Customer Ratings & Reviews

For the price i would think samsung would have all the glitches out for rhis price. Samsung products do not play nice with other tv or sound system products.

I never got the sound bar. They called and said it couldn’t be delivered on the promised day and needed another 9 days. No reason given. Canceled the $3500 purchase. There loss.

Sound Bar is the best I have ever owned. It was so easy to setup.

I have used several soundbars in my time, and I have to say that this Samsung unit is the best so far. First, though, I have to say that this soundbar is big. The box it came in, which also includes the large subwoofer (about the size of a typical tower-style desktop computer) and the two small “surround” sound speakers, is about 8 ft by 2 ft by 1 ft and weighs close to 80 lbs. Expect to need help to move the box around. The soundbar itself is noticeably heavy, weighing close to 20 lbs, which is at least twice what my current soundbar weighs. The instructions warn you about the weight and advise firmly mounting to studs if you intend on mounting this on the wall. There are two metal L-brackets included to help with the mounting, but you must provide your own screws and anything else needed. I had my previous soundbar sitting on the mantle above my fireplace as my TV is mounted on the wall above the fireplace. All-in-all, it was a good combination, but this soundbar is too heavy to sit on the mantle as the mantle is not sitting on top of anything but rather hangs from the wall. I placed this soundbar on top of a bookshelf to one side of the TV. I didn’t think this would be ideal at first, but after using it for watching several kinds of TV shows, it has turned out better than I expected. I attribute this to several factors, which I’ll get to shortly. First, though, setup couldn’t be easier. Once you’ve wrestled the soundbar into place however you plan to mount it, connection is simply the power cord and an HDMI cable connected, preferably, to the E-ARC HDMI port on your TV. This allows the TV and the soundbar to communicate with each other, so your TV remote can turn the soundbar on and off, control the soundbar’s volume, and so forth. Connection of the peripheral speakers could not be easier. A power cord is included for each. Just place them where you want them, keeping in mind that each needs a connection to an A/C outlet. The speakers connect wirelessly and automatically to the soundbar once everything is powered up. There is a blue light on the back of each speaker that flashes until the connection is made, after which it turns solid blue. I switched the soundbar on first, then plugged in each speaker in succession (the peripheral speakers do not have power switches), and each connected to the soundbar in just a second or two. Control of the soundbar’s functions is primarily through the included remote. The only controls on the soundbar itself are a power button, up and down volume controls, and a button to turn the soundbar’s internal microphone on and off. There is a small digital display on the soundbar that indicates which of the four sound modes is selected, and these are “surround,” “game pro,” “standard,” and “adaptive.” I haven’t had a chance to use all of these to their best extent, but I have found so far that the “surround” option gives the fullest, richest sound, which doesn’t surprise me. This is why, as I mentioned above, the sound turned out to be pretty good considering that the soundbar is offset from the TV. The surround speakers are basically on each side at 90 degrees from the viewing angle, and the subwoofer is just to the side of the fireplace and closer to being beneath the TV than the soundbar itself. The volumes of the subwoofer and surround speakers can be separately controlled by the remote. All together, the sound experience is excellent, with a fuller, richer sound than I had before. This soundbar features Dolby Atmos, the newer surround-sound technology that is more complicated to explain than can be done here. I don’t know how many routine TV programs are able to take advantage of it, but I have heard audio through this and previous soundbars I have owned that have this technology, and there definitely is a difference in sound quality. This soundbar also features a Samsung-specific surround-sound technology called “Q-Symphony.” This technology works only with Samsung TVs that have the Q-symphony feature, and, rather than simply turning off the TV’s internal speakers when the soundbar is connected, the Q-symphony feature makes use of the TV’s internal speakers in conjunction with the soundbar and peripherals to produce, according to Samsung, an even more enhanced sound experience. Samsung’s argument is that their TV’s internal speakers are pretty good quality themselves, and it is a waste of opportunity not to make use of them in setting up the full soundbar-based system. I do not have a Samsung TV, so I could not try this feature. I attribute some of the better sound of this soundbar compared to the previous ones I’ve owned, none of which were anything other than excellent devices, to this soundbar’s physical size. As I’ve noted, it’s bigger. A lot bigger. The speakers in it therefore are larger and have larger enclosures. The subwoofer is about twice the size of my previous one as well. All together, the soundbar and the three peripheral speakers work well to produce a great sound. I expect years of great listening with this new setup, or at least until the next great sound technology comes along!

I felt a bit of nostalgia as I unboxed the HW-Q990D and set it up in my main TV viewing room. I still recall my first Samsung Soundbar, the HW-K950, a revolutionary soundbar that introduced the world to Atmos. For most of my adult life, I had used big, boxy speakers and an expensive receiver to get to surround sound nirvana, and the fact that Samsung had released a soundbar with wireless sub and speakers to give me 5.1.4 Atmos sound was astonishing! When Samsung released the HW-N950 with sound by Harmon Kardon, I sold my big box speaker system and enjoyed it until it died a few years later. In my opinion, Samsung has been the go-to for soundbar systems. I know there are some big name brands out there, but Samsung consistently makes an amazing product that envelops the user in surround sound. Now that I’ve probably bored you with my experience with Samsung soundbars, let’s talk about the HW-Q990D soundbar. It is an 11.1.4 Atmos soundbar, complete with wireless subwoofer and a pair of wireless satellites. The wireless sats serve several purposes: They supply surround and surround back effects, as well as Atmos effects using upfiring woofers built into the speaker. They are basically three speakers in one cabinet. If you have select Samsung TVs, you can use SpaceFit Sound to calibrate the soundbar to the area. I do not have a Samsung TV, so I was unfortunately not able to use the room calibration process. Which is a bummer. Many of Samsung’s competitors have room EQ on their soundbars, many of them costing less than the Q990D. Unfortunately, there is no white noise generator for the Q990D either, which would allow the user to use their own microphone and set channel levels. Nope, it is left up to the user to adjust settings and hope they get it right. The addition of Chromecast to the Q990D is excellent. In practice it functions perfectly. I was also able to use AirPlay to send music from my wife’s phone to the Q990D. Two HDMI ins as well as an eARC HDMI complete the inputs. I was able to play both my Xbox One X and PS4 without any issues through the Q990D. Picture quality was excellent, as well as the sound quality. Getting to sound quality…. While not as powerful sounding or as warm and smooth as my old HW-950, the Q990D is more enveloping and crystal clear with surround tracks. The first John Wick movie is an absolute bedlam of action, with extended fight scenes, lots of gunfights, and roaring cars. The Q990D handled the scenes with aplomb, the subwoofer digging down surprisingly low to add good heft to the sound. There is an end scene that takes place in the rain, and the upfiring speakers in the sats and main bar did a good job of making it seem like the rain was coming straight down from the ceiling. I was impressed for sure. Jumping ahead to John Wick 4, I watched the beginning scene where Keanu Reeves is punching a wooden 2x4 over and over again. The scene is mixed with heavy, heavy bass, a resounding thump taking place every time he hits that piece of wood. You’d think a semi was striking a steel tank, the way it sounds. Each impact came through resoundingly good through the Q990D system, the sub handling the hard bass impacts without issue. Again, pretty impressive for just an 8” sub. During extremely active scenes, there are times when the voices get a little lost, as if the center channel fades out a bit, but this is pretty typical of all soundbars. 99 percent of the time, the Q990D provided an excellent experience listening to movies of all genres. I only discovered one shortcoming (in my opinion) when it came to the 990D: Stereo music was not as good as with my prior Samsung soundbar. The 950 had Harmon Kardon tuning, and it really sounded good with plain old stereo music. The 990D is not quite as detailed, warm, and enjoyable when it comes to enjoying music. But it’s just a small quip, and most folks will be happy with the 990D as an all-around soundbar. All-in-all, I am very pleased with the Q990D and it occupies the place of honor below my main TV.

Excellent sound and clarity small footprint so it fits anywhere

Easy to setup and sound is amazing. I came from an A650 to this and its night and day, especially for those hard to hear whisper scenes

Truly immersive sound! I have had some nice soundbars from other brands but this set up is precise and balanced in every way. Clear dialogue, powerful full range, strong bass. Pull the trigger and you won't regret it!

We LOVE the crystal clear sound from our SAMSUNG Soundbar, Movie watching is like being at the theater.

I picked this system up yesterday to replace my Samsung HW-Q850T/ZA (has been a great system too) and boy oh boy what a difference in souncd. Going from a 5.1ch to an 11.1ch...it sounds pretty spectacular! I have it setup with my Samsung S90D.

Great sound from this soundbar, the setup was super easy and it worked seamlessly with my LG TV

Coming from a 950a i've notice small sound improvements to vocals and especially bass. It feels a little less compressed than the 950a. Is it a substantial upgrade, no but the sound quality is better. I'm hoping that next years model may compete with the Dragon.

Good value no complaints with system at all. Would consider again.

The build quality of this soundbar is very solid. The sound quality is off the charts! This is my second Samsung soundbar, and I am extremely happy with both purchases.

Even though I am a total tech member, I purchased outside of Best Buy cause of the employee discount which Best Buy wouldn’t price match. Manufacturer gives you a one year warranty. Two weeks after the Samsung warranty expired, my subwoofer crapped out due to the infamous firmware which bricked many of these units. Samsung is in denial that there even was a botched firmware which bricks units. They won’t budge. Basically told me to pound sand and there is absolutely nothing they can do. I even pointed them to the media articles regarding the firmware and still stubbornly denied that there was a bad firmware. Garbage company.

Buyer beware. I have had this soundbar for under a year and was bricked due to a firmware update that was THEIR doing. There is no solution and no timeline of when it may be resolved. It’s been a week of not being able to use my soundbar.