We've currently tested over 50 Samsung soundbars. They seem to separate themselves from their competition with audio reproduction that's generally balanced and neutral-sounding. If you don't like their sound, they also have graphic EQs, which suit those who like a little more customization over their sound experience. Samsung's soundbars are also well-built and tend to feel sturdy and solid.
Updates
- 10/06/2025Samsung HW-Q600F reviewed
- 08/28/2025Samsung HW-B750F reviewed
- 07/30/2025Samsung HW-Q800F reviewed
- 05/13/2025Samsung HW-Q910D reviewed
- 04/25/2025Samsung HW-Q990F reviewed
Our recommendations are built upon our thorough testing and rigorous reviews. Every soundbar we evaluate goes through multiple testing stages with different teams to ensure accurate, authentic results. No cherry-picked units or data.
Curious how we've tested over 200 soundbars (and counting)? Look at our How We Test Soundbars article for a behind-the-scenes look at our lab and process.
-
Best Samsung Soundbar
Mixed Usage8.5Dialogue/TV Shows8.8Music8.5Movies8.4See all our test resultsChannels:11.1.4The Samsung HW-Q990F is Samsung's 2025 flagship soundbar, so it's no surprise that it's the best Samsung soundbar we've tested. This premium 11.1.4 soundbar is the next generation of the Samsung HW-Q990D and builds on its winning formula. Out of the box, you can enjoy a clear and clean sound suitable for listening to many different types of audio content, from music to movies to TV shows. The more compact, redesigned sub outputs a tighter bass sound, which is less boomy than its predecessor. The sealed design of the sub also prevents some of the rattling that's common with ported designs.
This soundbar comes with pretty much all of the features you'd expect from a premium soundbar. Gamers will appreciate the HDMI 2.1 support, which allows you to passthrough 4k signals at 120Hz. There are also Samsung staples like SpaceFit Sound available, which is a room correction feature that automatically optimizes its sound based on the unique acoustics of your living room. If you'd rather adjust the bar's sound manually, there's a graphic EQ available. You can even connect the bar to a compatible Samsung TV to enjoy Q-Symphony, which syncs the TV speakers with the bar for a more all-around feel. This iteration also features support for Eclipsa Audio: a new open-source 3D audio format that's been developed between Google and Samsung.
That said, if you're not too keen on the redesigned sub or Eclipsa Audio support, now's the time to look into the Samsung HW-Q990D, which may be found at a discount. While many users reported an issue with this model breaking when downloading the latest firmware update, this issue seems to have been resolved. You can always disable auto-updates to be extra cautious.
-
Best Upper Mid-Range Samsung Soundbar
The Samsung HW-Q910D is a great alternative for those who want a premium Samsung soundbar at a more affordable price. Released in 2024, this soundbar is an iterative update to the Samsung HW-Q910C. It offers a lot of the same features and sound customization tools as its more premium cousin, the Samsung HW-Q990F, including room correction and a graphic EQ. Built-in Alexa support lets you control the bar with only your voice. Support for lots of common audio formats like Dolby Atmos allows you to make the most of content commonly found on various streaming platforms and Blu-rays, while the inclusion of a subwoofer and satellites brings a more life-like feel to your living room, too. There's support for 4k passthrough @ 120Hz too, though not at 10 bit.
This soundbar uses its wireless sub and satellite speakers to produce a very balanced sound that excels at rendering dialogue in movies and TV shows with accuracy, as well as dynamic action sequences. That said, its 9.1.4 configuration means it comes with two fewer surround channels than the HW-Q990F, so sound effects are a touch less accurate in multi-channel content like Dolby Atmos. Still, you may find it's worth the trade-off for a more affordable price. You can also consider picking up the Samsung Q930D for a similar price, which has four up-firing Atmos drivers for a more immersive Atmos sound. It can't passthrough 4k signals at 120Hz, and its default sound isn't as balanced.
-
Best Mid-Range Samsung Soundbar
The Samsung HW-Q800D is a standout mid-range pick from the manufacturer released in 2024. This 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos soundbar is extremely similar in performance to its predecessor, the Samsung HW-Q800C, but has an updated Bluetooth version. Like the Q800C, it's versatile enough to listen to many different types of audio content and boasts many of Samsung's premium sound enhancement tools, including SpaceFit Sound room correction and a 7-band graphic EQ. Plus, it supports a lot of different audio formats that you're likely to come across on both streaming platforms and Blu-rays, including Dolby Atmos and Dolby Digital.
This soundbar comes with fewer surround channels than the Samsung HW-Q990F. The result is a slightly less immersive sound with surround sound and height content. You still feel immersed in your audio, but there isn't the same illusion of height, especially in scenes where objects like helicopters fly right overhead. Again, adding satellites will improve its surround sound performance, but if you want a theater-like feel, you'll want to opt for the more premium picks on our list.
-
Best Lower Mid-Range Samsung Soundbar
The Samsung HW-Q60C/Q6CC is worth checking out if you want a great soundbar that won't break the bank. Out of the box, this setup boasts a great sound suitable for listening to lots of different audio content, with a dedicated subwoofer to bring out the rumble in the bass. It doesn't have as many features as the top-of-the-line models, but you may find that you don't need them. For example, without room correction, it sounds a little different depending on your room's acoustics, but you can always use the graphic EQ and presets to make up for this.
This setup shines with stereo content, which includes most music and TV shows. It can playback more immersive audio formats like height and surround sound, but doesn't offer true support. Since it's a 3.1 setup, it has to downmix this content into the stereo to play it, which doesn't bring the same life-like feel as the more premium options on our list, like the Samsung HW-Q800D. If you're happy to sacrifice Atmos support for a better stereo soundstage, the Samsung HW-B750D is worth considering. This 5.1 bar has side-firing drivers that create a more immersive audio experience than the HW-Q60C/Q6CC is capable of, but it can only play back Dolby Digital, DTS, and PCM audio formats. Still, either bar is a great choice for something simpler and easier on the wallet.
-
Best Budget Samsung Soundbar
The best Samsung soundbar in the budget category we've tested is the Samsung HW-B550. It's a simple 2.1 bar, so it's best suited for stereo content like music and TV shows. It has a balanced sound out of the box, accurately reproducing everything from vocals to lead instruments in your favorite songs. The included subwoofer adds some rumble to bass-heavy genres like EDM and hip-hop. Thanks to its graphic EQ and bass and treble adjustments, you can switch up its sound to your liking. For its price, it's a pretty good bar.
However, you naturally don't get as much flexibility as with the manufacturer's top options. Unlike the Samsung HW-Q60C/Q6CC, there's no support for Dolby Atmos, so you can't take advantage of more immersive object-based formats often found on streaming services. Its surround sound performance is also pretty abysmal. Without discrete surrounds, it has to downmix this content into stereo to play it, which doesn't sound quite as immersive. That said, if you aren't much of a movie fan, it's a great fit. Ultimately, it still makes for a solid upgrade over your existing TV speakers at a wallet-friendly price.
-
Best Standalone Samsung Soundbar
Consider a standalone option if you live in a smaller space like an apartment or prefer a more minimalist look. In contrast to the top pick, the Samsung HW-Q990F, the Samsung HW-S60D is a self-contained 5.0 soundbar without a separate subwoofer, satellites, or up-firing drivers. However, it offers an accurate center channel and a pretty neutral frequency response for clear-sounding dialogue in a not-too-big package. Plus, you can use it for music, Spotify Connect, and Chromecast, and there's access to Alexa if you have a smart home set up.
The bar includes plenty of sound enhancement tools, including a room correction tool (called SpaceFit) and tons of listening modes, as well as a graphic EQ if you use the Standard EQ setting. If you have a compatible Samsung TV, you can use the Q-Symphony feature to connect the bar to your TV to expand its utility. That said, its bass extension is limited by a lack of an outboard subwoofer like you'd find on the Samsung HW-B550. However, you can always add a Samsung sub later on if it's not enough boom for your buck, and the 5.0 channel configuration means it's not downmixing surround sound to stereo as on the HW-B550.
Check out the best all-in-one soundbars if you want to compare other standalone offerings.
Compared To Other Brands
-
Solid design.All Samsung soundbars are very well-built and have a sleek look. You won't find any mesh fabric on them, and you'll be satisfied with their build quality, which includes great solid plastic and metal grilles covering the speakers.
-
Good sound quality.Samsung soundbars offer a good, well-balanced, and neutral sound profile right out of the box, which is versatile for different uses. Thanks to their wireless subwoofer, some soundbars do have a bit of extra bass.
-
Great connectivity options.You'll always find a Full HDMI In on a Samsung soundbar to plug in your devices. They have many ports and allow multiple wireless playbacks, but the more budget options only support Bluetooth.
-
Expensive.Samsung soundbars tend to be a bit more expensive than similar competing models.
-
Small screen interface.Samsung soundbars tend to have a small screen displaying inputs and volume levels. If there are messages, the text needs to scroll to fully display. While some may prefer this interface over light indicators, others might be annoyed by the scrolling text.
-
More narrow soundstage.Other premium manufacturers like Bose and Sonos offer wider, more immersive soundstages with stereo content compared to Samsung's top-of-the-line offerings.
Samsung vs Bose
Bose and Samsung are both top-of-the-line soundbar manufacturers that produce products at a wide array of price points. Samsung tends to have more products on the market, and their soundbars offer more customization features, like graphic EQs. Meanwhile, Bose soundbars tend to have wider, more immersive-feeling soundstage performances.
Samsung vs Sonos
While Samsung is known to offer many different soundbars in their yearly lineups, Sonos has only a few soundbars on the market. That said, each has premium offerings and more affordable options for more budget-conscious shoppers. Sonos soundbars tend to be better built, with sleek designs and built-in voice assistant capabilities to easily integrate the bars into your existing Sonos ecosystem. Their soundstage performances are better than Samsung's, but they have fewer sound customization tools.
Samsung usually makes good soundbars with good sound quality and a well-balanced sound profile. Some of their subwoofers are powerful, adding a bit of extra bass that can be great for movies. They also have a sleek and durable design that doesn't require fabric other than to cover the subwoofer port. However, this usually means they're a bit more expensive than similar models, but the price difference can be worth it for some people. Generally speaking, they offer more customization tools than other brands, but their soundstage performance isn't quite as impressive as that of other premium manufacturers like Bose and Sonos.
Lineup
Samsung produces a wide array of soundbars at both premium and budget-friendly prices. Generally speaking, the higher the number, the more channels it has and the better its performance is. However, depending on your usage habits, the improvements may not be worth the added cost. The letter in their model number corresponds to the year:
- F = 2025
- D = 2024
- C = 2023
- B = 2022
- A = 2021
- T = 2020
Recent Updates
Jul 08, 2025:
We've updated this article by replacing the Samsung HW-Q990D with the Samsung HW-Q990F as our top pick. We've also added the Samsung HW-Q910D as our upper mid-range pick and made minor updates to the rest of the text.
Feb 14, 2025:
The Samsung HW-Q930D replaces the Samsung HW-Q930C as our upper mid-range pick because of its added Chromecast, G-SYNC, and FreeSync support. We also added the Samsung HW-B750D as an alternative to the HW-Q60C/Q6CC for anyone who is happy to sacrifice Atmos support for a better stereo soundstage.
Nov 21, 2024:
The Samsung HW-S60D has replaced the Samsung HW-S60B/S61B as the standalone pick because it has slight improvements to audio support, eARC, and Chromecast.
Aug 09, 2024: We've replaced the Samsung HW-Q800C with its successor, the Samsung HW-Q800D, which offers an updated Bluetooth version.
May 16, 2024: We've replaced the Samsung HW-Q990C with the Samsung HW-Q990D, which offers HDMI 2.1, making it a better choice for newer-gen console gamers.
Conclusion
Samsung is a well-known brand that offers many different types of products. Whether it comes to TVs, headphones, or soundbars, it's fair to expect a good quality product with decent performance. In terms of soundbars, they produce some of the best products on the market, with great audio quality and many connection options to use your soundbar as a hub for your various devices.