Samsung HW-Q990C Soundbar Review

The Samsung HW-Q990C has a similar design to last year's Samsung HW-Q990B. The sides of the bar are angled for a hexagonal look. You find a display screen on the right side of the bar while the physical controls are on top. It only shows four characters at a time, so it has to scroll to show the entire message. However, it'll tell you information like your audio format and input.

The sub also looks quite similar to the model that comes with the Samsung HW-Q990B. It's large with a plastic plate over the woofer. The port is in the rear.

The Samsung Q990C's satellites have a similar design to last year's model. They're made of similar materials to the bar, with plastic and metal grilles over the drivers. The top is slightly angled, too. They connect to the bar wirelessly, so you can put them wherever you'd like in your room. If you don't have space for satellites in your setup, you can always check out another model, like the Samsung HW-Q900C.

This wide soundbar isn't likely to fit between the legs of a 55-inch TV. That said, it's about the same size as last year's model, and since it isn't very tall, it's not likely to block out your TV screen.

The sub's size is roughly the same as an average desktop computer. You can connect it to the bar wirelessly, which is nice. It only needs to be plugged into a power outlet to work.

The satellites are designed so you can place them on pedestals and mount them to your wall. They're about the same size as last year's model, and they also connect to the bar wirelessly.

The included mounting brackets are great if you want to mount the bar or the satellites to the wall. The screws are included, so you don't have to worry about buying any extras separately.

The Samsung HW-Q990C has excellent build quality, just like last year's model. The bar and the satellites are mostly made of solid and durable plastic, and the metal grilles covering the drivers help to protect them inside. The satellites' cables connect underneath the satellites, which helps to protect them from any bending or breaking over time. The sub is very premium, too, especially compared to other Samsung models. There's no fabric in the build, so you don't have to worry about tearing or gathering dust over time.

• User Manual
• Remote with batteries (2x AAA)
• 4x rubber foot
• Wall mount-guide
• 2x wall mounting brackets for soundbar
• Holder screw (x2) and screw (x2)
• HDMI cable (1.5m / 4.9 ft)
• 4x power cable (1.5m / 4.9 ft)

The Samsung Q990C offers a great stereo frequency response that's suitable for listening to lots of different types of audio content. It comes with lots of premium sound enhancement features, including a room correction tool called SpaceFit Sound Pro to optimize its sound based on your room's unique acoustics. Using this feature, the bar has a nice, neutral sound overall. Voices in music and television shows are clean and crisp, and you notice a good separation between the right and left channels with instruments, so audio is reproduced as intended by the original engineers. The low bass is quite controlled as well, making it a great choice for bass-heavy content like EDM and hip-hop or action-packed blockbuster films. While the bar struggles a bit with extended low bass, like with the song 'Stay' from the Interstellar soundtrack, this issue only occurs with certain tracks, and you have to pay attention to notice it.

Use the bar with its default settings for a more balanced sound with stereo content. That said, if you want a different sound, the 7-band graphic EQ can switch it up. However, the graphic EQ is only available when using Standard mode.

The soundstage is perceived to be about the size of the bar itself, but on the Standard EQ preset, it doesn't have a lot of tricks to make it seem wider than that. Setting it to the Adaptive Sound EQ preset does widen the soundstage a bit, but it tends to echo, which results in a 'faker' or less realistic feel to your audio. Depending on your preferences, you may like one preset over another. Either way, we found that the bar has good focus. Instruments are accurately localized to the left and right channels, so sound effects are easy to locate in the space around you.

The Samsung HW-Q990C gets really loud, even compared to other premium models like the Samsung HW-Q930C. As a result, it's well-suited for listening in larger and more open spaces. Since there isn't a lot of compression at max volume either, audio reproduction stays clean and clear.

It's an 11.1.4 setup, meaning that there's a discrete center channel built into the bar. This channel is designed to improve vocal reproduction, and the balanced frequency response ensures that speech is clear, accurate, and easy to follow.

The Samsung HW-Q990C comes with two discrete satellite speakers designed to improve the reproduction of 5.1 surround sound formats like Dolby Digital and DTS. Sound effects seem more clear and real as a result, and you feel like sound spreads into the space around your room. With a balanced frequency response on these channels, effects sound natural and detailed in the mix, too.

The Samsung HW-Q990C has four up-firing drivers—two on the bar itself and two on the satellites. They're designed to bounce sound off the ceiling to create the illusion of height with content like Dolby Atmos. Again, the balanced frequency response ensures that effects reproduced on these channels are clear and detailed, so you don't miss any effects in the mix.

Additionally, we evaluated the bar's subjective Atmos performance to get a better understanding of its soundstage and overall ability to deliver an immersive experience. In sum, it's quite impressive, especially compared to other high-end models like the JBL Bar 1300X or LG S95TR. The Samsung brings an all-around sound with clear details, and it feels like sound effects come from the space to your right and left, as well as above you and even behind your head. Take, for example, a helicopter flying overhead—the bar can reproduce a good sense of height, so it really feels like the copter is flying over your head in your living room. The sub brings plenty of rumble in the bass during action-packed scenes, too, and it's quite controlled, so even during explosions, you don't notice any muddiness in the mix.

Samsung's soundbars are known for their customization features, and this model is no exception. You have many options to switch up its sound, including a 7-band graphic EQ when you're on Standard mode, as well as bass and treble adjustments when you're on any of the other preset modes like Surround, Adaptive Sound, or Game Pro. If you're looking to enhance dialogue, you can use Active Voice Amplifier (AVA) to help make dialogue easier to hear relative to your room's noise.

There's a room correction tool called SpaceFit Sound Pro, designed to automatically adjust the bar's output based on your room's acoustics. Unlike some Samsung models, you can use SpaceFit Sound Pro, even if you don't have a Samsung TV. If you own a compatible Samsung TV, you can pair up the bar for Q-Symphony, a feature that's designed to bring a more immersive sound by integrating your TV speakers with the bar's speakers.

You can connect the Samsung Q990C to your TV via HDMI or Optical. The two HDMI In ports are also handy if you want to use the bar as a hub between devices like a PC and a gaming console for passthrough. That said, if you're looking for HDMI 2.1 support, you'll want to check out its successor, the Samsung HW-Q990D.

Via ARC, the bar can playback common 5.1 surround sound formats like Dolby Digital, as well as lossless and object-based formats like Dolby Atmos.

Over HDMI In, the Samsung Q990C supports many different audio formats commonly found on both streaming platforms and Blu-rays, including Dolby Digital and Dolby Atmos.

Over Optical, the Samsung Q990C soundbar can playback common 5.1 audio formats like Dolby Digital and DTS. Dolby Digital is the more common of the two, found on many streaming platforms and Blu-rays. DTS is often used as a fallback for the higher-quality DTS HD-MA format on certain Blu-rays.

Audio latency is amazing over an ARC connection. The video you see on screen is in sync with the audio you hear, so you don't notice lip-synching errors. Some apps and TVs compensate for latency differently, so if you have any issues, you can use the AudioSync feature in the SmartThings app to manually adjust the delay.

Similarly, audio latency falls within good limits over HDMI In. You can watch lots of common audio formats like Dolby Digital and Dolby Atmos without a noticeable delay. Some apps and TV compensate for this differently, though.

Latency falls within good limits when you play 2.0 PCM content via Optical. It's higher with Dolby Digital content, though you can always manually adjust for this using the Audio Sync feature in the app.

If you're a gamer, you'll appreciate that you can use this bar as a hub between devices like a TV and a gaming console, with a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz at 1080p and 60Hz at 4k. There's support for some variable refresh rates technologies, too, which is handy for those who want to ensure a tear-free gaming experience. That said, this bar doesn't support HDMI 2.1, which is disappointing given its premium position on the market, and it can't passthrough 4k @ 120Hz. However, the next generation, the Samsung HW-Q990D, supports it, so you'll definitely want to check that bar if this feature is important to you.

Wirelessly streaming audio from your mobile devices to the bar is easy, given the wide array of wireless playback support. Check with your country's product page to see if Chromecast support is available in your region.

You find a small display on the front of the bar. It's only a four-character display, so it has to scroll through longer messages. It shows the volume level and the current input, and pressing the 'i' button shows the audio format you're playing. You can also turn voice feedback on and off by pressing the source button on the remote for five seconds while the bar is off, which is handy if you don't want to read the display.

The physical buttons on top of the bar let you control its most basic settings. You can change the input, adjust the volume, and mute and unmute the microphone.

The bar has a remote to help you control the bar's features from your couch. However, if you prefer, there's also the Samsung SmartThings app to adjust the bar's settings from your mobile devices. You can see a full video of the app here.

The built-in Amazon Alexa support lets you control the bar hands-free with your voice. While Google Assistant is also supported in some regions, this feature isn't available in the US, so if you have any doubts, you'll want to check your country's product page via Samsung's website. The mic mute button gives you the option of privacy, too.