HW-Q850D

That's what I just got. 7.1.2 👍

I have the Samsung Q850D from Best Buy paired with my TCL QM851G, but somehow it shot up in price so I'd look elsewhere 😅

I have the 850D (7.1) and have always noticed the 9.1 and 11.1 versions have the exact amount of standalone speakers as mine. I assume they just squeeze in a few more up-firing speakers for more "Atmos"? Curious how different they sound.

Definitely. I got the Samsung Q850D for around $300 (open box) at Best Buy and the surround sound is so much better than I thought was possible without a dedicated multi-channel system with an AV receiver. I think it would be perfect for your setup

Look for an open box Samsung Q850D from Best Buy. It’s an awesome setup and like $310 right now in “good” condition.

How big is the room? Small to midrange rooms I would go with a Samsung q850d. You can get those specifically at Best buy I ended up getting an open box for 400 bucks and it sounds great in my bedroom.

That depends on the make and model but my Samsung Q850 is pretty much mainstream. With 2-channel input it synthesizes a surround sound similar to the old analog Dolby Pro Logic. When the content is either encoded for Dolby Surround or is stereo with a lot of random phase differences between channels the surround speakers are quite active. If it’s mono or just a talking head nothing comes out of the surround speakers. If the content is Dolby Digital or Atmos the surround speakers play their appropriate channels. The subwoofer outputs the lowest octave in all these cases.