HW-Q600A (2021)

Best thing about Samsung is that their mid range offerings are solid AND they can be upgraded with very affordable surround kits later. I got my parents SWA-8500 (older version of 9100) for their somewhat old mid range soundbar and my dad loves it while watching movies. I have 600A and also have surround kit. It is quite good for what I paid for those. (I got 600A discounted around $150... So...)

I'm still curious how much better a Q990F is over a Q800B + 9500S. Some people say and tell me it's barely any better. Not a night and day difference compared to when I had a Q600A with no rears and moved to the Q800B then later the 9500S was a night and day difference. So yeah some say it's insanely better and others say for my setup it won't be a big difference just some little upgrades. I don't need it, but I'm so curious and $967 on Woot has me like ahhh! Lol

My soundbar adventure started with a crappy $70 Samsung model I can't even remember, it was 2.1, then I went to the Q600A(3.1.2) and it was great or so I thought. Then I moved to the Q800B(5.1.2) and it was literally night and day, it almost sounded like true surround sound all from the front, it was at least a very wide sound for sure and I was amazed. Then I added the 9500S rears later on which made it 7.1.4 and yet again I was amazed because I never had true rears and it was awesome for a good while and honestly it is still great and friends and family were amazed when they would visit. But now the Q990F(11.1.4).... It's not exactly worlds beyond different but yet it kind of is at the same time. There is so much more dimension to the sound and the clarity is insane even with Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus content compared to the other soundbars. The overall surround field is also much wider then the Q800B+9500s, I can hear birds in the dining room for example when watching let's say Avatar. The Q800B with rears sounded good on the couch but the second I got up and walked forward, then the rears would just disappear, but now I can hear the Q990F rears even if I sit on the floor at the coffee table or standing closer to the TV. So honestly the Q600A which sounded so good at first is honestly disappointing compared to the Q990F for sure and it's quite a step down from the Q800B as well. You have to experience it to understand. You look back and think "I thought it couldn't get much better than that? Wow, how is this possible?" If you got the Q990 Series someday you would think your Q6CC(3.1) is trash compared to it, I can guarantee it, especially since it's a small step down from the Q600. The funny thing is that I have been to other people's house who have an AV receiver setup with big speakers and it doesn't even sound very good at all. But I feel they don't know what they're doing either and probably have everything just playing as Basic Stereo. So having the Q990F, also properly setup is unlike anything I've heard in a home before.

I just got the Samsung Q600F with the Sub and it sounds incredible to me

I’d like to welcome a technical discussion on this. I’m not an audiophile, but I have some really great stereo speaker systems that sound wonderful and create a very pleasant music listening experience. I am an amateur music producer and I’m quite familiar with various speakers. (loudspeakers, studio monitors, reference monitors, etc..) What I don’t *fully* understand is - why does my soundbar sound so awful during music playback? (I have a Samsung Q600-F w/ rears). I enjoy this soundbar’s performance for movies and TV (I tend to locally stream blu-ray remux quality media with lossless audio). I’m aware there are “better” soundbars, but I really enjoy mine. Audio is punchy, spacious, and accurate. The sub hits nicely and tight and the highs are pleasant and controlled. Let’s say I try to crank an AC/DC song, or a sub-heavy hip-hop song; it sounds like GARBAGE! The best I can explain is that it sounds like someone lined up 15 smartphones in a row then stuck a sub in the mix. Music sounds absolutely flat in the worst way - almost sounds like I’m listening to a mono signal. Sub doesn’t even hit as well as my 20 year old Logitech computer speakers (with sub) that I use for low quality A/B testing and mixdowns. I know the drivers themselves are small, and I’m assuming it all comes down to this. I’d imagine that the positioning of the drivers also results in a lack of “punchiness” because they’re facing all over the place. My brain is used to the triangle shape sound imaging you get from a pair of stereo speakers. Can anyone provide more detailed context as to what causes this? Why do many people report the same thing? On a perception level, what is going on? On a technical level, what is going on? Is there any way to mitigate this or trick our perception on a system such as the Q600-F?

TV speakers are not made for enjoyment. Get a cheaper one (Samsung Q-series) with a sub, but like people said, spend what you can, as they get crazy good. Recently did some shopping and got a Q600-f setup for super cheap, but make sure that your bar integrates with your tv remotes volume at the very least. Most bars and tvs are hdmi-ARC compatible, so look for that.

That's what I got, it sounds really good and clear. I believe it's basically the regular q600. Although I am upgrading to the q990f. But that is not in the price range OP wanted

I bought a samsung Q-600 soundbar for more or less $200 as it was set to be replaced by the next year's version