Today we have a titanic battle for you, the Samsung HW-Q950A and the Bose Soundbar 900. The Bose Smart Soundbar 900 is currently the soundbar that I have in my home theatre and I am very happy with it. However, today it has one hell of a challenger in the Samsung HW-Q950A. These are two tremendous Dolby Atmos capable soundbars and truth be told, you cannot go wrong with either one of these things and I have the hard task of picking which one I like best out of the two.
The Price
While neither of these are what you would call cheap, the price category in this Samsung HW-Q950A vs Bose Soundbar 900 is pretty interesting as there is a pretty big difference between the two. However, you have to take everything into account and then decide if one is worth the extra money that is being asked of it.
Samsung HW-Q950A:
One of the interesting things about the Samsung HW-Q950A, is that the price for this thing is all over the place! Currently, on Amazon, you can get this for $1,590 which I think is a very reasonable price and actually nearly 200 bucks cheaper than the last time I looked at this system. This is the kind of product that you really do have to do some serious shopping around for as there are some incredible deals to be had here. For example, I have seen this thing for around the 1200 bucks mark on eBay. When it comes to the pricing, this is one of the more competitive higher-end soundbars on the market right now. Best of all, you are getting a subwoofer and a set of satellite speakers for that extra 600 bucks you are paying for this.
Bose Smart Soundbar 900:
When the Bose Smart Soundbar 900 was released, I was very impressed that Bose was able to keep the price under a grand and also that it was very closely priced to their previous soundbar the Bose Smart Soundbar 700. The current asking price for this is $899 and the chances of you getting it for considerably less than this are slim to none, to be honest with you. The 700 kept its price for a very long time, heck, even with the 900 on the market now, the 700 still has managed to stay near its RRP. While this is much cheaper than the Samsung HW-Q950A, but if you were to add a subwoofer like the Bose Base Module 700, you are actually looking at more than what the Samsung costs.
The Verdict:
This is a really hard one to call! It should be easy, right? The Bose Soundbar 900 should win this as it is around 600 bucks cheaper. However, I think that the extra 600 bucks that the Samsung HW-Q950A is asking for the subwoofer and satellite speakers is not bad at all. I think the winner of this round all boils down to if you want a subwoofer and surround sound. If you are cool with just a soundbar the 900 wins this, if you want the full surround setup, it is the Samsung!
The Design
I have been a fan of what both Samsung and Bose have been doing with their soundbars for a very long time now. The design round in this Samsung HW-Q950A vs Bose Soundbar 900 battle is one of the more fun ones that I have done. These are two amazing looking soundbars and either one could be the winner here.
Samsung HW-Q950A:
I have looked at many different Samsung soundbars and I would put the Samsung HW-Q950A at the top of the list in terms of the design. This thing just looks very, very cool. It is a very impressive size, coming in at 48.4” x 5.4” x 2.8”. At first glance, you may think it is a standard rectangular shape, but the front is actually angled which looks very smart, but it also helps with the way that the soundbar throws sound around the room. Samsung has gone for a fabric grill and also the top of the soundbar has a fabric covering as well. While I always think a fabric covering looks cool, I would always pick plastic or metal over it. On the back of the soundbar, we have an HDMI Arc port, two HDMI ports, and an optical port as well. You do not have a ton of cables to worry about as the subwoofer and the satellite speakers are wireless.
Speaking of the subwoofer, I love it! This is a very cool looking subwoofer and it goes with the design of the soundbar perfectly. The dimensions of the subwoofer are, 8.2” x 15.8” x 15.9” which is a decent size. I think that the build quality is great and that it should fit into any home theatre or living room perfectly. The Samsung HW-Q950A also comes with a great set of satellite speakers which are 4.9” x 8.0” x 5.0” in their size. Like the subwoofer, these compliment the style of the soundbar very well. They also do not take up a great deal of space too. The remote control that comes with this is pretty awesome. It gives you full control of the soundbar and it is packed with buttons. However, it also has the Samsung Smart Remote feature. If you have other Samsung devices like a TV and a Blu-Ray player, you can use this as a universal remote which is cool.
Bose Smart Soundbar 900:
For a few months now the Bose Smart Soundbar 900 has been sitting proudly in my home theatre and I love it! I am going to tell you right off the bat, that to me, this is the best looking soundbar on the market right now. While I am talking about the black version here, you can also get it in white, check out this $899 Bose 900 Unboxing and Testing video if you want to see the white version. This is one of the “slimmer” but also large soundbars you can get with the dimensions being 41,14” x 2,29” x 4,21”. Bose uses a metal grill that covers not just the front of the soundbar, but the sides as well. It gives this soundbar such a premium and amazing look that I am a massive fan of. It also is much easier to wipe down and keep clean than a fabric grill. On the top of the soundbar, we have a very sleek looking glass top! This does require a bit of looking after, especially if you have kids that like to touch things. There are open sections on the top for the up firing speakers and these are protected with the same kind of metal grill as the front and side. I really do not see how anyone could not love the design of this soundbar.
As we move around the back of the soundbar, we have a very similar setup to what the Bose Soundbar 700 had. You have your HDMI Arc port, another HDMI port and you have an optical port as well. There is also a “bass” port on the back of here, I have the Bose Bass Module 700 connected to mine. The one area where I think that Bose dropped the ball over the design the 700 had is the remote control. The 700 has the best remote control I have had the pleasure to use with a soundbar. The one that they give you here is nowhere near as good and it does not even give you full control, you will have to use the Bose app as well which is very disappointing. I have to have a tablet always in my home theatre because of this.
The Verdict:
Even though I bitched about the remote control for the Bose Soundbar 900 more than was necessary. I have to say that the Bose Soundbar 900 is the best looking soundbar here. The Samsung HW-Q950A looks great, the subwoofer and the satellite speakers fit in great with the soundbar and as a package, it is awesome. However, that Bose Soundbar 900 is truly something special.
The Sound
Man, this sound round in our Samsung HW-Q950A vs Bose Soundbar 900 thing that we have going on today is going to break my heart! These are two amazing Dolby Atmos soundbars and as I have said a few times, I have the Bose Soundbar 900 in my home theatre, but I am not going to let that sway me on this!
Samsung HW-Q950A:
The more I think about it the more I do not think there is a better Dolby Atmos surround sound system at this kind or price than the Samsung HW-Q950A. Seriously what Samsung has done here truly is incredible and I really could not be any more impressed. Just look at this Samsung Q950A Soundbar Review – King of Soundbars! video and you will see I am not the only one who thinks this. Before we went to see the new movie, my son must have watched the first Sonic The Hedgehog movie about a billion times. However, I think the movie really did showcase the Dolby Atmos capabilities of this system very well. It was cinema like and I really did not have any complaints about it at all. I ended up watching a few 4K movies that I know very well just to see how the Dolby Atmos measured up when head-to-head with the Bose Soundbar 900 and there were a few that I think straight up sounded better.
As well as Dolby Atmos, it is worth noting that this also supports DTS-X so you are covered no matter what kind of track a new 4K Blu Ray will have. I have to look at the Samsung HW-Q950A as a whole and not just a soundbar. The surround sound performance on offer here is truly something special. The soundbar alone is great and very room filling, but that subwoofer and satellite speakers are a gamechanger. We watched Ready Player One and there is a scene where they are in this virtual club and I legit felt like I was in this place as the music and sound came from all around me. What is great about this scene too is that it also shows off just how clear dialogue is, even when there is a lot of action happening at the same time.
Bose Smart Soundbar 900:
While in my home theatre I have the Bose Smart Soundbar 900 along with the Bose Bass Module 700 and the Bose Surround Speakers 700. The fact of the matter is, when you buy the Bose Soundbar 900, you just get the soundbar and that is what we have to look at here. I know this may have a hint of bias to it, but I do not think there is better sounding Dolby Atmos for under a grand than what you get here. I would put Dune at the top of the list for best Dolby Atmos track released this year and it was just as good here as it was in the cinema, actually due to the design of my home theatre, I liked it better here. The way that the Bose Soundbar 900 throws sound around the room is very impressive. While it is never going to give you proper surround sound, I feel that it does an excellent job of emulating it and sometimes you will swear that a sound came from behind you.
There is some mixed reporting out there in regards to if the Bose Soundbar 900 supports DTS-X and I can tell you it does not. I do not think this is something they could add or even emulate with a software update either. As far as overall performance goes, I have no complaints at all. Just last night the whole family watched Spider-Man: No Way Home for the first time since seeing it in the theatre just before Christmas and it made me realize why this is the soundbar that I chose. I do not think there is a better balanced sound than what you get here, especially at the price Bose are asking for it.
The Verdict:
Even though the Bose Soundbar 900 is the soundbar that I have in my own home theatre, the Samsung HW-Q950A has to win this round. If it were just the two soundbars going head-to-head, the Bose would win. However, the Samsung is a full home cinema system and if you take both of these out of the box and set them up and watch a movie, you get a more cinema like experience with the Samsung.
Which Is The Better Soundbar?
This Samsung HW-Q950A vs Bose Soundbar 900 article has been fun, but also hard to do. I love my Bose Smart Soundbar 900 and I could not be any happier with my purchase. However, I did already have the Bose Bass Module 700 and the Bose Surround Speakers 700 in my home theatre as I had a Bose Smart Soundbar 700 before I got the 900. If we are putting all that up against the Samsung HW-Q950A, Bose is the winner. That though is not fair as that is over a thousand bucks more that you have to spend. I have to say that the Samsung HW-Q950A is the winner here today. Out of the box, it offers a more cinema like sound than what you get with the Bose Soundbar 900. But if you are ok to spend some extra money. The Bose with the subwoofer and satellite speakers is the way to go!
