Samsung sells a dizzying variety of soundbars, which may make selecting something aside from its multi-speaker Dolby Atmos flagship, the HW-Q990C (or older Q990B), fairly complicated. The HW-Q800C, which sits a step or two beneath the Q990, stands out as a best choice for these seeking to dive into 3D soundscapes and nice sound at a extra affordable value.

The Q800C is a chip off the previous Q990 block, borrowing the identical angular hexagon profile and loads of trickle-down options in a pared-down bundle. As a two-piece system, it’s simpler to include into your listening room than Samsung’s priciest bar, whereas its included subwoofer provides it a cinematic edge over stand-alone choices just like the Sonos Arc and different opponents.

The kicker is which you could normally choose up the Q800C for effectively under its $1,000 MSRP, typically as little as $700, which makes its spectacular sound high quality and beneficiant characteristic set all of the extra engaging. While not with out its limitations, that is a compelling Atmos bar that’s effectively value contemplating on a midrange price range, even when it floats underneath the radar.

Easy Setup, Plenty of Extras

Samsung makes practically every thing easy with its soundbars, although unboxing the Q800C often is the exception. Its L-shaped packaging appears nearly designed to confound, requiring you to open a number of ends to dig every thing out. That stated, after renegotiating its place and liberating the contents, I had the subwoofer and 46-inch bar in place and belting out sound very quickly.

You’ll most probably be connecting the system to your TV over HDMI ARC/eARC, which presents the perfect sound and simplified management over energy and quantity along with your TV distant. Most newer TVs will discover the bar and ship sound robotically, however older setups could require you to decide on it as an exterior machine. If your TV is notably seasoned, chances are you’ll want to attach over the Q800C’s optical enter, however this negates Dolby Atmos, which sort of defeats the purpose.

The Q800C helps Dolby’s object-based Atmos sound format at full decision from sources like 4K Blu-ray straight from the bar’s spare HDMI enter, or in compressed type through streaming companies. Unlike Sonos’ and Bose’s high soundbars, the Q800C additionally helps Dolby Atmos’ major 3D-audio competitor, DTS:X, alongside nearly each different main audio format you’ll encounter.

The Q800C presents some Samsung-only methods, together with the power to supply Atmos wirelessly from choose fashions just like the model’s Q-series TVs or work in tandem with their onboard TV audio system through the proprietary Q-Symphony system. Users of any TV can take pleasure in different trendy options like a built-in voice assistant through Amazon Alexa, and Spacefit sound calibration to robotically analyze your room and alter efficiency accordingly (although I’m unsure I heard a lot enchancment there).

Connecting the bar to your Wi-Fi community through the SmartThings app helps you to dig into settings like channel ranges and EQ, and logging on unlocks high-quality streaming over Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, and Apple AirPlay. Google’s Chromecast is conspicuously absent (within the US model anyway), however Bluetooth streaming is accessible instead.

Thrilling, Swirling Sound

After spending numerous hours listening to Samsung’s newest soundbars, it was no shock to seek out that the Q800C serves up good sound throughout all kinds of content material. The sound profile is highlighted by full-bodied midrange and bass frequencies, treble that sings with candy lyricism in brass and strings, and strong dynamics that deliver out every thing from delicate dialog to potent explosions (or each directly) with tempered steadiness.