Samsung HW-N650 Panoramic Soundbar w/ Subwoofer

So here's the thing with this soundbar... It sounds good, but the "panoramic" feature that is supposed to give you something of a surround sound effect is really just extra noise. The panoramic "speakers" are basically located under a row of perforations all the way across the top, rear portion of the soundbar. I tried the soundbar in different modes without and with the rear channel speakers for more true surround sound. The added noise from the N650's panoramic speakers was just too much, and it can't be turned down or adjusted individually. It sort of drowned out the voices in movies and tv broadcasts and just made the whole experience a bit overwhelming and ultimately less than ideal. So what did I compare it to? The Samsung HW-MM55C/ZA, which is also a 3.1 soundbar. This is essentially the previous model year's equivalence to the HW-N650 but without the "panoramic" effect. I was able to compare these directly. The HW-N650 that I received (new) had a defect. One of the HDMI ports didn't work so I have returned it. But before I did I hooked up both soundbars one after the other. There was really no contest. The HW-MM55C/ZA was much more crisp and clean sounding and has just as much "room-filling" capacity but in a more focused way. The MM-55C actually has a "Clear Voice" setting that works well, but the MM-55C was superior to the N650 on every setting and at all the different subwoofer and rear speaker levels. If you set up the 8500S rears, know that the connection was easy and the setting levels for the soundbar and rear speakers make the whole thing much more customizable to your listening preference(This can be done with both soundbars). The 8500S speakers are quite small, but they work really well paired with the MM-55C. I feel lucky that I was able to get the HW-MM55C/ZA at such a great price, even if it is refurbished instead of new. In fact, I'm seriously considering buying another before it's no longer available. I got mine for $169, and that's a steal relative to the quality; just look around at new middle range soundbars. They're crazy expensive for what you're getting. Actually, I thought the $397 for the N650 was high. By the way, I'm certain I had everything set up correctly on both soundbars, as I watched Samsung's youtube intros and then actually called Samsung to verify. They were the ones that determined the defect in one of the HDMI ports...and that was lucky for me. I connected the soundbars to a brand new 65" Samsung 8 Series UHD TV. Just for reference, I have this set up in a large 18'x30' living room with 8' ceilings and no special sound absorbing material other than carpet on the entire floor surface. Another thing to consider, is that the newer model N650 does not support ARC, which seems crazy since it's newer than the MM55C and ARC is becoming so standard in mid to high-end home audio/video. I really feel like Samsung left out the ARC to give people an incentive to go higher (and more expensive) into their line of soundbars, which is cheesy. Get the HW-MM55C if it's still available.