Samsung - HW-Q990D/ZA 11.1.4 Channel Q-Series Soundbar with Wireless Subwoofer and Rear Speakers, Dolby Atmos and Q-Symphony - Black

Everything good from last years model, now with hdmi 2.1.

Pros Clear dialog Well balanced, slightly bright audio Smooth bass Realistic Atmos positional audio in a good room HDMI 2.1 for 4K 120Hz passthrough SpaceFit Sound Pro optimizes for room automatically Private rear sound is great for nighttime listening SmartThings integration Includes integrated SmartThings Hub Hub includes support for Matter Quick and easy setup Well built Cons Subwoofer struggles when pushed Can’t reproduce dynamic bass Sound might be too bright for some Slightly weak midtones Limited equalizer in some modes HDMI passthrough doesn’t always switch automatically Display too compact too read Design style not for everyone The Samsung Q990D at first seems to be a modest upgrade from the previous Q990C, which is good considering the previous generation well received. The design still has the angular design of the previous generation consisting of an all metal and plastic. There is no cloth anywhere. Depending on your taste, it might seem modern or overly aggressive looking. Taking it out of the box the soundbar feels heavy and well built. The subwoofer and satellites are connected wirelessly and only need to be plugged into power. The included remote is a small with dark text. It is not backlit or very easy to feel controls. It seems to be intended to be a secondary form of control. The soundbar can be controlled directly via the SmartThings app. There is a dot matrix display behind the front speaker grill, but it is small and hard to read from any distance from the soundbar. Setup 9/10 You can tell the Q990D was intended to take a lot of the complexity out of a home theater setup. If you aren’t going to mount it to the wall all you need to do is plug in the speakers and you are ready to go. There is no tuning needed as they are set to calibrate automatically if left in the default setup. You do have EQ options which default to a simple bass and trouble adjustment. Additional EQ options are available in standard mode but some modes limit EQ options. The standard mode leaves the sound as is. The other modes adjust the sound to give a more surround sound effect but straight out of the box the sound needs little tweaking. Setting up the soundbar in the SmartThings app allows you to configure additional options such as Chromecast, Airplay, or configure it as a SmartThings Hub with Matter support. Atmos Performance 9/10 Like previous models, movies are where this soundbar shines, assuming you have the right room for it. The room it is being used in is near ideal being a rectangular shape with a flat 10-foot ceiling. The only two issues it is has is a door that is at a 45-degree angle and a ceiling fan and both those do hamper the performance slightly. When trying out surround affects it sounds like the right front channel is coming from about 4 feet to the right of the soundbar. Similarly, the top center right channel sounds just like it is coming from a place where there is no speaker. However, the left side of the room has that angled door. This causes the left from channel to not sound quite as distinct or far to the left and the top center left channel to also not sound as distinct. Height was also less distinct with the ceiling fan but still good. It is still a surprise that it can do it at all. If your room isn’t the ideal shape recommended for Atmos it isn’t going to work miracles. Furthermore, while impressive, don’t expect this to be as impressive as a full Atmos system with speakers all around you. Overall, the result is impressive enough to make you question if it is worth it to go through all the hassle and complication of a full discrete Atmos system with separate speakers. Movies 9/10 Previous generations of this soundbar were great for movies and the Q990D is the same. In standard mode it plays the surround just as intended in the movies but if you like a little extra immersion, you can choose Adaptive Surround. While exactly how it works is a little vague, Adaptive Surround seems to take certain types of audio that would only play through the soundbar and play them through the surrounds as well. It brings the sound all around you but sometimes it goes a little too far and pipes the dialog of a person right in front you on the screen to every speaker in the room making it sound as if the person is talking around you. It really depends on your taste, but if you prefer a more natural sound then Standard works best. While the soundbar already sounds a bit bright, if you still have trouble hearing dialog it has two addional methods to help you hear what they are saying. First there is the traditional “Voice Enhancement” which ruins the rest of sound to favor dialog heavily. Unless you really have a hard time hearing dialog it is best to leave this setting off. If the natural tuning leaves you struggle still the “Active Voice Amplifier” is going to produce a more natural effect. It does still degrade the sound slightly but far better than old methods but in our family the default EQ does a nice job of making dialog understandable without sacrificing other sounds. While the highs are strong, the mids are slightly weak. While it is only slight, it makes deeper voices less pronounced but also removes some of the impact from certain action sounds in movies. That said, weaker mids generally seem common in soundbars, the result on the Q990D is minimal. The subwoofer is well matched to the setup and blends nicely with smooth bass that can also rumble in action scenes. The one place it is weak is in impactful bass. The sub just isn’t big enough to produce the hard thump without some distortion. Most people wouldn’t even notice it happening as it is subtle and normal in this size of system, but it doesn’t hold back some potential of the system. A handle feature included with the soundbar is called Private Rear Sound. While most soundbars have a night mode, this one goes a step further. With the private rear surround is turns off the forward speakers and subwoofer and only plays audio through the rear surrounds allowing you to watch movies at night in bed without disturbing others. It works better than night mode because audio is close and clear instead of distant and quiet. Music 7/10 Older versions of this soundbar were said to have great performance in movies but poor performance in music. While our family hasn’t had a chance to try the older version, the Q990D is a solid choice for music. It isn’t as good as it is for movies but it still, pleasant to play music on. The slightly bright tuning gives more of a presence to vocals but on occasion can sound slightly harsh. An example is Adele’s Hello. The Q990D really does a great job of reproducing the emotion in her voice but at the higher notes it can feel uncomfortable. This is more an audiophile critique whereas most people would think her voice sounds amazing on the Q990D. Overall, for such small speaker they do a very good job, but music still takes a back seat to movies. Just like in movies the subwoofer is well blended into the overall package and produces smooth, clean bass except for dynamic bass, such as a quick thump. Final Thoughts Samsung has created a well rounded Atmos soundbar setup with the Q990D. While it has room for improvement it does a great job of being a well-rounded surround setup for most. If you are in the market for a premium Dolby Atmost soundbar that is great for movies as well as good for gaming while being simple to setup and use, then the Samsung Q990D is worth serious consideration.

My go to choice for a soundbar setup has always been Samsung's lineup. They sound great, setup is super easy and everything from movies to video games are always on point. This Q990D is the Flagship model for a reason. My last one was the Q850T and going to this beast was a major upgrade for me. In the box is the centerpiece itself (Bar), wireless sub, 2 wireless satellite surround sound speakers, remote and the various power cables and paperwork. I set up this system in my game room that held a previous generation model Q850T. Just make sure if you are not wall mounting that your cabinet or whatever you are setting the bar on is long enough. I didn't realize it was much longer and wider then the 850T at ~49inches long and ~5.5inches in depth. Another plus I enjoyed is the way they did the Surround Speakers. Before it was connected to a "wireless" box and then you plugged in the speakers to that box wire speaker wire. This time the surround sound speakers are just limited to finding an outlet to plug each one into. As I already have multiple Samsung devices in my home, I already had the SmartThings App. If you don't, I recommend downloading it and using it to set up 100%. You do not need it if you want to just plug and play, but the App unlocks so many other useful features (EQ) and can double as a remote. Using the App while setting up will calibrate the speakers to your room to the best settings automatically. I have a compatible Q TV and it wanted me to try the Q Symphony, but I turned that off. What it does is sync the amazing sound quality of the bar to also include the sound from the TV speakers. I have no idea why as TV speakers are a joke. My favorite new features on this model is not only the inclusion of 2 HDMI Inputs (vs 1 on my older model) but they are now HDMI 2.1! Makes it super convenient for me plugging in the Series X/PS5 and later on down the road a new PC build as it can do 4K 120HZ. Performance is top tier and does not disappoint at this price level. Movies, Music and Gaming sounded on point with no lag. The Atmos performance was excellent while watching all various types of movies with company over. They gave high praises when noticing it was a soundbar system vs amp/speaker setup. The thing I did the most though was gaming. Series X and PS5 had me going non-stop. Sounds were scary accurate. Wind from the side, footsteps from behind and gunfire from afar. All I have to say is omg I am in heaven. Couple of things to note though. While trying out all the sound modes (exact same as my previous model) I did find Adaptive Sound mode to be superior over Standard and Game. It just sounds more realistic and immersive while the others sound a little flat. If I had to gripe about anything, it would be the tiny little display that I see hasn't changed over the years. Now it's behind the metal mesh body and really a pain to see. Luckily it turns off after choosing a mode. Samsung's flagship is a front runner to all competition in this market and they have the experience to back it up. Not only well-rounded to suit anyone's taste but ease of setup and use mixed with top-tier sound quality makes the Q990D a sure choice. I would recommend this in a heartbeat.