Heard The Samsung HW-990D Soundbar.

[Epsonfan]

I am NOT a fan of soundbars but I heard the Samsung 990D and pretty impressed with it .with less boxes of speakers all over the place. I didn't hear Dragan $3950 and the Sonos, but this Samsung I like.

 

[Epsonfan]

Got a good deal direct from Samsung for $1275 if you sign in their site & if you a member of AAA , you get the Soundbar for $1275

 

[TLS Guy]

Got a good deal direct from Samsung for $1275 if you sign in their site & if you a member of AAA , you get the Soundbar for $1275

That is a lot of cash for a bunch of miserable portable radio speakers, 15 to be precise.

The idea that you can make a unit like that have surround Atmos and wide speakers in a bar, has absolutely no engineering or acoustic validity, absolutely none.

The reviewer on sound and vision was bemoaning that it did not have room correction!
With a contraption like that even the worst of rooms will be the least of the problems.

This is all cynical marketing at its worst.

 

[Epsonfan]

That is a lot of cash for a bunch of miserable portable radio speakers, 15 to be precise.

The idea that you can make a unit like that have surround Atmos and wide speakers in a bar, has absolutely no engineering or acoustic validity, absolutely none.

The reviewer on sound and vision was bemoaning that it did not have room correction!
With a contraption like that even the worst of rooms will be the least of the problems.

This is all cynical marketing at its worst.

My son didn't like the heat generated from the receiver and powered subs in the speakers & wires allover the place & his 77 inch Sony OLED .So he opted for the soundbar . I totally get what you're saying . I feel his point of view as well.

 

[isolar8001]

My son didn't like the heat generated from the receiver and powered subs in the speakers & wires allover the place & his 77 inch Sony OLED .So he opted for the soundbar . I totally get what you're saying . I feel his point of view as well.

These soundbars can sound nice, and do have appeal to some for aesthetics.
Im sure your son will enjoy it.

But, like TLS Guy says, that's a lot of money for very little equipment especially considering that when it dies, you have to toss the whole thing.
Double Whammy !!

 

[Trebdp83]

With a Sony OLED TV that can act as a center channel speaker, was the Sony Bravia Theatre Quad system ever considered?

 

[Epsonfan]

With a Sony OLED TV that can act as a center channel speaker, was the Sony Bravia Theatre Quad system ever considered?

He did try the Sony SoundBar [but not the Sony Bravia setup} using the TV as center channel he preferred the Samsung.

 

[privateeye]

The pricea on these soundbars are insane for what you’re actually getting. They’re loaded with extremely cheap, tiny drivers crammed into tiny cheap plastic enclosures, with the addition of a cheap, lightweight, low-quality subwoofer. What you have is a mono front soundstage that sounds awful—tiny speakers in tiny enclosures just don’t work well. There’s no front soundstage separation, and then you have chintzy rear speakers that are also very poor quality. These so-called “flagship” soundbars shouldn’t cost more than $200-$300 for what they offer.

And I’m not even a soundbar hater. There are a few premium soundbars out there that deliver real surround sound and genuinely good audio from a single bar. The Bowers & Wilkins Panorama 1 and 2 were phenomenal, as is the Ambeo (all of these are quite huge and weigh close to 50 lb). In the right room, where the sound can bounce correctly, these bars can create legitimate surround sound. The sound quality is top-notch (all things considered), with bass legitimately down to 30 Hz, so you could easily run them without a subwoofer—or add one via the LFE line if you wanted...But Samsung, LG, and Sony’s soundbars just don’t compare—they flat-out suck, and that’s a fact.

 

[dolynick]

The Samsun 990 soundbar serires has been pretty well regarded since the B model revision. It doesn't surprise me that some will choose it as a more premium solution. It also does come with a sub and two surround speakers and not just the front bar relying on reflections for all effects.

I also don't feel like a soundbar is every going to really match up to a proper discreet speaker system, but there's a simplicity and space factor that makes them a much easier sell to the more mainstream mass market. If I was looking for a better sounding soundbar, the Samsung 990 would be on my shortlist too.