Sections
- Page 1 Samsung UE65KS9500 Review
- Page 2 Picture Quality Review
- Page 3 Sound and Conclusions Review
Samsung UE65KS9500 – Sound Quality
Despite making this flagship smaller than last year’s, Samsung has managed to increase both the power and dynamic range of its audio. Its speakers project sound cleanly and aggressively for some distance beyond the confines of the TV’s chassis, building a wide, deep, but also convincingly cohesive soundstage that really immerses you in the world of the film or TV show you’re watching.
Voices sound clear and never become swallowed by a loud backing track. There’s more bass to underpin soundtracks than you usually hear with slim TVs. Treble detailing is plentiful enough to inject life into a mix without creating harshness, and the speakers can go extremely loud without distorting or dropping out.
The UE65KS9500’s audio gives even the sound bar built into the LG OLED65E6 a run for its money. That’s seriously impressive for a TV that shows no visible speakers when viewed from the front.
Related: Best Smart TV services
Should I buy a Samsung UE65KS9500?
If you want to see the most spectacular demonstration of what high dynamic range Ultra HD picture quality is capable of, you should buy a Samsung UE65KS9500. With Ultra HD Blu-ray content, the UE65KS9500 delivers simply incredible results, the likes of which I haven’t witnessed before. This includes other strong HDR contenders such as the Panasonic TX-65DX902 and Sony KD-75XD9405.
But while the UE65KS9500 is unbeatable with mostly bright footage, there is a price to pay for its fearsome brightness and dynamism. During predominantly dark scenes, you can quite often spot signs of light haloing around any bright picture areas.
If you don’t want to be troubled by any such backlight issues then you’ll be better off opting for one of LG’s new OLED TVs instead, such as the recently reviewed OLED65E6 or OLED55C6. However, those TVs offer only half the level of brightness of the UE65KS9500, and lose detail in bright areas.
Verdict
The UE65KS9500’s picture quality establishes it as the most jaw-droppingly potent demonstrator of HDR the TV world has seen so far. The few backlight issues a relatively small price to pay for the otherwise staggering performance.
How we test televisions
We test every TV we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Trusted Score
Score in detail
-
Features 9
-
Value 9
-
Smart TV 8
-
Image Quality 9
-
Design 9
-
Sound Quality 9
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
