Pros & Cons
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- Stunning audio
- Believable surround presentation
- Flexible wireless audio support
- Multiple HDMI 2.1 inputs
- Elegant design
- Powerful companion app
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- Pricey
Samsung HW-Q990F soundbar Specs
| Bluetooth | |
| Channels | 11.1.4 |
| Multi-Room | |
| Physical Connections | HDMI in (2) |
| Physical Connections | HDMI out |
| Physical Connections | Optical |
| Wi-Fi |
The $1,999.99 Samsung HW-Q990F is a high-end, four-piece surround system that includes a soundbar, a pair of rear satellite speakers, and a subwoofer. It delivers rich audio with deep immersion that rivals setups with more individual speakers. An update to last year's HW-Q990D, the HW-Q990F features a staggering 23 drivers, multiple wired and wireless connections, and works seamlessly with other Samsung products in your home. It's also incredibly expensive—but that's our only complaint. If you can afford it, the Samsung HW-Q990F delivers the best soundbar audio experience we've encountered, surpassing the excellent Sonos Arc Ultra ($1,099), and earning our Editors' Choice award for soundbar systems.
Design: You Can't Miss It
The Samsung HW-Q990F looks and feels like high-end audio equipment—and it is. All the individual components are large and heavy, especially the soundbar, which is necessary to accommodate its many drivers. It's bigger than most other soundbars I've tested, but the trade-off is worth it for the outsized performance it delivers.
(Credit: Christian de Looper)Samsung updated the subwoofer's design. It has a dark gray exterior with metallic grilles covering the top, front, and sides. Unlike some soundbars, its sides aren't flat. Instead, the front edges are angled and house some of the side-firing drivers. It’s a bit shorter than its predecessor and measures 2.8 by 48.5 by 5.4 inches (HWD), making it wider than the Sonos Arc Ultra (2.95 by 46.38 by 4.35 inches) and the $1,299 Marshall Heston 120 (3.0 by 43.3 by 5.7 inches). You'll need a sizeable TV stand to handle the depth, too. If your TV is wall-mounted, consider wall-mounting the soundbar as well (a bracket is included). The Sonos is a plain black bar, while the Marshall has a more appealing design thanks to its gray fabric covering and gold accents.
(Credit: Christian de Looper)Unlike the Sonos or Marshall, the system includes a subwoofer and two rear speakers, which are more conventionally sized. The subwoofer measures 9.9 by 9.8 by 9.8 inches and weighs 18.3 pounds. Although the previous model included a ported subwoofer, this one is closed. The surround speakers each measure 7.9 by 5.1 by 5.0 inches and weigh 7.5 pounds. You can mouth the surrounds on the wall if you need to. All three of these speakers connect wirelessly to the soundbar, eliminating the need to run cables everywhere. (Samsung sells a less-expensive 7.1.2 version of the Q990F that drops the rear surround speakers for $1,499.99.) Sonos sells a subwoofer and surrounds separately, while Marshall offers only a subwoofer.
Samsung doesn't list the specifications of each driver, but together, the drivers deliver a frequency range between 20Hz and 20kHz in an 11.1.4 setup. This means there are more than enough channels to support a comprehensive Dolby Atmos system. The soundbar itself provides the front, front wide, and top front channels, while the soundbar and surround speakers together provide the additional side channels. The surround speakers also render audio for the rear channels and the top rear channels. The Arc Ultra has a 9.1.4-speaker configuration, and the Heston confines it to a 5.1.2 channel setup.
The Q990F supports the new Eclipsa format that Samsung developed in partnership with Google. Eclipsa is designed to be an open-source format akin to HDR10+. I was able to test some demo Eclipsa content, which sounded superb. Without any actual movies or TV shows in the Eclipsa format yet, it’s hard to make any meaningful judgments about how it compares with Dolby Atmos. At the very least, the soundbar is ready for any future Eclipsa content, should the new standard take off.
(Credit: Christian de Looper)All the ports are located on the back of the soundbar. Unlike many others, Samsung's is designed to be a hub, and as such, on top of the HDMI eARC port, it also includes two additional HDMI ports that support HDMI 2.1 pass-through and 4K120. There's also an optical digital port for audio and a USB port for admin functions, though this port doesn't support USB audio playback. There's no USB-C port, no 3.5mm aux jack, nor an Ethernet port. The Sonos has a single HDMI (eARC) port and Ethernet, while the Marshall has two HDMI ports and Ethernet.
I really like the included remote control. Too often, remote controls for home entertainment products are peppered with superfluous buttons you never use. Samsung's remote is small and basic, featuring the buttons you need for pairing, adjusting the volume, and selecting the input source.
(Credit: Christian de Looper)In addition to the soundbar, subwoofer, surround speakers, and remote, Samsung includes a power cable for each speaker and one HDMI cable to connect the soundbar to your TV. If you plan to connect the soundbar through your TV's optical port, you will need to provide your own optical cable.
App Experience: Smart Home-Focused
The soundbar provides a range of connectivity and smart features to help it integrate with a modern living room and beyond. In addition to the wired connectivity options, the soundbar supports Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi connectivity. The Wi-Fi support enables it to work with Apple AirPlay 2 and Google Cast, allowing for a multi-room setup with compatible speakers. The system also supports Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect for direct music streaming.
You'll need the Samsung SmartThings app (available for Android and iOS) to tweak settings. For example, you can select whether to use Alexa or Bixby (or neither) as the voice assistant. This is one of the few systems that offers a choice of voice assistants, and you can change your selection later if desired. You can control the system with Google Assistant via Google Home, but you can't choose Google Assistant (or Gemini) as your voice assistant.
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(Credit: Samsung/PCMag)Numerous other features are in the app. You can adjust basic settings like volume and input, as well as choose between different sound modes, including Standard, Surround, Game, and Adaptive Sound. Adaptive Sound adds a little more width to the surround audio, but it does so at the expense of accuracy. I did most of my testing in the standard Surround mode.
The app includes an EQ; however, you can only change the simple bass and treble levels. Thankfully, you have full control over the volume level of each channel, so it's easy to fine-tune the system to your liking.
If you're already invested in the Samsung ecosystem, you'll find that the Q990F works with your existing smart home products via the SmartThings app. You can manage your smart fridge, other appliances, smart speakers, and devices, such as lights. The Sonos soundbar is compatible with the company's multi-room audio and speaker system, while the Heston is a stand-alone product.
Sound: Impressive Immersion
As much as we like the Sonos Arc Ultra and Marshall Heston 120, the Samsung HW-Q990F is the best soundbar you can buy right now. It sounds absolutely stunning, producing thunderous, deep lows and crisp, detailed highs. Moreover, its multitude of drivers creates an incredibly immersive experience that surpasses the best Dolby Atmos soundbar setups available. While a true 7.x, 9.x, or 11.x home theater system will provide the absolute fullest surround experience, the HW-Q990F comes very close and does so in a simple and compact system that's far more convenient.
(Credit: Christian de Looper)Sound absolutely fills the room and envelops you when watching a movie that supports Dolby Atmos, such as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The opening fight scene takes place in a wide space with debris flying everywhere, but the system can convincingly reproduce each element. The soundbar and rear speakers do an excellent job with the side channel content by reflecting audio off the walls. What impresses me most is the height effect, which is better-produced than on any other soundbar-based system I’ve used. The four height channels manage to create a convincing 3D sonic landscape that lets you pinpoint sound in the room.
The system's frequency range is impressive. The subwoofer delivers rich, deep bass, which we enjoy while watching Doctor Strange or while listening to The Knife's "Silent Shout," a track that relies heavily on sub-bass content. The ultra-deep frequencies aren't quite as powerful as those from a larger subwoofer, but they're impressive considering the subwoofer's compact size.
“Born Too Slow” by The Crystal Method sounds wonderful. The kick drum has a nicely round sound, and the vocals cut through the mix with precision. I also like how the high-end response gives this track some extra clarity.
(Credit: Christian de Looper)“Roundabout” by Yes shows impressive depth and complexity. The electric bass is sublime on this track, and the high-end detail makes elements like the cymbals sound bright and the vocals present. What I enjoy most about listening to this track is how all the speakers work together to improve the stereo audio, creating an experience that was less about emotion and more about widening the soundstage to give every instrument plenty of room to breathe—something it does very well.
Put simply, the Samsung HW-Q990F is the complete package. The frequency response is outstanding, with deep bass and clear highs, and the system is incredible at creating an immersive Dolby Atmos experience. And even when you’re not listening to a Dolby Atmos source, you'll enjoy the benefits of this 11.1.4-channel system. Stereo audio sounds fantastic, thanks in large part to the quality and number of speakers firing sound into your listening space.
Comparatively, the Sonos and Marshall soundbars are capable of producing deep bass without the need for an accompanying subwoofer, although each system is further enhanced by adding one.