Samsung - HW-Q700C

If you truly want a surround experience for under 600 you can try if you can find the Q700C or Q800C on sale. Then pair them with the sperately available SWA-9500S rear speakers. This way you get real surround sound and it should hopefully be within your budget

In your placement the q600c is likely gonna be almost as nice the qs730. I have actual experience with the q700c which from the specs seems nearly identical and probably is just a different model per region or retailer. That can be quite common with tvs and soundbars. I got the q600b. Which is nearly identical to the c. The difference is actual up-fireing speakers vs "acoustic beam" which is some tweeters/perforations and software. Just set the balance to front. And maybe a better sub, but it's the same size and I'm 50% sure same sub. Basically, q600c= metal, better build quality, but nicer sub and low end, more expensive, atmos B750= plastic mostly, 5 speaker not 3/wider soundstage/a bit fuller, slightly weaker low-end. I honestly think being able to play Atmos tracks even if you've cut off the Atmos speakers as much as possible would still be an improvement. The mix isn't "thinking" in 5 channel or something like with DD, but in a 3d space. It's just virtualized surround. As well, I don't think there's much better value on the market on a budget than these Samsung bars. Maybe the lg s65q or Sony g700. But I mostly still prefer these choices.

I'd recommend anything that has 3.1 channel. So left center right and a sub. That would put you at the upper tier of the budget and you gotta shop sales. But I feel it's worth it. Sub will help a lot with that cinematic richness to the sound and the center speaker helps a lot with dialogue clarity. My ideal for you is the Samsung q700c. Dolby Atmos upfiring drivers and works with the tv speakers. Q-symphony generally is nice to have but I have it turned off on my s95b and q600b. That bar is also good just no real upfiring drivers so Dolby Atmos is weaker. Otherwise the Samsung b650, Sony g700 or lg s65q are pretty good too. I probably recommend them in that order too.

Picked up an open box Samsung Q70CB (Costco variant of the q700c) for under $150. That paired with the 9500s rear speakers and I’m pretty impressed for the cost. I have a full 5.2.2 system in the basement for comparison and while up firing atmos speakers effectiveness is always up for debate this thing can get plenty loud and provide a good level of immersion

So you can't put any rear speakers behind you? That's where your major upgrades are going to come from, getting legitimate surround sound. I'm making the assumption your old soundbar is either standalone soundbar or one with a separate subwoofer. Likely 2.0 or 2.1 (meaning it only has left and right channels in it). I wouldn't recommend any standalone soundbar at that price point. You'll be sorely disappointed in lack of bass. You'll definitely want the subwoofer. I'd recommend the Samsung HW-Q700C. It's got a left, center, and right channel. It also has a large subwoofer & 2 upward firing channels. This makes it 3.1.2 You'll be able to get Dolby Atmos with that soundbar. It's in stock with Amazon at $500. My upgrade pick would be the Samsung HW-Q800C, it has a 2 side firing channels, left, center, right, subwoofer and two upward firing channels. This makes it 5.1.2. You'll get better Dolby Atmos with this. In stock at Amazon for $650. This is probably the best soundbar you can buy without surround sounds and close to your budget.

I have the samsung Q700C with the two atmos rear speaker add ons. It works pretty well. Surround sounds good and it feels like theres a bubble of sound around us. Not sure about how effective the upwards firing speakers are as there aren’t many times I’ve experienced them outside of demos. It’s definitely not as effective as ceiling speakers but have heard so effects that sound like they are going over your head etc but with the rear atmos its a 5.1.4 setup

I would say don't go below q700c as it has nice atmos and you can pair with 9500s to have true 5.1.4

If you are playing from 2 meters from the display you can use a soundbar. I don't know what is your budget you can go atmos too. Q700C is a nice soundbar.

I have the q700c model with the latest firmware. It is an amazing soundbar. I paid like 400 usd. Techno music is super good for this price. Fancy Bluetooth speakers like anker x600 cost you like 170 usd lol. Anyways atmos effect is very nice. No need to but the 990D or C for low budget. 200 usd and you can buy the upgrade 9500swa satellites make your system 3.1.2 to 5.1.4 at that is true atmos and surround together...

Yes. It has dedicated height channels. I live in a concrete apartment. And up firing works amazing. People buy discrete up firing satellites. What makes you believe they will perform significantly different than sound bar upfiring drivers? For movies atmos doesn't even matter. 120 mins of the movie and 6 mins atmos scene... 5. 1 is all you ever need for movies. You be like : true 5.1 in soundbar, lol. Well yes satellites exist.. I play with my pc and ps5 on oled TV, arc ed to soundbar. Atmos makes a huge difference on gaming... Just play any call of duty made from 2020 and beyond with maxed atmos channels on q700c... If your ceilings are concrete like mine, you will hear airstrikes,, UAVs, choppers sounds etc coming from above... That is atmos. And when you go 0.0.4 atmos you can hear its direction as becomes surround actually, in its own axis.. Gotta place the soundbar to 70-80 cm off the floor same for atmos/surround satellites. There is a reason why everyone loved 990d/c soundbars. They don't cost a lot but they bring a real atmos bubble effect out of the box. People sold their AVRs. Soundbars have actually improved a lot. You shouldn't have been mocking atmos in a soundbar (up firing tech) but techno genre sounding very decent with an organic feeling bass from a 400 usd soundsystdm. It's more unlikely... There are very expensive atmos upfiring units in the market. And they are there because they work... But not in every house. If your ceiling is dry wall or vaulted etc it won't work..

The 2 up firing speakers definitely makes a difference. I got my q700c for 300cad refurbished from bestbuy and it was like new. Maybe try that route

If you want high end, a Q930 (a B instead of D is likely cheaper) is good enough for you IMHO. It'll come with the rear surround speakers that also fire from the top. I have a C3 in a small living room and picked up a Q990 and it is definitely overkill. It's great but it's a lot for a small area. Don't get me wrong, it sounds great to me. It beats my older Q70T that I had paired SWA8500 read surround speakers. However, if I managed to find a Q930 at an even better price than what I got the Q990, it would have more than did the job. The Q910 would essentially be I think the same soundbar as the Q930, but the rear surround speakers are not wireless and only fire from the side. The best Samsung model that is only soundbar with subwoofer would be the Q900D. It's the same soundbar that comes with the Q990D (bigger than the Q930's bar). It's huge though. If you want to add the wireless rear surround speakers to the Q900 later, it'll be the SWA9500s. They are NOT the same wireless speakers as the ones that come with the Q990 but work similarly. They are wireless with front, side, and top firing. The most budget Samsung option that can do Atmos is the Q600C. I don't think they released a "D" model for this year so that might be cheaper. I believe the cheapest Atmos capable model this year from Samsung Q700D. However, the Q600 models are NOT compatible with the SWA9500s wireless surround speakers. The Q600 from what I am aware of are only compatible with the SWA9200s surround speakers. The SWA9200s I believe are only side firing. The cheapest bar that will work with the SWA9500 I believe will be the Q700C. It'll also work with the Q800 as well. The Q800D would likely be the "go nicer but not top of the line flagship" expensive.

I have a Samsung 3.1.2 soundbar. I have a fairly long, narrow room with a 65in Sony Bravia. It has a lot of preset modes, music, TV, voice emphasis, cinema, etc. It works with eArc, so I plug all my devices into the TV, use the eArc output from the one HDMI to the soundbar, and for my TV, I've gone into setup and can use any of the various remotes (sony br player, roku, cable box etc) for volume of the soundbar. It recognizes the devices. If the issue is budget, space, or both, and buying a 2.1 with receiver or integrated amplifier, and a sub... is out of the question, then a soundbar of this caliber is a great value. It's leaps ahead of soundbars you may have heard 3-4 or more years ago. The bass pleasingly rumbles for movies. The voice emphasis is well pronounced (in that mode, but does well in other modes too). Music seems to envelop the space (in small to medium spaces). I can add on a set of L/R bookshelf speakers and a dedicated sub to this soundbar and essentially have a 5.1, but I believe they are specific Samsung products/models that only work with this soundbar model. I don't know why someone would spend the additional money in L/R and sub with a soundbar, but it's an option. A soundbar is clean, space saving, easy to setup and easy to use. Could you do better with a receiver or integrated amp, L/R/C/Sub... you bet. But it costs you a lot more. There's a lot to consider going the receiver or integrated amp route. The Int amps commonly don't have hdmi, but they do usually have optical and sometimes USB, Bluetooth, and sometimes Phono. Emotiva TA1, or Rotel A12 (or A12 MKII) are feature rich, in example. The newerish receivers will often have 4 HDMI inputs, one with arc or eArc, HDCP 2.2 or 2.3, optical, sometimes usb, phono, network, wifi, and Bluetooth. The Marantz NR1510 is one to look at. The of course you add speakers and a sub. Looking at the used market, you could build a budget friendly 2.1 for say $400 conservatively, but it probably won't have all. the bells and whistles of a soundbar. It's worth jotting down every feature you think you'd want before shopping. And with older receivers, you could hook up a wifi/Bluetooth streamer to it to gain those functions either thru optical or HDMI.

Grab a samsung 3.1.2 there around 300$ open box Canadian usa prob like 199$ I forget the model

Ι had the d60 and the nova s80. They are temu quality speakers, they are toys. They are barely worth 50 euros let alone 300. You can buy an actual soundbar at this pricepoint. Samsung q600, q700, q800 whatever. Check also on the used market

I too prefer prefer adaptive. Because it not adapts to locations of speakers and space set up, but it adapts to the type of movie or show you are watching. But keep in mind, it's what Samsung thinks, not your personal preference. Regarding the lack of rears, it depends on the movie or show. Most of the time, you probably wont hear sound from the rears unless the sound was required. This was something that took some time for me to get used to. Now, its more like I get surprised if sound from the rears are very active in action movies or even the overhead sound effect from atmos. There 2 two things I do that help. I use my Roku Ultra and that helps me to ensure Dolby Vision and Atmos are always on, even if it is artificial. The other is when I play my PS5, I keep the sound output on amplifier so I can enable Dolby Atmos and that is a VERY noticeable difference.

Most songs formatted in Dolby Atmos or other spatial audio sounds great on this this system. Gives a nice sound stage presence to almost all genre except rock/alternative. You're lucky to even ultra HD