
Samsung
Q990F
Value for movies and easy setup, but music falls flat.

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I just bought the 8inch dragon set from best buy and one single 12 inch add on sub on ebay from the source grade A I think this should be great and it was all still cheaper than the normal price of just the system
Are those the only options? And what do you plan to use it for? Movies? Music? Regular TV? Gaming? If you have the money, the Nakamichi Dragon with four subs is probably the best soundbar you can get. It's expensive as hell though. The Nakamichi Shockwafe Wireless is a great more affordable option. If you like Klipsch, for full surround if you're going to be watching movies, the Flexus Core 300 plus a couple of the matching subs would be awesome. The Sony you mentioned is just OK.
If you want a no fail of a soundbar system you could go balls to the wall and do what I did and drop $2800 on a Nakamichi Dragon. That thing is the absolute best system I have ever used.
If you can shell out more money get the dragon. I have the 11.4.6 system and is an absolute monster!
I’m guessing you maybe bought it by now or decided not to. I have the dragon with 2-12” subs. I haven’t heard the dual opposing 8” subs. IMO, it’s amazing. I’m about to update the firmware to get the ULTRA AHD which supposedly makes a big difference. But anyway, I’m no sound engineer but for me, i dig it. Most the audiophiles out there will steer you away and tell you to build a home theater system with separate components and also say it’s Way over priced. The dragon is plug and play. No wires to run, and to me, it sounds incredible. The center bar sounds so crisp, the 2-12’s get you that bass you want and the rears for sure immerse you more than most rears that come with sound bars. Get what you want man, I’m happy with the dragon I just hope it lasts
Nakamichi Dragon. Best soundbar by far if you want big sound in a small footprint.
Check out the Samsung Q900F…EPP pricing is right at $800. There are other ways to qualify for discounts outside of EPP…military, 1st responder, student, etc. I have (2) Full 9.3.6 systems w/ fairly high end components and a Nakamichi Dragon w/ (3) SVS Sub integration..each costing significantly more than the 900f. As a comparator, from a cost standpoint, there is no single component in any of my room setups that cost less than the 900F. My assessment so far is that the Samsung system is pretty good, especially for $800! Bass response is not exactly what I’m looking for, but in my use case (office system), it’s enough. At some point, just like with the Dragon, I will add a standalone sub…but not a requirement nor is it an “urgent” need.

Samsung
Q990F
Value for movies and easy setup, but music falls flat.

Sonos
Beam (Gen 2)
Compact value, but virtual Atmos and app issues.

Samsung
HW-Q990D
Powerful, immersive value, but poor music and buggy software.

Sonos
Arc Ultra
Immersive Atmos and bass, but pricey and poor for music.

Samsung
Q930F
Strong value for movies, but music and HDMI 2.0 limit.

Ranked #1
Sonos - Beam (Gen 2)

Ranked #1
Samsung - Q990F

Ranked #1
Sonos - Arc Ultra

Ranked #1
Sonos - Playbar

Ranked #1
Sonos - Arc Ultra