Help for soundbar/ audio newbie- Q90r or Q70r?

Icesheet

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Hi

First post, hoping for some help from the community. I got a projector for Christmas and thought why not use some Christmas money over the sales to add a decent audio setup.

I know very little in this field and even though I’m half way technically minded I wanted to keep things simple (and the wife wanted to keep things discreet!). So, after some reading I had decided a soundbar would meet my requirements. Where I am they are currently offering good deals on the Samsung Q series. After some reading I had my mind set on the Q70r (with the intention of adding the rear speakers later). However, when I got to the store the salesman offered me a deal that would get me the Q90r if I took out a cable subscription. At the time it seemed like a deal I couldn’t turn down and I didn’t.

When I got home, the first thing that struck me (and the wife) was the size of it! I had seen it in the store of course but I didn’t have my living room for context then. The second thing was that I would not be able to place the rear speakers behind as the instructions suggested due to my sofa being against the back wall. I had always thought the speakers went to the side or just slightly behind. I’ve since realised that is in a 5.1 set up. Not the 7.1.4 this is.

Don’t get me wrong I’m hugely impressed by the sound, especially for movies. I’ve even got the thumbs up to keep it but there’s something nagging away at me. I used one of these test your surround sound things and I noticed that in a 5.1 output I was getting no sound from the rear speakers. This makes sense to me now as the surround channels are in the soundbar itself. I also now know I can use ‘surround’ mode and get sound to the rear speakers (and maybe the upfiring speakers?). However, even when I do that it seems to me the surround speakers in the bar get priority. Which is where the sound is intended to go of course. Also, with my current set up I can’t get Dolby Atmos and even although I plan to change that in the near future I still reckon 80% + of my watching would probably only utilise 5.1 at most.

So with all that in mind would it be better for me to return the Q90R and get the Q70R with rear speakers making a 5.1.2 setup? That way I can place the surround speakers where they’re supposed to be for the majority of my viewing and when I’m Atmos ready I will still get to experience it. Albeit only with the 2 upfiring speakers as opposed to the 4 with the Q90.

I’m hoping I’ve made sense in this ramble. What would you suggest, keep the Q90R or go with the Q70R? Perhaps there’s a way to assign the surround d channels to the rear speakers for the Q90?

Any advice greatly appreciated!

Chris
 

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