Samsung’s Superb Q990D Soundbar Does Just Enough to Beat Out Competitors
Most of the other features and settings are accessible with the bar’s remote and onboard display, but it’s usually easier to use the SmartThings app. The basic layout lets you choose the sound mode (I generally stick to Standard), adjust the EQ, engage enhancements like Active Voice Amplifier, and set channel levels.
I appreciate Samsung’s inclusion of channel levels for most of the bar’s gazillion audio channels, but getting the levels locked in was the most onerous part of my evaluation. I had the surround speakers directly behind my couch due to space constrictions, which meant I had to turn them all the way down and even raise the other channels to balance things.
This task was much easier with Sonos’ Era 300 speakers (9/10, WIRED Recommends) connected to the Arc Ultra, because Sonos TruePlay calibration adjusts the sound to your room (though stand-alone Wi-Fi speakers can have their own quirks). Auto calibration is something I’d expect in any system that costs nearly $2,000, yet each year Samsung fails to add it. The company’s Space Fit feature supposedly analyzes the sound in real time, but I didn’t notice any meaningful change.
My other beef is a persistent volume issue when using Spotify Connect. If you’re streaming directly from Spotify, adjusting the volume level bizarrely jumps up or down seven steps per maddening tap, so it’s always too loud or too quiet. Add in the lack of Chromecast, and Android users are forced to control streaming directly from SmartThings or grab the otherwise superfluous remote. It’s a small fix, but that’s also why it’s so annoying.
Sound Swirl
Streaming quirks notwithstanding, the Q990D has the goods where it counts. Each component in the four-piece system works in concert to offer a powerful, balanced, and fantastically fluid soundstage across everything you play. You won’t quite get the premium detail found in bars like the Arc Ultra, but there’s enough tactile touch to appreciate the little things, and plenty of bombast to raise your cinematic moments to new heights, literally.
Dolby Atmos is unsurprisingly the star of the show. The “Amaze” scene from my Atmos demo disc was definitely a showpiece moment. I could almost feel the humidity all around me in the insect buzz at the intro, while the rolling thunder cracked with visceral surprise and the rain at the end truly reached down from overhead to put me deep in the jungle flora.
