SOUNDBARS
Neater than a full surround set-up, these will add truly immersive audio to your TV viewing
This soundbar system has a huge 11.1.4 total channel count
Image credit: Sony
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■ Samsung HW-Q990D £1499
We reckon Samsung absolutely hates it when people combine its TVs with soundbars from other brands. That’s why it is so determined to produce marketleading soundbars of its own. It has been getting steadily closer to that lofty ambition, too, with last year’s flagship Q990C model falling just a whisker short of a five-star verdict.
The Q990D has now achieved what its predecessor couldn’t quite. This is a full system comprising a soundbar, wireless subwoofer and two wireless surround speakers, with a huge 11.1.4 total channel count. There are 22 drivers in total: six elliptical midrange drivers and three tweeters that fire forwards, plus four side-firing drivers and two up-firers. Each of the surround speakers features one forward-, one sideand one up-firing driver, and the subwoofer has a 20cm driver. Samsung recommends that the surrounds be placed behind the listening position at a 135-150-degree angle, though the system will of course compensate if you instead have to put them to the sides.
There are four main audio presets, and for movies, our preferred processing mode is Surround, but it’s a close call with Adaptive. Just a touch softer than Adaptive, Surround still delivers a very lively presentation that ensures there’s oodles of excitement to action scenes. The flack in Unbroken’s bombing run scene explodes with punchy precision; there’s lots of bassy meat following each initial impact, and bullets ricochet off the bomber’s metal innards with crisp definition.
The Q990D does a superb job of delivering Atmos-ness, too. It really fills the room with sound and places effects in three-dimensional space with impressive precision for a soundbar system. It’s not only that planes sweep across, above and behind the listening position, impressive though that is, but the varied distance from you that effects appear in – some very close to your ear and others across the room. Most people think of height when they think of Atmos, and the Q990D certainly delivers that, but it’s this 3D audio effect that Atmos is really about.