Sections
- Page 1 Samsung UE42F5500 Review
- Page 2 Picture Quality Review
- Page 3 Sound Quality and Verdict Review
Samsung UE42F5500: Sound Quality
The UE42F5500 is a solid audio performer. Voices sound clear and avoid distortion even during quite full-tilt action scenes, and there’s a decent amount of treble information that doesn’t tend to become harsh except under the most demanding of circumstances.
The soundstage does tend to become rather compressed and artificial when heavy bass kick in, though – which happens quite often, of course, with your average Hollywood blockbuster.
Other things to consider
The UE42F5500’s price and affordability give it great potential as a gaming monitor. So it’s handy to see this potential underlined by an impressively low input lag figure of 30ms that should leave your gaming skills unaffected.
The remote you get with the UE42F5500 is a rather cheap-looking affair. But it turns out to be surprisingly usable – almost a breath of fresh air versus some of the over-complicated smarter remotes currently doing the rounds.
Should I buy a Samsung UE42F5500?
The good thing about the UE42F5500 is that as Samsung prepares to launch a brand new TV range, this model is getting quite heavily discounted online. Though the other side of this coin is that we recommend getting on with it if the UE42F5500 floats your boat, before they’re all gone.
If you’re not fussed about the Samasing UE42F5500’s smart functionality you could save yourself a good few bob and get the set’s £399 UE42F5000 sibling instead. You can get better picture quality for similar cash from the Sony KDL-42W653, buut the UE42F5500 certainly has plenty of appeal as an all-round smart TV proposition – so long as you don’t need 3D.
One further consideration is whether you think it’s worth waiting to see what Samsung’s 2014 TVs have to offer, but then you won’t find them discounted like this a long while yet. If you prefer a bargain to latest and greatest, don’t hesitate.
Verdict
Samsung has delivered another high-value proposition with the UE42F5500. It’s the cheapest way of getting Samsung’s current Smart TV platform on a decent-sized screen, and it performs nicely overall.
Next, read more TV reviews or check our pick of the best cheap TVs
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
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Value 9
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Smart TV 8
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Image Quality 8
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Design 7
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Sound Quality 7
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.
