The Samsung HW-Q990C is the company’s latest and greatest Dolby Atmos soundbar, offering flagship specs at a flagship price.
That means 11.1.4 wireless sound that aims to fill your living room with sound, from ceiling to sofa, and offers up a features list that is packed with all the good stuff you’d expect.
The only thing is, things look a little familiar here, when compared with last year’s excellent Samsung HW-Q990B, so where is your money best spent if you’re looking for the very best soundbar you can buy? Here’s our full review.
Samsung/Pocket-lint
Samsung HW-Q990C
Editor’s Choice
This superb soundbar delivers highly engaging Dolby Atmos and DTS:X sonics thanks to a class-leading 11.1.4-channel speaker layout and effective room correction. Overall sonics are superb, with plenty of power, although bear in mind the older and now cheaper HW-990B is virtually identical in terms of features and overall performance.
Pros
- Fully immersive soundscape
- Subterranean levels of bass
- Surprisingly good with music
Cons
- No 4K/120 and VRR passthrough
- No great strides forwards in performance
Design
- Soundbar – Dimensions: 1232 x 70 x 138mm (WxHxD) / Weight: 7.7kg
- Rear Speakers – Dimensions: 130 x 201 x 140mm / Weight: 3.4kg
- Subwoofer – Dimensions: 220 x 413 x 410mm (WxHxD) / Weight: 11.7kg
- Finish: Titan Black
The Samsung HW-Q990C sports exactly the same cabinet as last year, with angled corners, metal mesh grille, and a display on the front. The design is unassuming, so as not to draw attention to itself, and is finished in what Samsung refers to as Titan Black, but is really more of a dark grey.
The overall build quality is excellent, and the soundbar’s larger dimensions mean it best suits TVs with screen sizes of 55 inches or bigger. Just be careful it doesn’t block the screen when installing on a stand in front – if you decide to wall mount there are dedicated brackets for this purpose.
The subwoofer and rear speakers have the same finish, though like last year, the speakers feature a slightly curved cabinet in place of straight lines, with matching metal grille to the soundbar. This creates a great aesthetic cohesion across the whole system, and in the case of the speakers, they can either be stand or wall mounted.
The subwoofer uses the same 8-inch driver and acoustic lens design as last year, which is intended to generate bass with greater uniformity, thus producing a low-end that’s clearer and more precise.
While the sub and two rears are wireless from one another and the main soundbar unit, do bear in mind that all three still require power sockets.
Connections and control
- HDMI output (eARC); 2 x HDMI input; Optical digital input
- Wi-Fi; Bluetooth; AirPlay 2
- Full remote control
- SmartThings app (iOS/Android)
- Alexa built-in
The Samsung HW-Q990C houses a solid set of physical connections in a recess at the rear. Here you’ll find an optical digital input, two HDMI inputs and an HDMI output that supports eARC. In terms of wireless connectivity, you also get Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and AirPlay 2.
All the HDMI ports passthrough 4K/60p, and every version of HDR (HDR10, HLG, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision). They also support ALLM, but still can’t handle VRR or the 4K/120 high frame rate, which is disappointing given the few differences compared to last year’s HW-Q990B.
The One Remote Control remains comfortable to hold and intuitive to use, while the SmartThings app is also effectively designed, making setup easy by allowing users to quickly find and create a Wi-Fi connection, configure Alexa, and update the firmware if necessary.
In terms of the day-to-day operation of the HW-Q990C, users have a choice of the buttons on the soundbar itself, the provided remote, the SmartThings app, voice control through Alexa, or using their TV remote via HDMI-CEC. Spoilt for choice, some might say.
Features
- 11.1.4-channel system
- Dolby Atmos and DTS:X
- SpaceFit Sound Pro
- Q Symphony Gen III
- Hi-Res Audio (24-bit/192kHz)
- SmartThings Hub
The Samsung HW-Q990C’s headline feature remains its incredibly immersive 11.1.4-channel speaker layout, and while the speaker count is the same as last year, it would probably be physically impossible to cram any more drivers into the soundbar and wireless surrounds.
The system is composed of front left, right and centre channels, front and rear overhead channels, width channels at the front, and side channels at the front and rear. All these speakers allow the Q990C to make full use of its support of the Dolby Atmos and DTS:X object-based audio formats.
The rear speakers and subwoofer connect to the soundbar wirelessly, and if you like the idea of keeping the cabling to a minimum, there’s also Wireless Atmos. This allows the format to be transmitted wirelessly via Wi-Fi using Dolby Digital Plus from supporting Samsung TVs.
Samsung’s SpaceFit Sound Gen Pro uses a built-in microphone to calibrate the bass response for better integration with the other speakers, while simultaneously optimising the room correction for a specific environment. The result is a greater sense of tonal balance and smoother bass.
In terms of sound modes, there’s Adaptive Sound 2.0, which uses AI-enhanced processing, while others include Standard, Surround Sound and Game Pro 2.0. There’s also a Night mode if you need to flatten the dynamic range to not disturb others, and a Voice Enhancement mode to improve hard-to-hear dialogue.
For those with a compatible Samsung TV, Q Symphony Gen III allows the soundbar to integrate with your TV, making full use of the latter’s extra processing power, as well as all the available speakers. The result is a bigger front soundstage, and it even works using a wired or wireless connection.
This year Samsung has included the new SmartThings Hub, allowing you to use the SmartThings app to control all the devices in your home, including those that use the ZigBee high-level communication protocols to create personal area networks for switches, lighting, curtains etc.
Of course, it can also be used to control the HW-Q990C, so you can control all the settings and sound modes from your phone or tablet.
Finally, there’s a smart assistant and voice control thanks to built-in Amazon Alexa, along with support for multiple music streaming services, Hi-Res Audio, Tap Sound for supporting Samsung devices, and the Active Voice Amplifier (AVA), which can be helpful in noisy surroundings.
Performance
The Samsung HW-Q990C is incredibly easy to install, with the subwoofer and rear speakers pairing automatically when first powered up. The SmartThings app does all the rest, discovering and connecting the soundbar to the Wi-Fi network, configuring Alexa, and updating the firmware.
The upgraded SpaceFit Sound Gen Pro is equally intuitive, automatically taking measurements to ensure the soundstage is corrected for the room and eliminating any acoustic aberrations. The sub is also properly integrated with the other speakers, creating a cohesive system with balanced bass.
Now let’s start off with the cold hard facts – when it comes to performance, not a lot has changed here from the HW-Q990B. That’s no bad thing, it’s outstanding system, but we can’t help but be a little disappointed that things haven’t been driven forward a little, considering that system is now half the price.
Still, when it comes to music, the Q990C remains beautifully capable thanks to its larger drivers and overall width. There’s good stereo separation, and a pleasing clarity, while the powerful sub provides a solid foundation of bass that feels tight and controlled thanks to the effective room correction.
The Samsung builds on these strengths when it comes to multi-channel audio, with the side-firing speakers providing extra width to the front soundstage, the centre channel ensuring dialogue is clear and focused on the screen, and the surrounds creating a cohesive 5.1-channel sound field.
As a result, any surround effects are well defined and expertly steered from speaker to speaker. There’s also a seamless sensation of tonal balance due to the use of identical drivers and room correction, while the wireless connections themselves are free of annoying delays or dropouts.
As soon as you move on to fully immersive, object-based audio soundtracks that use Dolby Atmos or DTS:X, the entire 11.1.4-channel system comes into its own. The sense of sonic envelopment is remarkable, creating a believable and three-dimensional acoustic hemisphere.
The use of front and rear up-firing speakers really make a difference, allowing the system to move sounds around overhead in a realistic aural bubble. However, the up-firing drivers effectiveness in creating overhead channels will depend on your ceiling – the lower and flatter, the better.
The overall soundstage is huge, with sufficient amplification to retain excellent dynamic range, and enough power to fill a decent-sized room. The 8-inch subwoofer provides exceptionally deep and powerful bass, without dominating the other channels or swamping the soundstage.
This ability to create a sense of scale is perfectly demonstrated by Dune, with its energetic Atmos mix. The flight through the sandstorm uses every channel to immerse you in the chaos, while the sub adds a frightening feeling of overwhelming power – and yet, dialogue is always clear and understandable.
The performance is equally impressive with gaming, and the overall tonal balance means effects move from speaker to speaker without sounding noticeably different. This is very effective during first-person shooters, creating a seamless acoustic experience as you change your point of view.
Whether you’re watching TV or movies, listening to music or playing games, then, the HW-Q990C delivers an engaging, enjoyable and incredibly immersive performance that’s sure to please.
Verdict
The Samsung HW-Q990C is a fantastic soundbar that delivers class-leading immersion when it comes to decoding Dolby Atmos and DTS:X object-based audio. It creates a discreet but powerful 11.1.4-channel system that is easy to install, and comes packed to the brim with features – though the lack of VRR and 4K/120 passthrough is a bit of a shame.
Still, all of that would usually make this a seriously compelling buy… if it wasn’t for last year’s excellent – and now heavily discounted – HW-Q990B.
While the performance here is undoubtedly superb – and it remains a five-star recommendation for that reason – not a huge amount has changed here from last year’s HW-Q990B. Considering that soundbar is now half the price of this one, your money is probably better spent there, while you can still get it.
But find this soundbar system bundled with a TV or at the receiving end of some other discount, then snap it up. It really is the total package.