We ’ve been attempt to make speakers disappear for decades . Most of these effort involve tricky in - wall or in - roof installations . Some take a sneakier route like stick a speaker behind a houseplant or under a piece of furniture . latterly , however , we ’ve look a new tactic in the unseeable speaker battle : building mellow - tone speakers into everyday objects . Largely thanks toIkea ’s coaction with Sonos , wireless verbalizer are now mask astable lamp , shelf , and evenwall artistry .
The most recent — and I ’d argue the most successful — of these camouflaged speaker unit so far isSamsung ’s Music Frame($399 ) .
It calculate exactly like a photo frame , albeit a big , thick one . Unless you poked your nose around the back and noticed the two orotund subwoofers , you ’d never know that lurking under the Earth’s surface is a very potentwireless verbalizer .
Speaker? What speaker?
I have to recommend Samsung on the design . With its fragile , bootleg bezels , secret ascendency , and simple yet refined off - lily-white image matte , the Music Frame expect great almost anywhere you place it — that ’s a trenchant vantage have that it ’s also a speaker . If you choose a lighter smell , Samsung sells a lily-white bezel that magnetically latch to the Frame ’s side .
The matte , which Samsung calls the photo frame , is removable , and you ’ll need to get rid of it if you want to swap out the stock turntable computer graphic . It ’s held in place — very firmly — by four formal - and - socket Emily Price Post . Prying the photo anatomy spare is n’t as well-to-do as Samsung ’s pedagogy indicate . Some form of plastic pry tool would have been a nice inclusion ; the gap between the bod and the loudspeaker ’s bezel is smaller than my finger .
Pro tip No . 1 : Don’t examine to dispatch the photo frame with the speaker standing up . Remove the stand , then lie the speaker flat . Do n’t make me go into particular . misapprehension were made .
Once the physical body is off , there ’s a removable plastic panel that yield you access to the photographic print .
Samsung says you’re able to stick in either an 8×10 or 8×8 print , but that ’s just part of the story . If you choose an 8×10 , the square shape of the matte cutout means you ’ll only see the fundamental 8×8 portion . That ’ll probably be o.k. for most portrayal , but landscapes may feel overly cropped .
If you take an 8×8 , I ’m not super confident that it wo n’t slither around in the with child space .
Pro Tip No . 2 : Orient your 8×8 so that the holder grooves are at the top and bottom , not the sides . This should keep movement to a minimum .
The photo bod ’s plastic glazing has an anti - glare ending . It does a good chore of foreshorten down on reflections , but it also numb the look of your photos .
If you do n’t like it , you might require to take vantage of the Music Frame ’s art panel alternative . I ’ve encounter a span of companies that will publish a full - bleed , high-pitched - gloss panel that ’s compatible with the speakerfor about $ 60 . They send you just the panel . Your job is to tie the included ball - and - socket billet so you could mount the panel to the frame . You get four posts in the box and I ’m try out to find out where you could purchase more if you need them .
Samsung direct me a sample artwork panel along with the verbalizer . I ’m not a hound person , but it depend really shrill . I can altogether see citizenry printing a few seasonal art panels and swapping them in as part of their decor alternatively of kin photos .
Samsung Music Frame specs
The Music Frame goes anywhere
The stand well snaps into the bottom of the frame and provides a very solid base . The unmixed weight of the skeletal frame ( about 9 pounds ) is enough to keep it steady , but I would still be deliberate to place it somewhere out of reach of toddlers . The edges and recession are hard and pointy — if this affair fell on a little one ( or even a favourite ) , it might cause serious accidental injury .
Ordinarily , I dislike outside king transcriber on speakers . I call up they ’re ugly and I do n’t care having to shroud them . The Music Frame ’s adaptor is fairly small compared to many others , but the cause I ’m o.k. with it is that it lets Samsung apply a very flimsy and light visible cable , while the heavier , black power cord and adapter can be insert away . Samsung utilise the same clever trick on itsThe Frame TV .
The mogul cord was one of my cock-a-hoop critiques of theIkea / Sonos Symfonisk Picture Frame . Its power cord apply a cloth wrapper to soften its expression , but it ’s still very wooden-headed and thus very noticeable , specially when rampart - mounted .
The Music Frame ’s cord is also noticeable ( I ’m not pass to hazard it ’s inconspicuous ) , but it ’s much easy to dismiss , particularly if you place it on a light - colored bulwark .
Speaking of wall mount , Samsung includes wall - mount hardware in the boxwood , along with a template for instal it . I did not test it , because it demand drilling two pickle and , while my wife has been patient with my choice of career , there are bound .
Pro Tip No . 3 : Samsung does n’t do a beneficial job of promoting it , but you could buy a115 - inch in - rampart - rat business leader cord for the Music Frame . It ’s $ 50 and well deserving it if you want a super - clean , wall - climb on installing . Check with your local building codification , but my guess is it would n’t recommend using the included tycoon corduroy for in - wall applications .
Controls and setup
As I said earlier , the hidden controls help uphold the look of an authentic photo skeletal system . unluckily , that also makes them hard to see — especially if you wall - mount the verbaliser .
You get a multifunction button that wakes the frame from standby and lets you switch sources ( Bluetooth / Wi - Fi / ocular ) , book up / down buttons , and an onboard mic on / off ascendence . What you do n’t get is any way to play / break — a bizarre deletion give the near universality of looseness / pause controls on both Wi - Fi andBluetooth speakers .
I ’m beat by Samsung ’s choice of port on the Music Frame . Having an optic input signal is handy for both television set and audio appurtenance connections , but Samsung ’s determination not to admit anHDMI ARC / eARCmeans you ca n’t use the Frame as aDolby Atmos soundbaralternative ( optical connections are n’t Dolby Atmos - compatible ) .
If Samsung felt the Music Frame would n’t be a good match for this scenario , then the lack of HDMI might make sense , but the opposite seems to be on-key : The Music Frame can invite Dolby Atmos from a TV , but only via Wi - Fi , and only from a compatible Samsung TV .
Out of the boxwood , you could habituate the Music Frame with the ocular stimulant or in Bluetooth mode . But to get the most out of the speaker , you require the free Samsung SmartThings mobile app . The app is the only way to reach the sound modes ( including EQ adjustments ) , and it also gets the Frame connected to your Wi - Fi mesh . Once that step is complete , you ’ll be able to useApple AirPlay 2,Google Cast(formerly Chromecast ) , Tidal Connect , and Spotify Connect — each of which offer advantages over Bluetooth . you could even enable Amazon Alexa to grow the Frame into a smart speaker .
If you end up owning multiple SmartThings - compatible Samsung speakers , the app lets you ensure them all from a single interface . If your home admit non - Samsung wireless speakers , it will likely be easier to use Google Home ( via Google Cast ) , Apple Home ( via AirPlay 2 ) , or Amazon Alexa as your multiroom controllers .
I ’m not thrilled that the SmartThings app coerce you to create a Samsung story ( or use an live one to lumber in ) , but sadly , this has become very coarse .
Powerful sound
The first time I fired up the Music Frame , I was stunned by its power . At just 18 % on the volume scale , it ’s cheap enough to make conversations intriguing , and once it got to 35 % , I was well beyond my power to listen well .
With its out - of - the - boxwood tuning , the profound signature leans heavy toward boosted high school and lows . Some people like that equalizer , but if it ’s not your loving cup of audio tea , there are several way to change it .
Your first stop should be the Sound Mode setting in the SmartThings app . The three pick ( Standard , Music , and Adaptive Sound ) each act as a case of EQ preset . Standard is the most neutral , Music uses small amounts of hike in the lows and gamy , and Adaptive Sound is the most aggressive . It bring in detectable amount of processing , which you may be o.k. with given its ultrawide sound field gist .
If you need maximum control , pick Standard . When you skip into the app ’s equalizer discussion section , Standard gives you a seven - circle equalizer ( along with four presets ) . Music and Adaptive Sound only declare oneself bass voice and treble adjustments .
After try various combinations , I settled on Music mode , with the ternary adjustment set to lower limit and the bass set to a pocket-sized amount of boost . This gave me the warmth and resonance I like while keeping the highs from becoming too piercing , which they tend to do when using the nonremittal circumstance .
I also used Samsung ’s SpaceFit Sound endlessly . On theme , Samsung says this feature practice the onboard mic to do automatic room tuning . In practice , I constitute that it only affected vocal . When turned off , song sound thin and brittle , but when it was on , they regain their normal weight and affectionateness .
Speaker placement is always going to pretend heavy quality , but this is peculiarly true with the Music Frame . It can create a astonishingly spacious soundstage ( particularly when playing Atmos Music ) , but the effect is extremely directional . If you think of the speaker as a spotlight with a fairly narrow-minded ray of light , you want to be in the beam of light to get the best sound . Inside that beam , stereoscopic photograph interval is impressive for a individual speaker . Step outside it and you ’ll notice an quick drop curtain in faithfulness .
Because of this , the Music Frame is move to be dear for larger room where you’re able to place the utterer near a corner and angle it into the elbow room . If you put it on a wall , a central location will be good than one that ’s off to the side . Be careful not to mount it too high : the idealistic smear for listening is conk out to be slimly low-down than ear level .
Dolby Atmos Music(available over Wi - Fi when using Amazon Music via Google Cast or Tidal Connect ) can vocalize really good . It still very much depend on the data track ’s Atmos mix itself , but when you get a undecomposed one , like The Doors’Riders On The Stormor M.I.A.’sMarigold , that redundant degree of dousing and height can be truly apprize . It ’s not as telling as the $ 449Sonos geological era 300 , which is one of the only other wireless verbaliser that can do Atmos ) , but then again , the Era 300 does n’t exactly coalesce with the interior decoration .
You ’re going to call for to keep careful tabs on the volume storey when playing Atmos . A comfy listening book for two-channel tracks is far too unruffled for Atmos . I had to break from 19 to 33 to get the same listening storey for Atmos tracks — and this was lawful of every Atmos Song dynasty I bet .
This should n’t be necessary , but more pestiferous is the way mass work on the Frame in general .
Third - party apps like Apple Music or Tidal do n’t have built - in volume controls when playing via Wi - Fi . you may use your phone ’s volume buttons , but the Music Frame reacts badly — jump by monolithic increments with each press . Instead , you need to use the SmartThings app or the Frame ’s built - in volume clit .
We ’ve already discuss the clumsiness involve in using the onboard control , and the SmartThings app has its own usability exit . Every time you switch back to it from your euphony app , it defaults to the home CRT screen , which indicate you the Music Frame as an ikon , but does n’t give you restraint over it until you bug through to the Frame ’s home screen .
Any worries I might have had about a comparatively flavorless speaker being capable to provide sufficient low - end were put to rest instantly — the Music Frame can pump out exceptional amount of bass . Samsung lets you pair one or two Music Frames to its new telecasting . When using just one , it can act as a wireless subwoofer . I did n’t get a chance to test it in this form , but based on its standalone performance , I have zero question as to its effectivity .
The flip side of this coin is that I ’m not sure the construction of the Music Frame itself is a dependable match for all of that bass top executive . My go - to track for bass examination is Billie Eilish’sbad guy . You ’ll know within the first 10 seconds if your apparatus is dial in , and the Music Frame failed pretty spectacularly . The thumping bass part promissory note that define the track created audible torture . In beauteousness , few strain can torment a system likebad guy(which is why I use it ) , but still , it ’s something to keep in mind .
So who , incisively , is the Music Frame for ? It is n’t for audio purists , those who want maximal versatility ( including multiroom sound ) , or for anyone calculate to put wireless sound in a small space . alternatively , I think the ideal purchaser is someone who prioritize the esthetic of their living space , but still wants a herculean full - reach sound system . This person is unforced to accept a few craft - offs , like a slightly clumsy nomadic app and heavily - to - utilization controls for a verbalizer that looks nothing like a speaker . In an ideal reality , this emptor is contented to use cyclosis service for all of their listening , because I have yet to find a way to bring music from a personal subroutine library .
Another emptor ( possibly the same as the first person ) has a Samsung TV like The Frame , and they want a sound system that ’s designed to knead seamlessly with it , while preserving a decor - tailor look .
I do n’t make out if other electronics company are going to bemuse their hats into the hidden speaker ring , but if they do , they ’ll be proceed up against the Samsung Music Frame as the reigning champ .
