Samsung's latest Dolby Atmos soundbar package looks set to be a big Sonos rival
Samsung has unveiled its latest addition to its 2023 flagship Q-series soundbar line up. The HW-Q900C soundbar and subwoofer package looks set to challenge the Sonos Arc as one of the top-ranking Best Dolby Atmos soundbars, and looks set to go on sale at $1,397 within the next few days.
Billed as a 7.1.2 Dolby Atmos soundbar, the Q900C sits directly below the HW-Q990C home-theater-in-a-box flagship soundbar package that comes with a subwoofer and dedicated surround speakers.
The new HW-Q900C soundbar and subwoofer package skips the dedicated surround speakers and relies on immersive side- and up-firing soundbar speakers. It's rated at 446W total power output with a 7.1.2 audio channel configuration. To you and I, that translates to 7 main audio channels, plus a separate subwoofer channel and 2 height channels.
Although the full specs are yet to be officially confirmed by Samsung, at the time of writing the HW-Q900C is already available to pre-order at selected audio outlets. These retailers have it listed as offering Dolby Atmos support and utilizing 16 front-, side-, and up-firing drivers, plus a wireless subwoofer with a large side-firing driver.
Specifications listed by retailer B&H, where the HW-Q900C can be pre-ordered for $1,397, suggests that the soundbar measures 48.5 x 2.7 x 5.4-inches, making it a great fit for one of the best 55-inch TV screens or larger. The subwoofer is listed as measuring 8.7 x 16.3 x 16.1inches and weighing 25.8 pounds, and looks ideally suited for floor placement wherever you can find the space.
Wireless connectivity is said to run to Bluetooth and Apple AirPlay 2 support, but just as we found in our Samsung HW-Q990B reveiw, there's no mention of on-board streaming apps. This means you’ll need a TV source that’s capable of streaming Dolby Atmos audio if you want to hear it. Additionally, there's no mention of a graphical UI, which could make it difficult to tweak the soundbar's output settings. Although it does have Q-Symphony support, enabling Q-Series soundbars to pair with compatible Samsung TV speakers to operate as one.
So far Samsung hasn't made any official mention on the price of the HW-Q900C for any territory, but we'll update this story with that crucial information as soon as we receive it. In the meantime, we have found the new HW-Q900C soundbar and sub package listed on Amazon where it's available to pre-order at $1,397 with an expected May 29 on sale date.
As a rival Dolby Atmos soundbar and subwoofer package, the new Samsung does look set to be a good deal more cost effective. At the price, it could be an attractive alternative to a Sonos Arc soundbar and Sonos Sub package, which is currently discounted to $1,613 direct from Sonos, and could make the Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Plus look even more overpriced.
