Samsung has been responsible for some of the best soundbars for a couple of years now, exemplified perfectly by the Q990C and Q800C, both released in 2023. That soundbar was going to take a lot to beat, but the maker itself did it with the launch of the Q990D earlier this year. And now, not even six months since it launched, it’s received a monster AU$796 discount at JB Hi-Fi.
When we published our Samsung Q990D review earlier this month, we confidently crowned it the “best Dolby Atmos soundbar”. Not only did it (somehow) make audible improvements over its predecessor, but it also introduced 4K 120Hz and VRR pass-through, making it much more attractive to gamers than most other ‘bars on the market.
This huge saving is currently available at JB Hi-Fi, but we can’t guarantee it will hang around forever. So if you’re looking for a convenient and effective way to soup up your home cinema, snap one up soon.
The headline feature in the Q990D is it having two HDMI 2.1 ports that can accept, and pass-through, 4K 120Hz video from games consoles such as the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. There are only a handful of other soundbars that already offer this feature – one example being the Sony HT-A7000 – but while they may be big on features, they’re not as big on sound as this latest flagship model from Samsung.
We found in our Q990D review that objects and sounds flew all around the room, being placed perfectly and as they should have been. Bass levels were also room-shakingly impressive, as we found it to be a touch more controlled in the Q990D compared to its Q990C predecessor.
The Q990D also benefits from SpaceFit Sound Pro, which automatically analyses the space within which it finds itself on a daily basis and adjusts its sound output accordingly, to ensure you’re always getting the best possible presentation. And, if you own a compatible Samsung TV, you can combine the speakers on that with the Q990D, to deliver a larger-scale sound thanks to Q-Symphony.
I’ve been able to experience Q-Symphony in action on the Q990D, when I experienced it along with Samsung’s flagship S95D TV. When the two were paired, I did indeed find voices came through clearer, and there was a greater sense of height in the sound thanks to the upward firing speakers built into the S95D TV. I don’t think it’s a feature you should leave on permanently however, but definitely one you should play around and have fun with depending on the content you’re watching.
The original AU$1,995 price tag may seem excessive, but a similarly-specced home theatre solution from Sonos – an Arc soundbar, Sub (Gen 3) and a pair of Dolby Atmos-enabled Era 300s as rears – costs around double. In this context, it could seem affordable. But now its price has dropped considerably, we think it’s an absolute bargain.
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