Connectivity HDMI out (eARC), 2 x HDMI 2.1 in, optical, wi-fi, Bluetooth 5.0, AirPlay 2
Format support Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, Eclipsa Audio
Streaming? Tidal Connect, Spotify Connect, Amazon Music, Deezer
Voice control? Amazon Alexa, Works With Google
Soundbar dimensions (hwd) 7 x 123 x 14cm
Soundbar weight 7.3kg
Offering a compact subwoofer and immersive surround sound, the Samsung HW-Q990F is an excellent choice for those looking to take their home cinema audio to the next level.
Pros
- Clear, detailed and dynamic sound
- Rich, controlled and tonally varied bass
- Easy set-up with excellent connectivity
Cons
- Overly familiar design
Connectivity HDMI out (eARC), 2 x HDMI 2.1 in, optical, wi-fi, Bluetooth 5.0, AirPlay 2
Format support Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, Eclipsa Audio
Streaming? Tidal Connect, Spotify Connect, Amazon Music, Deezer
Voice control? Amazon Alexa, Works With Google
Soundbar dimensions (hwd) 7 x 123 x 14cm
Soundbar weight 7.3kg
The HW-Q990H takes what we liked about the previous model and only improves upon its sound performance.
Pros
- Detailed, full-bodied cinematic sound
- Immersive and spacious sound with very well-placed height effects
- Superb connectivity
Cons
- Overly familiar design
- Q990F available for a lower price
If you are looking for a soundbar system, one of the names you will keep seeing in your search is Samsung. And that's for good reason, as it has delivered plenty of strong contenders to our test room over the years.
And one of the top-performing models comes in the form of the Samsung HW-Q990F, which holds a place on our best soundbars guide. The soundbar system consists of a main soundbar, wireless subwoofer and two surround speakers.
But the newest version of the bar, the Samsung HW-Q990H has now leaped onto the scene. We put the two systems head to head in our test room, so we know how they compare. Let's see which model is the overall winner…
Samsung HW-Q990F vs HW-Q990H: price
The Samsung Q990H launched at £1599 / $2000 / AU$1999, placing it in the high-end soundbar category. It’s still a new addition to the market so we don’t expect any notable discounts just yet, but these are likely to come later down the line.
We can say that with a reasonable certainty, as that’s what happened with the Samsung Q990F. It launched at £1699 / $1999 / AU$1999, which is slightly more pricey in the UK and the US than its successor.
Since its release, the system has seen significant discounts and is regularly available for around £999 in the UK.
That means that, although the Q990H launched at a lower price initially, the Q990F’s cheaper price tag now makes it the winner in this category.
**Winner: Samsung HW-Q990F**
Samsung HW-Q990F vs HW-Q990H: design
Side by side, you would be hard-pressed to tell the two soundbar systems apart. Both of the main soundbars measure 7 x 123 x 14cm (hwd) and weigh in at 7.3kg.
You’ll find a selection of buttons on top to change source, mute the onboard microphones and adjust the volume, with a dot-matrix display on the front displaying corresponding information.
The subwoofer with both models is a cube measuring 25 x 25 x 25cm and weighing 8.3kg. Finally, the surround speakers are also the same, featuring a boxy, angular design that includes a handy cable channel on the bottom edge. They also carry identical dimensions, measuring 20 x 13 x 14cm.
Both are well-built and feel premium with everything constructed from aluminium or a sturdy, high-quality plastic. But overall the design is starting to get a little tired, especially considering the previous Q990D and Q990C models look practically identical.
The brand bundles a remote with functions to change the input, sound mode and EQ for the system, as well as adjusting the subwoofer level.
There’s not much to compare here as they are basically twins, so it has to be a tie.
**Winner: draw**
Samsung HW-Q990F vs HW-Q990H: features
It’s a familiar story when it comes to the features. Both Samsung systems offer an 11.1.4 channel configuration, with an impressive total of 23 individual drivers on board. This includes 15 drivers in the main soundbar, three in each of the wireless surround speakers, and two 8-inch woofers (in a push/pull configuration) in the wireless subwoofer.
Both the soundbars and surround speakers feature upward-firing drivers, which brings us neatly onto the immersive sound formats that the systems support.
They both support three immersive-audio formats: Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and Samsung’s Eclipsa Audio. The last of those hasn’t been adopted by any other services aside from YouTube so far, but it’s nice to be future-proofed in case that changes.
To adjust settings for both systems, the Samsung SmartThings app is on hand to help. With both bars, we find this is the preferred way of interacting with the settings menus, thanks to the snappy connection and easy-to-understand menus.
You can also control your source from this app, including music streamed wirelessly to the system. Both the Q990F and Q990H support Spotify Connect, Apple AirPlay, Google Cast, Tidal Connect and Bluetooth; they are even Roon-compatible.
But what about physical connectivity? The soundbar has three HDMI sockets in total. This includes an HDMI eARC for connecting to your TV, alongside two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 passthrough sockets, which support up to 4K/120Hz signals with VRR and ALLM, as well as HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision (a nice touch, as Samsung TVs don't support Dolby Vision).
Samsung’s SpaceFit Sound Pro feature, which is essentially this soundbar’s calibration system, is also present in both bars. The optional feature utilises the built-in microphones to constantly monitor and adjust the soundbar and subwoofer to accommodate your viewing space.
There are four sound modes with each bar: Standard, Surround, Game and AI Adaptive. With both soundbars, Surround mode is the best for movies and TV shows, as the wider sound field means all components hang together in a more sonically cohesive way. Standard is our preferred preset for music, as it features minimal processing and a more focused sound.
One of the few differences here between the two bars is the Q990H’s inclusion of Samsung’s new Sound Elevation feature. This is designed to raise the audio upwards to match the position of your screen.
Samsung hasn’t given a clear indication of how it determines where to place the audio, and for us it seems to overshoot slightly, placing the sound towards the top edge of our reference TV. This setting may appeal more to those who wall-mount their TV and leave a gap between it and their soundbar.
On top of that, Q Symphony – in which your Samsung TV’s speakers work in tandem with the system – is also supported.
Although the Q990H offers the new Sound Elevation feature, it is not impactful enough to sway the result, so we are once again looking at a tie.
**Winner: draw**
Samsung HW-Q990F vs HW-Q990H: sound
Both soundbar systems are five-star performers, delivering a rich and engaging sound that is a huge improvement on the vast majority of TV speakers.
Vocals sound natural and detailed while carrying plenty of subtle inflexion. With the Samsung Q990H, this system manages to unearth subtler sonic nuances, which results in a slightly more natural sound than the Q990F. It’s not a night-and-day difference, but the newest model is the slightly better performer in this area.
The Q990H continues just to get the edge on its predecessor when it comes to height effects. When watching Chapter 2 of Blade Runner 2049 with the two models, both place the sound of the holographic announcements near Officer K’s apartment with excellent precision. But the newer model takes this even further than the Q990F, offering a greater sense of accuracy and spaciousness.
Continuing with Bladerunner 2049, both soundbars show off their excellent bass performance. With the famously tricky chapter two sequence, both systems deliver rich and powerful bass sounds that are controlled and dynamic, as we gain a sense of mounting tension as K approaches the police precinct.
But how do the two bars perform with music? With both systems, most, if not all, of the positive attributes from our movie testing are present and correct for music. We play a range of tracks, and the Q990F and Q990H both offer a clear-cut sense of timing and rhythmic drive. Vocals continue to sound clear and emotive, while instruments have depth and texture.
While they are both excellent-sounding systems, Samsung’s subtle upgrades to the HW-Q990H make it the better of the two soundbars.
**Winner: Samsung HW-Q990H**
Samsung HW-Q990F vs HW-Q990H: verdict
Each Samsung system is very well matched in design and features, offering ample surround sound options and a sturdy build.
The Samsung Q990F is a top-performing system when it comes to audio, but the Q990H takes everything we love about the previous generation and delivers it with even more nuance, detail and scale.
The Q990H is the more expensive option right now, but we expect the price to drop soon, as we have seen with its predecessor. If your budget cannot stretch to the newest model, however, the Q990F is still an excellent-sounding alternative.
**Overall winner: Samsung HW-Q990H**
MORE:
Check out our full review of the Samsung HW-Q990H
And here is our Samsung HW-Q990F review
These are the best Dolby Atmos soundbars
