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There are two kinds of music consumers: the simpler user and the one who puts their heart and soul into creating the ultimate audio-listening experience.
But if you fall in between (you care about music quality and you have a number of decent quality audio products), getting a dedicated soundbar for your TV is a plausible thing to act on.
We've recently got to try the Samsung Q990C soundbar, which we actually tried in our Samsung Neo QLED QN800C TV Review. This is a soundbar with audio that's been calibrated by world-class engineers.
The aforementioned TV had average built-in speakers but is complete with features like Dolby Atmos sound system, an adaptive sound system complimented by OTS+, which assist in playing directional sounds of objects, and Q-Symphony support, a nifty feature that allows the TV and any supporting soundbar it’s connected to, to make the best out of your space and project sound for an immersive experience.
That latter feature got us to try the TV with this soundbar, and we'll say that Samsung managed to make the audio sound good with such a minimalistic setup. But how much did the soundbar manage to contribute to a satisfactory-enough audio experience on that TV?
Here are more details for our Samsung Q Series Soundbar HW-Q990C review and what we thought of it.
Alternatively, check out our video review of the Samsung Q Series Soundbar HW-Q990C here!
Samsung Q Series Soundbar HW-Q990C Specifications
- Number of Channel 11.1.4
- Gross Weight (One Packing): 28.2 kg
- Gross Dimension (WxHxD): One Packing 1309.0 x 595.0 x 277.0 mm
- Operating Power Consumption (Main): 41W
- Stand-by Power Consumption (Main): 0.5W
- Subwoofer Type: Wireless
- Dolby Features: Dolby ATMOS Music, ATMOS, Dolby MAT, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD
- Sound Modes: Surround Sound expansion, Game Pro, Standard, Adaptive
- HDMI: 2 in, 1 out
Design
If there's one word to describe this soundbar simply, it is 'unobtrusive'.
The soundbar is a slim, quiet design that doesn't demand attention. So we were wondering just how much it can do. Looking into the features, which will be talked about soon, it is actually quite advanced and seamless in technology.
Samsung has designed the Q990C with 4 components: the bar itself, the two satellite speakers and a subwoofer. With such a simple design, the soundbar has a True 11.1.4ch Sound and has about 22 speakers in it.
Despite the simple design, this soundbar surprisingly requires a lot of wires in order for you to get the most out of it. The bar, satellite speakers, and subwoofer all require their own power sources, which means you need to free up 4 electrical sockets or get an extension plug which might be a hassle for cable management.
Features
There is plenty of technology used to design the Q990C. Its key highlights are:
- Wireless Dolby Atmos - This technology is basically the world's first Dolby Atmos surround sound connected wirelessly to deliver audio.
- True 11.1.4ch Sound - Unrivaled surround sound made possible with its 11 channels of audio, 1 subwoofer channel and 4 ceiling channels.
- Q-Symphony - Designed to utilise and complement your TV's built-in speakers fully. It allows both the TV speaker and the soundbar to work hand in hand and give a fuller soundscape.
- SpaceFit Sound Pro - Audio that is calibrated to perfect directional sounds according to your space.
- Up-firing rear speakers included - wireless up-firing rear speakers that project audio above and around you.
Out of the list of features here, we thought that Q-Symphony was the most interesting point to explore. Rather than just fully calibrating and relying on the TV and the soundbar's capabilities independently, this highlight is meant to even further calibrate and help the two properties work together.
Performance
Now, here comes our honest opinion; while we think the audio is pleasant and loud enough, there's nothing significant to shout about the soundbar, except for the fact that it actually made the built-in speakers of the Neo QLED QN800C TV sound fuller.
We have tried it out with different types of TV content and music genres like rock, indie and electronic. The bass is nice and thumpy without any muddled sounds. The treble and mids are good, though we felt the treble seemed stronger than the mids. Overall, this is a soundbar that's satisfactory, and everything is tunable, so it's a two-thumbs up for us.
Conclusion + Buy: Samsung Q Series Soundbar HW-Q990C
