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Samsung launches its flagship Dolby Atmos soundbar with discounted prices

Samsung HW-Q990D Dolby Atmos Soundbar.
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

The Samsung HW-Q990D, previously announced at CES 2024, is the company’s latest premium Dolby Atmos soundbar, with 11.1.4 channels and 656 watts of power. As of March 7, it has been officially priced at $2,000 — a $100 increase over the starting price of its predecessor, the 990C. However, Samsung is offering a discount for early orders on the Q990D, bringing its price down to $1,800.

Samsung will take an additional $100 off the price if you sign up to learn more about the company’s full 2024 TV and audio portfolio, including its new Music Frame, at www.samsung.com/us/tvs/firstlook. Speaking of which, if you’re eagerly awaiting pricing and availability of Samsung’s 2024 TVs (and the Music Frame), we’ll know more on March 21, so set yourself a reminder.

Samsung HW-Q990D Dolby Atmos Soundbar.
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

On the outside, the HW-Q990D is essentially the same as its predecessor—the same angular design with wireless surround speakers and a wireless subwoofer remains for 2024. As with the 990C, it’s a 22-driver, 11.1.4-channel system with support for wireless Dolby Atmos if you own a compatible Samsung TV. It also retains its 4K 120Hz passthrough capability for smooth video performance when gaming.

However, internally, the Q990D gets some upgrades that improve both its sound and functionality. It’s now a Roon-certified device, giving folks who use the Roon media management and playback service the ability to control the soundbar from any phone, tablet, or computer that runs the Roon app. Harman, which Samsung owns, acquired Roon in 2023.

Samsung HW-Q990D Dolby Atmos Soundbar.
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Samsung has also made improvements to its Q-Symphony sound system, which lets select Samsung products such as soundbars and TVs share the responsibility of reproducing sound.

A new Active Voice Amplifier Pro feature uses deep learning to separate the voices from the rest of the audio mix on a scene-by-scene basis to keep volumes balanced, while a Party Play mode “broadens the sound profile to let each part of the sound system play a balanced profile” for larger gatherings.

Samsung has also added a new type of nighttime mode that turns off frontal audio, piping the main soundtrack to the surround speakers instead for a quieter, less dynamic listening experience.

If these new features aren’t of interest, now’s a great time to pick up the 2023 HW-Q990C, which has seen its price drop to $1,400 in recent weeks.

Editors’ Recommendations

Simon Cohen

Simon Cohen covers a variety of consumer technologies, but has a special interest in audio and video products, like spatial…

Dolby Atmos FlexConnect could eliminate home theater soundbars and HDMI cables

A diagram showing how Dolby Atmos FlexConnect combines wireless speakers with a TV's sound system.

Dolby Labs has a new home theater technology called Dolby Atmos FlexConnect. The company says it will let people with a compatible TV place wireless speakers anywhere that’s convenient, and the TV’s built-in microphones will automatically calibrate them to work with the TV’s speakers while ensuring the whole setup produces optimal sound. The technology will make its debut in the 2024 TCL X955 QD mini-LED 4K TV, but Dolby anticipates that other companies will also announce support for Dolby Atmos FlexConnect.

Because Dolby Atmos FlexConnect works wirelessly and uses a compatible TV’s built-in hardware and software, you’ll be able to set up a Dolby Atmos audio system that doesn’t require a soundbar or AV receiver as its central unit and doesn’t need an HDMI cable to send an audio signal to an external device.

Read more

Nakamichi increases the price of its Dragon 11.4.6 soundbar

Nakamichi Dragon Surround System Review

Nakamichi says that it can no longer afford to sell its wild, 11.4.6-channel Dragon soundbar system for its original price of $3,500. Once the original pre-order inventory of 1,000 units has been spoken for, the company will up the price of the Dragon to $3,900.

Preorders on the first batch of 1,000 Dragons haven’t started yet. They begin on August 3 at 9 a.m. PT.  It’s possible that Nakamichi is using the threat of a price increase as a stick to ensure that its first 1,000 units see rapid sales, however, the company claims it has to charge more in order to offset unexpected costs associated with both the production of the Dragon as well as complexities involved in the shipment of these systems to customers.

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Samsung adds HW-Q900C to its lineup of 2023 Dolby Atmos soundbars

Samsung 2023 Soundbars.

Samsung has been pretty quiet about its 2023 lineup of Dolby Atmos soundbars since it announced the new collection back at CES 2023, but we finally have all of the models, prices, and features. As we already knew, the latest flagship is the HW-Q990C, a monster 22-driver, 11.1.4-channel system that carries forward the legacy of the HW-Q990B from 2022 — a soundbar that deeply impressed our reviewer. However, it’s now joined by the HW-Q900C — a more affordable version for folks who don’t need the 990C’s surround speakers, but who nonetheless may want to add them at a later date.

Also new to the collection are two C-Series models that bring the price of better TV sound down to $200 or less. Here’s the full lineup.
Samsung Q-Series Dolby Atmos soundbars
In addition to Dolby Atmos compatibility, Samsung’s Q-Series soundbars feature Q-Symphony, a feature that lets a compatible Samsung TV enhance the soundbar’s own performance through the use of the TV’s built-in speakers. Version 3.0 of Q-Symphony also uses the TV’s sound algorithms to analyze each scene to match the TV and soundbar outputs.

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[ For more curated Samsung news, check out the main news page here]

The post Samsung’s flagship Q990D soundbar launches with big discounts | Digital Trends first appeared on www.digitaltrends.com

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