Samsung HW-Q990H

After boldly (and, ultimately, successfully) shaking last year’s HW-Q990F flagship soundbar package up with a radical subwoofer redesign, it appears Samsung’s audio engineers have opted to bed that big change in for 2026 rather than risk rocking the boat with any more big changes. In fact, the only thing obviously different about this HW-Q990H is the addition of a ‘Sound Elevation’ option designed to vertically lift the core level of the sound so that it seems to sit more on a level with a big TV’s pictures. Oh, and a new ‘Auto Volume’ feature that does exactly what it says on the tin - levels volumes out, rather than allowing an advert’s crazily raised volumes to suddenly cause your eardrums to bleed.

Sound quality

Samsung doesn’t appear to have made any major changes to the design or configuration of the speaker system inside any of the HW-Q990H’s main bar, subwoofer and two rear speaker components. So not surprisingly, it sounds very similar indeed to its predecessor - which, given that this predecessor earned an 'Exceptional' badge from us last year, is not a bad thing at all.

It’s instantly obvious it has retained all of the traditional strengths we’ve come to associate with Samsung’s full-surround soundbars over recent years. That starts with the phenomenal amount of power the speaker system manages to roll out, seemingly effortlessly, across all four of the components included in the package. This helps the system create a huge soundstage capable of satisfying all but the most palatial of living rooms, but which also holds itself together at volume levels way beyond anything regular human hearing will be able to tolerate. Even the relatively compact rear speakers show no sign of breaking down before your hearing does, even when pushed hard by a sudden loud impact sound or brash, aggressive sound effect transition. 

The way the rears also manage to sound tonally matched with the potent main soundbar pays testament to their remarkable build quality and driver design. Especially when you consider that despite their compactness, each rear speaker plays host to three separate drivers: one firing out of the front, one firing out of the side and one firing out of the top.

The main soundbar continues to be an absolute beast, managing to drive its sound out to fill every inch of your room with outstanding force. Impact sounds hit hard, with no delays or ‘ramp up’ time, musical scores and ambient sounds exist just beyond the main diegetic sounds just as they should, and every one of the nine channels inside the main bar (front centre, front left, front right, forward side left, forward side right, side left, side right, and two up-firers) is delivered with frankly amazing clarity and precision. 

It actually seems to me, in fact, that the height/overhead channels have improved in their clarity and presence compared to last year’s S990F, despite Samsung suggesting it hasn’t done anything new. Maybe it did a little retuning to accommodate the ‘Sound Elevation’ feature?

This new feature works very well, raising the level of things like musical scores and, especially, dialogue a good few inches higher than when the feature is turned off. And crucially, without the soundstage losing its balance or immersive staging. It’s certainly a feature worth trying, therefore, if you have an 85 inch or bigger TV. 

While you are aware of the existence of each channel in a Dolby Atmos movie mix with the Q990H, there’s nothing distractingly forensic about the channel separation. Instead, the chief result of all the soundbar’s outstanding channel distribution (including from the three drivers in each rear speaker) is the feeling of immersion within an immaculately constructed, highly detailed three-dimensional hemisphere of sound that locks you into the world of whatever film or TV show you’re watching with no distracting soundstage gaps to break the illusion. 

Although JBL gets close with its similarly specified and also ultra-powerful Bar 1300, in the end no other soundbar system I’ve heard - and I’ve heard a lot - manages to deliver quite such a complete, full-wraparound, 3D Dolby Atmos and DTS:X dome as the Q990H.

I haven’t even mentioned the Q990H’s subwoofer yet. This cute little cube sits there looking like butter wouldn’t melt in its drivers, and then calmly proceeds to churn out depths and volumes of extreme low frequency stuff as if it’s no big deal. Running two large drivers on opposing sides of its cubic form seems to cancel out pretty much all distortion and any sense of physical limitations to its low-frequency extension or pressure levels. There’s no discernible ‘bottoming out’ of its sound, and no pressure level at which it starts to crackle or drop out.

Perhaps best of all, considering how potent it is, is the fact this diddy subwoofer shows no sense of sluggishness, reluctance  or one-dimensionality with the bass it introduces into movie soundtracks. It rolls its bass out with so much force, but also smoothness, that it really does fill your room with an uncanny lack of directionality. Exactly as a good bass speaker should. The worst that can be said about the subwoofer is that even after activating the mostly helpful ‘SpaceFit Pro’ auto room-calibration system, I still occasionally feel the need to manually reduce its volume relative to the rest of the speakers.

If I have to find fault with the Q990H’s movie presentation, then dialogue can occasionally sound fractionally pinched and bright - especially if the talker has a high-pitched voice. Such moments are rare, though, and I’d actually rather Samsung take this approach than have dialogue become soupy or rolled up into the rest of the soundstage. 

Happily, the relatively recently attained ability of Samsung’s flagship soundbars to adapt their gleefully aggressive movie sound to stereo  music continues with the HW-Q990H. Provided, at least, that you stick with its ‘Standard’ sound mode setting.

In this mode, stereo music is played in its original two-channel configuration with no processing added. And the Q990H stages things superbly, positioning vocals beautifully at the heart of the presentation while simultaneously creating a dynamic and wide left/right channel divide. While the Q990H’s staging leans towards ‘big’ rather than ‘intimate’, though, it doesn’t ever sound stretched or incoherent. And while vocals are clean and clear, there’s no repeat of that occasional over-brightness I note with movie dialogue.

Detailing is exceptional, too, leaving no part of the mixer’s art hidden - and that impossibly powerful little sub handily reins itself in admirably for music, taking great care not to overwhelm more delicate musical staging. Instead it uses its reserves of power to deliver greater nimbleness, in both the range of low frequencies it delivers and the relative weight it has in a mix.

Just occasionally a specific treble effect (such as a highlighted snare drum) can sound a little hard-edged - and this small issue grows exponentially if you apply the ‘Surround Sound’ mode option to two-channel music (though the ‘AI Adaptive Sound’ option offers a decent middle-point compromise). You also don’t quite get the same warm, rounded feel associated with one or two premium (for which read ‘more expensive’) soundbars from more hi-fi oriented brands. Those more hi-fi specialist bars, though, can’t compete with the raw power, dynamics and full surround staging the Q990H can achieve.

Living with the Samsung HW-Q990H

With its four components, the Q990H is clearly more of an imposition on your living space than a single-bar soundbar solution. All four speakers can actually be classed as reasonably compact in the context of how bloody loud they can get, though - and you wouldn’t be considering the Q990F if you aren’t attracted by its full-surround and meaty bass charms, which are features no single-bar solution can give you with anywhere near the effectiveness and precision of this Samsung quartet. 

The subwoofer is so compact and cutely designed, too, that for once you actually won’t mind leaving it on show rather than trying to hide it under a sideboard or down the side of a sofa.

As with all recent Samsung soundbars, the Q990H is compatible with the brand’s ‘Q Symphony’ feature, meaning its speakers can work with those of a connected, suitably recent Samsung TV, rather than the soundbar simply taking over This can expand the centre-channel space and enhance centre-channel detail - and with most premium Samsung TVs the system does a surprisingly good job of blending the TV and soundbar speakers together. 

The Q990H is compatible with the wireless Dolby Atmos distribution system some of Samsung’s TVs support ( though it is, sadly, not lossless), and the Q990H can also support direct playback via Samsung’s SmartThings app from Spotify Connect, Google Cast, TIDAL Connect, Roon and Apple Airplay.

While the Q990H supports HDMI’s eARC function, allowing it to receive sound from the HDMI cable it’s connected to your TV with, anyone who’s had issues (especially audio lag) with eARC will be pleased to hear the Q990H carries a two-in, one-out HDMI loop for direct source connection. This loop supports all four key HDR formats, and can also support the pass-through of 4K/120Hz HDR gaming graphics.

The Q990H ships with an attractively slender, metal-finished remote control with a stripped-back (but perfectly adequate) button count, while deeper control is available via the SmartThings app as well as the upcoming ‘Samsung Sound’ iOS and Android apps.

Conclusion

While Samsung has played it safe this year by introducing precious few new features or obvious sound quality improvements over the Q990H, nothing else has come along over the past 12 months that might knock it off its perch. The balance between the Q990H’s detail, power, effects placement, dynamic range, impact, musicality and, above all, soundstage cohesion remains comfortably the all-round best in town for anything like the £1599 asking price.

Listening notes

Ready Player One 4K Blu-ray
The first full King Kong race sequence in Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi blockbuster is one of the most dynamic and extreme Dolby Atmos sequences known to man, particularly when it comes to murdering rear speakers, punching out hard impact sounds and maintaining detail clarity. So this scene turns out to be perfect for showing just how ridiculously well the Q990H handles everything even Hollywood’s toughest moments can throw at it. Even at crazy volumes.

Sinners 4K Blu-ray
While Sinners’ Dolby Atmos mix always sounds perfectly serviceable, it becomes much more than that during the famous sequence where it blends various musical styles through the ages into an ever denser, louder and more powerful musical tribute. Maintaining clarity, balance and musicality right the way through this sequence is a serious challenge for any soundbar. But again, the Q990H handles it brilliantly.

‍Civil War 4K Blu-ray
Alex Garland’s imagining of a future internal US war features a surprisingly bombastic, pressurised Dolby Atmos soundtrack, especially during the sequence where attack helicopters take off from their rural staging point before starting their assault on Washington. The Q990H doesn’t succumb to the sort of distortion or crackling issues this scene causes with many other soundbars - though I do feel the need to nudge the soundbar’s influence down a touch to keep things balanced.

If you want a soundbar that can deliver a full surround-sound experience, the power and precision the Samsung Q990H manages to get from its 16 channels of sound can’t currently be beaten by any system anywhere near the £1599 price. It’s a particular no-brainer if you own or are intending to buy a recent Samsung TV able to unlock Samsung-exclusive features such as ‘Q Symphony’ and wireless Dolby Atmos transmission.

Samsung TVs and soundbars carry a ‘Q Symphony’ feature that lets them share sound duties together, as well as wireless Dolby Atmos transmission and the ability to control both the TV and soundbar via a single remote. So there’s something to be said for partnering the Q990H with a premium Samsung TV. ‘Q Symphony’ is actually supported now across a wide range of Samsung TVs, but for it to sound convincing a bar as powerful as the Q990H is best partnered with one of Samsung’s more powerful-sounding TVs, such as the 65S99H OLED TV.

The Q990F’s HDMI 2.1 loop through system means you can also run Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5 through the soundbar and still get the best graphics the consoles can output, rather than having to rely on the sometimes laggy eARC route to pass your game sound to the soundbar via your TV.

Finally, since streamed movies and TV shows only get compressed Dolby Atmos soundtracks, I’d advise attaching a Blu-ray or, better, a 4K Blu-ray player to the Q990H so that you can enjoy its full capabilities.