Samsung - HW-Q900C/ZA

For me I’m struggling with how my 900c w saw 9500s sounds worse than my q800t… literally… the 900c might sound wider but….. it sounds muddier and messier the q800t I have right next to it is punchier and crisper… and that is blowing my mind…… 4 years newer double the cost… flagship model…. Was always super pleased w my Q800t and I’m having trouble accepting my 900c w rears is not only not Bette but maybe worse 😭😭😭😭😭

Oh and uh half the size 😀

Samsung 900c

Yes. You can do that with the Samsung 900c.

if you're strapped for cash, consider Q900C and SWA-9500S set after 900c the soundbar hardware 95% remained the same. 

I have an LG G3 with inadequate built-in speakers, so was in the market for soundbar. Naturally I considered LG soundbars to stay in the ecosystem but reviews scared me away. So I went with the crowd favorite Samsung Q900C 7.1 (effectively the Q990C 11.1 minus rear speakers) for $400 and no complaints.

The sw5 and rs5 are definitely needed, only comparing the bats themselves, q900c vs bravia 9 and the q900c beats it in everything. And when comparing both with everything, looks like the q990d is still better. ,https://www.rtings.com/soundbar/tools/compare/samsung-hw-q900c-vs-sony-bravia-theater-bar-9-with-speakers-bass-module/38797/62603?threshold=0.01

Not true. C is only the model the year before. I know because I have it and it has rear speakers

Man. That whole room and setup is CLEAN! I love this! Also have had a Q990D for an about a week and love it! Got a pretty crazy deal on it so I’m even more stoked on it. Just moved into a new house and have it in the basement set up with our LCD projector. As an initial setup I just tied in some powered bookshelf’s to start so I could watch some stuff down there. Initially, I was super set on getting a 5.1 theater setup from a local higher end audio store in town. Went and sampled 3 setups at different price points and was super set on the following: Anthem MRX540 Paradigm Premier 800F Floorstanding Speakers (Front L/R) Paradigm Premier 600C Center Channel Paradigm Defiance X10 Subwoofer Paradigm Surround 3s Rear Surrounds In the meantime we got a TV for our main floor living room and I put a Samsung q900c on it. No real spot for surrounds so just got the bar and sub. Well damn if my wallet wasn’t happy that I got this soundbar before going full home theater. Even the q900c was a dramatic upgrade in sound. And no, loud doesn’t equal quality. But as people who mostly just stream tv shows, movies and watch hockey, it’s way more than enough. And my fiancée complains that the bass shakes the dining table so clearly it’s bassy enough. A month later I decided I was abandoning the home theater for downstairs. The same place I got the q900c from sold me a q990d for CA$1,100 so basically half price. I took that deal in a heartbeat! Just set a reasonably small ikea TV bench/media unit under the projector screen and have the 990d on it. After I got it set up, put the bass enhancement on and played Bangarang by Skrillex. About 20 seconds later my fiancée comes down and says “IT SOUNDS LIKE A NIGHTCLUB IN HERE!” So suffice to say, it more than does its job for us. Watched some shows and movies on it over the weekend and it’s more than immersive enough for us. I’ve never even had any kinda surround setup at home so this is a HUGE step up for me. While I wish my room was as nice as yours, I’m so happy with the setup. We have a wet bar in the basement too and it’s likely gonna be a pretty big entertaining space, especially once football and hockey season really gets going. So having a small setup like the 990d just works better for us. And with how simple the whole setup is, my fiancée has no issues operating stuff. And we aren’t worried our nieces and nephews are gonna break my home theater setup when they come over. Maybe one day I’ll look to upgrade. But I feel like a full on home theater just isn’t in the cards for me. Glad to see another successful q990d story!

If the q900c isn’t available, just pack the rears away or use them as front speakers. I didn’t want rears but bought the q990b a few years back. We started bringing out the rears on movie nights but now just are permanently out

Hello everyone, I am just sharing my experience with the two systems mentioned above because people always seem to put traditional speakers always above the soundbars which is not I experienced. In terms of pricing I got the 900C for $700 here in canada and Kef cost me $2410 including speakers, sub and stands. I have both the systems in my bedroom for now. My usage includes movies, music and some gaming via xbox. MOVIES: Samsung is hands down winner here. Samsung provides close to cinema experience in my bedroom. And people say that soundbars sound thin and lacks soundstage which I highly disagree here. While feeding DD5.1 to the bar soundstage opens up and I can hear the effects even behind me since my bedroom is relatively small and square. Sub woofer that came with 900C digs way deeper than Kef which is ideal for movies. It does lack little bit of mid bass punch but in super low notes it performs fantastically. This soundbar is designed for Movies first recipe. I highly recommend anyone who is looking for soundbar at budget. MUSIC: I wanna talk about the two channel music first. For two channel music Kef is definitely better. It better be good for that price. Sub bass and soundstage is the key difference here. KEF Kube8mie is 8 inch subwoofer that has amazing mid bass punch that can hit you in the chest. It doesn’t go below 34hz but the punch is more impact full then samsung which is ideal for my taste in music. As I mentioned for two channel KEF has better soundstage and imaging because of two physically separated speakers. Now let’s talk about Dolby Atmos music. Kef doesn’t do dolby atmos since it’s only 2.1 system. If you feed atmos music to Samsung via Apple TV 4K then you will have a totally different experience. You can hear all the instruments being separated in the space and some music have amazing over head effects. For example: Cut My Lip by twenty one pilots. In this song you can hear the piano strings up in the Air which is quite cool. Overall I will still give it to KEF for music since not all music is in Atmos. And overall KEF provides better bass and little bit better midrange as well as crisp highs. And I won’t say that it sounds 3 times better than samsung considering the price. GAMING: For gaming again Samsung is winner here because my xbox has games in Dolby atmos. I usually play Forza Horizon 5. This game is another great example to experience Atmos prowess of Samsung. I highly recommend this game just to test your system’s atmos capabilities. For all the other games I was equally happy with both systems. You cannot go wrong with any of them. At the end I ended up keeping both systems and planning to move sammy to the living room and Kef for the bedroom. And point of my comparison is that Soundbar has came long way. Specially likes of Samsung. It simply wins my performance per dollar formula in my book. I hope this might help someone who is deciding between the systems. Happy listening everyone:)

Samsung knows how to make soundbars 🙌🏻

Did you have the Ambeo sub with your Ambeo Max? How did it perform compared to the Sony SW5? I have the Samsung q900c and the sub is pretty anemic, so looking for more.

the q900c doesnt have rears only a sub, the q990c has rears but its essentially the same bar... but yeah, a q600c would be better quality since its a somewhat of a consensus that LG bars suck so the cheapest Q series should do the trick, a friend got it and it surprised me.

I have a q990c in my living room and a q900c in my bedroom and I mostly use them for music, works great just because of the subwoofer. There are better options ofc, I once tried a fully equipped sonos system with 2 subwoofers and it was much much better but way more expensive. Whichever fits best is the way to go.

The Samsung q900c sounds good and has a couple options for dialogue clarity.

Q900c does not have rear speakers, but you can add that later if your situation changes. Sonos arc ultra is another possibility.

I have a small living room as well (tv is even closer) and have a q900c with rears and it works really well. My back right speaker is mounted to the wall and the left one is on a shelf and angled downwards. Go for the q990 and wait for the software issues to be sorted out. It'll still should great.

Q900C. Same soundbar, same subwoofer without the rear speakers.

https://preview.redd.it/2p7b37nf0xqe1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=59f64eece64c1aaf9cfffcb2607261f349ea8f3e Got this 900c for $503 and 9500s for $207 from Amazon. I believe this is an amazing deal! Any one can recommend a rear satellite stand?

Very good and informative post. Just one notice. It is correct to Dolby Digital/True HD (also DTS) point. But if we talk about Dolby Atmos soundtrack (even compressed) it will use all the channels availible. But you right more, not always better. If not Atmos all other sreamed movie soundtracks are 5.1 channel mostly. So if OP want to save the money 800D will be plenty enough. But 900C will be better in any way.

Thanks for sharing. I run a jamo tower and av setup and had a play around with the Samsung as my partner hates how my system looks and takes up half the room. The Samsung is good but ultimately returned it but believe 99% of people would be impressed. The Samsung setup is just a dream compared with cable everywhere, hours of AV configuration and tweaking. Unfortunately during a movie and a soundtrack plays for example, the additional definition, midrange and fidelity of a good system just make your ears melt. The mistake is spoiling yourself from the start and then trying to go back to a sound bar.

From Samsung : Q800C/D and Q900C/D (Q900 is not available in some regions)

Great soundbar. The differences between the C, D, and F, do not justify the difference in price (unless you need 4K @120hz ).

With the Q900C, you can add SWA-9500S rear speakers so it'll be better than the q930c but a slight step down from the Q990c.

I did ultimately end up ordering this one. I had a Samsung soundbar + subwoofer in 2017 that I liked a lot, and I have a Samsung TV, so I have trust in the brand. I compared quite a few other soundbars, including: JBL 9.1, JBL Bar 700, LG S90TR, Polk MagniFi Max AX SR, and others

I pulled the trigger on it as well. My problem was patience I bought it at about $635 then two hours later it it drops to $565 and then two days later it drops to $503 🤦‍♂️. Worst part is Walmart (local) will not price match Walmart.com so you have to order another one at the new price and return the old one. So I had to do this three times already. But hey I'm stoked to get such a flagship soundbar at a good price. This is replacing my HWQ-800A (great soundbar) that soundbar is going in my bedroom now. I'm keeping my SWA-9500S with the 900C.

Best soundbars in the market right now are made by Samsung, the Q900C or Q800D are your best bet, here's a [side by side comparison](https://www.rtings.com/soundbar/tools/compare/samsung-hw-q900c-vs-samsung-hw-q800d/38797/54299) of the two. You can grab either one at Walmart for roughly $700usd right now, links here: [Q800D](https://www.walmart.com/ip/SAMSUNG-Q-Series-5-1-2ch-Wireless-Dolby-Atmos-Soundbar-w-Q-Symphony-HW-Q800D-ZA-2024/5295279300?wl13=3292&selectedSellerId=0&wmlspartner=wlpa) & [Q900C](https://www.walmart.com/ip/SAMSUNG-Q-Series-7-1-2ch-Wireless-Dolby-Atmos-Soundbar-w-Q-Symphony-HW-Q900C-ZA-2023/1177627576?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0)

I have a full 7.2.4, a 5.1.2, a 2.0 and HomePod Mini setup in addition to some sets that are just using the TV speakers. For a soundbar I would pick a Samsung HW-900C or similar if the budget is $800 or less. This bar has HDMI Inputs and can handle all the sound formats found on Blu-rays. Sonos bars only have the one ARC/eARC HDMI in and do not support DTS-HD MA very well.

Check out the Samsung Q900C https://a.co/d/9AqJoJC

I just bought this model a few weeks ago. I’ve been impressed. Paid $800.

I recently bought the 900C and listen to music on it almost daily. I like the sound.

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.

Always used tv speakers and just got my first soundbar (Q900C) for my main TV and then shortly after another one (JBL Bar 5.1) for the basement TV, man what a difference they make, even for hearing vocals alone.

Well, samsung has q900, which is basically the same without surrounds. It has a sub tho, but you should think about getting it cause maaaan, that’s almost cinema experience for a very competitive price. Been very happy with my q930b and I got it for 650€ 😁😁

Q930 Q900 Maybe

I found that Q-Symphony adds a nice touch of fill-in to the front soundstage. Not life changing, but definitely worth it.

I would vote for the Q900 over the Sonos Arc unless you opt for the dual Sonos subs. The Sonos is more musical, but the Samsung is a lot more robust and dynamic. The arc with subs and rears can hold its own. But the arc without rears is a bit "small" sounding. I would actually consider the Q990 and use the settings to repurpose the rears as fronts. I haven't heard it but it sounds like it really kills it as a wide front stage sound bubble.

That was my only real complaint with their 900 series sets. A small settings change in the menu, or even some system-wide awareness that allows switching to a different mode specifically for listening to music -- or even older Dolby 2.1 and stereo channel content from any source. Unfortunately, I can't test this setup myself now, as I have the surrounds mounted, but this is great advice for someone else that comes through this thread. I sincerely hope their next iteration solves some of these issues. Having come from a dedicated Atmos setup, I was impressed with the performance -- but not having solid music playback was a tough pill to swallow.

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

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.