Six years ago IKEA and Sonos offered Symfonisk speakers for use in small spaces in the home. It is compatible with IKEA products such as Kallax and started the trend of speakers that look like part of the furniture. After offering The Frame smart TV, Samsung now also offers Music Frame speakers to the Malaysian market. This speaker does have style but is a little let down by the software.
SPECIFICATIONS
Samsung Music Frame
Smart Speaker Type 2.0
Drivers Six audio drivers
I/O Port None
Dolby Atmos Supported Audio
All operating systems are supported
Virtual assistant support Yes
Physical button Yes
Bluetooth tethering
Wi-Fi
AirPlay
Google Chromecast
Spotify Play
AUX Audio Jack None
NFC Yes
Selling Price RM 1999
DESIGN
Music Frame has a rectangular body with a width of 413mm, a height of 435mm and a thickness of 159mm. At first glance I did not notice at all that Music Frame does not have square dimensions. This excess height is because on the chin there is an LED light that shows the power and also the volume level of the music being played.
The unit we reviewed had a black frame but Samsung did offer a Color Panel exterior frame similar to what was on The Frame when it launched. But in Malaysia until this article was written, the Samsung website does not officially offer Color Panel in Malaysia.
There is an L-shaped metal base that ensures this 4.6 kilogram speaker stands firmly on the table surface. The relatively wide base ensures that it does not fall easily and does not vibrate when music is played.
On the front there is a removable picture panel. Music Frame can work as a picture frame with the provided black plate picture can also be replaced with a personal picture. The square white frame can also be changed to a picture that fills the entire frame if that's what you want.
This panel can be removed by pulling it out just like the fabric grille on an old HiFi speaker. Behind it are hidden two tweeters and two midrange drivers behind a non-removable hollow plastic panel. When in operation, audio from these four audio drivers will be routed forward through the grooves between the front and rear panels.
At the back there are two more medium-sized subwoofers, space for power cables and hanging holes. There is a special wall mount for the Music Frame and it is given with every purchase of this smart speaker.
There is still a physical button on the right side with it consisting of two volume buttons, a mute button and a mode button. The buttons are the capacitive type which I feel is too sensitive. As a result when trying to change the position of the speaker on the table, I often hit these buttons. This smart speaker overall feels premium with a robust build and design that makes it inconspicuous as a speaker.
AUDIO QUALITY
The audio quality is satisfactory for a speaker that is small and relatively thin. The music played does not sound flat with audible separation on each instrument as well as the left and right channels. The bass thump is also satisfactory and even at high settings the front panel does not produce unwanted vibrations.
The most compatible music played using Music Frame is instrumentals such as Jazz, Blues, classical and also those that emphasize vocals. The audio is crystal clear with no grainy issues when more instruments are played. When rock music was played, I found the audio to be less spectacular compared to the JBL Authentics 500 reviewed a few months ago. The audio difference is to be expected because the JBL speaker has a larger subwoofer shooting downwards with a body made of wood.
With an elegant design, compatible music is played on Music Frame even from more elegant genres. You can still play Trance, Rock, Metal, Death Metal and Punk music but the audio settings need to be changed first through the included equalizer. I'm a little disappointed the audio presets provided are limited with no setting for Rock. When personal equalizer settings are made, there is no option to save this profile under User settings.
There is Space Fit technology that tunes the audio according to the size of the room. But the demo of this system was not shown so I can't say this feature works as advertised. I've tested comparable features on Sonos and JBL products but I have to say the audio difference isn't that noticeable. The Active Voice Amplifier mode can further explain the singer's voice or dialogue in the movie being watched. Vocals can be heard thrown more forward with the in mode making it sound clearer and not drowned out by instruments.
Dolby Atmos through Q-Symphony is just satisfactory. . I already reviewed the Samsung Soundbar Q990C audio system. The two Q990C satellites offer better Dolby Atmos audio because they have upward-firing/pointing speakers. Music Frame shoots forward only so the Dolby Atmos effect produced is not comparable.
I tried to use Music Frame with TV in our lab. The audio produced is satisfactory but not comparable to the audio experience that can be enjoyed using a soundbar system with Dolby Atmos. Music Frame's strength is to enjoy music and not to be a substitute for TV speakers.
USAGE EXPERIENCE
Music Frame supports tethering using bluetooth as well as WiFi. It is accessed through a panel in the SmartThings application. On Samsung devices, the process of docking and adding Music Frame to the device list takes several minutes. Android users can cast music to the speaker using Google Chromecast or Spotify Connect.
I felt the time lag to transfer audio from Galaxy smartphone to Music Frame was quite slow. On average 4-5 seconds are required before the audio plays in the Music Frame after the Cast or Spotify Play button is pressed in the Spotify app. As a Samsung speaker, I ban this transfer process can be done faster. After transferring, the audio can be played directly on the Music Frame and the user can do other activities such as playing music on the phone without worrying that it will also be played on the Music Frame.
Wired connection is only via fiber optic cable without 3.5mm audio jack support. There is also a USB-A jack that can only be used to connect the Samsung Hub adapter that turns this smart speaker into a hub for controlling internet-connected devices at home.
For users of the Apple ecosystem, there is AirPlay support to cast device content directly to Music Frame. As with streaming audio from a Galaxy device to Music Frame, there is also a few seconds of time delay transferring audio from iPhone to Music Frame.
In other words, users of the Samsung, Android and iOS ecosystems do not need to worry about the compatibility of Music Frame with the ecosystem you usually use on your device or at home.
Up to five Music Frames can be combined to play audio from the same source. The strange thing here is that if you have two Music Frames, playing music from a smartphone in stereo (one Frame being the left speaker and the other right) is not possible. Strange because this feature exists on Apple HomePod and Google Nest. Samsung said at this time there are no plans to offer an update to activate this feature in the near future.
SOFTWARE
The best experience is using a Galaxy device. Music Frame can easily be integrated into the Samsung SmartThings ecosystem. Various features such as activating the Space Fit feature, changing audio settings, changing equalizer settings and controlling the audio being played are done directly from within SmartThings.
IN THE BOX
Here's what you get with every Music Frame purchase.
1x Samsung Music Frame
1x Music Frame photo frame
4x Corners for self-printing picture frames
1x Cable with power block.
1x Three pin power plug.
1x Music Frame Site
1x Wall hanger
1x Set of screws
1x Manual
CONCLUSION
Music Frame is a small speaker with an elegant enough design to be used in the living room. without it looking like a speaker. Like The Frame TV, the Music Frame looks stylish and at the same time offers a satisfying audio experience for a compact speaker. Its strength lies in its unique design because there is no other speaker like it on the market. Samsung, Android and Apple ecosystem support is also quite complete so buyers don't have to worry about Music Frame not being compatible with smart systems used at home.
The downside lies in the software which takes around 4 seconds to transfer the audio from the phone to the Music Frame. This happened on the Samsung Galaxy, Google Android and Apple iPhone devices I reviewed. I was hoping for faster audio transfer like I enjoyed when using the Apple HomePod.
At the price of RM1999 it is quite expensive but I still think it is worth it because it has a good audio combination and an elegant design different from the others. In Malaysia it is now offered at a promotional price of RM1499 for a limited period through Samsung's website.
Prof
Unique design like a normal picture frame.
The audio quality is excellent for its size.
Bluetooth and WiFi support.
Supports various popular ecosystems.
The front panel can be personalized with your own photo.
Dolby Atmos.
Cons
Only optical cables are supported wired. No 3.5mm support.
Two Music Frames cannot function as stereo speakers.
The software is not fast enough to transfer audio from the phone to the speaker.
