Samsung - HW-Q990C

A soundbar is typically the bar and sometimes the system of a bar plus satellite speakers and/or subwoofer. A soundbar can have as many or little speakers as a manufacturer wants to shove in there. Cheap amazon bars might have 1 speaker, high end bars might have 19 speakers. The only way to truly know is to look at the specs for 'drivers' aka. speakers. Satellite speakers are just extra speakers you can position around or behind you to help enhance the surround effects. As for a system, the number of channels is different from number of speakers as some speakers may run the same channel. Systems are numbered X.Y.Z with X being the number of horizontal channels (facing to you or to the side), Y being the number of subwoofer drivers, Z being the number of vertical channels (facing up or angled up). Example. Samsung Q990C which is arguably the best value soundbar system and probably the most popular is 11.1.4 and has 22 speakers. The main bar has 13 horizontal speakers and 2 vertical ones, each satellite has 2 horizontal and 1 vertical and the sub. Total 22 speakers. I recommend nothing less than 3.1 at bare minimum and most mid to higher end will be at least 5.1.2.

Honestly, your best bet is going to be the Sonos Ray. Never heard anything as clear, crisp, and appropriately responsive for that size, which is surprising because I've tried both high and mid tier offerings from Bose, JBL, Vizio, Samsung, bookshelf speakers (Edifier, Sony, etc.). The Sonos Ray is often on discount on Amazon for $169 and uses an optical connection so you don't have to worry about delay. In all regards of what makes up a sound bar, the Ray has impressed me the most even after trying the Q990C, and Sonos Arc. The only reason I returned mines is because rumors of the Sonos Arc Ultra started to come out so I'm going to wait to try it first as its more than just stereo and if its just straight up overkill for a pc, I'll go back to the Ray (while it is stereo only, it is crazy good and sometimes while watching a movie had me turning around to check if my roommates were calling me just to realize it was the Ray. TLDR: Sonos Ray, $169 frequent sales on Amazon, Optical, Best stereo out of a soundbar that is also super small.

Samsung Q990C - tried a lot, this is the best sound / price wise.

At first you were speaking about a stereo with a sub against the top soundbar systems, now it is a proper home teather? You need to choose one ;). But I don't think your stereo with a sub will sound better then a Q990C with spatial sound and dolby atmos. Been there done that, it is not true about the stereo system.

It was the same for me but with stereo speakers, I was thinking those are the best for music. Tried the 990c and it was very good.

I got the 990C from the Samsung employee discount store for $620. It pairs nicely with my 77C3 LG

Samsung Q990C is the best of all time

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!

Not true! Q990C is advertised as being excellent for all kinds of content from music to TV series / movies and games. According to RTINGS, it was rated at 8.4 for both music and movies.

The distortions occurred only on Bluetooth. The bass quality concerns have been mainly experienced on Bluetooth, but if I remember correctly, on HDMI it sounded a little more consistent

I agree on the q990c. Depends on your type of work nut Samsung has discounts for government, teachers and other types of workers. The other one I recommend to check out is JBL Bar 1000. Last but not least, can always start with a Sonos Arc and expand, IKEA and Sonos partnered to make speakers and for surround, they would be great.

If he doesn't need the ports he could go with the C. Samsung's upgrades....lol....aren't worth tht money since years. It's laughable and I'm a Samsung soundbar guy myself. Wait till early summer and you'll get the F for 950 everywhere. As usual.

Highly recommend the Samsung 990D - or 990C for a bargain if you can still find them, there’s really no difference unless you are a gamer and require the HDMI 2.1. Very immersive Atmos sound. You’ll likely find the 990C for less than $800 these days. Worked great with my LG CX.

Yes there are still deals out there and as I mentioned the only real difference between the 2 seems to be the HDMI 2.1 input. It‘s a great value at $800 or less.

Very true, I don’t understand the “just get 2 speakers from Goodwill and a $250 AVR and it’s going to beat any soundbar out there.” That sub is a brainwashed cult from the moderation on down. In 2024 most people shopping for a soundbar specifically want a soundbar for real legitimate reasons and they specifically do not want or cannot even use a multi-component home theater system.

I’d go for Samsung Q990C or Q990D. They sound absolutely fantastic. Good bass, good low and high sounds, easy to customize it to your taste, and you can find the Q990C discounted I believe. Most LG speakers got a bad review everywhere you look. Edit: I have the Q990C with LG B2 OLED

Bought Samsung q990c for 590$ last week through samsung epp program. First time app users get additional 50$ off, Referral discount stacks on top of it. Just got it delivered and it is amazing. I can still see the deal is alive. I would suggest to pick q990 over vizio.

Tbh, price/quality wise your best bang for your buck would be the Samsung Q990 series. Can you get better sound? → yes sure you can. But thats going to add up quickly in price. With the Q990 sets you get the complete package (complete surround, atmos). Even if you dont think you require the rears, they will enhance your listening experience so much more. Especially in movies that utilize atmos. And if they dont support Atmos, then the system is pretty decent at enhancing the sound to Atmos "like" sound with its sound settings. As for which one to get: if youre on a really tight budget the Q990B will suffice. There isnt that much difference between B, C and D. Try to get the Q990C if its within budget (it should be), as soundwise its pretty much the 990D. Only lacks the 2.1 hdmi ports that the D has.

Tbh, price/quality wise your best bang for your buck would be the Samsung Q990 series. Can you get better sound? → yes sure you can. But thats going to add up quickly in price. With the Q990 sets you get the complete package (complete surround, atmos). Even if you dont think you require the rears, they will enhance your listening experience so much more. Especially in movies that utilize atmos. And if they dont support Atmos, then the system is pretty decent at enhancing the sound to Atmos "like" sound with its sound settings. As for which one to get: if youre on a really tight budget the Q990B will suffice. There isnt that much difference between B, C and D. Try to get the Q990C if its within budget (it should be), as soundwise its pretty much the 990D. Only lacks the 2.1 hdmi ports that the D has.

The 990D for best quality for newest speaker money wise. Its amazing. However, depending on your tv i would advise to go for the 990C. If you have a good samsung or LG television that have 4 hdmi 2.1 ports, then you should definitely opt for the 990C. That is probably a good amount cheaper than the 990D The 990D is soundwise basically the 990C. Maybe just a couple of minor software updates. The only thing that the D > C are the 2 input ports with hdmi 2.1 capabilities. That and the basically useless Q-symphony for the Samsung electronic paintings. If you have a high budget you could do the sony bravia quads with SWA-5 sub. It will cost you though. I can only imagine how good that sound set is. I have a Q990D with my 65" G3. Thats amazing. However i also have a 65" A95L with the Ht-A9 and accompanying SWA-5 sub. The Atmos effects of that system almost makes the 990D sounds non-atmospheric. Its that good at Atmos and spatial audio. So the Quads are even better at doing that.

Pairing most brands their soundbars with likewise tv models often gives you an additional speaker option that comes from your tv that supports your soundbar. However, for most tvs and brands this is just a gimmick. It doesnt really add much to use the tv speakers with a dedicated soundbar. Why do people buy soundbars/sound setups? → because generally tv speakers arent great and we want to improve on that. So unless youre buying a sony theatre quad or hta9 (those systems dont have a dedicated centre speaker, but use a phantom speaker) it doesnt really add much to the soundset to use an accompanying tv from that same brand. So that brings me to always advice people to buy the better quality soundbar set as opposed to being brand loyal. Especially regarding eARC sets. Your best choice here would go for the Samsung sets. They are just better than those LGs. As for which one: go for the 990C. Its probably a good bit cheaper than the 990D. Its sound is >95% of what the 990D is. The only thing it really lacks is the 2.1 hdmi ports. But you will not be needing that, as your C4 has 3 additional 4k144 HDMI 2.1 ports besides that eARC port of your tv. For reference: i atm use a 990D with my 65 G3. Ive used most of samsungs their 950 and 990 bars with previously my C1, now G3 and also my A95L. They all worked amazingly well. For my A95L i will use my newly bought HT-A9 with SWA-5 sub this coming weekend. That would be probably the only sound setup that might benefit of using the A95L as a centre speaker. But i will find out this weekend whether thats the case or not.

Just get a Q990C or Q990D. Its a lot better than sony its soundbars and cheaper too. Only gets beaten by the HTA9 and Theatre Quads. But those cost significantly more than the Samsung sets.

Yes. And yes it can handle high end gaming in HDR: **4k Max Refresh Rate**  120Hz**4k @ 120Hz @ 10-Bit**  Supported**4k @ 4:4:4 Max Refresh Rate**  120Hz**8k Max Refresh Rate**  60Hz**HDR10 Passthrough**  Yes**HDR10+ Passthrough**  Yes**Dolby Vision Passthrough**  Yes**HDMI Forum VRR Passthrough**  Yes**FreeSync Passthrough**  Yes**G-SYNC Passthrough**  Yes**ALLM Passthrough**  Yes

I am rocking a Samsung Q990c I got from a local seller for a little over 600 bucks a year or so ago. It's been hands down the best soundbar I have ever had and it packs a serious punch even thought it's an older model.

Another Samsung Q990x - for me it’s the best for my needs. Always ensure you’ve got auto-update disabled - I’ve got a Q990C and update it manually (did have a period where mine auto updated to 1010 but have since disabled auto-update) after I’ve scanned for issues on here and a few websites.

Another Samsung Q990x - for me it’s the best for my needs. Always ensure you’ve got auto-update disabled - I’ve got a Q990C and update it manually (did have a period where mine auto updated to 1010 but have since disabled auto-update) after I’ve scanned for issues on here and a few websites.

I have a 19' x 16' room and love my Q990C. I sold my Naka 9.2.4 and definitely prefer the Samaung. Voices and clarity are far superior. Naka has more Bass, but the center channel dialogue and clarity is awful compared to the Samsung.

I 2nd this. I have the Q990C and it's amazing.

Just bought the q990c for $665 on Samsungs website US, with a student login.

Samsung website, but you have to have an ID.me login. You have to be like a student, military, healthcare worker… I think you can even just me a AAA member.

Dude just got the 990c for $660 on Samsungs website. I don’t care about pass through cuz I bought the G4!

How does this compare to a Q990C for 665?

Direct from Samsung

Can you sign up for any of their discount programs, even an old student email you can use? They don’t really verify I don’t think. You have to join one of the discount programs. I bought it on Sunday for 665 and it still shows that amount in my account.

I had one for years. It was definitely an improvement over the TV speakers. But after having the Q990C I’ll definitely never buy one without rear speakers again (at least not for a main room). What does your arrangement look like where you can’t have rear speakers?

I'd go for a Samsung q990c. It smacks. Maybe the ambeo

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 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.

Assuming u in america, most of the time u get those for less than 1000, u can also get a q990c(just lose a hdmi 2.1 ports)

Well high ceilings is bad for any soundbar, But the best soundbar hands down mainly with value is the q990 series (c/d/f). Next I would assume is the Sonos arc ultra(but the full set gets expensive) Then I guess the Bravia theatre quads(although not really a soundbar, and very expensive)(also works better with a sony tv, and u would need to buy a sub) That's just my thoughts, idk much abt other soundbars, other can say.

I have the same with living room about 16'x25' area using a Q990C soundbar setup. The ceiling is 10' at highest (side where tv & speaker sit) & 8' lowest where couch is in front of tv about 14' away. The sound is great & have no issues. You won't be disappointed with the dolby atmos sound.

I've had my Q990c for about a year. Dialogue clarity is very, very good.

After a lot of deliberation (and great advice from this community), I went ahead and purchased the Samsung 990C and a pair of HomePod Gen 2s to compare. Spoiler alert: It’s not a fair fight! The Samsung 990C (with its soundbar, subwoofer, and two rear speakers) is the clear winner—and the setup I’ll be keeping. The depth, clarity, and full surround sound experience from the 990C is just on another level. That said, I was really impressed with the HomePods. For just two standalone speakers, they deliver some fantastic sound—way better than I expected. If I were comparing the HomePods to a single soundbar without the extra sub and rear speakers, the HomePods would have taken the crown. The sound they produce is incredibly rich. If a full soundbar system isn’t in the cards for you, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend a pair of HomePods. Even in my less-than-ideal setup (tucked between two bookshelves), they sounded great and managed to be surprisingly immersive. Big thanks to everyone who shared advice and insights along the way—it really helped! Note: This pic shows two HomePods Mini’s that I already owned prior to my experiment. But it does demonstrate the challenging setup that the HomePods still performed really well in.

Note: The pic shows HomePod Minis, before I tested two full sized HomePods against the Samsung 990C.

Q990C owner myself. Outside of turning the woofer and bass equalizer up, it depends on what you’re watching. For example, if I stream a show on Apple TV, the sub has a mild presence with woofer and bass cranked. However, if I play a 4k bluray through my PS5 such as Interstellar, the sub literally shakes my single family house to the point where I’ve watched movies on -3. Also, look into the subwoofer crawl. Funny enough, I found that directly behind my couch was where I could feel the sub the most.

I suspect a big part of it is that the Q990C used to be easily had for $800 while the 900D was in the $1500-1800 ballpark so from a value standpoint the C made sense over the D. These days I’m not as convinced — the D frequently goes on sale

Agreed. Right now the Q990C/D is basically the best sound bar package one can get and at their sale prices are a great bargain.

I think reviewers are reviewing for the category, just like how you don’t review a Toyota Corolla by comparing it to what a pickup truck can do. As you have seen yourself, the other top contenders in the world of sound bars cost more and don’t even sound better overall than the Q990 series. They also don’t offer 4 different sound modes and per channel adjustments so you can really dial in the sound for your room. But yeah, music will never have the richness on a sound bar as a traditional HT system with large left and right channels. But what it lacks in that department it easily makes up for in TV and movie content, especially convincing surround effects regardless of type of content.

Yes, it works and shows.. Both hd ma and dts x

Yes, plus i play remux bluray files with those audio formats and it shows the same. Uae the audio passthrough

It will be great. Trust me. I have 990C it is very awesome in terms of audio quality.

I have a LG C2 65 inch with Q990C,hope you get the most out of your setup!!

I came from Shockwafe 7.1.4 SSE, which worked really well for a few years. I upgraded to the Samsung Q990C, and I must say the difference is night and day. I am very happy with the upgrade. Dolby Atmos with 11.1.4 channels is truly immersive. I got it for less than $1k with a great deal a month ago. It was well worth the upgrade. You won't miss the two down-firing subs from Nakamichi for sure. The front-firing subs impact your sitting position directly, so there's no need to wait for the sound to reflect from the down-firing subs.

It depends on your space and preference, but the subwoofer is usually placed on the left or right side of the soundbar. I have mine on the left, and I turn the sub sideways toward the listeners in the middle. Soundbars have their own microphones to make real-time adjustments for each channel to fit your room. They will adjust the subwoofer to fit your room very well. I love the front-firing sub that faces the listeners. You can feel the deep bass and rumbles from your legs to your chest without shaking the whole floor much or rattling the windows, ceiling, or anything in the cabinets.

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 would recommend the Samsung HW-Q60CC/ZA 3.1.2 refurbished on eBay. It will be under $200 with tax. It is a Costco version of the Samsung HW-Q600C. I have one in my bedroom and it is incredibly great for its price. I have the Q990C in the living room and the Q Series from Samsung are superb. You can check the reviews of those soundbars on the rtings website. Becareful when you searching it is not Samsung HW-Q60C/Q6CC 3.1.

My primary setup has Q990C, love it!

I have a 990C and it’s been great but my old Yamaha receiver with a 5.2 configuration was definitely better for music. In fact the sound system in my car is more enjoyable for music than my soundbar but only because I can really turn it up in the car and I set it up well.

I bought a Denon HDMI 2.1 Switch for multiple game consoles and 120Hz VRR for my 990C, do I need the new 990D?

3 month update. Sold my Q990C and Denon switch and got Q990D for simplicity in setup, but oh man this year's set is soo much better sounding for anyone interested in direct comparison with Q990C. The subwoofer pumps out a punchy sound that is much more integrated into the film sound mix. That alone made any Atmos films better than on 990C.

I have the 990c and that blows Sony's and Sono's offering into a bits, Samsung nailed the 990 series as the best atmos sound system in a package.

I have tested both systems. And I agree with your verdict on both systems. Bose needs to fix their sub popping issues. Some people say that issue is because of the wifi router interfering the signal between bar and sub. So hard wiring the sub to bar should solve the popping issue. For sonos I am only disappointed by its dialogue performance. But overall it is not so bad. So I ended up returning the bose and kept the sonos for my bedroom where I won’t be pushing the volume so high. With that said, Best overall system is Samsung Q990C. I have it in my living room. It provides the best cinematic experience. I know pretty much everyone has said this about 990C on this sub but they are not wrong. It’s definitely the best in my honest opinion. I hope you find the system whichever suits your needs. :)

Super happy with q990. Get it for under $1000 and you'd have to pay double for something that comes close.

After watching and reading hundreds of reviews it came down to the q990c or the HT A9 with sub. With the big epp discounts the q990c was less than half the price of the hta9 so went with the Samsung. No regrets.

Thanak! I know that one, but it’s not standalone. I want to avoid sub and satellite/rear speakers.

Hey. No. Ended up getting a Samsung q990c as I found this amazing prince at a local store who was getting rid of their stock to make way for the 990d. Planned to use it without the rears but ended up with the whole thing. However, had i continued with the standalone idea, I was going to get the B&O. However, as I was already an “aged” product, thought that getting the samsung for that price wouldn’t be a bad deal and I see it as a temporary step while I wait for a new B&o model.

Yep, because for those prices you ain’t beating the value those bring.

Well, the value is where Samsung beats everyone. They’re the most sought after but for some reason the one that gets on sale the most too lol. So yeah, if you can manage to get it then do it. Otherwise you’re gonna have to spend pretty money to match it. That is, if you don’t get a defective unit.

Man, Samsung owns jbl. I could dare to say their bars got better when they acquired Harman-Karson who owns AKG and jbl and other brands I’m sure… The detachable speakers are going to need you to attach them, sure you can connect a usb wire for that but are nowhere near as powerful and channel wise as the 990 series rears… bass performance? JBL wins but that’s about it. I like to think that 990 series is more refined. Now, the 1300x might have more chance to compete tho

And it should, for the fucking price it should. But it actually doesn’t. That’s why the 990 series have always been praised. It’s like the Nissan GTR of soundbars, beating super expensive systems while still below $1k lol! And if a bunch of dudes in a subreddit praising the 990 series isn’t something to consider, you’re just a sucker for Sonos. Because you’re probably neck deep in that shitshow of an ecosystem with the current status of their app.

Arc is designed to also be used without a woofer so its speakers are tuned accordingly. Hell, even a beam gen 2 sounds great lol because samsung is counting on always having the included subwoofer to sound along the other speakers. But the current situation with sonos app is not a good look for the company as of now. The beam and era 100s i had on my room was able to play movies fine but if you ever tried to play music with their (previously) amazing app with included stream services like Apple Music to play Lossless isnt currently working right, era 100s get disconnection errors all the time... So yeah, pricewise 990 series aint getting beaten anytime soon. Sure, Sonos ultra inmersive setup will sound better, for the money it fucking should.

because many of the B unites had that bad reconnecting rears issue... C fixed it and D brought 120hz

if you aint having them rears disconnect every time then yeah, why upgrade lol because they say they barely improved bass on the 990D version let alone the C

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.

Samsung 990C should be much cheaper than the 990D if you can find one. It it ostenibly the same hardware and blows everything else out of the water.

Q990C/D/F will all work perfectly for your use case. Q990D would be the sweet spot of price and future-proofed support, and will likely leave some room on the budget for rear speaker stands or shelves to make placement seamless.

I’m very happy with my Samsung q990c

Not TIDAL, but I use Amazon Music Unlimited and get Atmos / Ultra HD music on my Q990C. Have a Fire TV Cube plugged in to one of the HDMI inputs and play from that.

Honestly as a Samsung convert the 990 series exceeds expectations. I had Sonos arc and beam (1 and 2), the Sennheiser Ambeo, a Bose system, and a few cheaper models. I’ve had the Samsung for six months and it’s the first one that performed for all of my use cases without me looking for something new to try. I’m sure there is bias and it’s not the answer for everyone - especially someone looking for a cheaper system or someone with a smaller room, but in my theater room it’s been nothing short of stellar.

It still performed well. I wouldn’t say it was trash as without the sub it still had a good amount of low performance, but the sub alleviates the need and allows it to focus more on the mids and highs. My issue has nothing to do with the sound coming out of it, and comparing bar only (no rears no sub) it would easily beat the others. With the size of my room the bar plus sub wasn’t adequate. In a smaller room though with the added sub I could see it beating the Samsung as long as the room had the right spacing.

To be fair most people are getting their content from streaming or digital so anything short of an extremely expensive system like Kaleidescape isn’t going to need DTS. You’re primarily looking at DD+/Atmos. My set has eARC so I only use the ARC input on my 990c. (My HDMI input on the bar is used for the kids Wii they have - which at the moment is collecting dust). That said agree with the positional audio. Works great in games like PubG and other battle royale games where you can hear the position of players nearby.

Possibly or it wasn’t configured properly. The Ambeo I head blew the ARC away and I returned my ARC and kept that for a while. We had some really bad flooding last year in the winter and when we rebuilt the room it was much more open and I was testing bars constantly to find the one I would keep (to the extent I don’t know how BestBuy didn’t put me on a list). At one point my basement had an LG SK9Y (I think that’s the model), an ARC w sub and surrounds, and a Bose 900. At that point I sold the Sennheiser and was going to keep the ARC but I got an EPP on the Samsung for $600 and figured I’d try it. Worst case it goes back, best case i save a ton by returning the Sonos. This was also before Sonos crapped the bed with their new app.

You can get Q990C for around $900 from Croma or Reliance digital (in store purchase) with credit card and EMI offer.

I’ve had Yamaha AV receiver with Pioneer speaker setup before. I liked that more than this. Many Q990C fans may disagree with me but for music there’s no stereo separation or whatever but I’m not at all satisfied. I’m not an audiophile but I know it’s not best for music. I’ve heard music in Sonos five and I loved that. Heard Era 300 pair is great. So actually planning to sell this and get it since I hear more music than watching. Again for movie watching (esp Atmos content) this is really good. Good immersive experience. I guess Soundbars are meant for that and it shines in that area. Coming to your fire stick setup, I guess that should work fine. You can plug your fire stick directly to your soundbar (has two hdmi input port) and pass through video to your TV using HDMI out from soundbar. (I’ll check and confirm this with my setup)

Just checked this setup and it works just fine. Connected my Jio setup box to soundbar and connected hdmi output of soundbar to TVs HDMI normal input (not Arc/eArc) and it worked perfectly.

You can adjust the settings so that it doesn’t annoy anyone. At least the Q990C that I have is very customisable, I’d assume the Q930 is the same. I have about the same space as you and was choosing between a Q930 and Q990. Found the C model for around 700 dollars and I’m happy with it, but I’m sure you won’t feel like you’re missing out with the Q930 - at least I don’t think I would have.

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.

I went from the 990c to the 990d. The sub on the 990c was decent, the back speakers were horrendous. the 990d has an awesome sub, the sub all the way watching something with bass shakes my floors 2 story house and my furniture, and epic back speakers it seems like the f is going to have a compact, supposedly, more powerful bass but don't look like much else. I would get the 990d but, and i asked this question i believe here to 990d owners as it does have a small problem, sometimes when you turn it on the soundbar says it's on but you'll hear no sound. It's periodic when it happens and no biggie really. Just turn the soundbar off then back on and you are golden. That and since all the 990d's will be hitting sales now, perfect time to get one of the best soundbars i have had. I got mine during black friday for like 500 at best buy.

Agreed. It's also something to keep in mind that some soundbars/receivers prefer the "Auto" setting compared to passthrough on LG TV's. This is something I've noticed coming from my JBL 9.1 to my Samsung Q990C. The Samsung seems to work better in auto mode with my LG C2 although the JBL was better with passthrough.

Purchased the q990c for $610 through the Samsung edu program. Very happy. As good, or nearly as good, as systems costing 3-4x the cost. For the price, the Samsung is a no brainer.

Meh. I've got a Q990c for movies and a nice 2.1 setup for music. Watching movies on the 2.1 was good, but the 990c is better, especially for dialog.

Might be your room. I've got a wiim ultra into fosi v3 monos and polk R200s. It's not a high end setup, but sounds good enough for my old ears. It was totally fine for movies and tv, but I saw a $600 open box Q990c and took a gamble. At least in my instance, I prefer it for everything but music. I was excited to hear atmos music, but I don't care for how any of it is mixed.

Is the bass in the q990c good? I see some people complaining about it. Also do you play games on it ? I also have the qn90a but the q990c not having hdmi 2.1 is kind of a let down, I would worry that the audio could lag when playing games.

Is the bass good on it ? I see people complaining about it

So far it works perfectly, with the eARC you only lose one HDMI, but I use my PS5 with the soundbar and there isn't any delay and it has Atmos, so it works great. I would go with the 990D if money isn't an issue, just for the private listening mode that I would use since I watch tv a lot late at night. Absolutely absurd that such a feature needs a newer system and it 100% isn't worth the price difference. The bass can be strong, but it's more subtle and less disturbing ("weaker") than other systems, which I personally love. The satellites can be a bit quiet but you can change the volume of all the channels individually. My only grief is having to use the remote all the time because dialog can be so quiet but then anything else can shake the room which I hate at night. I don't know If the issue is the system or the content tho.

Start buying blurays 4k!, or download bluray rips off torrents sites(50 giga or more) Connect iptv box or other android or apple box directly to the soundbar and soundbar earc to tv earc. In mine iptv box i have passtrough on! I watch blurayrips from mine harddrive(connected to mine iptv box) with kodi. I get dolby atmos with digital plus, dts dts-hd, dolby digital etc. I would like to say that regular tv sounds nothing special, most of time is stereo. Vod is already better but its still compressed. So start buying and playing 4k bluray or start to learn torrenting.

Also buy 4k or 8k hdmi kabels, they are cheap. 4k hdmi you really need, 8 k is maybe snakeoil maybe not. But u need passtrough on, this important. I also was dissapointing when i first hear mine 990c. With regular tv i still am, lack of bass!. But with good quality input YOU will be amazed. Maverick intro shakes livingroom on level 10!

Sonos is currently broken. Check out recent news. It's a total shit show. Might be able to get a good used one on Markerplace right now...then wait for them to fix what's broken. You can also score big on other used soundbars. I picked up a Sony HT-A5000 for $200 and SW5 sub for $300 recently. Last two versions of the Samsung Q990 series can be found at great prices.

Q990C has been under $700 lately

The Sony 360 spatial mapping, for one. Insanely good. I also had issues with connectivity between the Samsung and my Bravia. The Sonos sounds very musical but was really "thin" sounding. The Sony is just so...robust/enveloping/full...I think that's the best way of putting it. No matter where you sit, you'd swear there's a speaker smack in the middle of my left and right side walls. It's just an awesome sound bubble, but it's not just noise all around. It all fits together. PLUS....you can use 3rd party dual subs. That's a game changer. Sonos allows for dual subs, but not from any brand. The Samsung has a really nice sub...for a soundbar. But it doesn't compare to my Sony setup. Now...with all that being said, the Q990 series is a killer killer killer value that sounds awesome. I picked up a new Q990C for under $700 from Samsung direct for my son's new house. It's incredible for what he needs.

I would put that Q990C well above the Sonos Arc system, but it didn't play nice with my Sony 85x90L. Once I returned the x90L for the x95L, I ditched the Q990 for my current A7000 setup. I like the A7000 a lot more now that I have it dialed in (along with the two sub). I would hands down say that the Q990 series is a great value. My adult firefighter son just got the C for under $700 with the first responders discount. And it did sound great when I had it for sure. Really dynamic and it had a great "sound bubble". But my A7000 is better for my personal environment. And did I mention dual subs? Haha. The Bar 9, supposedly is an improvement (mostly due to software and maybe two more speakers, I forget) over the A7000. But it's not a huge difference, from what I've seen. And the 9 has less control over volume levels for each speaker and there is no option for dual subs (you can see my pattern here). I'll try out the Quad setup for 30 days later this year once it drops a bit in price. But otherwise, if I was starting over, I'd still opt for my setup, especially at the current price of the 7000 for my x95L. For your Bravia 9...man, I'd love to have a go at the Bar 9 or Quads to see how it sounds with the accoustic Center channel enabled (I have it turned on now, but don't notice much good or bad). I'm just hoping they roll out an even better sub and possibly provide an update that allows dual subs.

It was back in late December, so I don't remember the exact details. But it just wouldn't consistently connect or stay connected to the tv. I remember trying different HDMI cables, rebooting, etc. But I admittedly didn't have much patience with it because Ive had multiple Samsung soundbars and half of them ended up returned for quality control issues. I current have a basic Q60R (I think that's right) and a Q800 with the 9500s rears and they do a great job. So you just never know about the QC of Samsung soundbars....if you search, you'll find a lot of posts about the Samsung soundbar lottery....so as soon as I started having noticeable issues, I threw in the towel and moved on.

For something as amazing as the A95L, don't skimp on sound. Can't speak for the Bar 9, but I have my A7000 dialed in with dual subs and it's incredible. If I do anything else, it will be the Quad. Otherwise, for a top performer and great value, the Q990D is probably the best option. As a side note, however, I returned my Q990C earlier this year because it didn't play nicely with my X90L (before I returned it for the x95L). Not sure if that was a systemic issue or just bd luck. If I didn't already have my A7000 the way I like it, I wouldn't feel bad about trying the Samsung again. Otherwise, I say go all out with the Quad and SW5

I returned the Sonos arc system last year and got the Q990C and thought the Samsung was more dynamic. But I returned it also and got the Sony A7000 system and prefer it out of the 3. Arc would be my third choice.

The Q990 is a great sounding soundbar. My HT-A7000 system was a step up in that it almost rivals a full surround system (receiver, speakers, etc) for my room. The RS5 rears are a must, of course, depending on your room size and seating layout. Plus, while the q990 sounded really good, it didn't play nice with my Sony tv. Kept dropping sound and a few other quirks that I don't recall (it was 12 months ago).

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

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.

You're not specifically wrong, but I will say that my HT-A7000 with RS5 rear speakers did a great job with phantom sound and made my basement media room sound a lot bigger than it was. The rear (and phantom side) separation was great. The front stage was somewhat narrow compared to an actual surround system but it made up for it with the reflective sounds off the side walls that placed side speakers where there were none. And there was definitely no issue with centering the vocals, haha. My son's Q990 does a great job in his living room, as well. Not a full system in terms of overall dynamics and separation, but very very acceptable, to say the least. I moved back to a full 7.1 (soon to be 7.1.4) setup and it's amazing, of course. But I do notice a difference with less reflective "side" effects when compared to the A7000. Not good or bad, but just noticeable. If Sony would ever take the quads concept and implement a 5th center channel speaker and allow for dual subs, they would blow away the market for those that want near-AVR performance with more simplicity.

Can you move the sofa forward about 10"? Here's how I set up my son's living room with his Q990 setup. https://preview.redd.it/tt808n9a9bie1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dde7751fccac9a3f9f6f130fbf896e3e9b3648d3 The atmos rears do a great job of dispersing sound toward the listener, to the sides, and upwards. I had really good luck with my Sony RS5 rears, as well (the 360 spatial sound mapping is amazing). My personal ranking would be the top Sony system (A7000 or newer Bravia 9), then Samsung Q990, and then the Arc system. I tried all 3 in Dec '23 and the Sonos sounded nice but sounded like a soundbar big time. The Sony and Samsung, gave me a better. cinematic feel, for sure. I would have a ton of ideas for your 5.1 system if you're still considering that, as well.

Well, the Samsung Q990 comes with the rears and sub. They really can't function without all three pieces integrated, so your point is valid, but sort of also proves my point. You have to have the combination of solid top level sound bar, great rears, and a good sub. That's the only way you're going to get a sound bar that functions anywhere close to a full system. My Sony system was my favorite, followed by the Samsung Q990. The Samsung also out performed the Sonos system, which was three times as expensive hands-down, no question. I spent close to $3000 on the Sonos system at the time. Bought the Q 990 to compare it to at a third of the cost. And the Samsung killed it. Then I went back and spent a little over $2000 on a Sony system and it topped everything. The Sonos arc system sounded really good, but it just didn't give me that same full cinematic experience in terms of depth and fullness. The main thing that Sonos has going for it is that you can use dual subs. But then again, so did last year's Sony system. Of course the new ones do not.

Short version for anyone reading this post for pre-purchase research - on last year's models, I tried the Arc, Q990c and HT-A7000. The Sony won out by a large margin in terms of dynamics, immersion, and reliability for my 85x90L and then 85x95L. Also, if price isn't an issue, the tipping point is pairing it up with a Sony tv (integrated menu and ability to you with using the tv as the center channel - I give this feature a solid "B"). For price, stick with the Samsung if your going with this years models.

Man, I've been right where you are. Years and years of tower speakers and subs cluttering up my medium-ish basement, giant projector hanging from the low ceiling and a 110" screen covering an entire wall. Boys have mostly moved out and we spend most of our time watching various streaming shows (in 4k). I briefly installed in-wall speakers as a 9.2 system (to replace the tower) but ended up rearranging the entire basement layout. At the timed I didn't have it in me to patch up all the speaker holes and then cut new ones to re-install all my in-walls again with the new setup. So decided to sell some of my stuff and mounted a Sony 85x95L and went for an upper-end soundbar system. Started with the Sonos Arc system, then tried the Samsung Q990C, then ended up with a Sony HT-A7000 with RS5 rears and dual subs. The Sony totally demolished the other two previous soundbar systems (for my particular room). I held on to the in-wall speakers and I keep toying with the idea of re-installing them...but the Sony sounds so good, it's really hard for me to pull the trigger on buying a new receiver, and then running all the speaker wires through the walls and ceilings, plus cutting new holes (probably looking at 200 to 300 feet of speaker wire, since my receiver would be in the closet under the stairs. So I'm torn. During the day, I'm researching, then when it comes time to pop on our shows, I'm reminded how incredible this system sounds. The Dragon setup is something I've read about and watched videos on a ton. Most reviews are really positive, and they all say it's the closest you can get to a complete system like you have now. The only negative I've seen is that their QC might not be super stellar, and they're hard to work with in terms of warranty and service. But that's just what I've read. I will say, I figured out how to use dual subs with my current setup (as I had with my old 9.2 system). So I'll never go without one. The main ones I'm aware of that officially support dual subs is the Sonos and Nakamichi.

Not sure if you meant to reply to me directly? But my Sony hta7000 with rears and dual subs totally destroys the Q990C I had before. My point was, this soundbar is so good it keeps me from putting in the time needed to reinstall my old in-wall system.

Yeah Q990 is a great setup. I just feel they in my room, my Sony setup is light years ahead of it with its 360 spatial sound mapping. I have the SW5 and a Klipsch basic 10" sub. I'm about to move on to dual RSL speedwoofers, so that's gonna be killer. I just got my adult son the Q990C for his new house and he loves it. No hate.

Last year in the same month, I had the Sonos system (with the 100's not the 300's for the rears), the Q990C, and the Sony HT-A7000 (with RS5 rears and SW5 sub). (1) Sony (2) Samsung (3) Sonos

Can't speak for the latest models, but I've had the Arc, Q990C and the HT-A7000 (all with rears and sub) - and the Sony Outperforms the others by a significant margin, in terms of immersiveness and reliability. For 2024, the Arc is the same, the Bar 9 is supposedly an improvement sonically, and the Q990 has only modest improvements (according to reviews). But if you end up with a Samsung tv, you might consider the Samsung based on some features exclusive to staying in the family, and price. The Arc system sounded very musical, but nowhere near as dynamic as the Sony or Samsung with movies.

Yeah respectfully, it was 100% the opposite for me. The Q990C sounded like a really good soundbar. The A7000 with the bigger rs5 sounds like a home theater. Plus you can use a 3rd party sub.

Q990c owner. Everything I need and more. Very happy with it.

If u can find a 990c go for it

My ATV is as your option 2. Firstly, YouTube ‘Subwoofer Crawl’ is a good place to start, tweak it from there. Personally, I defaulted everything. Turn on Space Fit, Surround Mode, all other ‘enhancements’ off. Leave it like that for a couple of weeks at least. After that I turned up the front and rear (rear for me) top channels and turned my ‘woofer’ down to about minus 5 I think. Once your sub is correctly positioned your room will vary greatly from mine. Room mode/standing waves affect sub performance greatly, positioning is everything. Having your rears as fronts, you’ll have to work that out yourself..but space fit really does work, it just takes time. I have a C3 but w/Q990C

Nothing to lose bud. Yes, I learnt it takes time, on here really, there’s little in the ‘manual’! Hope the sub goes well, it is tricky. Once it sounds best, then it’s getting it balanced so it blends, not dominating and not boomy. Find a song to help, Everything by Michael Bublé is a good one, nice deep bass. 🤞🏻

I had a pretty inexpensive 5.1 set up that I cobbled together a couple years ago. I think all in, I ended up spending about $600 for everything. Yamaha r685 receiver, basic 10" Monoprice sub, the Jamo S803 speaker set, and a Rocketfish wireless kit. Definitely not anything great, but it sounded pretty good to me. I ended up getting a good deal on a Samsung Q990C for $699 right around Black Friday. And I will say, while the sound separation was better on my Jamo set, I feel like the Samsung is a better set up. Maybe if I had experienced a mid level or high end surround system, I would have a different opinion.

It's basically the q990c without the rear speakers, so it's very good. Best buy sometimes has the rear speakers on sale, I got some for $80.

No, it's the same bar as the q990c set. It's slightly better than the q930 bar.

I had a sonos system for a few days, returned it and bought the Samsung Q990C last year. Never looked back! I might have gone the home theater route if I had a bigger living room but the Q990C has more power than I could ever use (rarely cross the 20 speaker level, most of the time I'm on 15). Everything sounds really good: music, games, series, movies, sports... And it's wireless as well with no delay. If this one broke down tomorrow I would buy another set without thinking twice.

Damn, that’s a helluva soundbar for the bedroom. I have the same model in my living room. I am quite impressed with it.

Q990C all the way The atmos performance is killing it. The only way the sonos would sound better is when playing music that's about it.

If the subwoofer Is way better then the q990c I would def upgrade with time.

Honestly they sound great when there is a movie in dolby atmos, but playing music fuck they suck lol

I'm using the 990C in my attic cinema, it's a big open room with vaulted ceiling (no support beams, only a few resistance concrete bars and drywalls). it's still amazing and sounds too loud for me to go past 25 in volume, Atmos still sounds amazing.

I just picked up the Samsung 990C. For me, it is quite good. Real full sound. I would recommend purchasing from somewhere that allows returns on open items. Speakers are very personal preferences and you may not like the sound when you get it home and set it up. I really enjoy the Bose speakers, but to do the same as the Samsung bar, I would be into a lot more money.

I went from a Q950A to a Q990C, ill wait for the G or if I can find a deal on a Sony BRAVIA Quads.

Best of the best would be q990c or d BUT if you want a very solid one for MUCH cheaper, you can look into its older iteration or the 900x series. Q990c/d are 1000-1500$ sound system. Their price is quite inflated because the biggest improvement they have over previous gen is some features like auto EQ, nightmode, Alexa built in etc… but not much purely sound wise. I personally got the Q900A + 2x SWA9500S rear speaker for 320$. The sound difference is minimal. If the q990d is a 20/20, the q990c is a 19,5/20 and my q900a is a 18,5/20. And its 70% cheaper lol The Q950T can also be a great choice if you have good deals since it is from 2020. Lacks some features the others have but it’s probably top 5 Samsung in terms of sound quality. Very good one!

Ask r/soundbars and they will almost always recommend discounted Samsung Q990c. And I agree. Beam 2 itself costs about $450-500 and getting sub later will cost even more than the bar itself. Add the rears and it gets expensive rather fast. If you're not interested in expanding into whole Sonos ecosystem and just want a TV sound system then a discounted Q990C (which gets low as $600 often) is a good choice considering that it includes subwoofer and surround speakers. Downside of Samsung would be there is no upgrade path from there.

Lg C3 & Samsung q990c connected via eARC plus apple tv 4k direct to soundbar via one of its HDMI ports. Plus I believe Sony gets their OLED panels from LG. So basically just go for the best for you in each category.

Q990c. Got it for like $950 new on Amazon a few months ago.

Watching TV at that distance won't require 4K because you won't even see the difference. If you were to buy a soundbar and was eventually planning on the sub which is pretty much crucial if you wanted the bass then you might as well consider the often recommended Samsung q990 series which includes the sub and the 3in1 rear and up firing speakers. Your problem is also going to be your ceiling which isn't flat and really high so the soundbar may not be optimized. Edit: voice typo

It should have read required . Stupid voice typing . The whole point of the 4K TV is the immersive aspect, which means you sit closer. You can't see the sharpness of a 4K TV unless you're close to it. When you're that far away, the details won't show up. It's like whenever you walk into Costco and you see those LG OLED tv's and it's sharp af, It's because you're literally standing in front of it and you're able to do so because the pixels are so fine. If you were to stand 20 ft from it. You would not notice the same level of detail as you would if you were closer. Sono without the sub is good but with the sub is totally different. I was going to get a Sonos but then I added up the sub cost and everything and it was just too much so eventually just ended up getting the Samsung q990 which included the sub and the speakers as I mentioned.

I have a Sony tv and a Samsung q990 soundbar. They work fine together connected to the Xbox series x.

Bigger sub, better rear speakers with up, side and front. 930 doesn't have sides. I was in your boat. I decided to spend extra money because over 5-10 years it's not really a big deal and it does sound better to me.

https://www.rtings.com/soundbar/tools/compare/samsung-hw-q990c-vs-samsung-hw-q930c/37889/39768?usage=8767&threshold=0.10 The measurements are slightly different.

How is the dialogue compared to the Bose? I have the Bose Ultra that’s I can still return. I tried the Beam Gen 2 and Q990C and the dialogue on the Bose beats them hands down. If the Arc Ultra can come close to it, it may be worth trying it out.

I have the Bose Ultra and it is indeed excellent for dialogue. It’s a bit more than what OP is willing to spend though. The lower model (550/600/Smart) is also quite good. I think for Black Friday the 550 was selling for about $200. I tried the 600, Ultra, Q990C, Arc Ultra, Beam 2 and ultimately kept the Bose Ultra mainly for the dialogue clarity.

Planning to stick with my 2 years old Q990C maybe going to add subwoofer from polk audio maybe ht 10 to get some serious low end on the surround mode otherwise it's old in standard mode

The only reviews are about the recent software issues, I’ve never seen bad reviews about sound quality for it. Sub is better on the Sonos system, but the Q990D should be good. IMO, a cheaper 2 channel setup isn’t going to beat it. I came from an entry level Sony 3 channel setup powered by an AVR and the Q990C as a whole was better.

Watch Andrew Robinson’s Sonos Arc Ultra immersive review. He specifically says it beats out some standard setups, which I agree with. I’m curious to know what soundbar your family has, because I tested the Q990C and original Sonos arc against Sony Cores I previously had (3 fronts only). On front soundstage alone in my viewing area, it was close. In fact, in some instance the soundbars did better, especially with things like dialogue. The soundstage on the passive speakers was slightly wider, but it wasn’t a day and night difference. Higher end soundbars like Sonos and Samsung don’t get enough credit. The Q990D is itself is impressive given that you get surrounds and a sub for under $1K often. And those surrounds are not as you say, small sounding. They punch above their weight and Samsung Smart Home allows for a lot of tweaking.

i think u need to disable the DRC in yamaha soundbar and it will sound great . The problem is the DRC is set to medium by default and unless u are sitting signficantly far away from the soundbar or in a very large space u dont really need this function. And i have listened to samsung soundbars and ones from LG.. their sound is either hollow, shrill or isnt as forward as Yamaha because they lack mid range drivers... Yamaha has drivers separate for tweeters and mid range and sub bass..its actually a 3 way speaker. This is tricky situation because the Yamaha will bring out the defects in the low quality source sound if u play a low res or poor quality compressed sound it will bring about a deformed sound because poor quality sources usually dont have properly defined sound frequencies ( the treble will creep into midrange and midrange will creep into the bass ect)... And these drivers are packed into the soundbar unit But soundbars from LG and Samsung mainly use tweeters for the main soundbar and a separate powered subwoofer which handles midrange and bass.. They may give the illusion of being more expansive since the drivers for midrange and bass aren't in the same housing but in actual fact it is not.. The bass will be terrible as it will sound deformed and the separate subwoofer will emphasis that deformed midrange and bass sound a lot more. But if u play a properly mastered sound , Yamaha will sound better than 1 or 2 way speakers. from LG and Samsung. And yamaha has the proper Bookshelf Speaker *Fabric* Cover *Grill* over its speakers and therefore it has a more bookshelf speaker like sound, i would say detailed but dark tone vocals and bright treble The yamaha subwoofer in my SRb20A , although it is built in dual subwoofers it is actually 60W and the total power comsumption is 120W The Q990c is **Operating Power Consumption (Main)** 41W \*\*Operating Power Consumption (Subwoofer)\*\*26W it is in fact less powerful than the yamaha

The q990c speaker arrangement is using tweeters and the drivers inside them are rather full range . They employ a beam forming sound with multiple drivers to create expansive sound but the sound itself will lack character and tonal balance. Because all of the drivers will be playing the same sound. And full range speakers try to reproduce the low mid and high frequencies with one driver. The samsunt soundbars are rather employing sound modes to create expansive sound with single drivers to beam at different angles. There is nothing great about this. The DRC on the Yamaha can be adjusted by pressing down the off , music and movie modes buttons . Consult the manual. DRC was never a good thing in any speaker. It's called volume normalisation or other names . in windows 7 it's called volume normalisation and introduces artifacts and destroys the character of the sound . Which is why it seems to be removed In later windows versions .

The Q990C definitely sounds better than a 2.0. It's technically an 11.1.4 system but if you were gonna get an actual 5.1.4 system it would probably sound a lot better.

The newer samsung soundbars like the Q990 are definitely better than a 2.0 system

Why is everyone saying the samsung Q990C/Q990D sucks for music?? I put on apple music app on my LG C2 and music sounds great,since it’s lossless and it sounds great on 990C

This model? https://a.co/d/flwqJog I’ll have to keep my eyes on sales. Sitting around the $900 mark which isn’t bad. I’ll be replacing a 3.1 setup that has some old Polk RTi6 fronts and CSi5 center (also have a pair of RTi4 that I used to use as surrounds in my last house), powered off a Denon avr-s760h. I plan to sell all those to help offset the purchase. Might be a downgrade in some respects, but the soundbar setup makes a lot more sense for my somewhat small TV area. Thanks!

I bought 990c for the movies primarily and I was not disappointed. I can’t remember when was the last time I was genuinely impressed by a tech product. The surround sound is brilliant, everyone visiting my home gets a demo if they want to or not, not because I want to show off but I want them to experience what has impressed me so much. I like it for the music as well because I like flatter more balanced sound output and this one does that. I don’t like theater audio anymore because they turn the channels all the ways up and it feels like every audio is coming from every angle. But in this the channel separation is very clear and dialogues crisp.

Someone here recommended the 990C and I picked one up. That is an amazing sound system. Everyone I demo'd it to were impressed by its sound quality.

I should remind you, you already said that, to you, the Samsung sounded better. That’s all that matters in the end. Opinions of your friend and the sales person don’t matter. You’re not buying it for them. That said, it’s always interesting to see what others have to say. I have the 990C - almost the same as the 990D - and I wouldn’t think of changing it. It’s very natural sounding. Clear speech, while not ‘thin’, with the kind of bass that doesn’t shout at you. btw, I also have a pair of JBL PartyBox 710’s for outdoor use. There’s no doubt about it, JBL know how to knock your socks of with base. But heavy base in a sound bar system isn’t a good idea, imo. Bottom line, go with what your own ears tell you, and bear in mind that the 990D is popular for good reason.

My 990C came free with 65” OLED. I have the rear speakers where they belong, after being temporarily placed beside the bar. The difference huge. I use Adaptive with Q-Symphony. I wouldn’t give a thought to later versions (unless they’re free, lol).

I’m just an average joe consumer so no means for me to do A/B testing but this reviewer did say D sounded better. Can’t verify it though. Link: https://www.avsforum.com/threads/samsung-hw-q990d-11-1-4-dolby-atmos-soundbar-review-one-of-the-best-just-got-better.3298094/ In any case you can’t go wrong with 990C seems like

Depends on what you need and what breaking the bank actually means. Samsung q930c is not nearly as expensive as the q990c but you get almost all of the value. If you want to budget over time and don’t mind starting off without a sub or surrounds, the Sonos Beam Gen2 is not expensive and is a massive upgrade over any TV speakers. It’s also tiny. You can eventually upgrade it with a sub and surrounds, but mine is still without both and it’s still wonderful. Is it as good as my q990b or a full AVR? No. Is it much cheaper and smaller and still great for games, movies and music? Totally.

Either the new Sony Bravia Quad or the Samsung Q990C/D are considered the best value for money. Depends on what you use them for but if you want clear dialogue and a good sound bubble, those would be my choices. Personally own the q990b and not going back to buying AVR-based systems.

I'm sorry but you'd be a fool to buy anything besides the q990c. There is no such thing as overkill lol

If you don't need 120hz passthrough, the 990c is a steal at that price.

Just add a powered subwoofer to your q990c. Cheaper than upgrading the full system and sounds amazing!

Due to a work discount program, I just got the Q990C for $600. I heard the Q990D at Best Buy so figured they must be close enough. If not, I'll return it but I couldn't pass up the price!

Thank you. I'll have to mess with settings once they come in. That's a whole new level of understanding for me, so I'm looking forward to learning. Thanks for the feedback!

What? Noooo... My brother has the q990c and a Samsung TV for the full q symphony fleffect. It's wonderful to listen to. Turn q symphony off and you can tell that a huge chunk of the mids disappear. It just sounds fuller.

Samsung Q990C, can’t beat it for $630 through their special offers program.

You have to qualify with an edu email, teacher, other group etc that samsung gives special offers to, but you probably know a student in your life. Here's a link to the deal, and if you buy through the samsung shop app on your phone you'll get an extra $50 off for a resut of $635 [https://slickdeals.net/f/17598783-edu-epp-samsung-q990c-11-1-4-ch-wireless-dolby-atmos-soundbar-system-685-free-shipping?src=SiteSearchV2Algo1](https://slickdeals.net/f/17598783-edu-epp-samsung-q990c-11-1-4-ch-wireless-dolby-atmos-soundbar-system-685-free-shipping?src=SiteSearchV2Algo1)

Yea I see a refurbished vizo m 5.1.2 for 308 on ebay. I tried to buy a hisense 5125h from aliexpress and got burned (paypal will refund since they gave fake tracking). I signed up for a college got a edu email and got the q990c but should have waited? I've been enjoying it for quite a while tho and didn't want to keep waiting. I think the vizo m or hisense 5.1.2 would have been fine I just didn't want wires behind me

I bought the most expensive Samsung soundbar a few years ago. 990C or some shit. I really wanted the Atmos and the streamlined simplicity of it all was appealing for the living room in my new place. Relegated my old setup to the basement... My massive 30+yr old JBL speakers (yes, they are pushing 35 years old) attached to a very modest, Yamaha Home Theater receiver (I think it was $450 ten years ago), an admittedly very nice JBL center channel speaker (maybe 25 years old), a $120, 10-inch sub that I bought at some point to replace a 12" Velodyne that I used to love, and 4 bookshelf surround sound speakers (7.1 set up) and I'm in the basement all the time. Any time I want to turn the lights off and get lost in a good movie... down to the basement. It's night and day. So disappointing. I think I got a great "deal" on the soundbar at the time. Paid $1600, I think. Sounds are supposed to bounce off the ceiling... fully immersive sound that surrounds you, blah, blah, blah. I have to turn the voice enhancement feature on most of the time. Truly disappointing.

Definitely the 990C but mainly as you should be able to get it way cheaper than $1250. I got mine over Christmas for £899. Don't pay $1250 for it.

i just bought the 990C for $1200 US and now you guys have me thinking about the 990D for $1700. what is the biggest difference?

Yep. JBL is about the only solution out there for completely wireless rears. I love my Samsung, but you need power cables for the rear speakers

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

Your jbl speaker has base itself, why the hell use the 990 without the sub? Makes no sense!

I bought the 990c last year on orange monday deal at 500€. The hype is real. I'm from Greece. Samsung does not have employees everywhere also i hate other samsung appliances like refrigerators, washing machines even tv's! I have an lg c1 55 oled connected to my 990c and i use it also with my PS5. The sound is awesome!

JBL is owned by samsung. It is true that jbl emphasises more on the bass but the 990c has more balanced and natural sound.

I am shocked at how damned good the Samsung 990C is. I do not care for Samsung as a brand, but I am thrilled to have this one piece of gear in my house. ATMOS movies are great, even in my less than ideal family room with the left wall partially open to the living room and no rear wall since it's open to the kitchen. The side firing channels on the rear surround make a *huge* difference on regular Dolby Surround coming from the Switch. The sound of an exploding bomb rock or the chomp of a Bulborb eating your Pikmin revolves *perfectly right around you* as you when Captain Olimar is walking in an arc. It's better than on my "real" 5.1.4 system. The ATMOS mix of Riders on the Storm might be the finest crafted mix in the format. It's just perfect. Does it sound *quite* as good as my "real" system with KEF LS50 Meta fronts, Klipsch center, Paradigm surrounds/upfiring, and Velodyne subwoofer? No, but it's pretty damned close and certainly a **lot less** cost and setup effort, especially if you can get the Education discount. I had serious doubts about rear speakers that just plug into the wall, but man, no longer. The powered sub is solid, too. Once again, I don't like Samsung, but this...this I *love*! It's more than "good enough" for me. My wife and granddaughters love horror movies. They've actually unplugged the rear speakers a time or two because they were tired of twisting their necks when something creeped up behind them.

I went with the [SAMSUNG HW-Q990C](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BVWCDMNN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1). Its last years model so it was cheaper than the current version. I paid $970. Very impressed with it. Its honestly almost better than my wired pieced together system (elac uni-fi speakers and Denon receiver) in my TV room.

The Dragon scares me. I think it would be great, but only one year warranty is a huge turn off. I can afford to purchase, but not if it dies in year two. I’d cry. I have a 990C in my bedroom and it’s actually pretty good. Paid about $800 for it and I like it. For me I would also look at the Sonos Arc ( hopefully a new model coming soon) with era 300s and a sub or two. I was debating a Dragon and or the Sonos for my living room due to wires and such.

I agree. That’s rough. I don’t want to plug into my TV for all of my devices. Dragon handles it all. As does the 990. I did look at extended warranty from BH for the Dragon, but might just keep my AVR and do my best to hide wires.

I have a Sony Bravia with the Samsung 990C. Works great.

Haven't gotten my TV yet but got the lg s90tr during their partner deal and it's been pretty great with my old LG TV. Love using that one remote for both. The wireless speaker are great. Just need to tweak the sound Have the samsun s990c in another room and that is fantastic

I’ve got the last gen Q990C in my living room, and a full Klipsch Reference Premiere setup in my family room (RP-8000F II towers, RP-504C II center, RP-600M II surrounds, RP-1400SW subwoofer, along with a lower end Denon receiver). The full Klipsch setup sounds better, particularly for music and for really deep bass in movies. HOWEVER, the Samsung completely changed my opinion on soundbars. It’s totally respectable, takes up minimal space, and the wireless surrounds are really convenient. And at least on my Samsung TV, everything integrates really well. It’s actually great for movies and for gaming. I’ve even gotten compliments from guests on how good the TV sounds lol Overall I don’t think you could built a better home theater setup for the price (especially on sale!)

I'd suggest experiencing the sound bar through a Blu-ray player. Every streaming service is lowering the fidelity of their service. 90% sound like shit and the other 10 is still hit or miss. If you don't enjoy it through Blu-ray then it does live up to your expectations and you should dump it. I love my 990c on Blu-ray but it really is hot or miss on every streaming service but that's on their end not mine.

Q990C owner here. While it is great for TV and Movies I'm still in two minds about music for personal use versus music for sharing. I like my music loud when alone and the Q990C is quite capable at higher volume in my set listening position but for entertaining there's a sweet spot that others won't appreciate at lower volumes that you'll probably want for dinner parties, etc. My honest preference for 'background' music is to use larger floor standing or even better wall mounted monitors with wiring back to a separate amp because the 'warmth' of that sound seems nicer than the small drivers even in higher end bars like the Samsung Q990 series. If you're going to invest in a nice sound system for multiple purposes then worth asking yourself if getting wiring in place for proper speakers is worth it or not.

There is no real value comparison, for the price difference it's not worth thinking about. Samsung is a simple decision, no upgrades (other than possible software fixes/tweaks) but Sonos is hugely more expensive for no major uplift in overall experience. Don't get me wrong, I really liked the Sonos Arc full package and wished I could've afforded it but I'm glad that I didn't and got the Q990C instead because at the time I saved hundreds that I've been able to spend on other home cinema (media player) upgrades since.

Similar experience here. My ancient 5.1 Pioneer AVR sounded great with four floor standing Kef towers and a real centre but I switched to the Q990C and I'm quite happy with it for anything but stereo music. The lack of width in the front soundstage is unavoidable with a single bar, the side reflections never work as well as my old setup but for big movie night the overall quality of sound is great and the rear speakers and half decent subwoofer make a huge difference. Value wise it's just a no-brainer compared to a real 7.1.4 setup at double the price or more.

Yea unfortunately everything always seems to be that bit more expensive in Ireland compared to mainland europe, UK & US. If you're looking for a soundbar, then I'd absolutely grab that deal on the Q990D if I were you. I originally ordered the Q990C (which is still €1,600 - €1,900 in most stores in Ireland, if not just out of stock completely) for €1,000 on Amazon thinking it was a great deal, but there was no delivery date when the order went through so it seems their stock had just run out leaving me with the option to either keep my order open waiting for more stock (which may not happen) or just cancel. All left my head wrecked because with the Xbox the Q990D is the better option but at €2k price I think I'm just going to go for the X3800H receiver (€1,399) and hopefully get some 2nd hand speakers to start me off instead. Best of luck with the Q990D if you do go for it, that's a great deal 👍 Edit: Sorry just re-read your original post and you actually don't want the surround speakers but hope you get sorted anyway

I have Samsung q990c and it’s amazing! You can find the q990d on sale around $900 or less. Look on slickdeals website.

Have the Samsung q990c and LG C3 65". This soundbar can get really loud if you want and the dialogue is very clear. You just need to use adaptive sound mode to get the most out of non atmos sound and do some tweaking on the individual channel levels (I turn up all the surrounds) as well as EQ to taste. It also has a night mode which mutes all the effects to not go too loud as they are usually mixed loud. Will it sound as good as dedicated speakers? This Samsung soundbar actually sounds much better than my old infinity 5.1 speaker set with amp. Not quite as smooth and full range as my JBL Pro speakers, but for the ease of use, Turns on with TV and use TV remote to adjust the volume, it sounds great. It does take about a week to break in and sounds much better after a week. I was initially a bit disappointed out of the box, but am really happy now. Even music sounds good from sources like Youtube Music or Amazon Music, just make sure its in adaptive mode and not normal which only uses 2 speakers instead of all 11. Also so tidy with no wires anywhere to worry about. Surrounds and Sub connects up instantly to the main unit and it can also work as an Alexa which was nice since I can play music without turning the TV on or connecting my phone.

I have q990c and love it! Great loud or soft. Changes the whole viewing experience entirely and love how discreet it is.

If youdont game then get the q990c.

Weird the Q990C ranked higher than the Q990D. Maybe because it hasnt been out as long.

Or wait for sale and pick up 990C for under $700. That's what I did.

I second this I never been someone that has to be matching their TV and Soundbar the Samsung Q990C works perfectly with the A95L just wish I went 77” over 65

Samsung Q990D is amazing I have the Samsung Q990C, Sony A95L, Apple TV, and Panasonic UB820 the soundbar will be shaking walls with all its high quality output!

I will try to answer this as best as possible. I have the Samsung Q990C connected to the 2.1 HDMI eARC. TV speakers are off. I have the PS5 connected to the TV HDMI 2.1 VRR. I have both the Apple TV and Panasonic UB820 hooked up directly to the TV HDMI 2.0 inputs. I have the Sony set to Prioritize Pass Through with eRAC set on Auto. There is no lip sync issues or audio delays the Samsung Soundbar will play the highest quality Dolby Atmos/ DTS X and anything in between. No issues once I switched out for a higher 48gb HDMI cable. This allows me to control the A95L, Q990C, UB820 and Apple TV all with the Sony remote :)

Yes you are very welcome I’m active in the community you can’t go wrong with the Samsung Q990D/C there is plenty of bass and you can customize your settings on the Samsung “smart thing” app. If you are into streaming it sounds really good, if you are into physical media this thing will blow your socks off due to the OTT quality haha

My best advice is to keep tinkering with the settings or reboot the system. I came from a JBL 2.1 where the bass was amazing but everything else lacked in comparison to the Samsung Q990C. Once you are able to get where you want the system the normal if placed in a living room I tend to see the bass kick on around volume 8-10 depending what you are watching. Dolby Atmos/ DTS/X content tends to shake the entire house at levels 25 and around level 35 it sounds like you are in a movie theater.

ERAC matters more than brand imo Bravia 8 is a phenomenal OLED it will have no issue with the Samsung Q990D. I have a A95L paired with a Samsung Q990C works perfectly paired together.

Never had any issues with pairing with HDMI ARC with different brand TV’s and Soundbars. As the comment above mine I agree the Samsung Q990D is clearly the better system. I have it (Q990C) paired with my Sony A95L 65”

In my own personal opinion I’ve read a lot about that to me it’s more of a selling point or “gimmick” it definitely helps but the Samsung Q990C/D can hold its own. I have pictures on my profile of my set up. I tend to keep it in adaptive mode where it uses all its speakers firing and this thing can fill a room as you mentioned. I would continue to do more research but I feel like I am not missing out on anything just using the Q990C imo.

A.) 77” G4 or B.) 77” C4 plus high level soundbar I would go B.) I know audio and visual is suppose to be 50/50 but with an outstanding soundbar I think audio slightly takes the edge. I have a 65” A95L paired with a Samsung Q990C it’s amazing! Looking to upgrade to either a 77” G4 or 83” LG C4 for more immersion!

Sounds good I usually play music doing house chores. I keep it in adaptive mode and made some tweaking to my liking. Atmos content holy shit it sounds so good and even DTS/X. Up firing bouncing off the ceiling is hit and miss based on content; however, the quality of the sound when listening to Dolby Atmos & DTS/X can’t be beat imo! Plenty of bass as well tends to shake the house around 20-25 levels.

Do you only want a 2.1 soundbar and sub - or would you also like to add rears for surround/Atmos? I would suggest looking into the Samsung Q990D or last years Q990C - they both sound incredible and can be found for ~$800-1000. Woot has the Q990D with sub and rears for $1000 currently, and I just got it for $825 last week. I have the flagship Sony system that was the predecessor to the Bar 9 - it’s incredible but I spent nearly $3,000 for the bar, rears, and the beastly sub…. The sub is better, but everything else about the Samsung system is better and it’s so much less. My 2 cents! Link in case it’s helpful… this isn’t the best deal to be had but still only $100 more than I paid and a great deal! (NEW) Samsung HW-Q990D 11.1.4ch Dolby ATMOS Soundbar w/Subwoofer - $997.99 - Free shipping for Prime members https://electronics.woot.com/offers/new-samsung-hw-q990d-11-1-4ch-dolby-atmos-soundbar-w-subwoofer-1?utm_medium=share&utm_source=app

I just got a 990c and I don’t hear anything other than 5.1. I’m coming from a separates and an AVR. So maybe I’m just not a-tuned to yet. But either way. I’d think unless there are actual surround speakers… all those phantom speakers are just snake oil.

I have two AVR setups, both mid/low budget level setups. Compared to the higher end sound bar, the separates sound better. Is it better enough to justify the complexity ? It’s meh… but I’d take a budget 3.1 separates set up over the soundbar. But if you want only movies and want surround sound, and have never heard a system with a dedicated center, left and right channel separation… then a sound bar is hard to beat. I chose the 990c because I wanted as much of a wide soundstage as i could find in a sound bar and I was curious about atmos and if those upfiring drivers actually ricochet noise as advertised. Maybe it’s just the room or maybe it’s just the lack out soundtracks with effective atmos. But I’m not really impressed with it. At least not yet. I’ll continue to tinker and see what’s what. At this point. There still isnt a replacement for displacement

If you listen to music a soundbar just doesn’t have the R and L separation. I really like having surround channels for movie watching. If it’s easy for you to lay speaker cable to the side/behind the couch then I’d go separates and an AVR. But I also like listening to music. So in my primary space I elected to go with 5.1.

Also keep in mind the price point. A good soundbar is north of $1000, some of the systems by Sony, Bose, or Sonos are closer to $3000 if you get surrounds and a sub. The Samsung I got was $700 with the education discount. It’s considered one of the best on the market but I’d take a 500$ Jamo 5.1 system and a budget Denon AVR for less than a 1000$ over them.

You are better off with 3.1 and a AVR if you listen to music and want clearer dialogue and impactful bass. The 990 is basically a decent 5.1 sound for movies. I have the 990c and the Atmos is a cheap trick that only really works if your room is a perfect cube. If you get the 990 for 700$ or less then it’s a decent value, but if getting it at the 1899$ MSRP? It’s far from a great system.

It’s in the description of a few of those. I’ll be honest, I’m not a huge fan of soundbars and like most home theater equipment. There is a diminished return value. Spending more doesn’t always get you more. Stick to cheap 5.1 bar by Vizio, I wouldn’t spend too much. I bought a Samsung 990c on an education discount for about 700$ USD because of all the reviews and I found it very “meh” and not worth the hype, let alone the $1899 MSRP. If spending close to $1000. You could by two basic bookshelf’s and a center channel with a 300$ AVR and it would be a class above any soundbar. But that’s my opinion, I’m just another idiot on the Internet.

I also have a 990c and whole heartedly disagree. Impact and soundstage of a mediocre 2.1 setup trumps the phantom immersion of the 990c.

Most likely is the room. But I honestly hate the lack of sound stage even on movies. The sub is sub par and the rears never produce enough sound to be impactful. And yes I’ve tried the app. The R200s are solid speakers. I’m not for certain, but I would gauge that if you had an AVR, your movie experience with 2.1 may be better. Either way. Cheers and enjoy the 990c.

I have a 990c, not sure how much better the newer version is, but I found the 990c super underwhelming.

You need to know what “channels” are what first. Let’s pretend they are separate speakers. Center Channel : speaker in the middle, usually below the TV. Arguably the most important channel for movies as 70% of sound can come out of this speaker alone. Right/left front channels: these are your music channels and what is usually meant when we say stereo sound. Subwoofer: arguably just as important for movies as the center. Not only does it provide believable and immersive effects which you can feel when walls shakes. It provides tension, which is super important in slow quiet dramatic scenes. The three channels above and the sub make a system 3.1. Surround Left/Right channels: these speakers usually go a bit behind your ears but flanking the left and right of the seating position. These will probably only account for 10-15% of a movie s sound but are the ones that sell the “surround” experience. Think of in Star Wars and the big spaceship is coming in overhead at the start of the movie. The music is coming from the front R/L, the tension and rumble is coming from the sub, as it flys overhead on the TV you also hear it flying around you do to these channels. Now we have a 5.1 system. Surround RL back channels. These two channels are placed directly behind the main seating position and work to amplify the surround effect as now you are hearing sounds from behind you. The spaceship in Star Wars just got bigger. Now we are at 7.1. We can now move on to Atmos. These speakers provide atmosphere as they are heard from up above. Not too many movies utilize these sounds but those that do can be impactful. Think of a movie like Maverick where hearing a jet fly above you is meaningful. Even at its best. This is a marginal percentage of sound though. They can have multiple channels here, usually best with 4. Think of two right above the main seating position and two right above the TV area. Now we are at 7.1.4. Systems with two subs would be 7.2.4. Soundbars, especially those that state they include all the channels work by deflection off the walls. They work best in a perfect cube of sorts because their aim is to shoot the sound from the side or top of the bar and have it bounce to the seating position to mimic the sound actually coming from the side or behind or the top of you. I have a Samsung 990c, they state something like 11.1.4. It has two surround channels with drivers facing traditionally to the user and to the ceiling and to the side. I honestly have only heard the sounds coming as if they were traditional 5.1. But my room isn’t ideal for a bar. In my opinion, go with a 3.1 bar that can come with surround speakers which you may choose to use or not. Go with the widest one you can as you want to get as much separation between the center channel and the from R/L speakers. Especially if you listen to movies. Unfortunately some of these bars include so many drivers that it can make the sound come out muddy as they all seem to be coming from the same source (because they are). Hope that helps.

Love my Q990C

I love my Samsung HW-Q990C

I have the Samsung Q990C for my PC. Works amazingly well

u/plotkin916 "Bypassing the soundbar and plugging the video directly into an hdmi 2.1 port on the tv has caused so many issues with various media players, streaming devices and console apps I’ve tested." I've just got a S90C and Q990C recently setup with eARC enabled between them using an 8K 2.1 HDMI cable. Are you saying that it will be better to plug the HDMIs from the gaming console (Nintendo Switch) directly into the soundbar rather than to the TV? Or does it not matter with eARC? What kind of issues did you see? Thanks in advance for any details here!

Hi, guys, thanks for your comments and sharings. I chose the 990c finally that is on the way. I know it might not be perfect on music playing, but it’s a compromise considering of value for money.

I've played with it for several months. Average above performance and doesn't yet amaze. Experience in movie watching 5.1 or 7.1 trueHD or atmos web DL videos through NAS and apple TV: good surrounding effects for some, not for all. I think they are related to the video encoding method. The newer, the better. Blu-ray disc: not tested pure music: 5 out of 10. I can hear sound from front speaker and sub only. Sounds lack of depth. Plus, I can't get atmos effect anytime. Maybe upgrading to a professional video room is a way to make it happen.

Love that sound bar, however here the Tv needs to go a couple of inches higher. Or that cabinet needs to loose a couple of inches off its legs

Try your luck with Samsung Q990c or Q990d. People say they don't work in rooms with vaulted ceilings, but nothing will work in those rooms, not even separate component system with upfiring speakers. You may actually be very surprised by the sound out of Samsung soundbar and if it does not work for you, it's easy to return one back. Your Atmos height effects would not be as pronounced in the vaulted ceiling room, but you would still get a surprising amount of sound bubble around your listening position and be able to enjoy modern Dolby Atmos movies and music.

Realistically, Q990d surpasses Q990c as the best Samsung soundbar. While many would point to the largely unchanged sound profile, the support of full HDMI 2.1 video passthrough is a godsend for all the gamers out there and new sound modes like Private listening and Sound Grouping both are very useful and will be in demand from buyers. I know I would use both: private listening for late at night TV watching and sound grouping for fuller Stereo mode and in party settings.

So basically as good as my 990C, love it!

I love that my Q990C has basically the same overall ratings as the Q990F :)

Mine does the same thing fur 990c. Someone said that speaker was trying reconfigure sound for best quality.

I have a 990C. Doesn't seem worthwhile upgrading solely for a smaller subwoofer. This was the main takeaway I got from some reviews.

I ended up buying the Samsung 990C and the elevate just sits in a closet now. 600$ down the drain

I had a Yamaha Yas 209 and thought it punched way above it's weight . Upgraded to a Q990c but the Yamaha was fantastic for the price and it's 3d effects are actually pretty good .

I find that I can easily exhausted listening to the Q990c at moderate volume levels , it works fine though at low levels and I can quite happily watch a Dolby atmos movie with the volume set below 20 . There's also a night mode that is less headache inducing .

I just switched from a Yamaha Yas209 which was a great soundbar . However it does not come close to the Q990c

As I said the Yamaha always sounded great . However Installed the Q990c and even before I connected the rear speakers it gave a much fuller and more expansive sound. I have the sub turned down and I rarely have to increase the volume past 12 . Whereas the Yamaha at the same volume is over 60. I never knew about the DRC but was always happy with the sound out of the box .

Simplicity for sure, especially if you have 2 kids under age 6 running around. Prior to us having kids I had various AVRs with floor standing fronts and rears, centre speaker. In some homes I had the speakers built into walls etc. Now, no point as with the kids noise etc it impossible to hear the sound “pure” mot like we can sit, watch a UHD movie in Atmos and Vision without any background noise. We need subtitles on with most movies etc lol Our Samsung 990C still lets us hear moments of nice sound, the sub def adds to everything, even kids stuff on YouTube. We get to enjoy some silence when our 5 year old watches the tv in one of the bedrooms, but never the same as it was when just the two of us lol. Consequently, soundbar was the answer. For me, Dolby Vision is a game changer, looks great on our 85inch screen.

Samsung buying Harman Kardon is paying off. I love my q990c! Congrats my friend

I have the 990C and find that it works for both with some adjustments to the settings. I set up my great room with the 990c and operate it differently if TV or a Movie than with music. Really depends a lot on how you get music to the bar. AppleTV with AppleMusic or AmazonMusic connection gives lossless and Atmos and you can tune that well for a nice ambient sound. Resident apps on your TV like Spotty or Apple may be less than great. Settings to adjust are front/rear, speaker levels, sound mode (like adaptive or standard) and finally EQ. Lots of ways to make it work for music if you are prepared to do so

Listened to the 990c for the first time at Best buy a couple days ago. I couldn't believe how good it sounded in comparison to my five speaker Yamaha surround sound system. Definitely picking the 990 next, amazes me how found a soundbar has come.

I love my 990C!

I had my old university's edu account, and I used that got it for 640 after taxes

I got the Samsung Q990C brand new from Woot for $998. It’s excellent. https://electronics.woot.com/offers/new-samsung-hw-q990c-11-1-4ch-soundsystem-w-dolby-audio-2023z-8

I tried both, the entire Bose ultra bar setup with 700 sub woofers and surrounds and also the Q990C. Got the Bose for 1500 on a deal and Q 990C for 700 w/epp discount. Finally kept the 990 and returned the Bose. Despite the huge price difference, I would have kept the Bose as it’s something I have desired for long. But I was so disappointed with constant connectivity issues with my TV. Spent hours with bose technical support with firmware upgrades and the works to finally get it to works and then it turned out that the connection with the TV would still drop. The solution was to go through a specific TV power, HDMI cable and soundbar power plugging and unplugging sequence to get it to work. Pretty significant pain point to continue to tolerate. On the sound front, I have read mixed reviews, but I did feel that the Bose were slightly better on overall clarity and the punch of the subwoofer. The Samsungs good on clarity too but does fall a bit short on the bass and volume stability. While I didn’t have a choice, it’s upto you if the Bose is worth the extra $

Yeah monitor stand and keyboard is the way coupled with you being too close to it, ideally with sound bars you want to reasonably level with it (maybe two feet above but you also want to be 2-3 meters away at least, otherwise the sound stage will be quite messy especially if you want music to be a primary use case. I used to have studio monitors (PreSonus Eris e5) and a Samsung 2.1 sound bar connected to my TV in the living room and the Eris e5 sounded substantially better when playing music. I'd say 2-3 times better, it was night and day better. The Samsung sound bar was a pretty low end bar.. (I think maybe a S3xx or something? Was a few years ago I sold that) but even when compared to my current Samsung Q990C the Eris e5 sounded better for music. They are just tuned different. Personally I prefer headphones at my PC, but I live in an apartment and prefer not to make too much noise with my partner in the other room!

eARC is an enhanced version of ARC. ARC means “audio return channel” and eARC means “enhanced audio return channel”. ARC supports high bandwidth audio like Dolby digital and DTS, but that’s where it stops. If you want to utilize Dolby Atmos or DTS:X, you need eARC. If your tv doesn’t offer an eARC HDMI port, you won’t be utilizing Dolby Atmos or DTS:X, even if the soundbar supports it. With all that said, if you go with the Samsung q990c, you won’t be let down. Ask anyone who is anyone, the q990c is better than everything currently available.

Q990c. It’s all about band with my guy. If you wanna try and run Atmos on a ARC, go for it but I’m telling you it can handle so much bandwidth before it’s a loss.

Q990B, Q990C, Q990D and Q990F. All the same except 4K/120hz support in the last two. If you have any of these, you're good. Additionally, the reviewer should correct the review and mention that the Q990D already supported 4K/120. The way it is written, it sounds like it is a very important new feature, when it is not even something new.

Because you have a 2.1 channel system. You have no dedicated dialogue center channel. And higher level soundbars use tricks like ai voice enhancement. Check out [rtings best soundbars for dialogue](https://www.rtings.com/soundbar/reviews/best/by-usage/dialogue). I happen to have the soundbar listed as their top pick coincidentally. Between its two voice enhancement options and being able to customize each individual channel level even poorly mastered audio is fully customizable and always sounds great. Also it’s impossible to get real Spatial Audio like dtsx and Dolby atmos without at very least a soundbar and rear speaker combo with top firing speakers. You can have last years top pick q990c which is often on sale as low as $600 usd with epp rewards without spending thousands and having a fantastic top level system with full multichannel control, amazing bass and great dialogue enhancement. There are other cheaper options like Rtings budget pick Vizio v51-h6 which is a great upgrade for $200 or $160 at Sam’s club. Really cost has become a small barrier for full soundbar with rears and dedicated bass setups. For a little more vizio m512a-h6 can be had refurbished $300 or new $400 without sale pricing and has atmos and dtsx

You could hire someone to do the installation and have a lower profile than that giant dragon and still be looking at a cheaper price since you already have ithe speakers. You’re not going to get a superior sounding soundbar. My advice if you are uncertain if a soundbar system will be enough then order the cheap q990c. It’s very cheap for a high end soundbar especially with your budget and with epp pricing plus you can gauge if that’s enough, if a little upgrade like the dragon is worth it or if you need a real system. Or demo a few systems at a Best Buy with a magnolia room.

Q990c is better bang for your buck but I wouldn’t trade my q990d and have found the 120hz passthrough essential.

I have C3 77, and samsung 990c with it. I am thoroughly enjoying it. The rears have a strong presence and that was one of my requirements along with a <1000eur budget. I wonder why you definitely dont want rears

And if you use a Samsung Q Symphony capable Television with it, both the Tele and 11.1.4 work simultaneously to deliver some incredibly decent fidelity. Sammy owns JBL and Harmon so it's no surprise they had this in them. I have the Q990C teamed with Qn90a. Try it with The Grey Blu-ray DTS Master starring Liam Neeson or Tenet 4K Atmos both deliver the goods in this kit. Enjoy 🍿

I’ve just got the Q990C after selling my Sonos setup (arc, 300’s, sub mini), Not tried it yet, however I did use the Arc on its own as the 300’s sold before the others. And I was surprised how good the arc still was on its own. For the price you can get one second hand now, it’s really really solid

Simply not getting the use out of the sonos that I wanted (not a lot of free time), but still wanted a decent enough sound. So sold the sonos, giving me £500 extra back in my bank and still having a solid sound setup. Overall I’d say the sonos is stronger and more consistent, but the 990C is very very good

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 have the 990D and you'll really enjoy the 990C. Being able to listen to tracks in Dolby Atmos format from Tidal (Amazon and Apple also offer format, sadly not Spotify) is an awesome experience. But even if not in Dolby format, it's a great system, especially when set to grouping if you have a party you can move the rears to whatever room. And when not listening to music and watching movies, few systems can rival the 990 series

I would get the Q990D, but if you don't need the 2.1 HDMI for gaming, then you can get the Q990C for same price as the Q930D. The Q990 both have excellent Atmos and the bass isn't overly punchy

Honestly, I am not a fan on this company and their pricing. I was looking to recommend the Samsung HW-Q990D or if you dont care about not having 2.1 HDMI the cheaper Q990C model for less and I saw they had Q800s for the price of the Q900s. Anyways, I recommend checking out Walmart, Amazon, or Woot for deals on either of these 2 models. I promise you they wont disappoint and certainly worth the best bang for buck and rated better than the Sony you're looking at. [https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-hw-q990d-za-11-1-4-channel-q-series-soundbar-with-wireless-subwoofer-and-rear-speakers-dolby-atmos-and-q-symphony-black/6570312.p?skuId=6570312&extStoreId=819&utm\_source=feed&ref=212&loc=19231583506&gad\_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0Oq2BhCCARIsAA5hubXs857IxxJpB32YtLSH7MnxevYm4EKkUAcGUcAVh4xIWkqIwldr3mAaAr9sEALw\_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds](https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-hw-q990d-za-11-1-4-channel-q-series-soundbar-with-wireless-subwoofer-and-rear-speakers-dolby-atmos-and-q-symphony-black/6570312.p?skuId=6570312&extStoreId=819&utm_source=feed&ref=212&loc=19231583506&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0Oq2BhCCARIsAA5hubXs857IxxJpB32YtLSH7MnxevYm4EKkUAcGUcAVh4xIWkqIwldr3mAaAr9sEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds) DO NOT BUY AT THIS PRICE! But I wanted to share one of the models. And you can find the Q990D for under $1k on deals that happen. Like Woot for example, or prime day, black friday, etc

I agree. I have a Q990D and absolutely love it. Here is an in depth review by Andrew Robinson on Q990D. Honestly, this also applies to the Q990C too. [https://youtu.be/kef17V06BWA?si=W7V5zofpIPYru-TS](https://youtu.be/kef17V06BWA?si=W7V5zofpIPYru-TS)

Yes. Not sure if it's still on sale but the Samsung Q990C was $615 on the Samsung website about a month ago.

Anyone coming from a Samsung 990B/C/D setup? I have the 990C which sounds muscular and impressive, not terrific at music IMO but otherwise great. Have 2 ERA 300s and a Sub Mini used as office speakers which could be re-purposed...

Have the 990C and Arc (not ultra), 2 ears 300s and sub mini. IMO the ears 300s are better than the Samsung rears. The rest… a total toss up with slight edge to Samsung. They sound different, honestly not sure which I prefer. For value: buy Samsung. For quality: ? Both close.

my 990c helped so much i have samsung crystal tv 2022 model and had that issue not now wow just wow

many told me 990c a was like same sonos mind set. But wow 990c is a bargin a got mine £870 uk

I have the Q990C and the subwoofer sucks. I have it turned up and can barely hear or feel the damn thing. Any recommendations on how to get this bad boy thumping.

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.

That's entirely up to you haha. If you want to get some future proof long go for the best (or even go for 990 if it's in budget). If you move onto better quality videos and movies etc. you'll want the best possible (990). If it's just going to be always for sport and Disney and Netflix etc, go for middle of the pack. And as others have mentioned (I didn't because it's not the 4ktv sub), a tv upgrade one day would also benefit you lots - but that's for the distant future. Sound is now!

The Samsung Q990C. Not the most robust setup but it perfectly meets my needs.

I have the exact same setup as you, 990c surround sound and it completely wipes the floor with the Homepods no doubt, but I have an open plan kitchen - living room - dining room situation and so I have the surround sound in the center and a HomePod on either end of the floor, because if you walk outside the surround sound area, you do get situational audio, as in, very loud behind you. This way there’s a big round sound everywhere, super duper surround sound for a full floor. But yeh, the Samsung 990 are just fantastic.

I have the Q990c and it’s awesome for me but I have really high vaulted ceiling so can’t speak on the atmos imaging to much. But I recently watched Andrew Robinsons review of the new arc ultra and he has nothing but high praises for it. However if you’re spending the money I would encourage you to go with the system that has the era 300 instead of the one hundreds. It costs a little more but will give you much more immersion in surround and probably atmos.

I got the Samsung Q990c for 750-800 and it’s great. Had a Vizio M512 before and it’s a huge upgrade.

If you have a favorite then always go with that, it is your 500 at the end of the day! I’ve owned most of those brands, Sony do make quality audio gear. I would never spend 500 on HK/JBL but that’s just me. I’m currently using a Q990C from Samsung because I own a Q Symphony Samsung TV. I would highly recommend it for this feature and it works seamlessly together. I don’t know for other TV brands though.

Unless you need extra HDMI ports then find yourself a Q990B or C, it should be considerably cheaper than the D!

Nope. C has an extra HDMI port but not anything worth extra money. The letter at the end is model age, B is 2022 and so on.

I’ve had both, including the Sonos One as surrounds and the Sonos subwoofer too. I was a huge fan of the Playbar with the full spec - back then (2017-2020) you had to manually switch between stereo and 5.1 for surround sound. The Q990 is definitely a step up, can switch automatically based on the input codec (stereo, 5.1 or Atmos), is great value for money if you can nab one on sale, and is terrific Atmos wise. Ive never tried the newer Sonos system in all its glory as the Samsung was too tempting as a full system vs the Sonos Arc only price tag wise. Atmos support is growing apps wise and will only continue to keep growing. Music wise I’m not a huge fan of Atmos but fingers crossed that continues to improve too.

My personnel advice: I am a Samsung 990C happy user and I am telling you, Do not go for a soundbar at $500-600 native price range. Maybe if it is a greater product on discount sale do it. (Check for the Samsung 990B 2022 flagship) People buy soundbars to approach the cinema experience without the hassle of dealing with wires and multiple speakers occupation of space. Budget entry level soundbars are just for tv audio enhancements and great alternative exist for that. At that price you will be deceived and will start to think about your next purchase as soon as you've tried the soundbar. My advice: Go for a 2.0 speakers+avr setup. The management (wires, space occupation) is around the same as the $500-600 soundbar you will have to install and you will have a $1500 soundbar sound quality at least. probably better. Buy: - Elac debut 2.0 B6.2 ($355-365 THE PAIR) add an entry level solid AVR : - denon avc s670H ( $350-400) Yes it is a little bit over $600, but you had your question and there is my contribution.

if the 990d have just some extra smart functions go for 990c, i personaly putt all smartfunctions off, they are rubbish, nothing you can't do with other devices

It’s pricey, but the Samsung Q990 was one of the best purchases I’ve ever made. The sound quality is AMAZING. I bought the Q990C on sale in October with a AAA discount on the Samsung site, ended up costing me only $699. I suggest using rtings.com to help your search, they have the most comprehensive soundbar breakdown that I’ve seen online: https://www.rtings.com/soundbar

I have the Q990C and was initially disappointed as well until I made some adjustments. Adaptive sound first of all. Then I updated my channel levels instead of just turning everything up I have center -2, side +2, wide +3, front top +6, rear +5, rear top +6, rear side +6. I also moved the woofer behind my couch and set it to +5. Then enable bass enhancement. Also EQ for bass it at +3. It sounds amazing now and the bass shakes my couch and fills the room so much better now. Feels better than being at the movies!

Q990C goes on sale for $650-700 often.

I just got mine a few days ago for $650.

Yeah I have a Samsung 990C in my bedroom. No chance in hell I want a full 5.1 in my bedroom. Also just set up a soundbar for my mom. She can barely figure out how to get to Netflix so I’m not about to have her figure out a receiver.

Yeah took me a while to get used to it sleeping. I remember watching top gun and hearing jets fly by my head in my dreams.

Without price I’d probably get a Sonos for customizability and upgradability in the future. But with price, 990 all the way. I got my 990C for $600.

I have both the JBL 1300 and the 990c. I use the 990c as my main, but they’re honestly pretty comparable. The JBL rears last for quite awhile. I would just put them on the bar every couple days to charge them while I slept. Not super terrible, but I also don’t touch the 990c rears at all. Just one less thing to think about.

I don’t remember particularly having an issue with it.

I have the hw-q990c and can't stand it. No Chromecast either. No wonder Samsung has Harmon/akg tune their higher end speakers cuz they need all the help they can get.

I'm a bass guy too. Have subwoofers in both my cars. But I have never seen an affordable feature rich soundbar with a sub. Even my Samsung q990c lacks with the sub on full. Maybe it's in too large of a room. I want the nakamichi dragon but it's like 4k. The lil JBL charge 5wifi speaker I got knocks, so hopefully the soundbar will have some thump.

Q990b, at least some older units had issues with dropping rears/sub I think. If money is not issue I would get the q990d - it is newer, have 120hz 4k HDMI inputs. If you are tight on budget the. Q990c is just as good but only have 4k 60hz inputs. Most people connect their devices to the TV directly so they do not care what i puts Soundbar provide, (except earc). I would buy q990c unless you want 120hz 4k inputs in q990d. I do have q990d and I have my devices - console and PC - connected to the Soundbar, so DTS:x works and I had some weird audio issues when PC was connected to the TV directly (tv is s90D). So for me the 4k 120hz support on Soundbar is worth it. May save your some potential hassle.

I just posted my thoughts on testing 4 different sound bars and for me the best Soundbar system hands down is Klipsch Core 200 with surrounds and Sub. Samsung 990C is absolute garbage in Bass department and if you are only choosing between JBL and Sammy, go with JBL all day long. Samsung has room correction and surround effects but when it comes to pure quality of music, it doesn't come close. Samsung bass is a hollow thumping rather than room filling punchy bass. It is not a bad product but based on your listening preference, I would recommend Klipsch. Unfortunately it is low on stock. JBL is another great option. Also, do give Vizio Elevate a try. I was simply blown away by its performance. I am not sure why it is under rated, may be because people consider it as a value brand vs a premium product but the sound quality of it is equal to products at double or more money.

I have a dedicated home theatre room where I have a proper surround system set up however due to the shape of my living room, I have been looking for a soundbar system that will fit my needs and listening habits and preference. I bought and tested below systems at prices mentioned. In this post I will share my personal thoughts and hopefully this will help you decide if you were in the same boatd as I wasnt able to find such a comparison. Price without taxes - * Samsung Q990C - $700 Bought at a deal from Samsung directly. * Vizio Elevate P514a-H6 - $599 (Amazon) * JBL Bar 1300X - $1,299 (Amazon) * Klipsch Flexus 200 System - $1,047 (Klipsch Directly) Samsung Q990C - This is a very good sound bar system for watching movies and for surround sound effects. The construction is excellent and connections just work out of the box. I didnt have any disconnection issues and I like that the surround speakers and individually powered vs connected to the sub. However the sub lacks a major punch. It is frankly pathetic. I tried different placement of the sub which actually dramatically improved the bass however it is not punchy. Funny thing is that I had a much cheaper Vizio soundbar which had a smaller sub but the bass was much better. I am actually surprised why this point gets missed in critic reviews and gets pointed by actual users on many forums. If you think it is good, it means you havent tried other subs and for my use case where I didn't need it for specific home theatre usage but rather both music and movies (More music than movies), I had to return it because despite getting a phenomenal deal, while listening to music, I constantly felt that the bass is missing. But for the discounted price of $700, it is an excellent product if you want it for watching movies and are fine with a sub optimal bass. Vizio Elevate - WOW! When I was setting it up, I had zero expectations simply because of the low price but I was so wrong. It is a phenomenal value for money and if you are looking for best bang for your buck, just get it. I can assure you that you will fall in love the moment you will start using it. Most importantly the bass of this is way better than Samsung. Not even a competition. The build quality though is very good, is not at the same level as others and surround speakers are also lacking a bit. My issue is that just like my last vizio soundbar (lasted for 5 years), the surrounds connect to the sub and I dont like it. Plus I like clean set up and I hate the super long wires of the surround speakers. The issues that I am mentioning could be nit picking and actually do not take anything away from the actually performance of the sound bar. Now the real question, is Samsung worth spending extra $100 at $700, my response would be yes if you like better build quality and surround sound effects. However if your main use is music and occasional movies, get the Vizio. If you are pressed with money, just buy Vizio, you will not be disappointed. if I had just these two options, I would pick Vizio for my use case. It sounds way better for me. JBL Bar 1300X - This is overall best when you consider build quality, sound for both music and movies, connections, setup etc. The bass of the sub is a monster and side by side the Samsung Sub looks like a child. If money is no concern and you want to buy a product where your usage is equal movies and music, JBL 1300X is something you should consider. Now should you spend almost $600 more than Samsung. This is a subjective question and I am frankly undecided because as much as I love this system, I don't think it is worth spending $600 more just because of bass. But if you dont have issues with money and want excellent system with wall shaking bass, you should pick this over Samsung. Klipsch Flexus Core 200 System - There is a reason why this system has been sold out since launch and I waited for few months to get it delivered as this is still being on back order. This is an amazing system and overall my favorite. The build quality is excellent and just the soundbar without surrounds and the sub is the best out of all other sound bars. When you connect surrounds and the sub, it takes it to another level. Frankly the sub of this is phenomenal. Don't go by the size of the sub, it is actually punchy and can shake your entire house. I was thinking of getting a larger sub before testing it but now I am sitting on my couch with a smile on my face because the sub is just right and adds to the already decent bass from the soundbar. This is also my first Klipsch system and I am already thinking of changing my entire home theatre with Klipsch. For me it is worth paying extra over Samsung, not even a question. I would argue that just listening to music, this is best out of every other sound bar that I tested. The sound is clear, crisp and balanced. For example without cranking up the bass, it delivers the right amount of bass to enjoy the music without overwhelming the vocals. So in summary - Vizio - best bang for the buck, excellent soundbar for money Samsung - Great option for home theatre, not the best for music because it lacks the bass JBL - Overall great product but expensive. If your use case is equal for movies and music, it is a great product. Klipsch - Best for listening to music, good for movies. Excellent bass, best standalone Soundbar. And I am keeping it because it fits my needs perfectly. My final advice would be to test yourself different options. Yes, it can be pain in the neck to try different products but you will be surprised what you will end up liking based on the shape of your room and listening preference. Edit - The more I listen to Klipsch, the more it is making me fall in love. I just finished listening to "High Hopes" by Pink Floyd. WOW! It fills the room with sound and my living room is HUGE with 20 feet high ceiling. I feel like I am sitting at the center enveloped by the sound. Bass is punchy and you can feel it on your chest rather than just something thumping in the corner like Samsung. if you can get your hands on this system, please do give it a try. You might end up falling in love.

I have the q990c and it's overkill but I do love it. I have the woofer on -8 though out of respect for those downstairs

I just pulled the trigger. I have a big main system so I didn’t even need a something at this level. But like you said that price level makes it just plain better the other similar options. Not sure if id agree at the normal MSRP though.

Can’t wait. And yea a full separates/AVR is the living room system with tower/panel speakers. And the soundbar is for the bedroom. I tried to be happy with some cheaper soundbars but I just couldn’t lol. I also had tried using Klipsch The Fives, which sounded pretty good but constantly disconnected to the point of being a 50-50 chance I’d have to reseat all the cables to get it to recognize the HDMI audio. Then moved to the HomePods as TV speakers which I liked quite a lot more than I thought I would. But still didn’t have surround speakers. I’d have loved if Apple kinda copied the Sony HT-A9 and been able to set up HomePods as Quadraphonic sets.

Just got my Q990C like that. I love it.

I got a mount that comes out like 2.5’, and 83” C4 and the Q990C. I pull the mount all the way out, crank the volume to 25, and it’s unbelievable. I haven’t watched many movies within the last 5-10 years. Since I got this setup, I’ve probably watched 30 movies over the last 2 months. So enjoyable now.

Love my Q990C. One thing I'll say is that out of the box, it sounded tinny and insubstantial, but it sounded noticeably better even to my non-audiophile wife after some tinkering. Here are my recommendations: * Update firmware through Samsung - You can do it through the app, but it would not work for me so I had to do it via the USB port on the bottom -> [See here](https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00082755/) * Use eArc HDMI connection Place/ mount it properly under the TV. Don't block the top because it has top-firing speakers * Use Adaptive or Standard sound setting * Use Spacefit sound * Turn up the rear speakers +4 each. Channel level -> Front, Top, and Side settings * Try the Bass enhancement (if it wouldn't bother your neighbors) Optional * Use Voice enhancement for content that requires it * For Samsung TV owners -> Make sure to use Q-symphony if you have a recent Samsung TV

Hi ! Not very original but you can go with the samsung HW-990 series. I got the 990C and I'm very satisfied with that.

I live in an apartment building, the Q990c is definitely too powerful, but man, it is FUN!!! I am not allowed to turn it above 10 when the wife is around, but as soon as i get couple of hours of me time i crank it up to 40 :) it vibrates the sofa, it fills the room, it is glorious! I dont regret spending too much on it, if you consider that it will be more than 5 years before you buy your next sound setup, it is not that much :)

Try S990c. I have that and it's one of the best. If you have student/work discount with Samsung, you can get it for like 700$. It's totally worth the price.

After just changing from a good $6k worth of audio equipment in full 5.1 surround system but wanting to minimalize our living room a bit, I can say the Q990C has astounded me.

Yes, it's worth getting, and yes, with the right audio soundtrack (5.1, Atmos, DTS, etc...) you will get immersive and spatial sound effects at a lower volume. Of course, that will require a system that has surround speakers. The 990C you mentioned will work just fine. And no, it's not overkill.

Look into the Samsung q990c. It goes on sale for around $600 pretty often. Also the Vizio M512a-H6. It can be found for under $400 on sale. I actually prefer this over the Samsung but they're both worth checking out.

Nah, I see it mentioned here all the time for $600, usually directly through the Samsung website with an edu discount. The Hisense is crap compared to the Vizio I mentioned. I'm not a huge fan of Samsung soundbars but I mentioned it because a lot of people do seem to like them.

I don't have any experience with the JBL or Klipsch systems but everything you noticed about the Samsung and Vizio is almost identical to my own experiences with them. The Samsung subwoofer...I think you were too kind. I think it's horrible. The Vizios are by far the best bang for the buck. I have two of the M512a-H6 and they are excellent. Easily the best budget soundbars on the market.

I don't understand why people don't hold them in higher regard. Maybe they are known as just another "budget" brand? I've tried much more expensive soundbars including the Samsungs, LG, TCL, (all garbage for one reason or another) and a few others and without taking price into account the Vizios are very noticeably better. The Samsung sub has a very hollow sound and is overly sensitive to where it's placed. I tried placing it in several different locations in my living room and no matter what I tried, I had almost no bass in my living room but a level of bass in my kitchen that was intolerable. I think I paid over $1K for it. Ended up returning it and getting the Vizio for something like $350 at the time. I recently picked up a Nakamichi Elite 7.2.4 eARC and with its dual subs it's better than the Vizio M512a-h6 but it's also more than double the price. But I still have an M512a-H6 in my cave and no desire to replace it because it's just that good.

I bought a samsung q990c for ~$670

I recently for the q990c and I couldn’t believe how good it is for movies and gaming. Great room!

Please give it a chance, I never thought I would love the entire set up so much. The "bubble" of sound you get all around you as well as the deep bass is something really amazing.

Wait, my og beam is ranked 5th? It's pretty decent, but what? I also have the samsung 990c, and it blows it out of the water by a mile.

I second this one if you’re going the cheaper route. But I would highly recommend going bigger and get the Q990C.

If you’re not a gamer, I’d recommend getting the Q99OC instead for half the price. It lacks HDMI 2.1 but it has the same guts as the Q990D; its last year’s best model. If you are a gamer, I still recommend the Q990D.

If you're willing to spend $520 ex taxes on a new soundbar, spend a little bit more, buy a secondhand samsung q990C. Maybe $650 off marketplace secondhand. It's reasonably new, so will be in good condition still. It will work seamlessly with your tv. It absolutely slaps. A couple of cheap secondhand speaker stands or cheapest off Amazon for the rear speakers maybe $30-$50. Amazing sound. Just bought the newer 990D model new, no great difference to someone who isn't an audiophile. Play PS5 and XBOX series X. Sounds great. Download some 4K movies with Dolby ATMOS. You won't be disappointed. I've bought Samsung's, Sony and LG soundbars of various qualities. This is the best soundbar I've ever owned and rival's a home theatre setup for the same cost if you aren't an expert. Ease of setup and use 5/5.

990C. If I had the space, trust me I don’t, I’d go with a full avr system. Love my 990c though, awesome soundbar for the price.

Add a separate powered subwoofer onto the 990c and you’ve got an amazing minimalist package. Still great sound without massive speakers in your field of view.

I did end up getting a Q990C secondhand. I haven't gotten to play with it a lot yet, but even from the first time using it, I noticed more of a difference than I was expecting. I do think voices are clearer, but that's just an observation. I can say the rears are definitely louder and you can put them in "front" mode which makes them even louder. The surround effects also seem stronger. I typically listen at a lower volume since I have neighbors below me, so I haven't tested it much at higher volume. I only turn it up when they're not home.

Agreed. I hate how loud the Q990C is without making dialogue any better. 

Agreed. I hate how loud the Q990C is without making dialogue any better. 

Agreed. I hate how loud the Q990C is without making dialogue any better. 

I currently own the Sonos Arc Ultra Immersive set. I've also owned the HT-A9, Bravia Theater Quad, and Q990C. The Sonos is the best if them all for me. I was getting so frustrated spending thousands trying to get a sound system that had clear dialogue without sound effects drowning it out. First day I listened to the Sonos I knew my search was over. It is such a a great sounding system. Whole home audio is just a chef's kiss on top of it all. 

I agree. I went from Q990C to Arc Ultra Immersive set. It's amazing. 

Just get a 990c, it’s by far the best soundbar I have heard. Obviously everyone will tell you to get full setup. I have both. The 990c’s rears are wireless. It makes everything so freaking easy. Something to be said for plug and play.

if you get lucky you can find 990b/c for pretty cheap. i got my 990c for 600 cdn on clearance at bestbuy.

Do you know when the F series bars are expected to come out? I own a q990c In my living room, and I do want to add a q800f to my bedroom. I love how small these subs are.

The Samsung S990C got me enthusiastic about having a nice audio setup. It looks great too, saves a lot of space and can be pretty immersive. Very happy with it for in my apartment. When I buy a house, the next setup will definitely be a full surround set (aiming to go all out with 7.1.4 immediately). But I'm pretty happy with my S990C purchase as a 'gateway' soundbar for a smaller place. It also convinced me that even the best soundbars aren't quite there yet, because the sound quality is great at 'standard' (when it doesn't upscale to 11.1.4) but then the soundstage is also rather narrow and you really don't get effective emulation of the middle left and right speakers that are now not there. Using one of the upscaling modes (like Surround) helps expand the soundstage considerably but the sound also gets echo-y as a tradeoff. Looking forward to the next upgrade

Best bang for buck is the Samsung Q990C or Q990D. High end sound for semi affordable price

Im quite confident you should just get the Q990C on sale for less than 1000 dollars. It has included subwoofer and rear speakers, supports eARC with passthrough up to 4k 60fps. It is black though, yet the only other option in this performance range is Sonos Arc which you can get in white. It also supports eARC, but no passthrough and costs more than double if you want rear and subwoofer as well. IF you want further expandability on the subwoofer front, i suppose the Klipsh flexus systems might be worth a look. Most good soundbars already come with a subwoofer. I can tell you right away, a soundbar without a sub doesnt feel good, with some expensive exeptions like the sennheiser ambeo or bigger on wall "soundbars". As far as i can tell no good soundbars have a pre-amp sub output if thats what you are looking for. You are limited to their wireless ones.

Its boring, but there really is just one flagship competing in that price range. The Q990 series is just the best as of now. I hope to see some proper competition eventually.

No, the samsung will be much more value. If you can get the Q990C or D for a cheap price or on black friday sale id do that. It is noticable from 930 to 990. Yet its bigger. If you dont need HDMI 2.1 (4k at 120hz) passthrough the soundbar, the Q990C is essentially the same as the D for less money.

Nice setup. I would rather a full HT setup but my space is limited and I love my q990c with my C9 (hoping to get a G4 or G5 this year).

You can currently get the Q990C for $663 off the Samsung website which makes it a killer deal

Yes, US. Follow these instructions! I got mine in today, going to set it up tomorrow [https://www.reddit.com/r/Soundbars/s/Jd0kx16T33](https://www.reddit.com/r/Soundbars/s/Jd0kx16T33) 

Definitely LOVE my Q990C!

I have the Q990c from last year and the immersion is still blowing me away (especially for that money). Rewatched Godzilla today and I think there are some great scenes to enjoy and test the soundbar. I have Bass Extension activated and Bass to +4, center to +4 and rears andtop channels to +5 always using adaptive sound mode on movies. Others already mentioned to check, if the soundbar receives the unconverted audio stream, so I'm not repeat that.

If I was dropping $500 on a setup, I’d spend $600 and get the Samsung 990C. It goes on sale regularly.

Yep, that model. Widely praised as best performance for $$ in the upper tier soundbars. The 990c is 2023, the 990d is 2024 model. [https://slickdeals.net/f/17779659-edu-epp-samsung-q990c-11-1-4-ch-wireless-dolby-atmos-soundbar-w-speakers-615-select-app-users-free-shipping?attrsrc=Thread%3AExpired%3AFalse&src=SiteSearchV2Algo1](https://slickdeals.net/f/17779659-edu-epp-samsung-q990c-11-1-4-ch-wireless-dolby-atmos-soundbar-w-speakers-615-select-app-users-free-shipping?attrsrc=Thread%3AExpired%3AFalse&src=SiteSearchV2Algo1)

You should check out LG's s95qr soundbar I had bought one and music sounded really good but returned it for samsung q990c due to my main use is movies but music sounds way better on the LG tho

No problem. I've since updated to the Samsung q990c system. I got it through Samsungs discounted website and had an additional code so I got that system for $577 plus tax (free shipping). It is a night and day difference! This Samsung kills the Cinema soundbars in pretty much every way! The surround speakers are sweet too! Only downside is that it's an 8" sub but it's still plenty for what I want. I am hoping that more manufacturers in the future add sub out ports on the back of their soundbars though. Klipsch's new line has sub outs on them but they're too new and I still have a sour taste in my mouth because Klipsch didn't support people who bought the Cinema series. I think the only other soundbar with sub outs on the back was Sinnsheimer, but the soundbar alone was $1k and it didn't include a sub or surround speakers.

Without speakers placed behind you, you are going to miss out on the surround effect of Atmos. Your set-up is near identical to mine and I have speakers above/pointed down behind my couch. I have the samsung q990c and it does a pretty damn good job given the space not being not ideal. I'm overall pretty happy with the sound I get, but i know it would be better if I had space between my couch and the surround speakers. Also the lack of wall on the near side of your set-up will make the side surround effect less pronounced because there won't be a wall to reflect sound off. Same as my set-up. All that being said. I love the q990c and I'm very happy with the surround effect I get despite my space being far from optimal.

It’s good! Idk how much money it is, only know about it in CAD$ . I have the B and it’s awesome, I even added the 9500s rear speakers to it. I definitely recommend it!!  If you could go even higher, the Q990c would be even better. there’s not much difference between C or D besides the price(; I got mine for 650$ CAD The Q990C I’ve seen go down to like 1400$ CAD I think

It’s a great soundbar, Q990C without the rears.

Not sure what the price is in your region or if this is the mid-range offering from LG or lower/higher. From personal experience I had always been using and jumping to the latest highest of the range LG soundbars to go with my LG OLEDs (since LG C9 I think). At some point recently I swapped to Samsung Q990D. I don't recommend any LG soundbars anymore. If that is out of your price range check for Q990C as it's almost the same thing but older so maybe can be got for cheaper especially second hand from people upgrading to the new Q990F. If not I'd recommend looking into the Samsung Q-whatever is in your price range soundbar over anything from LG. But that is all anecdotal.

I just picked up the Q990C for $575 with a TV purchase from Samsung. Wasn't even looking for a soundbar but the price seemed too good.

I was looking for a new system for our bedroom and stumbled into a great deal on a 55" s90c. The q990c was available for about $640 with our military discount. It sounds great. Even my wife(who couldn't care less) mentioned how good it sounds.

I was thinking the same thing last year until I started researching. Turns out there are really great speaker sets in soundbar format. I wound up getting the Samsung HW-Q990B and I'm very pleased. The follow-up (C instead of B) has also gotten great reviews. You also have the option to change the rear speakers into extra front speakers if you don't have the option of mounting them behind you. However if you're looking for something simpler in the $300 range the JBL Bar 2.1 Deep Bass MK2 packs a pretty good punch for the money.

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 still use my Elevate in the bedroom but the Samsung Q990C/D is a massive upgrade for not much more. It's still crazy they never updated the Elevate, it's been around for years at this price.

Definitely lacking in mid range compared to my previous 3.1 AVR setup. Q990C or q990D does a nice job with streaming when the Atmos audio engineers do their job.

I second that the dialogue is perfectly handled by this soundbar. Even with stereo content, the processor is doing a perfect job and isolates dialogue to the center channel creating a 3.1 sound. You could use the surround mode to do that, adaptive mode to further enhance and amplify the voice (although it will make it sound less natural) and also the per channel dials. I've never used the rears as fonts, but the stereo separation for a single person is good enough. Coming from a 5.1 logitech I can't say I miss wider fronts but there is a downgrade.

Just bought it. Really impressive. Comming from Z906 and i though that it will be low power... but they sound strong and really crisp. I need it to drop down some high treble (own preference ) otherwise solid device.

I’d opt for the HT-A9, A5000 and up, or the Q990C/D. Any of these will be awesome. I personally have the Q990C with my A80L and I cannot emphasize enough how great of a package it is.

The 990c/d is super overrated here, but it is a decent bar. Whatever you do at this point make sure it supports HDMI2.1 or you are going to kick yourself soon.

I disagree with everyone here unequivocally recommending the 990 (which I do think is great, btw). If you have somewhere to put rear speakers and you watch movies on Netflix then the Q990 might be worthwhile for you. When watching movies the surround sound is really nice. If not then it will indeed be overkill because you're buying speakers you won't even set up.  Also, personally I find that on some sources dialogue can be a problem with the Q990 not because it isn't clear but because once the volume is where you like it for reasonable voice levels the system will blow your head off when loud elements or special effects kick in (explosions, car crashes or even yelling). I often have to watch movies with controller in hand to manage the volume shift between dialogue and louder scenes. This won't be a problem for news and sports, but likewise you probably won't appreciate the extra speakers either.  There's a version of that soundbar that comes without the extra speakers (I forget the model number). That might be more appropriate for you. But I'm that case don't expect anything too special, it'll just be a bit louder a bit clearer. Sonos arc is also pretty good but same thing: with just the bar on its own don't expect to be wowed, you'll just get more clear audio. 

Music does not sound very good on the Q990 D/C and most people seem to agree in that. It sounds great for watching movies which is why people are impressed with it.

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...

Samsung Q990 line (c and d) are s-tier, especially for the price. It gets praise because it deserves it

Oh I dunno, I jumped in at the 990c/990d timeframe. I never looked into the b

You’ll be very happy with a Samsung Q990C/D. Great pricing for what you get. Can generally be had for 800-900 USD on the Samsung website during some sales.

Samsung are generally speaking great value for money but I found it great with TV Shows and TV especially when audio is good quality (DTS:X, Dolby Atmos etc). For music it’s good but not great. I don’t know for the other ones as I don’t have them. Good luck !

990C/D is the best sound for the $. You can get a little louder, IMO not better, for a ton more $$.

This. I have it and it’s great.

Everyone's recommending the Samsung Q990C and D. My experience hasn't been great. I'm still figuring out why the subwoofer disconnects sometimes every 15 seconds and now its been ok after reconnecting it for the 20th time. It's not perfect.

I don't think so. It happened when I didn't connect it to anything, 5 GHz, 2.4 GHz, and then to another 2.4 GHz router. I even turned off my Wi-Fi.

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

The Q990 series are fantastic value and punch in the top tier. I have both a Q990B and a Sony Quad right now and while the Quad is better in areas it’s meant to be (fuller sound, better stereo separation, better spatial placement), the Q990B is really no slouch. Unless you’re focusing on stereo and music, listening to both back to back would have you think they’re roughly in the same tier, with the Q990B being a bit thinner up front but having different spatial presence (less accurate but maybe slightly clearer or more immersive with treble effects), while the Quad has a fuller, more premium frontal sound. The Bar 9 has been getting mixed reviews and seems much worse than the Quad. If you’re thinking of the Bar 9, pay a bit more and get the Quad. Or pay a lot less and get the Q990C/D and still get a better bar than the Bar 9.

Samsung Q990c/d is the best option if you have space for rear satellite speakers

The simple answer is no but there are certain situations where a TV can negatively impact the sound. First off HDMI eARC is a universal standard so it shouldn't matter. If you use audio passthrough, then the Soundbar will also process all the sound so you will always get the max possible sound quality that way depending on the content of course. I have noticed though through testing that if you ever use a Roku TV and let the TV process the sound and have passthrough Off then the sound can get downgraded quite a bit. Audio passthrough fails to work a lot of the time on Roku as well. I suppose there is a reason that Roku is dying off and is no longer on any good TVs anymore, I use Google TV now and haven't had an issue even if I have passthrough Off. So basically with your Sony... It should be fine no matter what sense it's Google/Android TV based. Just use passthrough if possible. I say get whatever Soundbar you want but I will say ever since Samsung bought Harman Kardon in 2017, their Q series Soundbars are just amazing. I have a Q800B+SWA-9500 and it's awesome, others have Q990C/D and apparently it's even better!

You should try a q990 or quads. Some of us who have expensive setups feel the need to pretend that soundbars sound worse to justify ownership even though it really isn't

Unless you’re limited on space, get a receiver. Even if you start with just a 3.1 and build from there. 2 bookshelf speakers on some speaker stands, they have slim center channels that look awesome. Speakers can also come in different colors, so in the right room some piano gloss or white will look great. And new receivers work so well with new TV’s, it’s not as big of a headache as it used to be switching inputs all the time and using 2 remotes. I recently replaced my $1,500 Sony soundbar (HTST5000) for a 3.1 setup w/ large bookshelf speakers, and idk why I didn’t do it sooner.. the difference is night and day. Unless there is a specific reason you cannot do a receiver w/ speakers, then like others posted the Q990 gets great reviews and if you like you bass Nakamichi has a soundbar package with 2 subs 👍

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

The more budget friendly Q930 not getting any love is so weird when its such a good solution for many people. Don't get me wrong Q990 is great but q930 for smaller rooms can be even more optimal.

ah maybe in the US, they put some crazy deals over there. In my country (EU) there always seem to be a constant price difference with the q990 being always around 200-300 euros higher than the q930

it really depends on the soundbar, you can find a q990 used for 600 750-800 new, no av set up at this price cant compete with that, especially in EU where hifi prices are ridiculous. but yeah most soundbars are not worth it Edit: I am convinced that this community has a nilistic mentality regarding all soundbars, propably the result of being in an echo chamber. Funny enough owners reports on avs that had low budget 2.1/3.1 or even 5.1 systems end up swapping them for q990, not only for convience but also for the overall performance. Good systems are superior to a system q990 none said otherwise. But you need at least 1000 euros (im not familiar with US prices) to build something new that can start coming close to the performance of a q990. When both the AV set up and the soundbar are bought new, the "I got an insane deal for a full system for 300 euros" thats not the norm, nor everyone wants to buy used products.

if you compare used products then compare to a used q990 for 600 , good luck finding something that is better than it at this price. Receiver + speakers + sub Edit: also to add that a 2.1 set up to be better than the q990 needs actually solid speakers and a sub, not random garbage you can find for 30 dollars

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

Bigger drivers, better surround, dual sub, better software 

It's not about if it's a big upgrade, it's about if that upgrade matters to you and you are willing to spend the extra money. You will see most owners of both soundbars so they can directly compare reporting that there is a substantial difference, now if we also add the new sub that probably will outperform the previous q990 th software updates and the eclipse audio and new features etc etc then for me at least it's worth to sell my q930 and spend another 300-400 to upgrade. But as I said that's worth me, that doesn't mean that's worth for everyone 

You can use the Q990 rears as front L/R’s - with discounts and cashback it’s hard to beat it if you’re after bang for buck

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.

In a small space a soundbar will sound perfectly fine. I used my Q990 in my living room for a few months and eventually decided I wasn’t happy with the narrow front soundstage. I ended up placing the Q990 in my bedroom, a much smaller space, and I think it works a lot better in a smaller environment. It produces less of a sphere of sound and more of a triangle. As far as quality of sound. There’s a video on YouTube of someone dismantling the Q990 bar. The entire system is made of cheaply made small speaker drivers. There are plenty of small alternative bookshelves, like the Wharfedale 12.0, which would easily outperform the soundbar in terms of quality and volume. Plus the AV route opens the door to much better quality subwoofers for the money. I’m happy overall with the Q990 in the bedroom. It does a good job in a small space and sounds much better than my TV. But it’s a far cry from high quality audio, especially if you’re a music lover, and all the speakers crammed into a bar doesn’t overcome their physical limitation and lack of separation.

Any Samsung Q990 will be the best bang for the buck. Proven time and time again. I'm still using my Q990-A with a QN90A and I've never been disappointed. My Dragon knocks it's socks off, but nobody is going to recommend a dragon to you with what you're looking for. I would also highly suggest the Sony HTA9 or the Quad if you want to truly experience insane Atmos.

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've had the playbar for 7 years. I also have the Sonos sub and ones. It definitely is behind on almost everything the new soundbars can do. However, last year I bought a Samsung 990 with sub and surrounds and was very excited to hear how much better it is than my playbar. Well after 2 weeks I returned the Samsung and am still using the playbar. To me it sounds fuller and the vocals especially mens voices sound way richer. It may be my room dimensions and high ceiling I don't know, but my advice would be to get the Samsung and keep the playbar until your sure you like the new setup better.

For Samsung 990x: You can put the rear speakers to the front and widen the sound stage.There's a setting in the app to define weahther they are placed in the rear or front

From the reviews, the Samsung 990 series should be pretty decent. Other soundbars with good music performance reviews include the Sennheiser Ambeo and the Bose (forgot the model number) I have owned the Ambeo then recently upgraded to the Sony theater quad, and I thought both sounded great.

I have the Samsung 990 and i can tell you that paired with a Samsung TV, it’s really worth every single penny. Not a single moment have i regretted this purchase! Home cinema feeling is sooooo nice

Amen. I have gone from full top of the line $3k Denon THX receiver with mid-range priced quality speakers years ago to an atmos soundbar with rear up firing speakers and a nice sub and it sounds great. As good as my old previous setup? Probably not but it’s far more user friendly and everyone in the house can use it without worrying about which input etc. I don’t ever see myself going back to receiver and separates.

Samsung HW-Q990. I love it.

There’s reviews and tests all over the webs. You’ll get crap sound with crap setups…regardless of whether it’s a traditional AVR with sub and sats or with soundbar w sub and sats. But, you can get great sound w great setups. Sennheiser Ambeo Max, Samsung Q990 line, Sonos Arc Ultra…etc. I just heard an Arc Ultra paired w sub4 and Era 300s that surpasses every mid level AVR setup I’ve owned or heard. (By mid level, I say under $8k)

I hadn't heard anything from the Q990 lineup until this fall and was really surprised by what I heard. Before hearing it, I thought it must sound great for the money, but it sounds way better than that.

I highly recommend you look into the Samsung hw-q990 C or D sound bar configuration. The dialogue levels get corrected automatically.

Yes it's considered by many (including myself) to be the best on the market. It comes with the rear speakers and subwoofer. I know you said you don't want rear speakers, but they're part of the package and sound incredible.

Obviously this is just a another repackage with minor differences Samsung's been doing this since the q990b the biggest difference has been when they added HDMI 2.1 support that's the only real upgrade they've had since that everything else has been really really tiny.

The B to F is basically the same sound wise (the sound difference isn't even worth $100 tbh). The only major difference is HDMI 2.1. but it already supports earc so you should be okay if you have an LG or Samsung TV.

The Q990 has the ability, through the Samsung Smart Things app to set up the surrounds as extra "fronts".  So you can enjoy the Q990 by placing those speakers in front to widen the sound stage.  They don't have to be used as rear surrounds.  I'd get the Q990 and set it up that way, then if your living situation changes you have the ability to use them as rear surrounds.  Have your cake and eat it too. 

This is the best response. It's exactly what I did

I was extremely tempted to get the Core 200, but in my country it’s rare for a retailer to allow change of mind returns. So if I didn’t like it I’d be stuck with it, and the lack of hdmi passthrough and room correction had me worried.  Got the Sammy Q990 instead and it’s good. I’m not blown away by it, and I was expecting more based on all the rave reviews and comments. But it’s good enough as an all rounder for movies and TV, though not great for music despite supporting wifi streaming. The app sucks but, after the initial setup, I haven’t had to use it again. I can see how Samsung have been smart in ticking all the boxes that matter, at a price point that is hard to ignore (when it’s on sale, not at full price)

Samsung q990 is the best living room / waf setup. Full dedicated HT is a different story.

Yes it passes through DV to other televisions. Atleast my 990 does. However I ended up opting for going straight to the TV through EARC instead as I was having signal loss issues going from Bluray player/console to soundbar directly then out to TV

So the way you get “5.1” without what’s called discrete speakers, the ones in the back and 3 upfront, is something called “psycho acoustics”. Which is a process of directing sound to bounce of walls to simulate sound coming from that direction. It’s been around for a while however there is a lot and I mean a lot of snake oil peddling in the $100-$300 price range especially without discrete speakers. I’m probably a month into my research of soundbars. It’s a lot to sift through. Samsung makes the best overall soundbar in the Q990 but unless you’re getting the EPP discount they are north of $1000. The budget version in their line would be the QS730D at $300-$450 on Amazon. Does a pretty good job with 3 speakers simulating surround with 2 height speakers to provide Atmos effects. Sonos Beam and Bose 600 are the midrange no subwoofer options around $500. Great clarity and do a good job of simulating surround. Height effects aren’t that great on either model. Budgeting lower than these is Vizio M512-H6 and JBL Bar 5.1/500. Both I think are good units that won’t leave you feeling you’ve been duped.

Without a hesitation the Sonos beam gen 2. Or if you can find a good deal online one of the Samsung Q990 deals. I own 3 different soundbar setups and I'd say Samsung or Sonos have been the most impressive. Sonos for sound and Samsung for value.

Why are you saying dual 8" ? It's a single 8" woofer in the 990 and 930d sub. Personally see it as a downgrade deliberately trying to add daylight between the 930 and 990.

Should have got the Q990, can you return it?

The functionally totally integrated satellite on the Q990 speakers make a huge difference to just plain soundbars. If you care about SQ, skip the white and go with the Q990

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!

LG OLED + Samsung Q990 is a pretty common mix. I have an older setup of LG C1 + Q990b. Would do the same again in a heart beat.

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’m actually not a fan of Sonos sound signiature - I think high end Samsung like the q990 are the best sounding you can get right now

I just got the Q990 for my house and the sound quality is better than I expected even though I was super high expectations going into it. The surround sound is incredible and the subwoofer allows you to feel everything!!! Largely recommend the Q series.

Samsung 990 is the best bang for your buck.

samsung 990 has more clear dialogues

I just bought the Q800D from Amazon this morning. For me it was a best of both worlds system with the feature allowing me to add rear speakers at any time if I feel the need to have a true surround sound system. The 990 is the best you can get currently but to me the investment was too much to justify the cost

That’s the way I understand it as well. The speakers Samsung offers as add ons are Atmos Speakers too. It won’t be as strong as the high end model but imo you reach a point where you can’t really tell the difference without spending insane amounts of money.

It sonos arc ultra work well with lg. I use it with my LG B4. Samsung make good sound soundbars. But they drop the ball on their firmware update with bricking some soundbars with the last update on their 990. If you are looking at a more busget friendly. The lg bars work well. They like the lower cost samsung does not do atmos like samsung top of the line. The lg s80qr is a pretty good soundbar that is not super expensive.

Samsung had a bad firmware release last month or two. And some 990 stop working aftet the update

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

Samsung 11.1.4 or jbl 9.1.4 you can get it under 65k, you just need to keep searching few days online. Their prices are discounted on some days. Check flipkart, amazon, croma and samsung corporate website (you will need some IT company's email to login)  Never buy samsung product unless you get really good price in India as they are always over priced and sale prices bring them down to normal

Idk, pretty happy with my 11.1.4 Samsung sound bar that pairs with my TV speakers. Way better than a 2.1 system. Still better than a 5.1. For music I have a Frankensetup in a smaller, different room where it can shine with half the power output I don’t need atmos for music. I don’t need the tightest bass, or hifi clarity for a movie track or tv. I don’t need a system that cost $5000 to meet what my $1500 split over my 2 systems does. I also don’t want 20 fucking giant ass speakers hanging all over my living room

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’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.