Samsung has been busy so far this year. Announced back in January, the Music Studio 7 is finally here – and it's really, really good.
The Music Studio 7 is Samsung's attempt to make its mark in the high-end home speaker market. It sports a minimalist, solid design and delivers exceptional audio quality, whether you're listening to music or watching your favourite movie or TV show.
With its extensive range of soundbars and the launch of the Music Frame in 2024, Samsung isn't exactly a stranger to premium home audio, but the Music Studio 7 feels like a move in the right direction to compete with the likes of Bose, Sonos and JBL when it comes to premium home speakers.
Rather than a traditional soundbar, the Music Studio 7 is a 3.1.1-channel premium wireless speaker designed to sit nicely in your living room and comfortably handle everything from Spotify playlists to your favourite blockbuster movies.
Priced just shy of $700 NZD, Samsung is pitching the Music Studio 7 as a premium all-rounder – and after spending some time with it, I can certainly see the appeal.
First impressions and setup
Samsung collaborated with French designer Erwan Bouroullec for the Music Studio 7, and it paid dividends - the speaker has a minimalist look, and it's all centred around 'The Dot' at the heart of the speaker. It's refreshing to see Samsung refrain from putting its name all over the device - so much so that you have to look towards the rear of the speaker to see the Samsung name.
The speaker weighs a mighty 5.6kg, which only adds to the premium look and feel.
Continuing with the minimalist theme, there's a small row of physical controls neatly placed on the top of the Music Studio 7, including a mic on/off toggle for peace of mind. This button doubles as a Bluetooth pairing button to easily connect to your TV or mobile device.
Another button, which Samsung calls 'Instant Play', allows you to quickly access Spotify via a double tap.
Features and performance
Soundbars are an essential piece of equipment to elevate your home viewing experience and offer a considerable upgrade to the built-in speakers that modern TVs come equipped with.
While it's not a soundbar per se, Samsung's new Music Studio 7 is a 3.1.1-channel wireless smart speaker that proves to be a great alternative. Not only that, but it also functions exceptionally well as a music speaker - providing a rich, clear and balanced sound for your favourite tunes.
To further elevate your audio experience, the Music Studio 7 allows you to link up to 10 compatible speakers together via Group Play. For the purposes of this review, we only had the one speaker but it was enough to fill a large living room with the 3.1.1 channel setup projecting sound in all directions.
Connecting this speaker to Samsung's new R85H Micro RGB television during testing made the experience of watching blockbuster films even better. Q-Symphony can analyse what's on your screen and calibrate the sound from your TV and the Music Studio 7 to optimise the audio quality.
Samsung utilises AI to adapt the Music Studio 7's audio setup by recognising what you're watching and can increase the clarity of certain sounds. For instance, the noise from a sports crowd could be increased to provide a more authentic experience when watching your favourite team. Furthermore, AI Dynamic Bass Control is used to minimise any distortion coming through the speaker when listening to bass-heavy music.
Samsung has designed and built a truly excellent speaker in the Music Studio 7, and its versatility helps it to stand out among its high-end competitors.
Verdict
Samsung has produced a seriously impressive all-rounder with the Music Studio 7. It looks beautiful, sounds even better and offers enough versatility to work just as well for music as it does for movies and TV.
The minimalist design makes it an easy addition to a living room, while the 3.1.1-channel setup delivers a powerful, immersive sound from just a single speaker. It's rich in features and would be a particularly strong purchase if you're already invested in Samsung's ecosystem.
At just shy of $700 NZD, it's not exactly an impulse purchase, but the Music Studio 7 feels like a product that justifies its price. Samsung has clearly put a lot of thought into both the design and the audio performance, and the result is a speaker that can comfortably compete with some of the more established names in the premium home audio market.
If you're looking for one speaker that can handle your favourite playlists during the day and blockbuster movie nights in the evening, the Music Studio 7 should be right at the top of your list.