Sonos Arc Ultra vs Samsung HW-Q990D: which Dolby Atmos soundbar should you buy?

The Sonos Arc Ultra and Samsung HW-Q990D on a black and grey background with a versus symbol between them.

Sonos Arc Ultra

Connections: HDMI, optical, ethernet
ARC/eARC: eARC
Bluetooth: Yes
Dimensions (hwd): 7.5 x 118 x 11 cm
Weight: 5.9kg

With more drivers, new Sound Motion technology for improved bass, and extra features like Bluetooth and advanced Speech Enhancement, the Arc Ultra is Sonos' premium home cinema option. Musically, it's a little better than the Samsung, but it can't fill a room quite as well.

For

• Clean, precise, spacious and three-dimensional sound
• Deep, tuneful and expressive bass
• Terrifically detailed for a soundbar

Against

• No HDMI passthrough
• No DTS support
• Still some app issues

Samsung HW-Q990D

Connections: HDMI out (eARC), 2 x HDMI 2.1 in, optical
ARC/eARC: eARC
Bluetooth: Yes
Dimensions (hwd): 6.9 x 123 x 14 cm (soundbar only)
Weight: 7.7kg (soundbar only)

Thanks to its separate subwoofer and satellite speakers, the Q990D is closer to a full surround system, and so it tends to fill the room with sound better than the Arc Ultra. But it does suffer the occasional bout of distortion, and musically, it's not as adept as the Arc Ultra. Though it does win in terms of connection ports.

For

• Large, immersive and three-dimensional sound
• Dynamic, weighty and detailed
• Two HDMI 2.1 inputs

Against

• Very occasional bassy crackle
• Hard-to-read display