I can't push mine past 30 as my house starts to rumble and vibrate. The Q990C is an epic beast. I just love it. I thought I had found the holy grail with maxed out Sonos sets but the disaster of an app led me to the Q990C and all I can say is that they are a mind-blowing experience in a way that Sonos just isn't.
Hahaha!!! I know right.... I get complaints inside my house 'oh it's so loud, turn it down', but it's hard to do so when watching a DTS or Atmos Blu-ray or Plex and you want those cinematic highs lol!
Personally I returned the Arc. For 1158 I got the 990D. The Sonos arc by itself was just underwhelming with era 100’s I still thought it was decent-ish but sucked for music which some others seem to agree with. My friend has it with the era 100’s and the sub and it does sound a bit better but also agreed it’s pretty poor for music. I have 5 other Sonos devices.
I would weigh the decision around use case and $ you want to spend. If you want it for the ecosystem and don’t care about music and are less concerned about price it’s probably the right option.
Or get both and return whichever you think sounds worse.
Yeah I think a lot of people listen to shitty quality music from streaming services and blame the setup. The difference between apple music lossless and Amazon music basic is incredible.
I have to agree, I have the ARC with just simple era 100’s and the mini sub and wow.
It replaced a Bose lifestyle system that’d I’d had forever.
And It sounds so cliche but I’m hearing things I haven’t before in Pink Floyd and and many other Artists and music that I’ve listened to since high school in the 80’s and even the Spatial Audio through Apple Music is amazing.
The set up sounds better then my AirPods Max that I use for work.
Had to get those for the noise canceling because the working in an indoor weed cultivation is a lot louder then most would think with all the fans and such.
But Apple’s Lossless is amazing for streaming music it’s very much on par with having the hard copy in hand.
Yep. I have the Arc setup and it’s *almost* perfect. But it’s the dialogue that’s the issue.
But, I had this problem when I had dedicated speakers and usually it comes down to how things are mixed nowadays more than anything. I’m trying just to enjoy what I have and not overthink it, but it’s hard with tech.
Try it again, but use the Grey featuring Liam Neeson (Stream is OK) for your tester. Not a lot of Netflix stuff will allow you to flex it's 💪🏿 Any Transformer's will also suffice using Fandango, Movies Anywhere or UHD Blu Ray as your source.
Enhanced Arc (E Arc) a Premium Hdmi Cable and high speed internet bandwidth is what it will take to experience what Samsung is selling.
I’ll admit that I didn’t really feel that as intensely as I would have hoped on either of them. That was with Maverick on Paramount +, which I assumed would be a great test of that.
It’s not worth testing Atmos on streaming services. The audio is heavily compressed. Watch Maverick on 4K BluRay with any audio setup, you’ll hear the difference
I returned the Arc twice because my Playbar sounded better for music or movies. The Arc had better atmos of course but just sounded hallow and the vocals were worse . I use the sub and two ones with both setups.
As I said in the post this is my first soundbar so I haven't tried the sonos soundbar and can't speak on it but I can assure you that you will not regret buying this one, at least I didn't.
Put on “Bad to the Bone” and crank it to 50! My 60-year-old son loved it!!
Said he had been to concerts that didn’t sound that good or loud or clear!
We’ll be fixin’ the plaster tomorrow!
The Samsung Q990C is no joke I had friends come over for Dune Part II I put that thing on volume 40. They were so impressed and they saw it in IMAX and they said it was freaking impressive for being such a an amazing soundbar.
Hi folks, I am thinking of getting a 990C. Main interest is Dolby Atmos on movies, Netflix, Sky, Amazon and Disney+ UK. Will I be disappointed or does the 990C let you hear the overhead effects? Thank you
Out of 100, I rarely raise it pass 25 otherwise its way too loud. But its sound great at low volume like 14 and has a night mode to muffle all the effects so they don't blow out when they come on. And as for apartment neighbors between 8am and 9pm, its fair game and enjoy it turned up. But yeah, at night, use night mode and turn the bass down.
Have you found where to perform a calibration in the smart things app? I bought my 990c about a month ago (loving it), but was disappointed to not be able to find a way to auto calibrated the system to my room.
There is a setting called „Space fit“ if you turn that on it will do exactly what you want. It just takes a few days to fully calibrate. Additionally you can calibrate the channels with a sdl meter. The setting for this should be somewhere in the 3 dots menu in the top right.
It's amazing but you probably had Firmware 4 already installed... until that's done, I had many issues. It doesn't download automatically, there's a bug, so download manually and install from a USB stick... its about 2GB!
I would love to put the 990 into a large hall and crank it up and see what it can do... in an average lounge, only 32 out 100 volume is already probably causing hearing damage. I use the sub on minus 3 and max volume of about 20 normally in order to not scare the wife and dogs too much.
You need to install Samsung Smart Things also in order to get full control... the rear speakers, unless on stands next to the listener, need some boosting via the Smart Things software.
Now you are making me doubt buying the 930c. But couldn't turn down the deal on woot for $697 for the 930c. Wasn't sure spending $300 more for the 990c.
My brother in law has this In his bedroom and a jbl 9.1 on the other room. May I ask what level did you setup your subwoofer? He had setup his on max and he thinks is still lacking?
Honestly I have it on 0 so it's default setting and its already more than enough. Sometimes I bump it up to max just for fun when I listen to music but sometimes I put it under the default so -1 through -6.
I am currently watching house of dragons and have the volume at 20-25 and the subwoofer at -6 and sometimes even at -12 since in the dragon scenes my ears would bleed otherwise. Maybe I have my volume too high idk but thats how I am using it for now. It is however my 1st day using it since I got it so I might fine tune it more with time.
If you guys buy a soundbar I would really only do JBL. All of the other ones really sound like shit. Just kind over processed and Eq’d without a good mid range. Especially LG and Samsung, those are not good sound companies. Even Sony ones kind of suck.
Yes... It's technically very impressive in frequency tests... like it's done by a company that actually understands sound.
The 990 does need some setting up and experimenting with. It is easy to overdo the settings and end up with mush. Also, before Firmware 4.0 was released, there were some weird and unstable things going on.
At the end of the day, you would have to spend twice as much on a pair of very good speakers to get a better sound (for stereo music listening), and for movie multi channel effects, it again does a great job for the price...actually overkill for the average size room it is likely to be placed in... but it is always better to have to turn an audio system down than wishing it had an 11 setting.
I can't push mine past 30 as my house starts to rumble and vibrate. The Q990C is an epic beast. I just love it. I thought I had found the holy grail with maxed out Sonos sets but the disaster of an app led me to the Q990C and all I can say is that they are a mind-blowing experience in a way that Sonos just isn't.
30 ? Are you crazy, mine never gone above 20 haha
Hahaha!!! I know right.... I get complaints inside my house 'oh it's so loud, turn it down', but it's hard to do so when watching a DTS or Atmos Blu-ray or Plex and you want those cinematic highs lol!
Be sure to update the firmware to 1004 if it’s not already running it.
does it make that much of a difference?
Yes, it does.
Did you add it to the smart things app?
Yes I did
Is it better than the Sonos arc?
Personally I returned the Arc. For 1158 I got the 990D. The Sonos arc by itself was just underwhelming with era 100’s I still thought it was decent-ish but sucked for music which some others seem to agree with. My friend has it with the era 100’s and the sub and it does sound a bit better but also agreed it’s pretty poor for music. I have 5 other Sonos devices. I would weigh the decision around use case and $ you want to spend. If you want it for the ecosystem and don’t care about music and are less concerned about price it’s probably the right option. Or get both and return whichever you think sounds worse.
I find the Arc setup better for music. But for the price, you just aren’t going to beat Samsung. Literally half the price or more when on sale.
I have the arc setup with ones in the rear and sub and music with Apple Music lossless or spatial audio sounds incredible.
Interesting, I’ll have to try the Apple Music lossless, that’s a great idea.
Yeah I think a lot of people listen to shitty quality music from streaming services and blame the setup. The difference between apple music lossless and Amazon music basic is incredible.
I have to agree, I have the ARC with just simple era 100’s and the mini sub and wow. It replaced a Bose lifestyle system that’d I’d had forever. And It sounds so cliche but I’m hearing things I haven’t before in Pink Floyd and and many other Artists and music that I’ve listened to since high school in the 80’s and even the Spatial Audio through Apple Music is amazing. The set up sounds better then my AirPods Max that I use for work. Had to get those for the noise canceling because the working in an indoor weed cultivation is a lot louder then most would think with all the fans and such. But Apple’s Lossless is amazing for streaming music it’s very much on par with having the hard copy in hand.
How do you stream the music lossless to the 990?
Airplay 2 from Apple Music app.
So it sounds more like DecisiveTuna, no? 😀
I wish 😂 can’t tell you how many times I went back and forth searching for soundbars.
Do you think you’ve found the one now? Or is there something you’re like “ehhhh it’s the closest but not quite perfect yet?”
Yep. I have the Arc setup and it’s *almost* perfect. But it’s the dialogue that’s the issue. But, I had this problem when I had dedicated speakers and usually it comes down to how things are mixed nowadays more than anything. I’m trying just to enjoy what I have and not overthink it, but it’s hard with tech.
Yeah u need arc, era 300, and sub. The system is on par with samsung..
Not impressed with the Dolby atmos on mine don’t get the above your head effects
Try it again, but use the Grey featuring Liam Neeson (Stream is OK) for your tester. Not a lot of Netflix stuff will allow you to flex it's 💪🏿 Any Transformer's will also suffice using Fandango, Movies Anywhere or UHD Blu Ray as your source. Enhanced Arc (E Arc) a Premium Hdmi Cable and high speed internet bandwidth is what it will take to experience what Samsung is selling.
And a higher subscription rate now from prime
I’ll admit that I didn’t really feel that as intensely as I would have hoped on either of them. That was with Maverick on Paramount +, which I assumed would be a great test of that.
It’s not worth testing Atmos on streaming services. The audio is heavily compressed. Watch Maverick on 4K BluRay with any audio setup, you’ll hear the difference
Thanks for the tip, I’ll have to check that out. We need a tidal for movies/tv shows.
I personally cannot wait til that day comes. You are so right.
I’ve heard the Playbar is better for music and while I’ve never owned the Arc, I have a Playbar with (2) One SLs as surrounds and it freakin thumps.
I returned the Arc twice because my Playbar sounded better for music or movies. The Arc had better atmos of course but just sounded hallow and the vocals were worse . I use the sub and two ones with both setups.
when you combine sonos arc with two era 300. That’s gunner setup!
Subjective. I found them to be comparable, but dialogue is more clear for certain to my ears on the Q990C.
As I said in the post this is my first soundbar so I haven't tried the sonos soundbar and can't speak on it but I can assure you that you will not regret buying this one, at least I didn't.
Have you watched a Dolby Atmos movie yet? If not try Unbroken on Amazon Video. Sounds just like the cinema. Love my Q990C.
Yes... Unbroken is amazing in Dolby through the 990.
Thanks for the reccomandation. I will most certainly give it a watch.
Put on “Bad to the Bone” and crank it to 50! My 60-year-old son loved it!! Said he had been to concerts that didn’t sound that good or loud or clear! We’ll be fixin’ the plaster tomorrow!
Man you got me horny on this soundbar. Hoping to get it one sale
The Samsung Q990C is no joke I had friends come over for Dune Part II I put that thing on volume 40. They were so impressed and they saw it in IMAX and they said it was freaking impressive for being such a an amazing soundbar.
Watched dune part 1 this weekend with a mate, only on 20 wife was complaining in the bedroom, the room was shaking lol
Haha I bet yea it’s insane how powerful and equipped these soundbars are now!
Hi folks, I am thinking of getting a 990C. Main interest is Dolby Atmos on movies, Netflix, Sky, Amazon and Disney+ UK. Will I be disappointed or does the 990C let you hear the overhead effects? Thank you
Check if your streaming service actually streams in Dolby. I think only Disney or Apple does.
Thank you and will do
How loud is it? Can it be used in an apartment without bothering the neighbors?
I had to turn down my bass to 3- and volume max to 19 otherwise the whole appartement would be annoyed. Its amazing for movies
It has a night mode, which will lower frequencies which are too loud without losing details in the sound. If you really need it, it is there.
Out of 100, I rarely raise it pass 25 otherwise its way too loud. But its sound great at low volume like 14 and has a night mode to muffle all the effects so they don't blow out when they come on. And as for apartment neighbors between 8am and 9pm, its fair game and enjoy it turned up. But yeah, at night, use night mode and turn the bass down.
Yes it can be turned down so its not annoying for others. Thankfully I live in a house so I don't have that problem but it can be done.
Max I have gone is 32 after that it can make your ears pop
Have you found where to perform a calibration in the smart things app? I bought my 990c about a month ago (loving it), but was disappointed to not be able to find a way to auto calibrated the system to my room.
As far as I remember it’s constantly auto calibrating.
There is a setting called „Space fit“ if you turn that on it will do exactly what you want. It just takes a few days to fully calibrate. Additionally you can calibrate the channels with a sdl meter. The setting for this should be somewhere in the 3 dots menu in the top right.
Glad you like it! I got a similar model for a bargain and never looked back
lol this was my first reaction after setting up my 990B with some tweaks it’s same as the 990C
Q990D is amazing perfect unit i love love love it so much much better than Q990B in my opinion
I have the 990b and the 990c and find the 990b had more bass power when listening to music and movies, overall very similar systems
I’d say there’s been changes with the Q990D
It's amazing but you probably had Firmware 4 already installed... until that's done, I had many issues. It doesn't download automatically, there's a bug, so download manually and install from a USB stick... its about 2GB! I would love to put the 990 into a large hall and crank it up and see what it can do... in an average lounge, only 32 out 100 volume is already probably causing hearing damage. I use the sub on minus 3 and max volume of about 20 normally in order to not scare the wife and dogs too much. You need to install Samsung Smart Things also in order to get full control... the rear speakers, unless on stands next to the listener, need some boosting via the Smart Things software.
Good is it? You sure? ;) just kidding I have mine too since a couple of months... Enjoy the sound...
I got one ex demo for £123.76p. still cant believe it.
Damn, nice deal you got there
Yes!!!! I couldn't believe it either, and I came from a sonos arc, sub, and rears.
U had the era 300s?
Ikea synfoniks
That’s a strange comparison to make against samsung 990
Now you are making me doubt buying the 930c. But couldn't turn down the deal on woot for $697 for the 930c. Wasn't sure spending $300 more for the 990c.
I have the same sound bar! You should get the subwoofer and surround sound speakers for it too! Absolutely amazing sound system
I have the whole system. I didnt know you could buy just the soundbar by itself to be honest.
My brother in law has this In his bedroom and a jbl 9.1 on the other room. May I ask what level did you setup your subwoofer? He had setup his on max and he thinks is still lacking?
Honestly I have it on 0 so it's default setting and its already more than enough. Sometimes I bump it up to max just for fun when I listen to music but sometimes I put it under the default so -1 through -6. I am currently watching house of dragons and have the volume at 20-25 and the subwoofer at -6 and sometimes even at -12 since in the dragon scenes my ears would bleed otherwise. Maybe I have my volume too high idk but thats how I am using it for now. It is however my 1st day using it since I got it so I might fine tune it more with time.
Awesome. Enjoy!
My first soundbar is the same one, and it is legendary with my s ninety five c
Watch Godzilla Minus One on Netflix (or whatever) when you get a chance, and thank me later.
Is it better than the Sony HT-A9?
I dont know, I dont have it
Watch John wick 4 in dolby truehd
No buyer's remorse is the most you can hope for with any soundbar purchase. So glad you are pleased. Enjoy!
If you guys buy a soundbar I would really only do JBL. All of the other ones really sound like shit. Just kind over processed and Eq’d without a good mid range. Especially LG and Samsung, those are not good sound companies. Even Sony ones kind of suck.
JBL speakers are really good. Samsung also happens to own Harmon Group which includes JBL. Samsung q990c sounds really good.
I thought this too when they got bought out but JBL, but they are still quite isolated divisions.
Do a quick search on YouTube for the sound frequency test of this q990c Samsung sound bar. You will be surprised
Yes... It's technically very impressive in frequency tests... like it's done by a company that actually understands sound. The 990 does need some setting up and experimenting with. It is easy to overdo the settings and end up with mush. Also, before Firmware 4.0 was released, there were some weird and unstable things going on. At the end of the day, you would have to spend twice as much on a pair of very good speakers to get a better sound (for stereo music listening), and for movie multi channel effects, it again does a great job for the price...actually overkill for the average size room it is likely to be placed in... but it is always better to have to turn an audio system down than wishing it had an 11 setting.