Samsung HW-Q950T and HW-Q900T Soundbar - Review & Comments

Hi, Samsung HW-Q950T and HW-Q900T are totally different since one doesn't have rear speakers... shouldn't be in the same thread...
Question, if we compared in price and quality the Q950T with a dedicated 5.1.2 or 7.1.2 system what it could be?
 
Received my Q950T... after setting up the soundbar and having had the Q90R... my comments would be. The Q950T sounds better, even without adjusting speakers straight out of the box. The Q90R reminds me now of a loud freight train when you listened to Atmos film for example whereas the Q950T sounds... controlled loudness. I feel that having the eARC out of the box has helped as opposed to it being as an update.

Whoever decided to move the led screen was crazy but that said, it’s not the end of the world. It works so don’t need to be checking if the movies is playing Atmos or DTSx when start a movie/tv show. There is led lights on the bar which turns red when the soundbar is on and when you adjust volume white dotted lights will come up on the bar showing a guide to volume. i have a harmony elite which doesn’t currently have settings for the Q950T but I chucked in the Q90R remote and it works without issue too.

the fabric... who ever decided that... crazy also. It is just a dust collector and even rotating the bar just 90’ to get under and plug in HDMI cables collected dust/dirt from the tv unit. It looks and feels like Samsung was taking the YAS-108/207-209 soundbar design.

My only issue I had is I feel like I had moments when the rear speakers sounded like they were crackling a little when I tried out my new INXS - Live Baby Live 4k. Felt maybe putting it on with Atmos, because I was listening to it more intently than you normally would, could have actually been related to the concert. Also when I adjusted the volume on the bar it took a moment for the rears to match through with the level. Only noticed it once but again could be a placebo effect that I’m looking for faults which aren’t there.

Overall, those issues aside, I am very happy. If you have the funds, would easily suggest buying it if you feel you need the surround speakers and Atmos effect. Thanks to Joely Oely for the hookup.
 
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Overall, those issues aside, I am very happy. If you have the funds, would easily suggest buying it if you feel you need the surround speakers and Atmos effect. Thanks to Joely Oely for the hookup.

Thanks for the review!! Did you happen to change any out of the box settings? Such as the rear speaker settings (which seemed to be the biggest issue with Q90R)?
 
Received my Q950T... after setting up the soundbar and having had the Q90R... my comments would be. The Q950T sounds better, even without adjusting speakers straight out of the box. The Q90R reminds me now of a loud freight train when you listened to Atmos film for example whereas the Q950T sounds... controlled loudness. I feel that having the eARC out of the box has helped as opposed to it being as an update.

Whoever decided to move the led screen was crazy but that said, it’s not the end of the world. It works so don’t need to be checking if the movies is playing Atmos or DTSx when start a movie/tv show. There is led lights on the bar which turns red when the soundbar is on and when you adjust volume white dotted lights will come up on the bar showing a guide to volume. i have a harmony elite which doesn’t currently have settings for the Q950T but I chucked in the Q90R remote and it works without issue too.

the fabric... who ever decided that... crazy also. It is just a dust collector and even rotating the bar just 90’ to get under and plug in HDMI cables collected dust/dirt from the tv unit. It looks and feels like Samsung was taking the YAS-108/207-209 soundbar design.

My only issue I had is I feel like I had moments when the rear speakers sounded like they were crackling a little when I tried out my new INXS - Live Baby Live 4k. Felt maybe putting it on with Atmos, because I was listening to it more intently than you normally would, could have actually been related to the concert. Also when I adjusted the volume on the bar it took a moment for the rears to match through with the level. Only noticed it once but again could be a placebo effect that I’m looking for faults which aren’t there.

Overall, those issues aside, I am very happy. If you have the funds, would easily suggest buying it if you feel you need the surround speakers and Atmos effect. Thanks to Joely Oely for the hookup.


Nice review, but 1 question, where did you get it from, please?
 
I did eventually. I turned up the centre speaker. Man of Steel, the dialogue on that is really low but the effects is really loud... it’s almost as though it was made just to be played loud. I also turned up the rears, but I felt out of the box they were perfect sound wise. My lounge is back on the wall and the speakers are on a stand beside the lounge... but putting up +2 made you notice it that little bit more. I always think surround speakers are there for subtle effects but that aside an improvement over the Q90R.
I also had the soundbar set to standard. Compared to the Q90R, adaptive sound , all the speakers will produce sound e.g. like putting it in Surround mode. I thought Q90R was like standard mode and would only produce the sound but with higher (questionable) vocal/dialogue volume. Mind you I felt Q950T did a better job of it.
 
I did eventually. I turned up the centre speaker. Man of Steel, the dialogue on that is really low but the effects is really loud... it’s almost as though it was made just to be played loud.

That is probably the issue with mine too! I was watching Mad Max, the dialogue is barely audible while the crashes and blasts are super loud! I will try turning up the central speaker as well.
 
Any word when and how much the Uk launch will be?

I phoned smithstv today and he said that some units had aldready come in and gone out to customers. They are selling it at £1599.
 
Will be following this thread closely. Looking to add another unit for the rec room. Klipsch 54 and Vizio elevate are in the mix as well, along with the 950T.
 
That is probably the issue with mine too! I was watching Mad Max, the dialogue is barely audible while the crashes and blasts are super loud! I will try turning up the central speaker as well.
In my bedroom I have a YSP-2700 it’s similar issue on that too with those man of steel type of movies. But it doesn’t have the surrounds and can adjust some settings etc...
 
I phoned smithstv today and he said that some units had aldready come in and gone out to customers. They are selling it at £1599.
It’s still not in the Samsung UK website, not even in the’ what’s new’ section!!!!
 
Just spoke to Crampton and Moore. Delivery looking like second week in September for the 950.
 
I've just ordered one for 1499 Euro with a 200 Euro rebate from Samsung. That equals to 1300 Euro which is about 500 Euro more than the cheapest HW-Q90R offering I could find online.

Coming from a Sonos soundbar & sub (which sounded quite boring after 7 years) I'm looking forward to testing something new and advanced, though I have concerns regarding lip sync issues on my Samsung Q90R tv due to the lack of a proper eARC port. I'll report once I've done some testing.
 
Couple of experienced owners at AVS Forum have roasted the Q950. Initial impressions from them are not looking good.
 
Is anyone using this soundbar in conjunction with the Symphony feature on the 2020 TVs? Very curious to know how well this works, and especially how it sounds.

I was also wondering if anyone - with or without the Symphony feature applied - has experienced any sync problems in general. Unfortunately, my Q800T gives me sync problems sometimes with the UHD 4K Blu-ray player, which is also a Samsung, no less.

Interestingly, the 4K Apple TV never has any sync-problems, it's only the Samsung BR-player that creates sync-trouble together with my television. (I use the same high end HDMI cable on both players)
 
Mine will arrive on monday. Will report back on how it sounds. Gonna pair it with the Q90T for Q-Symphony. I could not find a proper review about that yet. Judging the current sound from the Q90T I can only imagine that Q-Symphony is a marketing gimmick.
 
I have also noticed the slight crackling on my rears. I do have both top and front speaker up to 6, unsure if this would be the reason. I do have a router but it is a good 15 meters away through 2 walls.
It comes and goes. Watching Netflix with 5.1 surround. Now that I notice it it's very distracting.
 
I have also noticed the slight crackling on my rears. I do have both top and front speaker up to 6, unsure if this would be the reason. I do have a router but it is a good 15 meters away through 2 walls.
It comes and goes. Watching Netflix with 5.1 surround. Now that I notice it it's very distracting.
Had this on the Q90 so it looks like the exact same issue.
Think there's some devices that just interfere with these Samsung bars and I'm not sure how or if it can be rectified.
I even turned my router off when trying to get to the bottom of it, but with zero success.
 
Damn. That isn't good news. You would think they would have found a way to eliminate the static. It's an expensive piece of equipment to have such an issue.
 

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