Samsung - HW-Q930C

Nak is a much bolder sound signature than Samsung. It will have way more presence but Samsung will have better surround and clarity and honestly a bit more depth in soundstage.

I have the HW-q930c…. Older model now

I had samsung q930c which supports 9.1.4 just like you said, it was phenomenal for the price which you pay but bear in mind that it's performance directly related to the room size including ceiling height. If you're going to place it in a bigger room I suggest you to go for 990d series which is 11.1.4 configuration which I use now in my living room which is relatively big. I'm sorry I don't know about JBL but I heard their soundbars come with bigger subs comparing to samsung (8inch)

I used to have this and changed to Q990C couple months ago. I have to say Q990C is so much better in everyway. For the same price you might consider Q930C.

I have had the q930c for about a year now and I love it. I imagine the 990c is a bit better but I doubt I’d be able to tell the difference. Bass definitely not a problem I always have to lower the sub volume because I’m scared it’ll piss off the neighbours. I also have a Samsung tv so i use the q-symphony mode which is nice. Impressed with how seamlessly the two devices work together.

When I listen at low volume I just switch to TV speakers. They're much narrower in dynamic range, have zero base and will definitely meet the purpose. That or headphones. These high quality soundbars (I have the q930c as well) really start to shine when you pump up the volume. You'd really be throwing your money out the window. If you want to experience surround and still meet quietness standards, you could look at any 5.1 system, fifth the price of the q900 series, like a Logitech or something in that range. I've upgraded from the Z906 which served me so well. You'll also get better front channel separation than with a soundbar.

I own the 930C and I love it as well. I recommend to add the soundbar in Samsung smart things app and from there increase the volume on the side and up firing speakers. This "passive" surround needs extra oomf to fill the room.

I've had both and set with 930c for my average room. The q990 is about 100w more powerful and has 2 more side speakers in the rear units. They're reflecting sound from your walls, so keep in mind that you need excellent speaker placement to be able to hear it. Also keep in mind that your 11.1.4 is basically a 5.1 system with 6 additional side firing and some upwards. It's halfway to a true atmos system. Q990 will sound marginally more surround in the rare cases when your content is more than 7.1.atmos, but your best bet would be if you're living in a house and you have a large living room. The extra oomf will come in handy if you listen at max volume. Either way, if money is a thing for you, there is still something to note. Watching movies from anything else than a dedicated video player (apple tv 4k, Nvidia shield, AVR, PC) will compress the audio track and you'll loose half of the audio dynamic range, channel separation, surround immersion and audio quality. 7.1 TrueHD or ATMOS/ DTS or DTS-X have audio bitrates ranging from 10-20 to 40-60 Mbps. Any streaming service or thumb drive playback will not play anything larger than 500kbps to a few Mbps.

I have the q930c but I've bought it already knowing that the drivers are movies and game focused. I haven't played a single song on it and I doubt it will sound any better than my Logitech Z906.

Sorry to hear that, I have q930c and it works like charm, couldn’t be more satisfied, my subwoofer is next to my couch and you can really feel it. Try moving it around...

Just picked up a q930c for $799AUD... I'm not complaining

It's a great "all-around" option: movies, music, whatever. Of course people will tell you that a dedicated music system is better, but unless you are an incredibly demanding and particular audiophile, music should sound prefectly good to you on it. It does for me, at least.

It is not a huge issue if the rear speakers are next to the couch and not behind it. That's the case with me (recent 930C owner, just switched from 2.0 myself) and it sounds fantastic (and mine aren't even level with each other). Samsung is a much better deal than Sonos and even LG. If you have the means and are willing to go for the 990D, do it, it's pretty much universally accepted to be the best "bang for your buck" system out there. The 2 additional channels the 990 has over the 930 are located at the rear. Basically the 930's rear speakers have front and up channels, while the 990 adds a side channel to it. There are however a couple of other differences: the 990 has one additional HDMI port and supports 2.1 HDMI allowing 4K 120fps video passthrough, while the 930 does not. This would mostly be an issue for gaming at this point which you don't seem to do.

Like I said I have the 930C, a less than a year old secondhand model I bought for €500, so I can't tell you just how much the rear side channels add, but I've read elsewhere that most people would not be able to tell the difference between the 990 and the 930, be it in the D, C or B models (aka this year's model, last year's and the year before's). And certainly not in a relatively compact TV space like an apartment living room. I would imagine that in your case, you'd probably be happy enough with the 930, be it D or C (last year's model). There is virtually no difference between the two.

As I have a glass wall on one side and it's open on the other side, sound was louder on the glass wall side as it was bouncing off it. I have the Q930C, I noticed with time I no longer hear this unbalance and I think it's Spacefit pro doing its thing

from what I've read sony is the only brand that has decent utilization of the tv as an additional speaker, but otherwise it's just gimmick and not necessary and may make the system sound worse. Those tv speakers are not great. If you're getting a 5.1 sound system, that'll sound way better you won't be too sad. I have an LG C3 + Samsung Q930C, granted, these are not budget options, but I don't have the TV as a speaker option and don't feel like I'm missing anything. My TV remote controls the soundbar and I see the # volume level on the soundbar so it's all good. I'm very happy with this.

I tried the a7000 in best buy where the top floor was rather small so it wasn't a giant warehouse where the sound would get lost and it sounded AWFUL. Maybe it wasn't calibrated, though there was a Sony section so I'd assume they would be instructed to run some basic stuff or a sony rep would fix it. Only Sonos and Samsung sounded good but I keep seeing how great people find it I got a samsung q930c in the end, very happy with it

100000% I came back from my sister's place that have a Sonos Beam gen 2 + 2 symphonisk frames from Ikea which makes it a 5.0 in reality and does virtual atmos and the immersion and soundstage is night and day with my Samsung Q930C The space is a little different of course but similar enough also (with 1 wall on one side and open to the rest of a room on the other) Sonos is really crisp and has more depth in some ways, especially with music, but for the immersion and surround sound, my Samsung beats it hands down.

I rarely use it over volume 14 (live in a condo) with Q930c. Only when I play games will I sometimes go to 18 because the volume is low in the game. I use adaptive most of the time as well, surprisingly upmixes pretty well (samsung internal algorithm) for youtube with the background music in the video, when applicable, surround sounding. I'm pleasantly surprised! Tuning all the channels takes a bit of time but once you get it, it's great, which will come with time as your ears adjust. Spacefit pro I believe helped as well with reducing the volume on the left speakers as that's where I have a wall and at the beginning the sound was bouncing off the wall and was louder on one side and I realized a few days ago that is no longer the case.

I have the Samsung Q930C 9.1.4 myself. It is in my bedroom and it sounds incredible. It is paired up with my Samsung 65 QN90A with high end AudioQuest HDMI’s. I Pleasantly Surprised but my living room is where the Real Monster resides 😎

Then consider Samsung Q930c which should fit in your budget. (I have a Q990C)

That's because they're trying to sell you newer models. Plenty of retailers are still selling the 2023 930C at significantly lower prices than this year's range.

Although q990 is really good it sounds like its out of your budget, you could look for q930c/d its very close to q990 and might even be a better choice for small rooms

There are differences between q930 and q990 series, Q990 is louder, with a slightly more refined bass, the extra 2 channels and spacefit plus instead of spacefit 2.0 i think (god knows how much of a difference that makes). These differences are far from huge , so if the price difference is more than 150 $ they might not be worth for you. Regarding rear speaker placement, when there isnt space behind you what usually works and has been working for me as well, is that you angle the speakers directly to your seating position. also if possible if you have for example a 3 seat couch , dont place the surround speakers exactly next to it and try to give some distance from the edges of the couch (2-3 feet would be great). If that also isnt an option you will lower the rear channel volume to compensate. LG soundbars are not as VFM as samsung and the WOW feature has received very mixed reviews.

I think this is enough to for me to upgrade from a q930c but I dont really see a reason why someone would upgrade from a q990

The issue is also that what music sounds like is totally dependent on how people have set their system up. You'll find people on here who have their rears set at +6 and then wonder why music sounds strange when it's set to adaptive. I will always maintain that the system sounds better when you allow it to tune itself, as Samsung designed it to do. I listen to a lot of music on my q930c and q990b. The q990 is definitely more nuanced, especially for music. The clarity is just slightly better, but unless you're an audiophile, I suspect you'll be pretty happy with either. As someone else mentioned, it's worth noting that a lot of music is now moving to Dolby Atmos, and that potentially has the capability to sound better than good stereo speakers on these systems - not all Dolby Atmos mixes are great, but when you find a good one, the effect is impressive. Finally, there is a lot of adjustment you can make. In adaptive, game and surround modes you can tweak the Bass and Treble, and in standard mode you can alter the whole EQ.

I think you would be amazed by how much the surrounds add these days with Atmos, and how much better it is that they and the sub are wireless these days. I have a q930c and a q990b - both are great, but the q990 series is just better sound in every way once you've heard both. Also, the side channels on the rears seem to create a more joined up bubble of sound. I'm pretty certain you can buy both as standalone sound bars with just subwoofer...q900 series perhaps? I think it varies from country to country. I suspect that if you went q930c you'd be more than happy though. It's a great system in its own right. My brother is delighted with his.

I'm definitely the wrong person to ask, because I have both a q900b and a q930c and think both are incredible. I had an amp and full surround setup before and it couldn't hold a candle. You should be able to get the q990d to sound great in that room setup. When you get the setup correct, you'll find that the all sounds louder because all of the output from the speakers is matched. When you are first setting it up, if it doesn't sound perfect, just keep playing music and it will get there. Occasionally you hear little hiccups or breaks in the sound and this is it changing the phase or the timing of particular speakers. At points you will find that the sound maybe sounds dull at the front or too quiet at the rear, but just let it work itself out. Try and be patient and trust that the Samsung engineers know what they're doing. What I quite like to do, is play music at first and leave it for a good couple of hours before switching on SpaceFit etc. I think the initial 'calibration' is more crude and gets to where it needs to be sooner than spacefit does. I feel switching spacefit on only with a good initial 'calibration' is important.

Why don't you want rear speakers? If you're patient and wait for the right deal, you'll pick up a q930c or maybe even d for around £550. This would be the best plan for your budget - you can use the rears as extra fronts if it's just that your room design doesn't allow it. Rears as rears are pretty easy to accommodate these days, now that they're wireless and only require power.

I have a q930c and a q990b...for £200 extra get the q990d. You don't need a large room to tell the difference. Both are great, but the larger drivers and better subwoofer with the q990 are definitely better, as is having a second Passthrough hdmi port should I ever want it. The q990 just sounds clearer. Having said that, if they heard the q930c in isolation, the majority of people would be pretty happy.

It's a valid point...I had to get a new TV cabinet in order to get the q990b, but it was worth it because it was then able to easily handle the 65 inch LG G2 TV that I then upgraded to - the stand I got is an AVF one that floats the TV above it, but it's 1.25m long which is perfect for the bar. It is kinda brick like, but I think it looks stunning! I don't know if it's a year thing, but my q990b is black, whereas the q930c is a bit more dark grey. The black does look better. I have no idea what colour the d models are or whether the q990c was dark grey? Bear in mind, that the vertical thickness of the bar is also slightly greater, so you might need to set the TV slightly higher with the q990. I have a 55" LG CS with the q930c which sits really low, so even with that I had to buy a 'lack' shelf from IKEA to raise the TV up ...it works pretty well though. The main thing I would say, if price and size are no issue, is that sound is the movement of air. The q990 has larger speakers all around that ultimately can move bigger volumes of air. The q990 is just crisper - somehow, piano sounds more like piano, guitar sounds more like guitar etc when you really listen, and the sub is just that little bit more refined - I don't know if it's because of the acoustic lens...BUT... I don't in any way feel particularly biased to only watching the q990 downstairs. The q930c is incredible for it's more compact size and I'm more than happy to chill on the bed and watch movies/listen to music on that instead. Btw, my brother has the q930c and he absolutely loves it.

Something weird is going on. I have a q930c and a q990b. At the volume 10, I can barely hear it. YouTube through the firestick needs turning down to about 13, pretty much everything else I watch is at 16 - 18. Music needs to be played at around 20 to 25. Make sure you don't have any volume normalization switched on, has this will clip the dynamic range. Next, try resetting speaker volumes. Turn off the soundbar with the remote, then press and hold the left hand 'source' button on the soundbar until it says ON - about 6 seconds. Failing that, factory reset the system. Check your TV is set to eARC in the Advanced Audio settings (I think you said it is) and to Passthrough. Also, I once felt the need to factory reset the soundbar while I was developing the dcx tuning method, because the system sounded really quiet. Annoyingly at the time, it turned out that the problem was actually with the TV. Pulling the plug on the TV while it's switched on and waiting for three minutes fixed the issue. I'd definitely try that.

Just to add to this - it's not just number of speakers in the soundbar but also channels in general - 9.1.4 vs 11.1.4 The size difference is significant. Q930C top, Q990B bottom. https://preview.redd.it/3iyoaogsqxme1.jpeg?width=3125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4bf640737b58540999227d986c914abd5c51bf8f

The point is that people think that because the shape is so similar, the soundbars of the q990 and q930 are the same size, when clearly they aren't. The difference in size is significant! Significant to how they sound versus each other, significant to whether they will fit on someone's AV unit. Nobody is comparing anything to a regular size speaker - that would be ridiculous!

Don't bother trying to stay within the LG family. I think in general most people find wow orchestra or Q symphony (these combine that company's TV speakers with their soundbar's) a bit of a gimmick, and they prefer the sound from just the sound bar in the end. Therefore, go for the best sound bar. If you want rear speakers, you can't go far wrong with the Samsung q930c/d. I think pound for pound, it's the best there is, and if you're patient or can use student cards etc, you'll get great deals on it that pop up. The only limitation would be not having HDMI 2.1 Passthrough, but seeing as you have four HDMI 2.1 ports on the C4, this shouldn't really be an issue.

The q990d is the best Samsung option for pretty much any room, as it is a better quality sounding system. Don't get fooled by this idea of it being overkill. At the same volume it will sound clearer and it's overall better. However, I didn't buy a second q990 for the bedroom. Instead I bought a q930c which is an excellent alternative for quite a bit less money. It's also significantly smaller. That's probably your best option. In the UK, you should be able to get one for around £550 - at which point it becomes a no brainer for your situation.

The difference, contrary to appearances, is noticeable. I use a 930C and bought a Q990D for my parents, but before taking it to my family home I connected it and checked the sound and honestly - I would gladly exchange my 930C for a higher model. Difference maybe isn't big, but there is improvement in overal sound quality, and you can feel why you pay more for higher model.

I have a 930c as well I find it struggles with dialouge clarity imo

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

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

They probably wanna sell you the highest priced model. I had Samsung Q700A and it was so hard to hear anything they are talking until i bought Q930C that's have center channel for dialog and it's a lot better to hear anything.

I've been mulling over the upgrade path from my q930c to a full surround sound setup with individual speakers, do you think this is a mistake? I've been told quite a lot that proper surround is better than a soundbar, but I'm very happy with the q930 at the moment so is there a huge difference?

Thanks for such a detailed response it's really appreciated! I'll stick with the q930 for now, sounds like a lot of hassle for maybe just more problems!

Not all in one but i have the Samsung Q930C. Works and sounds really well. A buddy of mine has an HK multibeam. Not sure if the multibeam is dolby but you can check it out. It sounds great though.

I have a Samsung q930c (soundbar, sub and rears) set up with a Samsung Tv. I found that when using Q-Symphony the bass output was affected, turned it off and haven’t looked back

Avoid it, I have the Q930c and at low volume it sounds like any random 200$ soundbar.

I have the 930C and placed the rear speakers in the front. You can even change the placement from rear to front in the settings in the app. The surround sound is great.

Samsung Q930c, cheaper option, still amazing and worth it. Had it for like 6 months and still blown away

I personally have a Q930C that I do like very much, but I’d be lying if I said i like it more than my old Sony 5.1 home theater speakers (which I used for almost 20 years before they stopped working last year)

I didn't find that to be the case.

if rtings were the final arbiter of what is and isn't good the only TVs on the market would be Sony and the only soundbars would be Samsung. But since we're discussing what rtings has to say, they rated the Nakamichi as the best for large rooms. I personally compared several soundbars and even the Vizio M512a-h6 was better than the more expensive Samsungs. It's still my favorite budget soundbar, by far.

Yeah, it’s great for me too even with 5.1 content. I bought 930c and it seems a good fit for the most of 5.1 content. 990c/d would be great but when 95% of content is 5.1 streaming because there is nothing else… I believe 930c is a good option.

Eh... I had it for a day and exchanged it for an open box samsung Q930c. It would be the same price (new;open box), and the sound quality is way better on the Samsung. Plus, you get 9.1.4.

That's where the samsung would shine even more due to 2 extra speakers.

lol...to each their own. To get a general idea of how all the soundbars compare rtings is a good place to look. Even the higher end Nakamichi rating is lower than Samsung's last year models. The lower end ones like OP is mentioning are not worth it for $750.

Ah yes. The Sonos fiasco. I, too, own a Sonos beam gen 2, and it's good for TV, but you're correct in that music is just mid. In my opinion, having subwoofers is a must in music, and the Samsung comes with it. I bump music downstairs with the Samsung, and I'm very satisfied.

I'm glad you like it. Funny how you dismiss it, and as soon as they phrase it, it's relevant now. If you like it, though, who am I to say otherwise. You enjoy your Nakamichi, and I'll enjoy my Samsung. Your house and my house, your ears, and my ears are not the same, so it's all good, brother.

I choosen 930c instead of 990d. Read reviews and i dont need extra hdmi and the extra power. I still listening max on 8-9 and its enough for me. My room size is 20m2 So choose whats best for you. Also price diff here was like 700 vs 1100 eur, so significant price difference also.

Right? The sub is absolute trash! but people think its the best I guess. Rockin my 930c with a svs pb2000 =)

For a soundbar, I’m happy. You won’t have separation or much control over it, but once you add a sub, I’m pretty darn happy with it in a bedroom.

just got a q930c today :) already started to play with it

Gotta admit, I was really impressed with the Q930C after setting it up for a friend. Sounded pretty darn good with music and movies for a soundbar system.

Owned the SSE 9.2.4 and the lower tier and the Nak is much bolder and far louder than most give it credit for. You can hear it across the house at 14%. The only thing im not fond of is the atmos performance. The soundstage just didnt highlight where all the sounds were coming from. I also had Sonos and Samsung 930c but in the end i ended up with the HT-A9 and SW5 and this is my setup now.

I bought a 930C on Woot last year, way cheaper than on "Amazon". It looked it was going to be shipped slower but showed up in the same amount of time as if I had ordered it on Amazon. New, in box. No downside. No, I don't understand.

Samsung HW-Q930 series deserves to be talked about more. It's a great soundbar!

The Q930 is pretty amazing.  Even rtings has a hard time justifying the 990 because the 930 is nearly as good for a lot less cash.  I'd go for the 930 over the 800. You're going from 5.1.2 to 9.1.4 by upgrading. You'll wish you had the rear surrounds that come with the 930 and not with the 800.  Unless you don't want surrounds.... 

According to rtings the 800 never came with surrounds.  You have to get the 930 or buy the 9500 surrounds at an extra cost. At that point youre better off getting the 930 because the bar has more drivers than the 800

The SWA 9500 would be the best choice for Atmos, but if you add the price of the Q800d and SWA 9500's you might as well get the Q930, which will come with the surrounds with upfiring Atmos drivers.  You can also set the surrounds up as front speakers in the settings if you can't mount them behind, then if you move you can set them as surrounds. 

I don't know why someone would upgrade a Q930 to a Q990 at all.. they are too similar to start to make that worth it imo

I trust the rtings reviews, where they test and compare based on data.   There's no way I'd ever get $600 additional value from a 990 over the 930 at the prices when I purchased.   I barely use the 930 capabilities as it is. 

The Q990 and Beam Gen2 are in two completely different categories.  I own a Q930 and Beam Gen 2.  The only reason I even have the Beam Gen2 is because it was on sale for $250 and I was trying to maximize value for dollar for a spare bedroom and needed something physically smaller to attach to the underside of a wall mounted tv. 

Honestly just save up for a Q930, it's what that tv deserves.  It's worth the wait.  You can set the satellite speakers as front wides, you don't have to mount them behind you on a wall. 

Are you in the USA?  I'm confused as to why this escapes you.  https://gprivate.com/6evue https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-hw-q930d-za-9-1-4-channel-q-series-soundbar-with-wireless-subwoofer-and-rear-speakers-dolby-atmos-and-q-symphony-black/6570311.p?skuId=6570311 https://www.rtings.com/soundbar/reviews/samsung/hw-q930d It's literally everywhere.  I'll return to my original advice.  Wait. Save. Budget for it.  Dont buy a top tier TV and use a budget sound solution. 

can't go wrong with samsung now - the best main stream brand on the market. go for the Q-series and for whatever fits your budget. i love my Q930 - was approx $650

The Q930 won't disappoint, trust me. I have mine in a roughly 12 x 10 man cave with 100" projector setup. It really does put a smile on my face. The only thing I found a disappointing selling point ( in both models) was the "Alexa built in". I have Amazon Alexa speakers in the house and figures this Samsung bar would integrate well ( i.e be able to add it to a group of speakers in the house so I could play music across that group simultaneously). Whilst you can add it to your Alexa app as a device and play music to it that way, ( or Bluetooth of course) the app won't let it integrate to form a group of speakers like it would if I bought another Amazon speaker and added that). A minor irritation in the bigger picture.

I gotcha, probably still have a good time with a 930. Or even q700c and some 9200s speakers. But if good Dolby Atmos quality is what you're looking for, then those cheaper models will only be adequate at best. Better than not being there, but not impressive if you've heard a theatre, and comparatively the Samsung q990c sounds good, even the Sonos arc too.

Not Q990, but Q930; similar design but little bit less channels. 2.5 years and counting. Still going strong.

TBH I don't like most budget soundbars in that price range. They are barely better than TV speakers and one day you'll want to upgrade them AGAIN at which point you're just out more money and created more e-waste. For an 85" TV I don't think these budget bars have the right punch to suit a TV of that size. I would recommend choosing from one of, in no particular order: * Sonos Arc (preferably plus Sub Mini) * Bose Soundbar 700/900/Ultra (okay standalone without subwoofer) * Samsung Q990D (you can find some online retailers that discount this deeply) Or if you really want to go on a budget, maybe the Q930 or the Bose 600. A good sound system is a long term purchase. Like I have a Sonos Playbar from 2013 and quite frankly even a brand new top-of-the-line system doesn't sound a ton better than that.

Did you try placing rears at the front and adjusting sound levels for wider soundstage\\stereo separation? Still not a perfect solution but it di add quite an extre oomph in terms of music, compared to soundbar and sub only

Your reply has significantly impacted my experience with this system. First of all, music indeed sounds noticeably better with rears turned off. I would say that it gives at least an extra 30% to the experience. Turning the side and wide channels all the way down (I perceive the loss of details when those are playing), while upping the center and top made it sound the best for my ears. However, I think that there is a way to give it yet another 20-30% of oomph. After trying soundbar only, I placed rears at the front and turned sound grouping on. Then matched and upped rear channels with front top channels and center with rear top (these two I put at a few db less), and turned all the side\\wide channels all the way down. Sound became more powerful, present and the vocals became even more clear. Also there clearly was a sensation of the increased soundstage. I am not sure what the drawbacks to this approach is except for all the hussle with moving the rears (that's a big one). Channel level matching needs more experimenting, though. I did try smth similar in the past but it gave vary varying results. However this time it produced the best music I've ever heard from this system. I think that Samsung could've made this system much more capable in terms of music with different processing. https://preview.redd.it/qxnyc5j6v9pe1.jpeg?width=591&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d12b2e2364ffc9a5a61b9e7aa9a6a2cb04f1e08e

Seems like it outputs a mono signal in that particular mode(according to the samsung manual). Which still sounded very good(compared to other options), but I do understand now why I was not 100% confident about that sound profile. It did have a great impact but smth felt slightly off Will do some more testing and will create a separate post once the research for best settings is completed =) But yeah, a few extra modes in the app would've saved a lot of the headache P.S. rtings thinks that this particular mode provides stereo instead of mono. Needs testing https://preview.redd.it/0qqzva3umfpe1.png?width=879&format=png&auto=webp&s=6d194ab780e02a5a4032b875df36b6b45051583a

when did you buy the soundbar? I have Q990D and I had the same expression when i powered it on. It all changed after a week. not sure if space fit is adjusting it or it need some burn in time. Mine is much much better now. Definetely the sub is not satisfying for deep bass. if you play a proper dolby atmos contennt, you will see the difference. Not sure if it can compete with a proper 5.1 system. Never used one so can't comment on that. If you need to go above 20 for proper sound while watching movie, then wait. It should adjust in few days. Play with the settings in the smart things app. Play the openheimer intro seen, if it do not rumble the house, something is wrong with the setup. Again my comments are based on Q990D but i don't think Q930 very much different. Edit- just saw your 5.1 setup. that was 900W RMS and Q930 is 540W.

Nah, I like my soundbar cause it sounds good enough while being simplistic. But it’s also no where near the quality of actually bookshelf speakers, but I’m okay with that. The soundbar serves its purpose and my bigger speakers do as well.

I have a Q930 and Q990 soundbars. I also have Revel, Monitor Audio, Triad, Anthony Gallo and Paradigm speakers. I also have about 8 different subwoofers which range from a peewee Definitive SC2000’s to Monolith subs that weigh nearly 100 pounds each. Those KEF speakers are nice but not a good value for performance. They’re geared towards people who want good audio but also need a stylish package. You pay a hefty premium for that style. For $2,400 you could’ve gotten Elac DBR62 bookshelf’s, DCR52 center, an SVS subwoofer with a decent receiver. This would’ve been a much more economical system with good reference quality audio.

The samsung q930 maybe too good for your parents, it is one of the best bars currently, if q990 is too expensive. The 4 atmos speakers are a must for most streaming movies/shows and you wont get anything close to an atmos sound without upfiring speakers.

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

Apart from the massive floor rumble (play independence day part 1 opening scene) on jbl, one will always struggle on dialogue clarity and absence of speaker levels on jbl. Smsung 990 is a true winner. Even better - take samsung 930b/c/d and save even more cash to enjoy an extremely good soundbar that samsung provides!

Always worth it but please please dont spend too much on them as your return over higher spend wont ever truly justify. Find a good one from samsung and just tune the right speaker levels.. 930 series is well worth it if you arent a audiophile!!

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.

Imo the Samsung Q930 is probably the best value

Q990D or C is the last upgrade you’ll ever need. Or Q930D or C if the 990 is too big (literally in size)

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.

Well, this one is the same bar and woofer included in the 990 series minus the rears. If you can snag a deal for less than $120 for the SWA-9500S you could improve your surround experience later… as they only need a power outlet to work instead of an amp. But it’s up to you since you can always return them. I would have gone with a Q930 series tho…

Sonos will break the bank lol. Less than Devialet or Bang & Olufsen, but it's probably the most expensive non-luxury brand. Vizio is best entry level price, lots of great soundbars under $500 and under $300, Samsung is the best performance to price for full Dolby Atmos with surrounds and upward firing.

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

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.