Samsung - HW-Q800C

Hey folks, I decided to create this post to share my experience with couple Samsung soundbars. I owned the following soundbars: Q990C, and Q800C. My review for the Q990C: Pros: - Really great soundbar and powerful, but really really powerful, I couldn't get past 20 in most cases and got some decent neighbors in this regard - Lots of customizations: sound modes, treble / bass, channel levels and some gimmick like features: SpaceFit and AVA. It's good to know that SpaceFit got improved from the previous Q990B model and it can adjust the bass as well - No disconnection issues with the rears / sub, and build quality was really great - Really nice Atmos experience Cons: - Bass was really punchy, but when playing a whole playlist, it was either too weak in some songs, or too powerful in other songs, which means I had to always adjust the bass level from the remote when it was too powerful. The sub wasn't refined to be heard at a medium level for a wide range of songs. Coming from a Logitech Z625, never had this problem before. - High frequency distortions ONLY on Bluetooth. Tried everything and anything, from soft resets to factory resets, different eq options, SpaceFit on/off and all sorts of things, couldn't get rid of those distortions which I have to say they were not present all the time which was damn difficult because I couldn't find a pattern that would reproduce this problem all the time. Usually, the distortions would appear the first couple of seconds after choosing a song on YT from my phone/laptop and then it would play normally (e.g. this song was one of them: **Pop Smoke - Woo Baby (Audio) ft. Chris Brown**) I had to send back the Q990C because of the distortions on Bluetooth, thought it was unacceptable for a high-end soundbar to behave like that. My review for Q800C: Pros: - Pretty similar feeling to Q990C, but with an overall volume reduced by 20%. What do I mean by that? I had to raise the volume to \~30 to feel how Q990C would sound at probably 18/19? - Smaller sub but more refined than the Q990C sub - I didn't had to adjust the bass level all the time since it would not become too powerful or too weak. I would just leave it at +3 and it would sound really good for most movies / music. - Reminded me of the room shaking from the Q990C bass, but this one is very present around the 50-60hz frequency. Please note that both Q990C and Q800C subs use an 8 inch woofer speaker but they're rated a bit different (160W for Q800C sub vs 200W for Q990C sub) and the woofer cabinet is slightly smaller on Q800C Cons: - It would occasionally disconnect from WIFI, and would become unavailable on SmartThings app which can get annoying if you use SmartThings regularly. Personally, I did the settings I needed from SmartThings and then disabled completely the WIFI by pressing CH LEVEL button on remote for 30 secs. Tips and Tricks: - SpaceFit feature gives the best results after 3-4 days of usage with movies and music. My suggestion is to TURN IT OFF after you allow it to do its magic, otherwise, it will constantly adjust the sound and may be inconsistent. - Surround mode lowers the bass a bit and gives a slightly smoother feel to the treble. HOWEVER, on Q800C there were couple songs where at a higher volume it would distort a little on high frequencies on both Bluetooth and eARC, ALL THE TIME. Adaptive comes with some more bass than Surround, treble is still fine, no high frequency distortions on higher volume, and in my opinion, sounds the best in all possible scenarios. - If you have SWA-9500S rears and want their max volume to match the soundbar's volume, you have to turn off the soundbar, wait 5 seconds and then press the source button on the soundbar ( first button from left to right ), and wait until the soundbar automatically turns on. You can still adjust their volume by increasing/decreasing the rear and rear top channels. Hope this helps! Remember, sound is subjective and these are mainly subjective thoughts and feelings!

Had a Q800C, good bar indeed for smaller spaces.  Between C and D models, there are couple hardware changes:   - HDMI 2.1  - Bluetooth version 5.2 There are some software improvements as well, but it's not known what has been improved specifically.

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

Nice! I got mine for 350 bucks lol but I got really lucky, you can try to finesse your way around Amazon sometimes they send you better models than what’s advertised

Sorry I wasn’t clear, I meant the q800c lol sorry

If you want to buy a sound bar go for [SAMSUNG HW-Q800C](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVWG9GH9?&linkCode=ll1&tag=wd20940e-20&linkId=e8a011302c8dddc9ce485e986f0f97e7&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl) you can find many cheaper alternatives, but a sound bar will last you a very long time so buy one cry one.

I have Q800c for my C1. Love it

Quality Atmos and soundbars are kind of opposites so the high end recommendations are really not far off. Maybe a Samsung q800c with some 9200s rears. Probably above budget. Sonos beam 2 with Sonos era 100s and a mini sub. Expensive but decent. Not really for Atmos though. Sony a5000 with sw3 sub and rs3 rears. I honestly quite like that Sony setup. But with all those prices and extra pieces you may as well just get the q990c and call it a day. You may not be using all the power there, I doubt most people have it past volume 25/100, but you'll be enjoying it a lot. And at basically the same price or cheaper on sale given everything is packaged in together. Otherwise grab the lg s95qr which is probably cheaper. Solid performance for the price, like the 990c lots of height channels. Just worse performance than the 990c almost across the board. Maybe more bass ironically but that can be turned down.

I bought a Sony A5000 for my 75 inch Sony and it definitely needs a subwoofer. However I sold it 3 months later and bought a Samsung 800C which was way cheaper and sounds way better. Had it for over a year now. You are severely limiting yourself just looking at Sony ones

I had a decent 5.1 system with a Yamaha AVR and JBL speakers and a Polk subwoofer. My wife hated the wires, so I got a Samsung Q800c with 9500 rears. The soundbar sounds better, unquestionably. I hear plenty of separation in the front and the rears are exceptional. Bass extension is approaching SVS territory. Excellent.

Love my Samsung Q800c and 9500 rears! Great Atmos.

Damn i thought the 800 series have the same power output for the sub as 990 series but i was wrong since the sub size is the same..i bought the q800c and i was amazed by the bass coming out when watching movies with this soundbar for the 1st time...now i feel it's not enough...probably gonna try the high end 990 series

I had similar problem with q800c and i notice that too much bass muffled the dialogue. I unplug woofer and it sounds clear and perfect. Setting sub to -12 dont fix the issue but helps.

I bought q800c and i still dont know whats surround about it. Sound quality is similar to build in speakers from my lg cs oled and only good thing is sub. Rears would make it surround i assume.

Same for the q800c. It’s also very very good

Recently got a Samsung q800c for around 360usd equivalent brand new. It’s alright for the price I paid.

I have a 2020 Bravia and recently scored an open box at best buy Samsung q800c with rear speakers but it's hooked up to a nvidia shield. Bar sounds great really good with movies, clear voice nice boom, for the price it was a steal.

Check the soundbar sub, very helpful. If you have limited funds i suggest looking into Best Buy open boxes, I found a q800c for $275 ($999 retail) and it was a display bar in perfect condition then few weeks later found the rears 9500 for $75 ($300 retail) it's a great bar. They also have great deals 50% discounts on their website for students, first responder, military.

Hi, absolutely, the stereo of the HW-Q800C at this listening distance will be pure bliss, and with the subwoofer on top of that, you guys are the best. 

I like my 800c 😀

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 had previous version S800B... Not sure if eARC really somehow upgrade sound but previous model was good for it's size if this form factor is needed but later when I got Q800C there was no comparison. Much better and fuller sound with big improvement on Dolby Atmos performance. I have currently Q990D and it's another big step up. Much fuller sound. I would say get ultra Slim soundbar only if it's required due to design or low profile TV. It's good to small room where you sleep but in my case for example outside movie area when I played some podcasts on YT it sounded even thinner than TV speakers sometimes when subwoofer was not really involved although clarity was good.

I have the q800c, which according to RTings performs identically to the D version. Dialogue quality is great, it sounds very natural and very clear. I have no problems following along with TV shows without subtitles. The bass sounds good though it can be a little shy. I have "bass enhancement" enabled to give it some extra kick. The sound is rich and full-bodied and the bass can thump for especially impactful sound cues or music

I picked up an open box Q800C and it's been very solid. You can add rear speakers to it down the line too

I bought a q800c from there a few months ago. Still working flawlessly.

Q800C/D on a deal. You could upgrade your setup with compatible rears (SWA-9500S) if you want or have more cash to spend later.

The wife part is exactly why I did not get Q930C, I convinced her with rears the next year. 💪 Tbf I was not convinced myself as a young first time buyer in a new appartement. Q800C on a deal is great. Having the versatility to add rears for cheap make Q800 easy to recommend for a lot of people who are not sure about their room space or not going straight to Q930/990 for money/wife reason

Same bro I did not mentioned it but I got the rears one year later and was an amazing upgrade for a relatively small cost, especially with any surround content :)

If you don’t want rear speakers I would definitely go for Q800C / Q810D on a deal. It’s basically 99% of a Q930C but without rear speakers Plus if you need/want later on rear speakers you can buy them separately and upgrade this setup for dirt cheap compared to equivalent sounding setups from competitors

I bought Q800C last Xmas for €450 and it was a great price and I love it ! £259 for Q600C is a great price if it's for the kids TV I'm sure it's good enough ;) If you have a good TV and good soundbar the pairing process will be smooth, don't worry at all about matching TV brand and soundbar brand. Focus on the product itself, not the brand

I had a Q800B/C and I'd day the Bass is much better on the Q990D than my last two bars. BUT this isn't the "upgrade" yes the sub is better but for me it was the addition of the rears that was a huge upgrade for me!

Ended up here because I ordered a new 800c and got an 800d. Glad I'm not the only one

Keep on searching/waiting don't be in hurry.so long that you have some cash just keep them any day will come a surprise discount. I bought Q800C just 5 months back for $239 only from samsung website.

I bought sony HW-S20R 5.1ch 400w for my samsung DU8100 at $160 and i don't regret it though on saturday i got Q800C samsung for $239 am waiting for it to be delivered tomorrow.😍

Thats a refurbished at the price of $257 on Saturday i got Q800C at the price of $239 in Samsung KSA website.

I got Q800C for $239 i don't think they have huge difference with Q800D.

The Samsung Q800C is a brilliant system with deep adjustments. The Klipsch Flexus Core 200 + sub 100 is an awesome alternative which I'm currently using. Not quite as many adjustments tho, but I don't feel this system is missing any adjustments that would make it better. Having the B/M/T adjustments do a lot, along with the voice enhancement having levels to it, it has a good amount of adjustments. If the Klipsch had center channel adjustments, that would be great to experiment with, although I think I'd find myself just leaving it at 0 most of the time, thus me saying it doesn't really need it.

Does the satellite speakers on Hisense AX5125H (5.1.2) add a significant improvement over the 3.1.2 setup on the AX3125H? The price difference is a little over $100. Just curious whether it's worth to go with AX512H over AH312H as this is going to be hooked to a desktop. TIA for any and all replies. EDIT: I didn't buy Hisense and went with the true and tested Samsung Q800C as I got a terrific deal at Walmart and is one happy camper. :)

You are 100% correct. I snagged an awesome deal on a Samsung Q800C and replaced my K550 and see the options pop up for the spatial sound. I can feel Dolby Atmos as well as DTS:X sound effects and, in a word, awesome. Dolby Atmos sounds terrific and DTS:X is a little bit muffled at the same volume level. Maybe, need to adjust something to make DTS:X better? https://preview.redd.it/aqnqhq2bnnpe1.png?width=1306&format=png&auto=webp&s=86058f45050a194dc02b4532b69f3d5e81f610b4

Had this dilemma a couple years back. Went q990c. Don't think the arc really competes without the full setup of sub and rears as well - and then you're paying (at least in my country) 3x the price.. for what is apparently about the same - marginally better or worse depending on who you ask. If you've got money to burn, get the full Sonos package. My understanding is you won't regret it. If you don't have money to burn, get the q990 and you probably won't even be able to tell the difference. Samsung's soundbars are legit. I also have the q800c for my bedroom.

Samsung q800 or better. The 930/990 models have rear speakers (need power). Comes with a sub. Sounds awesome.

OP, the 990 was too big for our area (55in oled tv) so returned it and went with the Q800C, just soundboard and sub and I think it's a wonderful system. If you want just the bar and no subs, I would go with the Bose 900

Look into Samsung and Sonos. I have a Samsung Q800C and it rocks the room while watching movies. Batman and LotR make me feel like I'm at the theatre!

I second this. Q800C should be perfect if you don’t want surround sound and wanna keep things simple.

I have a Q800c and 9500s which is essentially the 910c and you’re spot on, it’s really solid for the price.

There are a few things that are wrong here! 1. Spacefit is there for a reason, for example, one of my rear speakers is slightly farther away. If I turn off Spacefit, it will revert to manual channel levels set. Which will ultimately sound worse because you can’t change individual rear speaker levels with the 800c. Leave that on if your room isn’t perfectly setup like a home theater usually is. 2. You don’t want to necessarily match the rears to the front. As posted many times before, get a C weighted SPL and play the official Atmos test tones to level channels from your seating position.

if this is a specific issue for you, go for either a high end sony system or a samsung system. samsung has a great dialouge enhancement system starting from the q800 series. in my opinion 200$ isnt getting you very far at all. Palk signa system is good but only if you buy the s4 but it doesnt compare at all to the q800c dialogue enhancement system.

Samsung Q800D (or Q800C) Q900D (or Q900C) and Q930D (or Q930C) if you can find one for a good, should be within your budget. I have a Q800C, pretty satisfied, surround sound is not great, but otherwise pretty solid for music and movies, better then I expected.

You could get a Q800C for your budget, I got mine for roughly 400e in europe, it was on sale. These things get on sale all the time, it was on sale for like half a year where I live. Shop around, and wait, you would get a good price eventually. I would not get anything lower then 800 from samsung, the and especially not lower then 700, the 600 has latency issues, those are the worst, i had a cheap bar with high latency, not a good time. From what I get the 800 is not much cheaper then the 700 (when on sale), but it is alot better, more speakers, wider soundstage, and the sub is alot better too. I was thinking of getting the 700, but waited for the 800 just because of the upgraded sub.

I got that and I'm very disappointed - it sounds incredibly 'tinny' - I thought tech had gotten better. I wanted clearer vocals, and it has that, but I sacrificed 'rich sound' for 'tinny tv speaker sound with a thumping subwoofer'. Even my wife noticed that its awful and she's not into this stuff. I have an old samsung DVD player sound system from like 10 years ago that I likely only paid $200 for and the sound had much more depth and sounded like a quality system. Can you just not get good sound from these skinny soundbars?

Get samsung hw q800 very worth it

That tv sucks😪😪 but yeah like the other comment said , get the Q800, that way you’ll have q-symphony with your tv. If you can, get the Q990C it’s gonna be even better

Samsung Q600 or Q800 Or sonos beam

Yes, maybe the q730 will be better then. But neither the Q600c or Qs730 have the Active voice amplifier, tho you can still put up the volume of the center Chanel on both of them, to hear the voices clearer. If you can find an old/used Q800b or C it would be much better. but if not go with the Qs730

If u have a Samsung tv get the Q800, it’s a 5.1.2 and has symphony so both your tv and soundbar will play together which adds to the immersion

Soundbars (high tier) nowadays are very good. Although. But if you really appreciate surround sound and/or music I would recommend at least a 3.1 system+AVR instead. I was never pleased with my Samsung Q800 soundbar, so I went back to regular speakers again and couldn't be happier.

I’ve had the sennheiser ambeo, Bose smart ultra, and the Samsung q800, in that order. First two were returned for connectivity issues with my newish Samsung tv. The q800 has been great (the ambeo probably had the best surround but only if it connected). Q symphony is amazing. With the first two bars, you could clearly tell the sound was coming from below the TV… q symphony fixes that completely. And the subwoofer is amazing.

If the Q990 doesn't fit, don't force it. I will say that the 9500s rears that you can purchase are decent, but NOT the same speakers that you get with the Q990. I would 100% buy a Q990 for future proofing just for the improved rears, even if I didn't use them for awhile. Alternatively, but the Q800 now (I love mine), and then upgrade to the Q990 when the time comes. it's not going to kill you - you can always repurpose the Q800 to another room or sell it to get a bit of $ back.

I'm gonna assume you're in US, you can get Q700 or even Q800 at around $350-$400 depending on your luck. Too bad you just missed out on massive Christmas sale. (Don't bother about the latest D model, unless you absolutely need some minor feature upgrade. You can get C or B model cheaply if you're lucky.) I highly recommend mid range Samsung soundbars just because their surround expansion kit is massively cheaper than any competitors. You can get SWA-9500S rear speaker set later for around $150-$200 depending on your luck. Even if you don't plan to upgrade with surround kit later, they are still solid overall.

I have a Samsung Q800 and for TV it's amazing hardware. Features like midnight playback and dialogue boost works great!

I don't care. Soundbar looks super slick. https://preview.redd.it/ebgaucm7dfqe1.jpeg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6971c3b6be2ec932d2531d7bcc0006695e795d09

Audio Return Channel? Yeah I have, nothing special about it. It’s just means that the audio is routed through an hdmi cord. It doesn’t enhance anything, it’s just more convenient. I have a Samsung q800 that produces clear crisp audio at low levels and can absolutely shake my house when turned up all the way. I no longer use a Bluetooth speaker because of how good the Samsung sounds to cast music to which I can hear anywhere in the house. My parents are deep into the Sonos ecosystem and have a soundbar (beam?) that requires constant fiddling to be able to hear properly based on the content. I don’t know what eq Sonos is tuning it to but it’s not good for spoken dialogue at all.

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 the Samsung Q800 and am very pleased ( paired with my LG B2 ). Movies and Games sound WAY better then stock TV Speakers

Ya I just switched from svs ultras in a 2.0 set up to a Samsung 5.1.2 sound bar and it's way better for movies. Old system was better for music but I just don't listen to as much anymore

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

The Samsung tv will help with center channel with the Q symphony I believe. Prob will not notice much if at all. Samsung as others had said is def a far better bang for your buck. I don’t consider myself an audio expect but I had what I thought was a nice lg 5.1.2 soundbar and the Samsung blows it away. Voice clarity is what shocked me the most. All ranges of sounds are more defined and crisp even when only steaming. 4k Blu-ray Discs up the level another few notches. There are a bunch of posts on this subreddit explaining how to save a bunch of money ordering some Samsung directly if you choose to go with that soundbar

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