Samsung Soundbars

Audio Gear Talk
1

Hi there

Does anyone have an experience of using on of the Samsung Q series soundbars with Roon ?

Specifically, I’m considering replacing my Bluesound Soundbar and Pulse2i speakers with a Q990-F for AV sound, but am thinking that the Samsung could also replace my NAD M10v2 → Dali Oberon 5 for general listening too.

I’m interested in sound quality and general usability - i.e. switching between TV and music sources, which has proved to be an issue with Bluesound.

Thanks

2

I have a VERY old H950 (I think) it’s fine for TV but I wouldn’t want it to be my only music speaker, it’s pretty grim

It is old but I would audition closely before jumping

I run a Naim Unity Atom HE then a RCA pair to a 3.5 mm jack to the Aux input . I did try optical but that was too long ago to comment

3

The Samsung Q990 soundbars are excellent for TV and movie sound. They are also fine for background music and reducing visual clutter.

But, if your aim is to sit in the sweet spot and connect emotionally with the music, even the excellent Samsung Q990 soundbar is not the right tool for the job. For 2-channel music playback, it’s not in the same league (not even in the same universe) as the Dali Oberon 5 and NAD Master Series M10 V2.

Also, keep in mind that the Samsung is not Roon Ready. You would be downgrading from the rock-solid RAAT protocol on your NAD to AirPlay or Chromecast on the Samsung. In terms of Roon “usability” and reliability, that is a significant step backward.

My suggestion would be to buy the Q990-F (amazing sales this weekend) and move the NAD and Dali kit to another room for dedicated 2-channel listening.

4

Cheers Mike

5

Thanks David
I suspect you’re correct - however I do think the Q990-F is Roon Ready - the D series Samsung soundbars are just Roon Tested.

I’ve hopefully “fixed” the connectivity issues I had with the Bluesound kit over the weekend, which prompted me to look for alternatives.

I’ve missed out on the sales I reckon (esp one at £300 !) - but as a result I may end up buying a 2nd hand F series bar/speakers/sub just to test it out. We hardly do any active listening these days - we’re listening while reading/cooking/chasing around after dogs - so it may be the quality of the sound is “good enough” for us. Unintentionally I seem to be on a journey from hi to mid fi, having been an avid Cyrus/Spendor listener back in the day.

I think we’ll follow your advice and keep the NAD and the Dalis (maybe !) for that day when active listening becomes more of a thing for us.

Thanks again
Andy

1 Like
6

Glad to hear it. You will be glad you kept it. Such a nice system will be costly to reacquire later.