Samsung's latest Dolby Atmos soundbar package looks set to be a big Sonos rival

Samsung's new soundbar has the Sonos Arc in its sights

Samsung has unveiled its latest addition to its 2023 flagship Q-series soundbar line up. The HW-Q900C soundbar and subwoofer package looks set to challenge the Sonos Arc as one of the top-ranking Best Dolby Atmos soundbars, and looks set to go on sale at $1,397 within the next few days.

Billed as a 7.1.2 Dolby Atmos soundbar, the Q900C sits directly below the HW-Q990C home-theater-in-a-box flagship soundbar package that comes with a subwoofer and dedicated surround speakers.

The new HW-Q900C soundbar and subwoofer package skips the dedicated surround speakers and relies on immersive side- and up-firing soundbar speakers. It's rated at 446W total power output with a 7.1.2 audio channel configuration. To you and I, that translates to 7 main audio channels, plus a separate subwoofer channel and 2 height channels.

Although the full specs are yet to be officially confirmed by Samsung, at the time of writing the HW-Q900C is already available to pre-order at selected audio outlets. These retailers have it listed as offering Dolby Atmos support and utilizing 16 front-, side-, and up-firing drivers, plus a wireless subwoofer with a large side-firing driver.

Specifications listed by retailer B&H, where the HW-Q900C can be pre-ordered for $1,397, suggests that the soundbar measures 48.5 x 2.7 x 5.4-inches, making it a great fit for one of the best 55-inch TV screens or larger. The subwoofer is listed as measuring 8.7 x 16.3 x 16.1inches and weighing 25.8 pounds, and looks ideally suited for floor placement wherever you can find the space.

Wireless connectivity is said to run to Bluetooth and Apple AirPlay 2 support, but just as we found in our Samsung HW-Q990B reveiw, there's no mention of on-board streaming apps. This means you’ll need a TV source that's capable of streaming Dolby Atmos audio if you want to hear it. Additionally, there's no mention of a graphical UI, which could make it difficult to tweak the soundbar's output settings. Although it does have Q-Symphony support, enabling Q-Series soundbars to pair with compatible Samsung TV speakers to operate as one.

So far Samsung hasn't made any official mention on the price of the HW-Q900C for any territory, but we'll update this story with that crucial information as soon as we receive it. In the meantime, we have found the new HW-Q900C soundbar and sub package listed on Amazon where it's available to pre-order at $1,397 with an expected May 29 on sale date.

As a rival Dolby Atmos soundbar and subwoofer package, the new Samsung does look set to be a good deal more cost effective. At the price, it could be an attractive alternative to a Sonos Arc soundbar and Sonos Sub package, which is currently discounted to $1,613 direct from Sonos, and could make the Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Plus look even more overpriced.

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As a former editor of the U.K.'s Hi-Fi Choice magazine, Lee is passionate about all kinds of audio tech and has been providing sound advice to enable consumers to make informed buying decisions since he joined Which? magazine as a product tester in the 1990s. Lee covers all things audio for Tom's Guide, including headphones, wireless speakers and soundbars and loves to connect and share the mindfulness benefits that listening to music in the very best quality can bring.

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