Samsung AKG VL5 Review 2019

The two-channel Samsung AKG VL5 smart speaker is the latest product to benefit from the purchase of the Harman Kardon group by the Korean giant. Not only does this new speaker use the distortion cancelation technology developed in Samsung's Audio Lab, it has also been tuned by AKG in particular. There are a number of useful features, including 32-bit UHQ upscaling, Samsung's SmartThings app and built - in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support.

Design, control and connections of Samsung AKG VL5

With a design that is essentially a rectangular black box, the Samsung AKG VL5 takes minimalism to the extreme. However, a mesh grille on the front, the wood- effect sides and the metal matt finish on the top add a certain texture.

It's on the top that you'll find a simple play / pause control, surrounded by a touch - sensitive dial with your finger turning up or down the volume. On the right, near the bottom, there are three LEDs indicating whether the VL5 is connected via Bluetooth, Wi - Fi or the auxiliary devices.

There are two options for remote controls: the dial controller and the SmartThings app. The first is an interesting small round controller that connects to the main unit via Bluetooth. It's magnetic, so when you're not in use, you can leave it attached to the speaker and attach it to something else when you remotely control the VL5.

You turn the whole dial up or down to move the volume, and it has a multifunction button on the top, a small LED indicator light and built - in voice control microphones. It's a bit of a gimmick, but the dial controller I like. My only complaint is that Samsung does not have a micro - USB cable for battery recharge.

The SmartThings app, freely available for iOS and Android, scans your network, recognizes your compatible devices automatically and pairs them with your phone and with each other. You can then control them using the app, and the Play Group feature also lets you listen to music on other Samsung audio devices at home.

Since the VL5 is primarily a wireless speaker, it has minimal physical input–although a 3.5 mm audio jack and a LAN port are available. Alternatively, all your options are wireless with Bluetooth or Wi - Fi (2.4/5GHz) options. There is also a USB port, but this is for firmware updates only, and the speaker uses a power adapter for AC / DC.

Features - Samsung AKG VL5

The VL5 supports 32-bit UHQ upscaling, which is designed to improve recording in lower resolution. The speaker also supports many types of files including AAC, MP3, WAV, OGG, FLAC, AIFF and ALAC. The SmartThings app offers access to TuneIn Internet radio and the music streaming service Deezer.

Another important feature is the inclusion of Amazon Alexa voice control, which can be set up in the Alexa app via Skills. All you have to do is enable Samsung Wireless Audio and then select devices under Smart Home to discover the VL5. This allows you to interact with your speaker via Alexa voice control with 3PDA skills.

If you don't have an Alexa - enabled device, you can also use the built-in microphones in the dial controller to interact with your smartphone's voice assistant (Bixby, Siri or Google Assistant) when paired via Bluetooth. You just press and hold the multifunction button on the dial controller to activate voice recognition for more than two seconds.

Samsung AKG VL5 – Sound quality

The review sample was brand new, so I ran the VL5 to knock off the corners for a while. After that, I put the speaker through his paces. It's pretty big for an intelligent speaker, but it's good: the bigger the cabinet, the better the drivers inside.

Samsung may not specify the exact driver specifications or amplification, but both have certainly delivered the goods on a large and open sound stage. The cabinet width means that the speaker can also provide a feeling of stereo separation. This is crucial because the sound stage produced by an intelligent speaker too often collapses into a mono and feels as if it emanates from a single point.

Thanks to this stereo sound stage, there was a convincing sonic presence and listening to the Memphis recordings of the " Give Out but Don't Give Up " by Primal Scream, the instruments were rendered with pleasant precision. The distortion cancelation technology revealed all the details in the source recording, and the AKG tuning gave the speaker a warmth shade to stop it from sounding too sterile.

The VL5 also has a lot of power and you can drive this speaker loudly without distorting it or tightening it up. The solid nature of the construction of the cabinet also means that there is a lot of bass, giving drums an impressive low - end presence. The bass is well integrated with the excellent mid - range speaker–but it's not all bass and triple, with a wide tweeter that delivers female voices and violins without a sharp or brittle sound.

All these attributes were clearly shown when the epic soundscapes of Suede's new album The Blue Hour were listened to. There was a sweeping and symphonic majesty in the performance, and the vocals of Brett Anderson retained a pleasant quality and were intelligible to the instruments thanks to a balanced mid - range. The bass also impressed with the baritone chorus in the opening path and an ominous tone for the orchestration.

The VL5 proved to be adept at all music genres, offering even the most complex mix with a pleasant sense of precision. You can certainly use this speaker to provide your daily life with a background soundtrack, but if you take the time to sit down and listen to it, you will find a nuanced and sophisticated performer.

Why Should you buy Samsung AKG VL5

The Samsung AKG VL5 is a well-designed and smart speaker with state-of - the-art features that are very useful. The distortion cancelation technology is highly efficient and the speaker has the size and power to provide an audio experience that fills the room. The dial control is a fun touch and the SmartThings application is very intuitive. Its price is my only real complaint. At £ 599, the Samsung AKG VL5 competes with a number of highly capable wireless speakers, some of whom can even offer a real stereo. An excellent example is the Elipson Prestige Facet 6B BT, an active version of the Prestige bookshelf speaker from Elipson that not only has Bluetooth built-in, but also has a Chromecast audio dongle. Not only does this classy and extremely well-made two-speaker system sound fantastic, it costs £ 499, which makes it a bit of a bargain.