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Samsung LE40A656 40in LCD TV Review

Author John Archer
Published 12th Apr 2008
Manufacturer Samsung
Price £1,039.03 (Exc VAT)
as reviewed £1,194.89 (Inc VAT)
Latest Price Click here
Design Score 10 for Design
Features Score 9 for Features
Image Quality Score 9 for Image Quality
Sound Quality Score 6 for Sound Quality
Value Score 9 for Value
Overall Score 9 for Overall
Samsung LE40A656 40in LCD TV
award recommended

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Samsung also exceeds all of its previous LCD efforts by a comfortable margin when it comes to rescaling standard definition sources to fit the full HD screen. There are far less noise and colour tone issues than we've experienced before, to the extent that now, the LE40A656 can fairly claim to be one of the best standard def performers in the big-screen full HD world.


So is there anything negative left to say about its pictures at all? Well, we've already mentioned the very slight artefacting under extreme conditions caused by the 100Hz Motion system, especially if you're foolish enough to set the feature to its ‘high' level. But also we have to urge you to avoid the ridiculously OTT Dynamic picture preset the TV ships with, for this can seriously mess up noise and colour tones. And finally, although the standard definition processing is vastly improved, skin tones can just occasionally still look a bit waxy. But that's all we can come up with, and believe us when we say it doesn't amount to very much.

After the glories of its pictures, though, I'm rather underwhelmed by the LE40A656's audio. There's an impressive amount of detail in the mix, and a very wide soundstage is delivered even without engaging the SRS TruSurround audio mode. But the set sadly can't escape the familiar flat TV problem of a distinct lack of bass, which leaves explosions sounding thin and ‘poppy'.

Verdict

The first set from Samsung's new LCD range marks a stunning leap forward for the Korean brand in both design and picture performance - and that's saying something when you think about how good the brand's previous sets were. Now is it just me, or can you also hear the sound of many Japanese brands quaking in their boots?

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comment Jim O'Reilly said on 17th October 2008

I also bought this TV after reading the review above. I've had it just over a month now and i have to say it is fantastic. The day we got it we watched a Blu-ray DVD and the... more

comment HDtvwannahave said on 19th October 2008

he there currently is a LE40A756 on the market anyone have that one already i am currently in the market for a 40 inch lcd tv and the 6 series is now very well priced in holland (... more

comment Jon said on 2nd February 2009

I am considering the newer LE-37686, would this review apply?

comment Mike Jones said on 23rd February 2009

Probably a bit late to this but purchased one two days ago from PC World with a great offer on blue-ray. Got it home, set it up in less than 20 minutes, popped the blue-ray in the ... more

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