Samsung HW-Q950T Soundbar Review & Comments

Your set up sounds same as mine .I also have a slightly sloped ceiling .it works fine ,but it can get very loud 🙉
 
I have my HW-Q950T for 4 days now in combination with a new samsung q95t TV. I like the sound but i have a few things i want to ask you:

The display on the top of the device is just awful ! I always have to stand up to change the settings. The SmartThing App is also awful , there are many settings missing. Why does Samsung not offer a "on TV display" setting ? This is just annoying ! I have not gone trough all your posts here, but is Samsung going to change that with an update ?

The 2 rear-speakers seem to be very quiet, even when i set volume to value 6. Is this normal ?

Changing the subwoofer-volume with SmartThing App has no effect, i cant hear any differences when i change the value. Also when i change it with woofer-button on remote-control there are no differences. But the subwoofer is working and is connected. Any ideas about that ?
 
Have you updated to latest software as this had a fix for the speakers.also if you have the Q95t tv .if you go into the tv settings you can go to sound and change the sound mode in there. Also use q symphony when the right sound codec is present like atmos .
 
Yes, i have updated newest firmeware, now it is Version 1017.5, Subwoofer SW Version is 74 and Pugin-Version is 2.2.73. My sound mode already is TV + Soundbar = Q symphony.
 
The system gains are all wrong, to get the sub to show up you need to set the individual speaker gains like this.

IN "SURROUND" MODE ...

TREBLE = 0
BASS = -6
SYNC = 0
CENTRE LEVEL = -6
SIDE LEVEL = -6
WIDE LEVEL = -6
FRONT TOP LEVEL = -6
REAR LEVEL = +6
REAR TOP LEVEL = +6
VIRTUAL = OFF

SUBWOOFER = 0

Once that's set, EQ it to preference, then put the sub at whatever level you like.

Hello,
My first post here. First of all thank you for your recommendations. I recently purchased Q950T and was very disappointed with the out of the box performance (surround sound effect). I tried the settings you mentioned and it sounds great now, thank you so much.

Few questions, if you don’t mind.
1) Have you updated these settings or is this the latest?
2) Do you have two different settings for watching movies and listening to music? If yes, can you please share your latest settingw for watching Movies and listening to Music?
3) One thing that I’m still not very happy with is the performance is the up-firing speakers. I don’t get that “bouncing” sound effect. Any recommendations to try?
My setup is AppleTV 4K to Q950T to LG OLED TV (2016 model, no eARC). My Audio/Video knowledge is limited, but love movies with good sound effects. Thanks
 
Hello,
My first post here. First of all thank you for your recommendations. I recently purchased Q950T and was very disappointed with the out of the box performance (surround sound effect). I tried the settings you mentioned and it sounds great now, thank you so much.

I also have tried it with the settings you have mentioned, but for me that sounds quite awful :) When listening to music the voices are to quiet, the rear speakers are to "strong", this combination sounds not very good for me. why this sounds "great for you" now ? :)
 
I also have tried it with the settings you have mentioned, but for me that sounds quite awful :) When listening to music the voices are to quiet, the rear speakers are to "strong", this combination sounds not very good for me. why this sounds "great for you" now ? :)

I haven't tried music yet. My primary interest is movies. The rear speakers were barely audible with the out of the box configuration. Right now it sounds way better. I guess personal preference varies from one person to another. I tried Fast Furious 7 and it sounded awesome except for the upfiring speakers.

I believe the settings for music need to be different. However if you are switching between movies and music, changing the setting will be a pain, especially when the display is on top of the soundbar and the app is almost useless.

Waiting to hear from PlanetaryReference regarding his setup for both movies and music.

Still debating if I should exchange Q950T for LG SN11RG
 
Ok, and I havent tried movies so far :) I am using Amazon music HD app on my TV, and with default settings of soundbar it sounds very good now !

Are there really NO possibilities to save profiles for e.g. music and movies and normal TV ??? I just cant believe that this is not possible on a soundbar for 1.250 euros ? :( :( The LED display on top of the box is SO AWFUL ! I am a very exited user of samsung devices (phone, TV, etc....), but this is a NO GO ! :(
 
I have both the q950t and the sn11rg....i think i am going to return the sn11rg and keep the q950t...only issues I have with the q950t is rear speaker crackle(which is being replaced) and lcd on top....but what is the main point of having a soundbar, its the sound quality and q950t blows the sn11rg out the water....atmos is more immersive and every detail can be heard unlike the the lg being flat...these are the settings i have set
treble +1
bass +1
sync 0
center +2
front top +4
wide +1
side +1
rear +4
rear top +4
virtual off
sub +5

for games i use game mode
for movies surround
tv adaptive
music adaptive or surround
but mostly i watch atmos and this is the best soundbar to having that immersive surround and projecting every detail

I was having trouble deciding between the q950t and lg sn11rg...i like how the lg is designed and the lcd being in the front but sound is flat and even though the sub is stronger the Samsung makes you feel more with its sub and there’s more oomph!!....sn11 is also lacking support from lg and hasn’t been one firmware update...I’m curious if an update can help the lg not sound flat and project every detail like the q950t because if that were the case then i would keep it but cant wait any longer and driving myself crazy connecting and disconnected comparing the two lol...time for the lg to go and q950 is staying
 
I haven't tried music yet. My primary interest is movies. The rear speakers were barely audible with the out of the box configuration. Right now it sounds way better. I guess personal preference varies from one person to another. I tried Fast Furious 7 and it sounded awesome except for the upfiring speakers.

I believe the settings for music need to be different. However if you are switching between movies and music, changing the setting will be a pain, especially when the display is on top of the soundbar and the app is almost useless.

Waiting to hear from PlanetaryReference regarding his setup for both movies and music.

Still debating if I should exchange Q950T for LG SN11RG
i changed to the LG and have been very happy. The Samsung has too many niggles. The Samsung has more detail but the LG does everything well in my opinion
 
i changed to the LG and have been very happy. The Samsung has too many niggles. The Samsung has more detail but the LG does everything well in my opinion
Does what well exactly, let me know thanks?
 
Does what well exactly, let me know thanks?
it's very easy to set up.
The App has lots of control.
The remote is ideal
the front display is clear
It has night mode
the sound is very balanced (some on here say bland), it isn't fatiguing over long listens and integrates well with the subwoofer.
The Atmos is ok, but realistically, unless you have ceiling speakers there is always going to be a compromise

The Samsung is overrated in my opinion and i've tried a lot of the new soundbars
Sony, Sonos, Samsung, Yamaha

matt
 
Hello,

Few questions, if you don’t mind.
1) Have you updated these settings or is this the latest?
2) Do you have two different settings for watching movies and listening to music? If yes, can you please share your latest settingw for watching Movies and listening to Music?
3) One thing that I’m still not very happy with is the performance is the up-firing speakers. I don’t get that “bouncing” sound effect. Any recommendations to try?
My setup is AppleTV 4K to Q950T to LG OLED TV (2016 model, no eARC). My Audio/Video knowledge is limited, but love movies with good sound effects. Thanks

@PlanetaryReference, wondering if you got a chance to look this post or have any additional comments.
 
Just for your info: i wrote to the austrian/german support (as i am from Austria) about some issues, e.g. the bad control (no "on screen" control, bad control on SmartThings App), and other things. i ask them for a statement about all the issues. i will come back to you when i have an answer.
 
1) Have you updated these settings or is this the latest?
2) Do you have two different settings for watching movies and listening to music? If yes, can you please share your latest settingw for watching Movies and listening to Music?
3) One thing that I’m still not very happy with is the performance is the up-firing speakers. I don’t get that “bouncing” sound effect. Any recommendations to try?
@PlanetaryReference Wondering if you got a chance to look this post or have any additional comments
 
Hi!

totally new here and not an expert on sound formats - but something strikes me as strange With upmixing on the q950. When its fed stereo signal ( could be Dolby digital 2.0 possibly) and in surround mode it sends dialogue to center byt also the rears and even More to the rear top. That cant be right? anyone else experincing this? Thanks for any pointers on this
 
Does anybody have the same issue on the HW-Q950T soundbar: when i change values for bass, treble and sub woofer to ANY value, the sound does not change audible.
 
Hi- need feedback on setup for my Samsung HW-Q95T Soundbar with my Samsung Q80 - 65 inch TV. I have a room that is 20 X 17 wide with full walls on the three side - no windows on those walls. WIndows are behind the TV. Looking for the best Setup options for the soundbar setting for all of the various +/- values for the setting to get best sound across the room. No Gaming, No Bluetooth. Just for TV and Movie watching including streaming- Netflix/Disney. Any suggestions. I have seen a few but not sure if those calibrations are for a room of this size. Thanks
 
Hi.has anyone got the problem of no sound coming from sub,I have got a solid blue light but it never seems to put sound out unless I turn it off at the plug and wait 30 secs then turn it on .then once i turn sound bar off for the night ,i have to repeat this every day.i have tried resetting the sound bar.iturn sub on first then the rears then the bar.it gets the blue light ok on all speakers.its up to date on firmware as well .🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️😩🤯🤯
 
From the specs page.



OFF/Standby = 1.23 watts consumption
ON = 88 watts consumption

I've given up on the internal system digital EQ which apparently has no memory. Yes, we all want an EQ like that ... said no one ever.

I just turn it off at night, I found the TV sounds best in Standard mode when there's no system EQ applied, as the surround mode has too much sub in it for me, even when the sub is turned down to -12 later at night. The sub needs a mute, Samsung! I've never had a high-powered surround system where the sub could not be muted. Samsung, would you like to live next door to someone with a Q950T which has no mute option on their sub?

No, you would not.

The 88 watts operating wattage can't be with no signal, as 88 watts is still a fair bit of heat to dissipate, and this unit runs at practically ambient temperature when on.

I've looked in the power consumption figures this morning, because I did some fairly loud sound testing yesterday afternoon, which refined the settings a lot more. Most of the louder testing was at Vol=42, for a couple of hours.

After which time I checked the thermal dissipation situation. I expected there to be a fair amount of accumulated heat as I had the windows and doors closed up for most of it, but there was very little warmth. The bar was slightly warmer around the display button area, and part of the way along the top rear. The rest of the bar was at ambient levels. When facing the grill the satellites had a small warm spot on the lower right-hand side of both cabs. This was ever so slightly warmer than the middle of the bar. But the biggest surprise was the sub. I couldn't find a warm area on any part of the sub! It was as if the sub had been turned off the whole time. Check this yourself if you don't believe me. I was sure it would be warmest by far. There wasn't even a warm area near to the power lead input. It was cool to the touch everywhere!

Which is in line with my general impression that the sub is still only idling, but it's still thudding down deep. I performed this testing with the PC's output gain set to unity, and both channels of all music files on my system get saved at 90% of available file format head room, i.e. they are all at -0.915% of unity gain level.

So at vol=42 it's getting a bit uncomfortable to be just 1 meter from the center of this system's full range tuned sound bar, listening to decompressed full dynamic range sound files in mostly rock music, and power-ballads, etc. The system gets a bit loud at this volume and a NET -0.915 dB input gain level.

So I'm amazed this sub was cool as a cucumber after 2 hours. How? What an amazingly efficient power-amp this sub must have, to be making no detectable warmth! I'm guessing the power amp is capable of delivering a lot more wattage than the sub's speaker can take. This sub just continues to be a surprise. Samsung got that part of the Q950T very right.

Here's the EQ setting I ended up with fine-tuning it at higher volume. I had to back off both the top and bottom.

Surround mode

Equalizer APO 15-Band
Hz | dB

25 = -6.9 dB (almost a 7dB cut at 25Hz to balance the bottom with the rest of the music)
40 = -4.0 dB (4 dB drop at 40 Hz. I've always had to boost these frequencies in the past)
63 = -12.95 dB (I'm used to seeing big drops here but usually only 9 to 10 dB)
100 = -8.36 dB (this was also a bigger than normal cut.)
160 = -4.1 dB
250 = 0.0 dB
400 = -3.82 dB
630 = -9.98 dB
1,000 = -9.9 dB
1,600 = -8.4 dB
2,500 = -6.7 dB
4,000 = -2.68 dB (I had to back off the tops above 4kHz once volume went up)
6,300 = 0.27 dB
10,000 = 5.17 dB
16,000 = 14.35 dB

View attachment 1364270

Keep in mind that I already have the sub turned down to -3 for this.

I tuned the top detail with Sam Brown's 1990 'April Moon' album as it has really gorgeous open vocal highs and delicate tinkley bits, plus some lovely subtle reverbs and deep lows. It also has some deep woofy double-bass within some songs. Plus a huge deep reverberant kick-drum sound in one of the songs. If you're unfamiliar with her she was a Pink Floyd backing vocalist for several years. Pink Floyd's guitarist, David Gilmour does backing-vocals for Sam Brown on this album.

I then moved on to a smorgasbord of classic hard rock songs, then some very low bass tone songs to make sure the bottom was still inline with the rest of it. I'm fairly happy with the final EQ tuning, it's not that far now from where I'll leave it. The adjustment response curve illustrates nicely how the system drivers perform in surround mode.

You may be looking at the decimal places above and thinking it's not possible to parse an EQ band gain on a 15-band EQ at this +/-0.05 dB level by ear. And I would have thought the same thing. Except with this system's sound field I can hear EQ band gain differences on that level. I could barely unambiguously discern a 0.2 dB gain change with VLC's 10-band EQ with my last PC surround system.

The level of clarity the Q950T has is astounding. I'm hearing songs which I know very well and hearing vocal lyrics with excellent breathy diction. I can hear each word clearly, so I now know what the lyrics really say, as opposed to what I thought they said. I'm also hearing backing instrument sounds which I didn't know were in the mix as well. This is a stunning reproduction and music image. I thought that from day-1, and it's impressed me more each day since.

These are the system settings which go with the above EQ tuning if you wished to replicate that with your own PC:

SURROUND MODE
TREBLE = 0
BASS = -6
SYNC = 0
CENTER LEVEL = -6
SIDE LEVEL = -6
WIDE LEVEL = -6
FRONT TOP LEVEL = -5
REAR LEVEL = +5
REAR TOP LEVEL = +6
VIRTUAL = OFF

SUBWOOFER = -3
these settings work really well in the n950 also but i will get the qt when i can afford it THANK YOU @PlanetaryReference
 
these settings work really well in the n950 also but i will get the qt when i can afford it THANK YOU @PlanetaryReference

Really? OK, I've never heard them through one.

When you do get a T use either of these instead:

 
Hey guys, I am new in this forum and I have been using my q950t since around 14 days. Whereas the sound in atmos movies is stunning, I have two major struggles and hope somebody can help me out!
  1. The rear speakers (especially the right one) and the sub drop out for a few seconds from time to time.
  2. Sometimes the led on rear speakers or the sub is just of (not red, blue, blinking or whatever...) and no sound is coming from them. The only thing to do is to plug the speaker out and in again which fixes it (but thats not a real solution).
What I actually did to fix the first problem so far (unsuccessfully tho):
  • Turn off any 5.8 GHz Wifi signal from my router and access point.
  • Remove the router from the room, where the soundbar is playing.
  • Reset the soundbar.
  • Manually repair every speaker.
  • Play around with the channels (wch).
There are no other devices in my flat working or transmitting 5.8 GHz signals. The rear channels and sub are in sight (3.5 m) far away from the main unit. The software is the current one (updated via Smartthings app). I also tried to manually update the rear speakers and the sub (with the samsung manuals) but I did not end to come into the update-loop, therefore im assuming that they also running the current software.

I hope anyone can help me out and give me further tips and information. I really do not know what to do else.
Thanks and wish you the best - C
 
Hi.i had same problem with my sub ,I unplugged everything for ten mins then you need to turn on the sub first wait 10 seconds then turn on the rears then wait again then turn on the main bar. Then when it is all connected you need to int it think you press up on the remote for 20 seconds till INT comes up on the display .
This worked for me
 

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