Samsung HW-Q995GF, six months later
Movies, gaming, music and editing in a 12-by-12 room. The most immersive sound I've had at home, and a few honest catches.
Movies, gaming, music and editing in a 12-by-12 room. The most immersive sound I've had at home, and a few honest catches.
Six months ago I set up the Samsung HW-Q995GF, and since then it's been running almost every day. Movies, gaming, music, and even while I'm editing. If you only read one line of this review, make it this one: the sound is awesome. Immersive in a way I honestly didn't expect from a soundbar.
It's not perfect, and I'll get to the annoyances. But this is the best sound setup I've owned.
For context, this isn't a huge living room. My room is roughly 12 by 12 feet, about 3.7 by 3.7 metres, and the soundbar sits with my Samsung Odyssey 37-inch 4K screen. The box comes with four pieces: the main bar, a wireless subwoofer, and two wireless rear speakers. Together that's 11.1.4 channels and 23 speakers in the main bar alone. In a room this size, that's a lot of sound, in the best way.
The thing that makes this system special is the Dolby Atmos height effects. Rain sounds like it's falling from above you. A helicopter actually moves over your head. Both the main bar and the rear speakers have up-firing drivers that bounce sound off the ceiling, and in my room it works properly. It doesn't sound like a speaker in front of you. It sounds like the room itself.
The bass is deep and controlled. The subwoofer has two 8-inch drivers, and it hits hard in action scenes without turning everything into boom. Dialogue stays clear even in loud scenes, which matters more than people think. No more turning the volume up for quiet talking and then down again for explosions.
It doesn't sound like a speaker in front of you. It sounds like the room itself.
For gaming, the rear speakers change everything. Footsteps behind you actually come from behind you. Samsung's Game Pro mode tunes the sound automatically when it detects a console.
For music I mostly use AirPlay straight from my iPhone. It just works, no pairing dance. Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect are built in too.
And since I edit on the same setup, I appreciate that it plays back high-resolution audio cleanly. It's not a studio monitor and I wouldn't do a final mix on it, but for reviewing edits it's a huge step up from monitor speakers.
I love that the rear speakers are wireless. No cables running across the floor to the back of the room. One small catch: "wireless" means no audio cable. They still need a power socket each, so plan where they'll go.
In six months, a satellite speaker disconnected once. It reconnected and hasn't happened again since, but it's worth mentioning in an honest review.
This thing is heavy. The full set weighs about 24 kg, and the main bar alone is 7.3 kg and over 1.2 metres wide. I've owned other soundbars that I could pick up and move to another room in a minute. This is not that. Once it's set up, it stays where it is.
| System | 11.1.4 channels: main bar, wireless subwoofer, wireless 4.0.2 rear speakers |
|---|---|
| Speakers | 23 in the main bar (front, side, up-firing and centre) |
| Subwoofer | Wireless, dual 8-inch drivers |
| Rear speakers | Wireless, with up-firing drivers |
| Audio formats | Dolby Atmos (incl. wireless), Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital, DTS:X, DTS 5.1, multichannel LPCM, Hi-Res 24-bit |
| Sound features | SpaceFit Sound Pro, Adaptive Sound, Active Voice Amplifier Pro, Game Pro mode, Night mode, Q-Symphony |
| HDMI | 2 in, 1 out, ARC and eARC, 4K 60Hz pass-through with HDR10+ |
| Other inputs | Optical |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi (2.4 / 5 GHz), Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Streaming | AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Google Cast |
| Voice | Alexa built in; works with Google Assistant devices |
| Main bar | 1232 × 70.8 × 138 mm, 7.3 kg |
| Subwoofer size | 249 × 251.8 × 249 mm, 8.3 kg |
| Rear speakers size | 129.5 × 201.3 × 140.4 mm, 3.4 kg each |
| Full set | About 23.8 kg |
Specifications from Samsung's official product page. Features can vary by region and firmware.
If you want real cinema sound at home without running cables for a full speaker system, and you have the space for it, this is it. It's fantastic for movies, gaming and music. If you need something light that you'll move around, or you're on a tighter budget, a smaller soundbar will make more sense.
Six months in, it's still the best sound I've had at home. Heavy, yes. One hiccup, yes. But every movie night reminds me why I bought it.
View the HW-Q995GF on Samsung.com ↗
— Desly