[vsrivatsa]

Originally Posted by sj_koova

Though it has not made a huge difference in listening experience, I get some satisfaction seeing ATMOS on the receiver now

Yes - that is a some serious satisfaction - seeing Dolby Atmos displayed by the Sound system. I also felt the same way when it was displayed for the first time and to see it scrolling was a big thrill

[mukeshgoel]

Nice review. Thanks. I also bought it yesterday from Croma. Hopefully, it will be delivered today.

Someone please suggest me a speaker stand for rear speakers, preferably with height adjustment.

[vsrivatsa]

Samsung has launched the successor to their Q950A, the new Q990B in India as well. The Samsung site lists this at a price of ₹1.09 but the model does not yet seem to be available - Samsung Link

Some Reviews are out and everyone seems to be happy with the new release:

Tech Radar: Samsung’s latest flagship Dolby Atmos soundbar sets, well, the bar - 5/5 Rating

AVForums: No new channels, but redesigned speakers make a real impact - 10/10 Rating

Home Theatre Review: This soundbar system puts a home theater in your living room - 2022 Editors Choice

[mukeshgoel]

Originally Posted by vsrivatsa

Samsung has launched the successor to their Q950A, the new Q990B in India as well.

Is 85k after cashback/discount (corporate offer) good price for Q990B? Or the price is expected to fall more than 5k during festival sale in next couple of months?




I am taking the following as one-off incident from Samsung. I liked sound quality of Q950A but Samsung didn't have replacement, so they refunded. Samsung has resolved almost all the negatives of Q950A in this 2022 model Q990B.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/gadge...-soundbar.html (Samsung not providing warranty for a brand-new soundbar)

[vsrivatsa]

Originally Posted by mukeshgoel

Is 85k after cashback/discount (corporate offer) good price for Q990B? Or the price is expected to fall more than 5k during festival sale in next couple of months?

Looks like a good deal - but October is the month for best deals. I don't think it would drop below 85K but Croma is one store that throws up surprises with ultra low prices. So the decision is all about your patience...

[saikatmandal04]

Originally Posted by vsrivatsa

I don't think it would drop below 85K but Croma is one store that throws up surprises with ultra low prices.

Croma offered a billing price of 80740/- for the Samsung Q990B XL today. With an instant card cashback of 5000, the effective landing price came to 75740. Good deal I thought and I booked and billed it immediately. Sadly they did not have stock in the entire state so I was told it will be delivered via BlueDart in a week's time.

The wait begins.

[vsrivatsa]

Originally Posted by saikatmandal04

Croma offered a billing price of 80740/- for the Samsung Q990B XL today. With an instant card cashback of 5000, the effective landing price came to 75740. Sadly they did not have stock in the entire state so I was told it will be delivered via BlueDart in a week's time.

Congratulations on being one of the first ones to own the Q990B on this forum and what a great deal as well. Will await your review!

Croma sometimes offers the most unbelievable discounts...

[saurabhnanda]

I've purchased the q990b from Croma, but the number of reports of connectivity issues (especially the rear speakers), and/or other advanced features not working is troubling me, to the point that I am planning to cancel the order before it's delivered.

Others on this thread who have purchased this soundbar, did you face any such issues?

[saikatmandal04]

Originally Posted by saurabhnanda

I've purchased the q990b from Croma, but the number of reports of connectivity issues (especially the rear speakers), and/or other advanced features not working is troubling me, to the point that I am planning to cancel the order before it's delivered.

Others on this thread who have purchased this soundbar, did you face any such issues?

I received my Q990B on Saturday and have set it up myself. I too had read a lot about the connectivity issues of the rear speakers and was apprehensive about it. But the issue has not surfaced yet thankfully. The sound stage is quite immersive(I moved from a Yamaha 5.1 non atmos setup) and you might ignore it as it is intermittent in most of the reviews I have read.

I was also reading that it might get corrected in one of Samsung's SW updates later, but there has been no assurance from Samsung so far.

OT: What was the deal Croma offered you with?

[saurabhnanda]

Originally Posted by saikatmandal04

I received my Q990B on Saturday and have set it up myself. I too had read a lot about the connectivity issues of the rear speakers and was apprehensive about it. But the issue has not surfaced yet thankfully. The sound stage is quite immersive(I moved from a Yamaha 5.1 non atmos setup) and you might ignore it as it is intermittent in most of the reviews I have read.

Did you face intermittent connectivity issues, or no issues at all? For how long have you continuously used the soundbar? Does the rear speaker connectivity issue show-up only when the soundbar is used for long?


Actually I was planning to cancel this and go for a Yamaha YHT 1840 instead. Since you've made the opposite upgrade, what's your experience of Yamaha 5.1 vs the Samsung 990B?

Originally Posted by saikatmandal04

I was also reading that it might get corrected in one of Samsung's SW updates later, but there has been no assurance from Samsung so far.

Which means these issues _are_ present?

I'm just worried that too much of wireless is going to cause problems in the long run. Audio lag, connectivity, weak signals, etc. etc. And a wired home theater is probably a better investment. Any thoughts?

Originally Posted by saikatmandal04

OT: What was the deal Croma offered you with?

Rs 87k during their recent independence day promo.

[saikatmandal04]

Originally Posted by saurabhnanda

Did you face intermittent connectivity issues, or no issues at all? For how long have you continuously used the soundbar? Does the rear speaker connectivity issue show-up only when the soundbar is used for long?

The connectivity issues might be there, but I could not notice anything significant. The blue-colored link LED is constant, indicating connected. I have also seen it blinking which means reconnecting (during this time there was no sound being played) I haven't noticed it yet when the soundbar is playing something, even if it did, it hasn't been noticeable and I am quite happy with it. I have used it continuously for 4-5 hours at a stretch. I have watched movies and played songs in that duration but couldn't notice anything distinctively different. It might be there or might not be but not noticeable to my ears.
PS: I am not an audiophile.

Actually I was planning to cancel this and go for a Yamaha YHT 1840 instead. Since you've made the opposite upgrade, what's your experience of Yamaha 5.1 vs the Samsung 990B?

The sound stage of Samsung is better due to the 11.1.4 and ATMOS setup. It just lacks one thing which is the proper segregation of the left and right channels which is understandable as both the channels are housed inside the soundbar. In my Yamaha, I had placed the left and right channels wide apart and hence I could distinctively notice this. Apart from this minor thing, it has been a very pleasant and Wow experience.

I'm just worried that too much of wireless is going to cause problems in the long run. Audio lag, connectivity, weak signals, etc. etc. And a wired home theater is probably a better investment. Any thoughts?

If you have a dedicated room to setup your home theatre, the wired HTs would fare better as you would be eliminating any sort of connectivity issues. But to get the ATMOS speakers(ceiling mounted) it would be too much of a wiring. For me, I changed my home and I did not want to do the wiring setup again. The wires create a lot of clutter at the back of the amp and I was not OK with it and hence moved from my 8-year old Yamaha HT.

Rs 87k during their recent independence day promo.

Good Deal

[saurabhnanda]

Originally Posted by saikatmandal04

The sound stage of Samsung is better due to the 11.1.4 and ATMOS setup. It just lacks one thing which is the proper segregation of the left and right channels which is understandable as both the channels are housed inside the soundbar. In my Yamaha, I had placed the left and right channels wide apart and hence I could distinctively notice this. Apart from this minor thing, it has been a very pleasant and Wow experience.

How is the Atmos effect? IIUC Atmos is two things: spatial sound AND height channels. How good is the height channel effect? How good is the spatial sound vs regular 5.1 channel sound?

Broadly, would you say that the reduction is left/right separation is a good price to pay for the kind of sound that Q990B manages to deliver?

Curious: which Yamaha setup did you have?

[saikatmandal04]

Originally Posted by saurabhnanda

How is the Atmos effect? IIUC Atmos is two things: spatial sound AND height channels. How good is the height channel effect? How good is the spatial sound vs regular 5.1 channel sound?

Broadly, would you say that the reduction is left/right separation is a good price to pay for the kind of sound that Q990B manages to deliver?

Curious: which Yamaha setup did you have?

I had a humble RXV-373. It's a 5.1 channel plain vanilla Dolby Digital system. Coming from the Yamaha, this soundbar is different in the ATMOS channels and so far it has been good for me. A lot of the sound dynamics depend on the room dimensions. I feel had my ceiling height been a little lower(it is ~12 ft), it would have been an even greater experience.

It's a theatre-like experience for me I would say.. well pretty close to it I would say (for the kind of room setup I have). If you are upgrading from the TV speakers, you would experience a tremendous leap in the audio and its worth the experience.

[saikatmandal04]

Here is another review from YouTube of the Q990B soundbar. I echo my thoughts with the review posted here. Its quite a detailed one, go through it if you are sitting on the fence and have the time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5pb...=JbTechFanatic

[HighOctane]

I bought Q990B during July from Samsung Corporate offer for 91K - 6K cashback = effective 85K with no cost EMI. It took 3 days to deliver in Bangalore and since it was saturday, the service engineer appointment was on Monday. I did the setup myself as it is very simple, just connect HDMI to ARC in Samsung QLEDs one box. There is no connectivity issue till date.

The performance in movies from Netflix and Prime is amazing and very immersive experience, provided you keep the satellites at ear level. You feel same experience you get in theatre with slightly high volume. The dialogues are clearly heard and way better than small home theatre system. I did not feel Atmos from above as my Samsung 55" QLED Q80 is 2019 model and it does not have eARC. When there is no eARC in TV HDMI out, the Dolby Atomos will not be processed from source. All TVs from 2020 has HDMI eARC.

However, when you play music from Spotify, Prime Music and Youtube, the music is bad and not upto the mark. You do not feel the dept in the music and base is slightly missing. I tried changing equalizer setting & woofer at high, but still not satisfied. One thing I liked was that there is no distortion even in high volume during music playback. This sound bar is only for movie buffs and not for music enthusiastic. Now I have to search for good Stereo Amp, tower speakers & a Sub for my Music requirements.

Can anyone let me know if the music performance gets better is the speakers burn-in. Also want to know how the subwoofer will calibrate room acoustics, the service engineer who came to install after 2 days was not aware of this feature.

Let me know if any of you have any questions on its performance.