Sony - HT-Z9F / HT-ZF9

Sony ZF9 soundbar plus subwoofer and rear speakers.

I have the Sony ZF9 bar, subwoofer and surround speakers. It sounds fantastic to my ears. There will always be better out there. But the prices rise faster than the quality. And there are plenty of things in life to spend good money on. Also space can be a premium. So pick your budget first then decide what works best. And ignore the snobs. The reek of judgement in some comments is unreal. I suppose I'm a hypocrite for judging them. I just find it ruins the fun of the hobby.

I mean, one option costs $350 more before discount, surely that should be the answer? No point in all that power if the quality is subpar, power usually indicates loudness. I have the Sony HT-A7000, and that’s 500W, yet I’ve not gone past 40% volume. I just went from the Sony Z9F and that was 400w, with rear speakers too, and still only went the absolute max of 50% just to test it, and it’s nearly night club-loudness at that point. 100%, go with JBL. In my experience, day to day, you’ll hover around 10-25% volume.

I had a Sony htz9f, it is a 3.1 Atmos bar and I never noticed the Atmos, there is no difference, then I bought the rear speakers that were sold separately and they made the bar 5.1 Atmos and I never noticed the Atmos either. Now I have a Samsung q990D and it has been with the only bar that I noticed the Atmos. I think that if you don't go for a high-end bar, the Atmos is superfluous because you don't notice a difference.

If I can get it for $974 brand new from Samsung, is this a no brainer over my Sony HTZ-9F + rears?

I have not, still hanging onto the HTZ-9F. I'm hoping Samsung's next iteration has a battery in the rear speakers. I don't have ideal plug locations.