Samsung Music Studio 5 smart speaker review

here are a lot of smart speakers in the $300 range out there. Some share a soft cylindrical shape, some veer into rectangular and triangular forms. The Samsung Music Studio 5 caught my eye with its unique but familiar circular arch form — the pleasing result of a collaboration with designer Erwan Bouroullec, who takes the effects that everyday objects have on our day-to-day lives very seriously.

Erwan Bouroullec's elegant design — pleasant to live with even when the speaker is not playing.

The ideas behind Bouroullec’s design collaboration with Samsung are intriguing, and the speaker rewards closer inspection: a 10” wide circular baffle encased in a sturdy architectural metal mesh with an iconic speaker cone-and-dome design that evokes the circles and dots of musical notation.

But it was the sound of the Music Studio 5 that I heard that took me by surprise. It was much better than what I’m used to hearing from smart speakers in this price range.

Samsung Music Studio 5 (HW-LS50H)

$297.99 each

View product

I auditioned the Music Studio 5 in my bedroom at home for several days. The soundstage was spacious with good separation between the instruments and voices. The physical properties of the speaker seem to support its very substantial bass and wide imaging for a speaker of its size.

Playing music on the Music Studio 5

This speaker — and its big brother, the Music Studio 7 — should appeal to Apple and Spotify users in particular. It works with AirPlay 2 and Spotify Connect, and it even has a Spotify Tap button that instantly resumes whatever you were last playing. It also works with Roon.

I’m partial to Qobuz, but to play through the Music Studio 5 I had to use either Bluetooth or AirPlay 2, both of which tend to disconnect as I move through the house. AirPlay worked more seamlessly and without playback response delay when I used it with Apple Music.

I know that I’d be glad to see network support for Qobuz and I bet TIDAL users would appreciate the same. Those things said, the sound and physical presence of the Music Studio 5 — even when not playing sound — are very pleasant to live with.

Stereo pairing

You can pair two Music Studio 5 speakers together in stereo. I didn't have an opportunity to try this, but based on the impressively substantial sound I heard from the one I auditioned at home, I think it would be a great-sounding 2-channel setup.

Q-Symphony capability

If you've got a Samsung TV with Q-Symphony technology, you can get a markedly fuller, wider soundstage when you configure a pair of Music Studio 5s as front left and right speakers.

Listening impressions

My first impression was that this speaker sounds bigger than it looks. Its sound reaches deeper and wider than what your eyes tell you it should be capable of. That's based on my non-empirical but substantial experience when I measure it against other speakers of its size and price that I've heard.

I tend to use smart speakers more as a splice for listening continuity. The Music Studio 5 makes me pause to listen.

One of my colleagues who heard the Music Studio 5 at an in-house demo here at Crutchfield had the same impression. Maybe that shouldn't be surprising, since the Samsung group includes JBL and shares their audio technology.

I played a lot of different music and found that this speaker gets to the heart of good recordings and pulls you in. The big, deep bass on Miranda Lambert's “Mama, I’m alright." Muscular disco-groove midrange on Asha Puthli’s “Right down here.” Deep sludge and cavernous ambience from Sunn O))) on The Black One. And Elliot Easton's Kit-Kat-crunchy guitar riffs on the Cars’ “Just What I Needed.”

Should you get the Music Studio 5?

If you want to add streaming music to a small-to-medium sized room where a traditional stereo system won't fit, you'd be hard-pressed to find a similarly priced smart speaker that sounds this good.

I've tried a few different smart speakers in my bedroom, but to be honest, I don't do a lot of listening in there. Mostly it's for continuing to listen to whatever I'm listening to in the living room as I go about my daily routine.

While I had this speaker set up, I paused often to cue up another track or so, appreciating the something extra that it brings out in what's playing.

If you're a Spotify and/or Apple Music user, the combination of sound quality, affordable price, and relatively seamless streaming interface make this an easy recommendation. If you're using TIDAL, Qobuz, or other unsupported streaming services, we can only hope Samsung will add them in the future.

Want to learn more?

If you want to learn more about the Music Studio 5 or any other Samsung gear we have here at Crutchfield, get in touch with our friendly, knowledgeable Advisors. And remember: all of your Crutchfield purchases come with free lifetime tech support.