However, adding rear speakers and a subwoofer can turn your soundbar and TV combo into an immersive home theater.
I gave up my beloved Sonos Arc Ultra system for two weeks to spend some time with Samsung’s newest soundbar, and here’s what you should know before making a purchase.
Although the rear speakers may be small, they make their presence known.
ZDNET’s buying advice Compared to Sonos’ sound systems, the Samsung HW-Q990F offers more customization features and sound modes.
Finally, the Q990F is easier on the wallet than Sonos’ flagship soundbar, external subwoofer, and Era 300 rear speakers.
The HW-Q990F soundbar is a great deal because Samsung is selling it for $400 (or 20% off) for a short period of time.
The addition of a soundbar to your TV can significantly enhance your viewing experience by delivering richer, louder, and more engaging audio to go with your brand-new, shiny TV. Nevertheless, you can create an immersive home theater with your TV and soundbar by adding rear speakers and a subwoofer.
In addition, this Yamaha soundbar gave me the same sound quality as speakers that cost twice as much.
With a subwoofer and two rear speakers, Samsung’s flagship soundbar, the HW-Q990F, boasts an impressive array of home entertainment features. I spent two weeks sacrificing my beloved Sonos Arc Ultra system to test out Samsung’s newest soundbar. Here are some things to consider before buying.
The exterior of the Q990F soundbar was slightly redesigned from the previous year’s model, with a softer black-grey color scheme rather than pure black. Samsung chose a cubed design for the Q990F’s external subwoofer rather than a taller rectangular one, making it smaller overall.
The Q990F is a big, intimidating soundbar that produces loud, room-filling sound. It is best suited for TVs that are 60 inches or larger. Even though it’s bigger, the Q990F has a sleek, contemporary design that will blend in with your interior decor.
The 2025 QN90F Neo QLED 4K TV from Samsung and the Q990F system work well together. To fully utilize the Q990F, you don’t need one of Samsung’s newest TVs, but certain features, like Q-Symphony, can only be activated with a Samsung TV that is compatible.
Additionally, even though this soundbar is a 2024 model, I suggest it if you want the most immersive sound.
The soundbar remains a powerful device even in the absence of a Samsung TV. 21 speakers in all, with an 11:1 ratio. The Q990F, with its 4-channel configuration, is the flagship model. Numerous high-quality audio formats, including Dolby Atmos, Dolby TrueHD, DTS Digital Surround, Multichannel PCM, and others, are available to you as long as your TV has an eARC port. The Q990F is compatible with Bluetooth, optical, HDMI, and eARC 2.1.
I chose “Avengers: Age of Ultron” on Disney+ and “WeCrashed” on Apple TV+ as my Dolby Atmos selections because the Q990F can get very loud. Whereas the former was primarily dialogue, the latter was a combination of intense action sequences and dialogue.
The external soundbar managed the low-frequency rumble and grumbles during action-packed battle scenes with collisions and explosions quite effectively, but I found it to be less tight than my Sonos Sub 4. One significant difference is the Q990F’s significantly smaller subwoofer.
Additionally, every note has power and clarity thanks to this compact soundbar.
Your viewing experience will be more immersive and deep thanks to the Q990F’s rear speakers, which are a welcome addition. Even though they are tiny, the rear speakers are noticeable. When viewing in Dolby Atmos, you can place sounds and objects in the content’s setting with ease; they work as intended.
In the absence of height channels, the rear speakers provide an additional layer of immersion, even for content encoded in PCM Multichannel rather than mixed for Atmos.
The Q990F’s sound quality is equally impressive when watching TV series and movies as when listening to music. It features present highs, distinct mids, and a deep bass. Compared to the Sonos Arc Ultra, the Q990F has a little less shine and crispiness in the highs, but it’s still not a huge difference.
Also: Why I won’t regret switching from Bluetooth speakers to this wired outdoor system.
In addition to offering connectivity for a variety of streaming services, platforms, device ecosystems, and voice assistants, the Q990F allows you to stream music straight from your TV. Roon, AirPlay, Tidal Connect, Google Home, Chromecast, Spotify Connect, Alexa, and Bixby are all compatible with this soundbar.
ZDNET’s purchasing guidance.
More customization options and sound modes are available with the Samsung HW-Q990F than with Sonos’ sound systems. Samsung’s flagship home theater systems come packaged and sold as a whole, but Sonos offers modular systems that you can build over time.
In conclusion, the Q990F is more affordable than the flagship soundbar, external subwoofer, and Era 300 rear speakers from Sonos. The fact that the soundbar is now 20% off ($400 off) on Samsung’s website is helpful.
Nevertheless, the Q990F is an excellent soundbar that can reproduce loud, lively sound that is suitable for watching your preferred TV series and films. It has a ton of software features and looks great on a big TV. But if you have the HW-Q990D from last year, don’t rush to upgrade; this year’s model doesn’t have enough improvements to make it worthwhile.
