discuss the Samsung Wireless Audio Multiroom speaker set, the M3, M5 and the M7 (WAM750, WAM550 and WAM350). We also look at the Samsung Hub.
Samsung Wireless Audio Multiroom – What is it?
The Samsung Wireless Audio Multiroom speaker set is a collection of speakers that you can place in different rooms of your house. You put the plug in the wall socket and can in principle immediately start streaming music. The set consists of three speakers: the M3, the largest version, the M5, the middle, and the M7, the smallest size. All three speakers can be installed in the same way. We tested them all three and used a special box: the Samsung Hub.
The Samsung Hub (Samsung Wireless Audio Multiroom Hub, as the name is completely) connects directly to your router with a cable. It then sends a signal that the speakers can collect throughout the house. If you have multiple floors, it is also possible to reinforce the signal by placing a second Hub elsewhere in the house. With simple steps, which are included with the device, you have quickly made that link. Then you can connect the speakers to your home network, via WiFi.
You do not get a remote control with the equipment, but you can operate the speakers completely with your smartphone or tablet. You can get that app from the Google Play Store or App Store from Apple, for your Android device or iOS device. You can place the speakers in two ways. Horizontally and vertically. How you want to put them down depends on what you find more beautiful and what you have room for. Personally I found it better to place the speakers horizontally (and also more convenient, so that I could put something on top, like my Wii U GamePad).
Samsung Wireless Audio Multiroom – Design
The speakers have a distinctive, triangular shape and are available in two colors: black and white. With the choice of these two colors, the boxes should in principle fit into every home cinema set-up. Thanks to that striking shape you can also place the speakers vertically and the light bulging will spread the music evenly in the house. Personally, I noticed no difference in sound between both modes. It is therefore just how much space you have on your television furniture or other cabinets where you want to place the boxes.
All three speakers do not actually have physical buttons. However, we find six touch surfaces on the top (when you place them horizontally) or on the side (when you place them vertically). At the far left is an nfc tag, with which you can link your smart device in no time. To the right of the middle there is a preset button for internet radio and we also find the bluetooth button. This enables you to play music within seconds, by having your smart device search for the device: entering a code is not even necessary.
You can also connect these speakers to other Samsung products, such as your television and soundbar. You have to have it at your disposal. For the completeness of this review, I hereby say that I was not able to test this function. But next to the bluetooth button is the TV SoundConnect button, with which you can connect your other Samsung devices to this multiroom speaker set, so that it can act as a surround sound set. There is also a mute button, with which you turn off the speakers manually, and a physical volume control.
In addition to the possibility to use the speakers as a surround sound set, it is also possible to use the speakers in combination with each other. You can of course use the app to make sure that all speakers have a different number, or the same – but with a slight delay per box, but also have the possibility to connect two speakers for a nice and clear stereo effect. That is also very simple: you indicate in the app that you want to connect two boxes with each other and that is actually everything. With a nice stereo sound as a result.
Samsung Wireless Audio Multiroom – How does it work?
Before discussing how the speakers work in practice, we first want to talk about the linking process to your home network. This can be done in two ways: automatically and manually. I first tried the automatic way, but soon came to the conclusion that it does not work properly. The speakers did not want to contact the Samsung Hub. Possibly this has to do with the fact that I use WiFi amplifiers here in the house, but I could not find anything about that on the internet.
And yet I am convinced that it had to do with it, since the manual way did work. To do this, press a button on the back of the speaker (WiFi Setup Button) just after you press the pairing button on the Samsung Hub. When I did that, everything worked properly within seconds and I could almost immediately start streaming my music via the Samsung Wireless Audio Multiroom application on my Google Nexus 5 smartphone. That app also helps you with the linking process.
Music can be played in two ways. Via your smartphone or tablet, where you can choose from the music stored locally and choose from a wide range of music streaming services, or via your PC, with the Samsung Multiroom program. In both cases, you control the music via the app on your smartphone. You can search the numbers there, select and turn on, adjust the volume and set the equalizer. You can also determine via which speaker you want to play the music: one or all at once.
As long as the speakers are connected to the power, you no longer have to look at it. They automatically and within a few seconds when you play a song or radio station (eg via TuneIn) and automatically turn off when you close the app on your mobile device. If you stream your music from your PC at that moment, you also have to manually shut down the Samsung Multiroom program. That works a bit cumbersome; it would have been nicer if it was automatically switched off.
Samsung Wireless Audio Multiroom – Sound quality
If you just plan to listen to pop music and radio through the speakers, at a reasonable noise level, then you have little to complain about the Samsung Wireless Audio Multiroom speaker set. All three boxes have a reasonable, sometimes slightly too loud bass and can also make the higher tones sound reasonably clear, but if you put the speakers too loud or, for example, blows Metallica through your speakers, you will notice that the whole thing is cracking . Also suddenly there is a lot of noise coming up. Then it is clear to me: it is not meant for this.
Is that bad? No, that does not have to be the case, if you only know before you buy such a set. You do not get the best sound with the Samsung Wireless Audio Multiroom. We add that the smallest speaker, the M3, is the weakest of the three. I put it in my bedroom (consciously, because of the size) and when you have low music, you notice little of the lack of power. The larger boxes, of course with the M7 in front, do have power in the house – but it is not noiseless.
Samsung Wireless Audio Multiroom – Conclusion
If you are planning to bring the Samsung Wireless Audio Multiroom into your home, then you are mainly concerned with the ease of installation and the fact that you can listen to the same (or even different) songs anywhere in the house with little effort. The sound quality of the speakers is generally fine (and with the equalizer you can fine-tune it yourself), like with pop music and radio stations, but when the volume is simply too loud, you will soon be confronted with the limit of both the M3, M5 and the M7.
To make full use of a complete set, you also need a Samsung Hub. In general these speakers are reasonably affordable, but for a complete set you have lost quite a bit. Are you looking for an above average multiroom speaker set that is easy to install, then you can easily think of the Samsung Wireless Audio Multiroom system. If you want to get a bit more sound quality (although this set also scores well on this, but it could be better), then we recommend you consider a different speaker set, for example from Denon or Harman Kardon.
The Samsung WAM750 (M7) is available for a suggested retail price of 399 euros, WAM550 (M5) for a suggested retail price of 299 euros and WAM350 (M3) for a suggested retail price of 199 euros. The Samsung WAM250 Multiroom Hub is available for a suggested retail price of 49 euros. All added up, you arrive at (a suggested retail price) 946 euros. Through the overview below the speakers are already slightly cheaper available.
