At the risk of pointing out the blooming obvious, sells a lot of TVs. And, while we have no actual evidence, we predict that it absolutely hates it when people combine those TVs with soundbars from other brands. That’s why it (and fellow/rival TV-producing mega-brand LG) is so determined to produce market-leading of its own.
It’s been getting steadily closer to that lofty ambition in recent years, too, with last year’s model falling just a whisker short of a five-star verdict. That model’s replacement, the Q990D, is now looking to achieve what its predecessor couldn’t quite. Conceptually, little has changed: this is a full system consisting of a soundbar, wireless subwoofer and two wireless surround speakers, with a massive 11.
1.4 total channel count. Feature upgrades are few but meaningful, particularly for gamers, but the real upgrade is to the sound.
Price The launch price of the Samsung HW-Q990D is £1699 / $2000 / AU$2099, but it is already available with some decent discounts. Expect that discounting to continue throughout the year – the outgoing Q990C, which launched at a very similar price to the Q990D, is now available for around £900 / $1100 / AU$1500. While the Q990D is certainly a premium proposition, it’s worth bearing in mind that an equivalent Sonos set-up consisting of an , Sub and two speakers (the so-called Ultimate Immersive Setup with Arc) will set you back £2076 / $2076 / AU$4081.
Our current soundbar Product of the Year, the , costs £129.
