[vsrivatsa]

2021 Samsung HW-Q950A 11.1.4 Channel Soundbar Review

In this thread I will review Samsung's 2021 Flagship Soundbar, the HW-Q950A which Samsung claims as the World's first 11.1.4 channel soundbar. This soundbar has been available in India since July 2021.

For the impatient ones, who prefer a video review, there is one included as well right below:

Samsung HW-Q950A 11.1.4 Soundbar - Reveal & Review

For the rest of the relaxed readers, here is a detailed story on the selection, purchase, installation and the detailed review.

Why Soundbar?
A traditional Home Theatre Setup surely always exceeds a soundbar is performance and hence many of the pure audiophiles stay away from it. However, just like how Mirrorless cameras are gaining market share over their dSLR counterparts a similar trend is happening with more people opting for soundbars for their ease of setup and small footprint.

The key benefit of a soundbar is the smaller form factor and wireless connectivity so one does not need to make the investment in doing the wiring which takes so much of effort in a traditional Home Theatre setup. Some may argue, that wiring is a one time investment and the benefits one reaps from a traditional Home Theatre setup powered by a AV Receiver from the likes of Denon, Onkyo or Yamaha would far outweigh the soundstage, clarity and effect that a Soundbar can provide. This statement maybe true, but given the lifestyle of some where they may need to change homes due to work or other necessities - the Soundbar forms a perfect companion. Further when the room size is smaller, the soundbar with its compact footprint makes it very easy and offers a middle path solution where the sound benefits are way beyond that of just the TV Speaker.

Recently, my Uncle asked me to recommend a Home Theatre system for his new flat. He was not keen on spending time and effort on wiring as the rest of the furnishing was already done. The solution had to be plug and play. He had also purchased a Sony 55 inch OLED TV the Sony XR-55A80J and wanted a sound system that would complement this TV.

We started researching Soundbars and wanted to close the purchase quickly to avail the Diwali Discounts that were running abundantly in November 2021.

The Shortlist Process
The key models that we shortlisted included the following:
1. Sony HT-Z9F 5.1Ch 4k Dolby Atmos Soundbar
2. JBL Bar 9.1, Truly Wireless Home Theatre with Dolby Atmos

This shortlist was made based on our limited knowledge at the time and budget we had.

The problem with finalizing a Soundbar in India is not that easy since most shops do not have all of these systems available for demo. The Sony Z9F was available for demo but in case of JBL only the JBL Bar 5.1 was available for demo and in case of Samsung only the HW-Q800A was available for demo.

I started reading up reviews of the soundbar from various sources such as Youtube & various other AV Forums.
The JBL Bar 9.1 was rejected after reading about two main negatives:
1. Too many people had complained at the lack of timely support - some said they were still waiting since 5 months to get a defective unit replaced.
2. The rear speakers were wireless but based on rechargeable batteries - however once the life of these batteries are over - there was no option to change the battery but the rear speaker itself had to be replaced. This sounded very risky to us.

Based on the two reasons, the JBL Bar 9.1 was eliminated.

Enter the Samsung

It looked like the Sony Z9F it was going to be. That is when I came across Samsung's line up of soundbars. We were familiar with Samsung TVs and Samsung phones but Samsung as a brand for Soundbar had not caught our attention before. I saw various Youtube videos and also saw Samsung's ads where they claimed that globally they are the No.1 brand for Soundbars since the last 7 years. Also, when I compared I realized that the Sony Z9F was a 2019 model while the Samsung had a 2021 line up of soundbars. This led us to include Samsung as a contender to the Z9F. We decided that we would take a demo of both and decide but as is the case in India, none of the offline stores had a demo unit of Samsung HW-Q950A. After reading several detailed reviews of both units, my recommendation was for the Samsung Q950A while my Uncle was still contemplating on the Sony Z9F mainly due to the price differential. The Sony Z9F was available at around ₹80,000 all inclusive while the Samsung was hovering over the ₹1,10,000 mark.

What changed the scenario suddenly in favor of Samsung was as sudden price drop on the Samsung Flagship model on Croma. The Croma site started to display an unbelievable ₹77,000 offer on their site during the weekend of 06-Nov-21. I made a post on the Team-BHP Home Theatre thread as well at that time (> (The Home Theater thread)) which evoked some interest from the others as well. Given this sudden drop in price the Samsung Soundbar suddenly looked like a better bet. Also it was a better risk to take as we were sure the deal would not last long and decided that, if we did not like it - it would be easier to get a good value for a re-sell scenario.


The Lightning Deal!

Considering all this, we zeroed in on the Samsung Q950A. But the next morning, we check the Croma app and it is out of stock in Bangalore. So, we decided to visit the nearest Croma store and see if something could be done. Before we went to Croma, we checked some of the other stores like Devi International & Reliance Digital but no one was willing to quote a price below ₹1 Lakh. We showed Croma's price on Mobile to Reliance Digital guys and they were shocked as well and said they are unaware what kind of business model Croma has in quoting such a low value for the latest flagship soundbar. Finally we landed at Croma and the Store Person said they had no stock in Bangalore. He then suggested that he can check the inventory in other stores across India but delivery would be delayed. He was able to locate a Unit at Gujurat and said it would take a week to arrive but he can give it to us at the online price and in addition also provide the 5% cashback. So a purchase price of ₹77K and a 5% Cashback I think capped at 2K took the landed price to ₹75,000. This was a shocking offer since the Soundbar even today retails in the US also at a price much higher than this (Walmart: Link, BestBuy: Link). Maybe people in the US should ask BestBuy and Walmart to do a price match with India's Croma! Payment was made via Credit Card and the deal was sealed.

I promptly woke up the next morning and checked the price on Croma - and lo and behold, it showed: ₹1,24,900! (> (The Home Theater thread)) The discount was gone and we had just made it. Maybe that is the reason Amazon invented the word "Lightning Deal" - this surely seemed like a Lightning Deal!

[vsrivatsa]

The Soundbar Arrives: Installation & Setup
What followed next was for the soundbar to arrive. Some of our friends on Team-BHP even had commented that maybe the low price was because it may come without the rear surrounds! (> (The Home Theater thread)). The soundbar promptly arrived the following Friday. As Samsung provides installation and demo for Soundbars we decided that we would wait for the Technician to come and open the box.


The Package Arrives


A look at the Specs


What is Inside the Box?

The Installation and demo was scheduled for Saturday and I went to my Uncle's flat on Kanakapura Road, Bangalore full of curiosity and excitement.
The Samsung technician arrived promptly on time and we had kept the Box Packed Soundbar ready to be unboxed! We teased him and asked him to guess that price and he was equally shocked when we showed him the Croma Invoice.


Ready for Unboxing


Unboxed and Installed

The Soundbar was unboxed and connected to the TV in no time. The Sony XR-55A80J supports eARC and the eARC Port was connected to the eARC port on the Soundbar via a HDMI Cable and thats about the only wiring that needs to be done. Of course the power cables need to added for each component: the Soundbar, the Subwoofer and each of the rear surrounds. But still - doing away with the speaker wiring is a great time and effort saver.
There was not much else that the Technician seemed to know as well about the Soundbar and he left.

In terms of the rest of the components let me share those in pictures as it is easier to say in pictures than in words.

The User Manual


The Remote


Subwoofer - Front and Back


Surround Speakers


Surround Speaker- Front View


Surround Speaker - Rear View

Build Quality:
The Build Quality of the Soundbar is good and it looks Premium and the size is apt. The soundbar itself comes with a fabric based covering. This fabric covering used for the Soundbar may cause some issues for people with Pets with pet hair getting stuck in the fabric. In terms of the design, Samsung seems to have one design flaw which is they have placed the display on top of the soundbar. So for someone who is viewing the Soundbar from the seating position this display is not visible at all. On the lower models such as the Samsung Q800A, the display is on the front and hence it is easily viewable form the front.
This unit has a total of 16 channels (11+1+4 = 11.1.4) which are delivered via 22 speakers.
The speaker breakup includes: 15 in the bar, three in each surround speaker, one 8-inch subwoofer. The wattage break up for 616 watts is as follows: 246 watts in the bar, 210 watts in surround speakers, 160 watts in sub

Features:
The Soundbar comes with all the necessary features starting with eARC which essentially means one gets the full uncompressed Dolby Atmos. The earlier ARC format can only deliver compressed Dolby Atmos. Of course, for the eARC Channel to work at its optimum both the TV and the Soundbar need to support eARC. The eARC port though is backwards compatible with the ARC port on the older TVs.
The remote is very handy and can handle most of the basic aspects well.

In addition Samsung also provides a SmartThings App via which more granular settings can be made on the Soundbar.


Firmware Update Available


Updated Firmware to Latest Version

The Soundbar also supports connectivity via Bluetooth and also can act as a Smart Speaker with Alexa Support.
Connectivity includes two HDMI inputs, one HDMI output, an optical input, and also Wi-Fi in addition to the Bluetooth support.
On compatible Samsung TV Models, the Soundbar can work in tandem with the TV speakers, a feature known as Q-Symphony, to leverage the TV speakers as additional speaker.
However this feature is restricted to only Samsung TVs. Also, the Soundbar switches off when the TV is switched off and switches on when the TV is switched back on and works seamlessly and hence it not necessary to separately turn on the Soundbar - this feature works with any TV when connected via ARC/eARC. The Soundbar also supports 4 built-in sound modes: Standard, Surround, Game Mode and Adaptive Sound.

Sound Quality:

At 616 Watts, this unit can be loud - there is no doubt. The audio quality comes across well without distortion. Compared to traditional TV Speakers this is way beyond and makes a world of difference.
In terms of the Soundstage, one can easily make out the separation in audio at the fronts and the center. The voice clarity in the dialogues came across greatly enhanced as well for normal TV viewing.
In terms of movie playback, the surrounds also added to the experience. The only thing we felt that could have been better was the sub woofer. Maybe we need to tune it better but what we heard when we played back some action sequences from various movies, the Bass from the Sub woofer was not as powerful as from a Traditional Speaker system such as that from Polk Audio or Jamo for example. That apart, for a compact, easy to setup experience - the sound delivered is definitely something great to experience.

Conclusion:

For people who have space constraints and not keen on putting effort into a full fledged home theatre setup, the Soundbar is a great option. It provides an excellent middle path between using just the TV speakers and a high end full fledged home theatre powered by a dedicated AV Receiver. For the instant and effortless setup - with the need for just a HDMI cable - this definitely is a seamless solution!

Hope people will find this review useful and thanks for reading!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Sebring]

I've zeroed in on this model and had taken a demo at Samsung, Mall Of Emirates. It truly sets the benchmark high for a 'soundbar'. Your price is astounding - as even in the UAE it costs a lakh (in rupees). Please do PM me in case Croma offers the unit there at Rs 75K (For my parents' house)

[manpreetsj]

Great buy!

For bass - Hope you have increased Bass to "+6" level using remote. That will make noticeable difference. Also, use Games Mode to get better bass output.

I bought Samsung Q60T in Sep 2020. It comes with 5.1 channels - 3 front and 2 up-firing to replicate surround effects. Later I imported Bluetooth rear speakers set-up to pair with Q60T. Though I wouldn't call my setup 7.1 channels, though the up-firing speakers now work in tandem with rear speakers, hence have enhanced the overall surround feel.

I had finalised Samsung after a lot of research and trust me we still get amazed by how good these sound! Given that Samsung owns JBL and Harman Kardon, it has helped Samsung in upping its home theater/ sound bar game. Unlike what Sony and JBL offers at sub 30K price range (only bass focused), Samsung ones have much clearer sound with apt bass (something that you come to expect from premium OEMs like Bose, B&O or Canton, etc.).

[mercedised]

Looks clean and nice setup. Can you post a review on the Atmos capability of this soundbar. Does it really work as good as a traditional Atmos setup?

[Sach_511]

Great deal you got here, I also managed to get my LG Bluetooth speaker for 4K from Reliance Digital, where it was retailing for 12K in the market (in LG store as well).

[Jangra]

This soundbar at the price point you were able to get is literally god's Happy New Year gift to you. It feels so good when one get such deals - all about being in a right place at the right time. I was in the market few month back and wanted to get this one but didn't want to spend that kind of money, hence asked a friend to get Klipsh cinema 600, and I'm happy with it.
Enjoy your set up

[TheCatalyst]

That looks to be a good setup. To be honest, I am more of a custom AV receiver guy since you could upgrade (or repair) individual components. However soundbars do have their place for a clean and minimalist look.

There are few points I would like to point out -

- The 616 watts is unlikely to be the RMS power consumption. Samsung website shows its more of a combined 100W, which is still decent. Most companies market the PMPO watts which is really misleading.
- The sound from the subwoofer (any subwoofer) is affected by the room acoustics, hence placement is very important. Thats why more expensive systems also have room adaptive equalisers. A crude way to find a good subwoofer position is to keep it at your listening spot (on the sofa), then move around the room and find the place where the sound is better. Once you find that place, just swap the subwoofer to that place.

Enjoy your setup

[Metallicar]

I got it for 68k from croma during Diwali. I am using it with bluetooth for now. Waiting to purchase an Epson TW9400 to go with it.


@TheCatalyst - 616 is the RMS power and not PMPO. I am using it in a 14*27 room and it is very very loud. I can't even use the full volume.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by vsrivatsa

At 616 Watts, this unit can be loud - there is no doubt. The audio quality comes across well without distortion.

Originally Posted by TheCatalyst

- The 616 watts is unlikely to be the RMS power consumption. Samsung website shows its more of a combined 100W, which is still decent. Most companies market the PMPO watts which is really misleading.

Originally Posted by Metallicar

616 is the RMS power and not PMPO. I am using it in a 14*27 room and it is very very loud. I can't even use the full volume.

Nice review, I recently got addicted to this stuff again. After a gap of over 30 Years or so. Could not resist posting myself something totally different.

It’s completely OT, but sound output is just a number, I hardly cross 0,3 W on this pair of Mono-blocks I currently have. Usually, it’s less than 0,03 W. And, no am not referring to the headphones, each of these amplifier weighs around 45 Kg and the speaker it drives are even heavier

In terms of the Soundstage, one can easily make out the separation in audio at the fronts and the center.

Since you have used this term, I will add a bit, listening differently from L & R or centre is not the aim. Ideally, soundstage should be immersive, as if you are actually listening live say on a stage.

Enjoy

[vsrivatsa]

Originally Posted by Sebring

Please do PM me in case Croma offers the unit there at Rs 75K (For my parents' house)

I think you should just plan for the 2022 model: HW-Q990B which Samsung will release this year. They seem to be adding Wireless Dolby Atmos without the need for HDMI cable also. (Link)

Originally Posted by manpreetsj

Great buy!
For bass - Hope you have increased Bass to "+6" level using remote. That will make noticeable difference. Also, use Games Mode to get better bass output.

Thanks for the tip - will give a try and check.

Originally Posted by mercedised

Looks clean and nice setup. Can you post a review on the Atmos capability of this soundbar. Does it really work as good as a traditional Atmos setup?

Sure will do - need to identify some good movies/tracks with Atmos content and then test it out.

Originally Posted by Sach_511

Great deal you got here, I also managed to get my LG Bluetooth speaker for 4K from Reliance Digital, where it was retailing for 12K in the market (in LG store as well).

Sounds like a great deal - which speaker is this - curious to know.

Originally Posted by Jangra

This soundbar at the price point you were able to get is literally god's Happy New Year gift to you. It feels so good when one get such deals - all about being in a right place at the right time.

Agree with you totally about the "right place at right time" bit.

Originally Posted by TheCatalyst

H
The 616 watts is unlikely to be the RMS power consumption. Samsung website shows its more of a combined 100W, which is still decent.

Let me double check on this - I believe it is RMS but will check again.

Originally Posted by TheCatalyst

A crude way to find a good subwoofer position is to keep it at your listening spot (on the sofa), then move around the room and find the place where the sound is better. Once you find that place, just swap the subwoofer to that place.

Sounds interesting - will try this approach and see.

Originally Posted by Metallicar

I got it for 68k from croma during Diwali. I am using it with bluetooth for now.

Wow - when was this? Looks like you got an even better deal!

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Enjoy

Thank You!

[4WheelPilot]

Originally Posted by vsrivatsa

2021 Samsung HW-Q950A 11.1.4 Channel Soundbar Review


The Shortlist Process
The key models that we shortlisted included the following:
1. Sony HT-Z9F 5.1Ch 4k Dolby Atmos Soundbar
2. JBL Bar 9.1, Truly Wireless Home Theatre with Dolby Atmos

That's a cracker of a deal on your Q950A. Did you think of the Bose 700 series(soundbar, bass module, surround speakers) and rule it out? Asking because I am in the same state of evaluating premium Soundbar setups. Have gone through various Youtube reviews of soundbars and have also visited the Bose Bangalore store and experienced the 700 series. Even without the Atmos, the Bose experience is a different one and sounded the best. Bose management isn't too keen at India it seems - few months back, their website took you to boseapac, very few offers here whereas the same Bose products have offers throughout the year in USA.

[Amyth Prabhakar]

Originally Posted by vsrivatsa

2021 Samsung HW-Q950A 11.1.4 Channel Soundbar Review

Why Soundbar?
A traditional Home Theatre Setup surely always exceeds a soundbar is performance and hence many of the pure audiophiles stay away from it. However, just like how Mirrorless cameras are gaining market share over their dSLR counterparts a similar trend is happening with more people opting for soundbars for their ease of setup and small footprint.

The key benefit of a soundbar is the smaller form factor and wireless connectivity so one does not need to make the investment in doing the wiring which takes so much of effort in a traditional Home Theatre setup. Some may argue, that wiring is a one time investment and the benefits one reaps from a traditional Home Theatre setup powered by a AV Receiver from the likes of Denon, Onkyo or Yamaha would far outweigh the soundstage, clarity and effect that a Soundbar can provide. This statement maybe true, but given the lifestyle of some where they may need to change homes due to work or other necessities - the Soundbar forms a perfect companion. Further when the room size is smaller, the soundbar with its compact footprint makes it very easy and offers a middle path solution where the sound benefits are way beyond that of just the TV Speaker.

Being an audiophile, I never prefer any of these sound bars as they don't even come close to a full fledged home theatre setup in terms of the audio quality no matter how well the sound bars are portrayed.

One sound bar that I was really impressed with after a demo, was the Sonos Arc. (very pricey indeed ) and this sure does outperform the Samsung top of the line products.

However given the space constraints in an apartment, sound bars are more compact and a perfect fit for smaller spaces than the floor standers and will definitely be an add on to the TV at lesser cost.

I have first hand experience of the Samsung HW-Q950A 11.1.4 Channel Sound-bar and I can clearly say that this is nothing more than an average sound bar.

The power output from the sub-woofer is very poor and over-all sound stage that it produces is not as how it is advertised. The Dolby Atoms effect is NIL. The surround effect is not up to the mark.

Having seen and heard all these drawbacks from the HW-Q950A, I decided to go for the HW-Q800A instead.

Recently, I purchased a Samsung 55 inch (AU9070 4K Smart Crystal UHD TV) along with Samsung Soundbar Q800A,3.1.2Ch, with 330W output to complement the TV as the speakers that come along with the TV are useless at just 20 watts power output and I must say that the sound output from the non flagship model is much better.

Samsung 55 inch AU9070 4K Smart Crystal UHD TV





Again when it comes to the Q-Smyphony, ( which syncs the sound bar with the TV speaker output ) the effects are very light and minimal and cannot be felt to a great extent. It just increases the volume up by a notch and not very immersive as shown in the picture below.



Overall, sound bars are still evolving and are never a replacement for a traditional home theatre setup but they do the job to some extent and should be just fine for a smaller space.

The setup at my home includes the best of both the worlds. A 3.1.2 channel sound bar along with a 7.2 Channel home theater from JAMO.

[vsrivatsa]

Originally Posted by Amyth Prabhakar

One sound bar that I was really impressed with after a demo, was the Sonos Arc. (very pricey indeed ) and this sure does outperform the Samsung top of the line products.

We did not consider Sonos due to budget reasons and secondly there is absolutely no support for Sonos in India. On top, Sub Woofer and satellites are all extra. Further based on reviews Alexa does not work for India region and the Sonos Arc comes with a single HDMI port.

Originally Posted by Amyth Prabhakar

The power output from the sub-woofer is very poor and over-all sound stage that it produces is not as how it is advertised.

Agree with you on the Sub-Woofer part. Definitely 11 channel sound is a hype I agree - but the separation of the center from the fronts and improvement in dialogue/voice in comparison with TV speakers is definitely an uplift.
As for Dolby Atmos - I will comment after doing some more research and playing correct content. Unless the content is right, Atmos wont show up. Would have been good if Samsung included a Demo Disc of some sort.

Originally Posted by Amyth Prabhakar

Along with a 7.2 Channel home theater from JAMO.

Wow that must be earth shattering sound - having two sub-woofers! Are both the Sub-Woofers from Jamo?