Samsung HW-Q90R Soundbar Review & Comments

Hi Steve,fantastic in depth review.
Just one question.When calibrating the front centre channel,is it "locked" together with the front left and right as some suggest on the n950 or are the front left and right "fixed",leaving the centre completely independent from those two,as others suggest?I have read conflicting reports on this and would love a definitive answer.
 
Fantastic review apart from one little thing I found hilarious.

“If your strapped for cash spend £1200 instead of £1500”

Lol maybe re-word that something like “if you wanna save £300 buy last years near identical model”
Who on earth being strapped for cash would even waste their time reading a review of a FIFTHTEEN HUNDRED POUND SOUND BAR?

Strapped for cash means two very different things to me and you Steve :)
Otherwise great review as always, not working properly with the best pound for pound TVs on the market for the last 3 years makes it a non starter for me and, I’m guessing many others! what are Samsung playing at?
 
I think I heard this today in Curry’s with the Samsung 75Q90R TV it was really good and would sit nicely below this TV too.
 
Hi Steve,fantastic in depth review.
Just one question.When calibrating the front centre channel,is it "locked" together with the front left and right as some suggest on the n950 or are the front left and right "fixed",leaving the centre completely independent from those two,as others suggest?I have read conflicting reports on this and would love a definitive answer.

Hi mate

attached is a pic from the Q90R manual, this suggests to me that adjustment control is identical to last years model

cheers
Screenshot 2019-05-22 at 19.21.45.png
 
@Steve Withers Sorry for the double post, I have read that the Q80R can now add the atmos rears if purchased separately. Is this something Samsung have told you?

I only ask as there is nothing in the manual to suggest that this is the case. Like the N850 before, it only mentions rear level adjustment with optional surround speakers and is lacking the rear top adjustment needed for the up fires

edit... see attached from q80r manual

Screenshot 2019-05-22 at 19.41.28.png



cheers
 
Hi Steve,fantastic in depth review.
Just one question.When calibrating the front centre channel,is it "locked" together with the front left and right as some suggest on the n950 or are the front left and right "fixed",leaving the centre completely independent from those two,as others suggest?I have read conflicting reports on this and would love a definitive answer.
I think this has already been answered, but you can set the centre, sides, rears, front top, and rear top separately.
 
Fantastic review apart from one little thing I found hilarious.

“If your strapped for cash spend £1200 instead of £1500”

Lol maybe re-word that something like “if you wanna save £300 buy last years near identical model”
Who on earth being strapped for cash would even waste their time reading a review of a FIFTHTEEN HUNDRED POUND SOUND BAR?

Strapped for cash means two very different things to me and you Steve :)
Otherwise great review as always, not working properly with the best pound for pound TVs on the market for the last 3 years makes it a non starter for me and, I’m guessing many others! what are Samsung playing at?
Fair enough about the value aspect. I might reword that slightly. As for Atmos over ARC, it might not be a Samsung issue. Have you considered that? Anyway, I’m sure it will be sorted out.
 
@Steve Withers Sorry for the double post, I have read that the Q80R can now add the atmos rears if purchased separately. Is this something Samsung have told you?

I only ask as there is nothing in the manual to suggest that this is the case. Like the N850 before, it only mentions rear level adjustment with optional surround speakers and is lacking the rear top adjustment needed for the up fires

edit... see attached from q80r manual

View attachment 1153817


cheers
That’s what Samsung told me, but I’ll double check with them tomorrow.
 
I think this has already been answered, but you can set the centre, sides, rears, front top, and rear top separately.
Sorry,I might not have made myself clear.I am not talking about side-firing speakers.I meant the 9 speakers along the front.Are they all classed as centre?
 
Sorry,I might not have made myself clear.I am not talking about side-firing speakers.I meant the 9 speakers along the front.Are they all classed as centre?
No, the three drivers on the left are the left channel, the three in the middle are the centre channel, and the three on the right are the right channel. All three are discreet and you can set the level of the centre channel separately from the left and right.
 
Atmos problem and 3 cons after the pros but scores a 10 seems very odd to me.
The three cons are all minor and the Atmos issue might be an LG problem, since the Q90R works fine with other manufacturers’ TVs. There’s no other soundbar that does object-based audio properly, so it’s a 10 from me!
 
Apols if this has been tried and it may actually seem counterintuitive, but with ARC have you tried it with the LG's Dolby atmos setting disabled? might be worth giving it a go with Jack Ryan.

It just doesn't make sense, as you say its just a DD+ container and the TV should be unaware of whats contained within when its passed, unless it is attempting to alter it in some way

cheers
 
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Fair enough about the value aspect. I might reword that slightly. As for Atmos over ARC, it might not be a Samsung issue. Have you considered that? Anyway, I’m sure it will be sorted out.
LG are far from infallible so there’s every possibility it’s on them, Samsung though are even worse (in my experience) so I’m gunna blame them until proven otherwise.

How come you don’t do the YouTube video reviews anymore? They helped me no end 3 years ago when I was traversing the tv choosing minefield, always clear, packed with all the info you could need (without being incredibly tedious unlike others who’ll remain nameless) and concise!
 
The lack of room EQ test tones / microphone setup really makes this another compromise bar.
There's no way I can get surround speakers to be equidistant in my lounge... and if adjustment can't be made per channel, only as the stereo pair - it will end up with a poor effect (too loud on one channel typically).
Also - missing Airplay (let alone Airplay 2) or Chromecast is all sorts of fool hardy.
 
Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision both work on my LG C8 via the in-built Amazon Prime app over ARC to the HW-N950.
A good review for the HW-90R but it doesn’t seem a big leap over the N950.
To be fair Samsung created a decent system to start with.
Looking forward to their next generation as things can only get better..... :)
 
Nice, solid review Steve. Well done!

Successor of an already great Soundbar, minor upgrade compared to the N950 if you ask me. E-ARC is great if you have a TV that supports it, but perhaps the N950 is getting it with a firmware update as well?

Adaptive sound and all these sound enhancers, I usually avoid like the plague. Most of the time, they screw up the sound more than enhance it.

The subwoofer upgrade is great, but honestly I’ve never encounter something wrong with mine. Placement is key to success with any sub.

I’m glad I got my hands on the N950 for about £700, feels like a steal compared to the £1499 price tag of this one.
 
As an iPhone user using Spotify. Can I stream or control to this sound bar? It sounds like I can’t use AirPlay and Spotify connect is only available if you use Alexa?

If that’s correct I’d need to connect Alexa to the sound bar then I could use Spotify connect?
 
but perhaps the N950 is getting it with a firmware update as well?

John Archer said in his review of the N850 that Samsung told him they where working on an EARC update. Samsung can often communicate confusing messages, they also have previous when it comes to abandoning older models so I would take this with a pinch of salt.

As an iPhone user using Spotify. Can I stream or control to this sound bar? It sounds like I can’t use AirPlay and Spotify connect is only available if you use Alexa?

Hi mate, on the N850 u can use Spotify connect, it shows in the available devices and the bar will switch to the wifi input once connected, volume control works.

I have no reason to think this will be any different on the new bars

cheers
 
Hi mate

attached is a pic from the Q90R manual, this suggests to me that adjustment control is identical to last years model

cheers
View attachment 1153814
Thanks again for details.You and Steve have kindly made it very clear that the centre channel is indeed discreet and can be adjusted individually.Looking at the manual,does that mean that the remaining three speakers either side+side firing speakers are "grouped" together,making up the left and right side channels respectfully, when making adjustments?I hope this makes sense.
Thanks in advance.
 
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Great review.

Ideal for neutered Disney Atmouse mixes lol.
 
Thanks again for details.You and Steve have kindly made it very clear that the centre channel is indeed discreet and can be adjusted individually.Looking at the manual,does that mean that the remaining three speakers either side+side firing speakers are "grouped" together,making up the left and right side channels respectfully, when making adjustments?I hope this makes sense.
Thanks in advance.

Hi mate

Front left and right is grouped, with no adjustment allowed in the settings
side left and right is grouped
front top left and right is grouped
rear left and right is grouped
rear top left and right is grouped
Centre is grouped (on its own)

IMO if using a meter and test tones then the best way to approach it is to set the front left and right using the master volume and then use the available individual controls to set the other groups to the same level as the front left and right.

Caveat being you may need to find a balance when doing individual adjustments as left and right from a group may offer different levels due to how the sound is bouncing around the room

hope this helps


cheers
 
Thanks again for details.You and Steve have kindly made it very clear that the centre channel is indeed discreet and can be adjusted individually.Looking at the manual,does that mean that the remaining three speakers either side+side firing speakers are "grouped" together,making up the left and right side channels respectfully, when making adjustments?I hope this makes sense.
Thanks in advance.
Chopples has already answered this perfectly.
 

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