Samsung hw q950a vs sonos arc

Hey guys, I recently setup a smallish movie room. Since space is not exactly ideal for a dedicated surround setup & for the sake of simplicity I decided to opt for a soundbar solution.

Scouting reviews & some research I’ve come down to between the Samsung Q950A & Sonos Arc+ Gen 3 Sub + Surround.

I’m aware with the Sonos I would have to separately purchase the additional Sub & surround speakers whereas with the Samsung it all comes in a complete package.

They seem to trade blows with each other. I’m really having trouble deciding which one to get.

Pricing aside, which one of these two sound bars would you guys recommend?

Anyone has first hand experiences with either of them?

For reference my main usage will be for movies (streaming Plex from PC, Netflix, Disney Plus), gaming on PS5 & the occasional music listening.

I had both (not at the same time) and a sold my full sonos arc system in favor of the q960a here in sweden. I loved the sonos arc system but since a play xbox series x i got the huge atmos delay because sonos doesnt have hdmi inputs. I now connect my xbox through the q960a and while a notice som added input lag i can live with it.

I also sold my arc system because of value, i got it cheap and sold it with profit since they raised their prices. The full arc system is 23 000 SEK (about 1902 £) and the q960a was 8990 SEK (749 £) on black friday. This is a pretty significant price difference.

Pros q960a

*Great centre channel and atmos effects due to the number of driverw

• Nice neutral sound profile
• HDMI inputs that passes VRR and ALLM with 4k 60hz hdr with dolby atmos/dts x. No 120 hz unless you dont want HDR.
• Great value, inpossible to beat.

Cons q960a

*The build quality. Im not sure how that cloth looks in 2-3 years. Collects dusts like crazy.
* The sub feels very cheap and low quality. One note base and very hit or miss.
*Bad sound modes and wierd upmixing. Im not finding a good mode to stick with.

• Auto EQ barely does anything and Spacefit only works with 2021 samsung tv.
• Not good at all with upmixing 2.0 music to surround.
• Bad resell value since the renew it every 12 months.

Sonos Arc pros

*lovley design, every part looks amazing.

• Nice eq calibration options trueplay works well.
• Sounds very good for both music and movies
• The lower number of channels might actually make the system sound better since there is less to screw up.
• Low bass is awesome, the sub is beating the samsung 100x over
• Simple and stable setup
• Very well built and good drivers
• Resell value is at 80 % and getting updates many years to come
• modular system

Sonos Arc cons

*No hdmi inputs
*No way to tweak trueplay. Many report it sounds a bit tinny and bright, including me

• No upward firing rears
• Overpriced and no discounts. You have to buy ut with upgrade or student discount for it to make any sense.

since a play xbox series x i got the huge atmos delay because sonos doesnt have hdmi inputs. I now connect my xbox through the q960a and while a notice som added input lag i can live with it.

What input lag is there connecting to the Samsung?

What input lag is there connecting to the Samsung?

I think rtings measured around 60 ms extra while using the hdmi inputs.

I had both (not at the same time) and a sold my full sonos arc system in favor of the q960a here in sweden. I loved the sonos arc system but since a play xbox series x i got the huge atmos delay because sonos doesnt have hdmi inputs. I now connect my xbox through the q960a and while a notice som added input lag i can live with it.

I also sold my arc system because of value, i got it cheap and sold it with profit since they raised their prices. The full arc system is 23 000 SEK (about 1902 £) and the q960a was 8990 SEK (749 £) on black friday. This is a pretty significant price difference.

Pros q960a

*Great centre channel and atmos effects due to the number of driverw

• Nice neutral sound profile
• HDMI inputs that passes VRR and ALLM with 4k 60hz hdr with dolby atmos/dts x. No 120 hz unless you dont want HDR.
• Great value, inpossible to beat.

Cons q960a

*The build quality. Im not sure how that cloth looks in 2-3 years. Collects dusts like crazy.
* The sub feels very cheap and low quality. One note base and very hit or miss.
*Bad sound modes and wierd upmixing. Im not finding a good mode to stick with.

• Auto EQ barely does anything and Spacefit only works with 2021 samsung tv.
• Not good at all with upmixing 2.0 music to surround.
• Bad resell value since the renew it every 12 months.

Sonos Arc pros

*lovley design, every part looks amazing.

• Nice eq calibration options trueplay works well.
• Sounds very good for both music and movies
• The lower number of channels might actually make the system sound better since there is less to screw up.
• Low bass is awesome, the sub is beating the samsung 100x over
• Simple and stable setup
• Very well built and good drivers
• Resell value is at 80 % and getting updates many years to come
• modular system

Sonos Arc cons

*No hdmi inputs
*No way to tweak trueplay. Many report it sounds a bit tinny and bright, including me

• No upward firing rears
• Overpriced and no discounts. You have to buy ut with upgrade or student discount for it to make any sense.

have you looked at bluesound? specialist audio engineering results in a better sound, failing that the samsung would be my choice, not a fan of the sonos.

have you looked at bluesound? specialist audio engineering results in a better sound, failing that the samsung would be my choice, not a fan of the sonos.

Sorry no, havnt tester that one…

I've owned both and took my Samsung back for a full Sonos set up as for me it sounded better plus better quality and holds its value really well unlike the Samsung that will drop like a stone ,as someone mentioned its its good if you can get some kind of discount as its not cheap , my TV has earc and works seamlessly for me , always found the Samsung great for action scenes in movies but lacking for a great all rounder which I feel my Sonos does and if in the near future something comes onto the market I think is a must ill pretty much get my money back for my Arc set up.

I've owned both and took my Samsung back for a full Sonos set up as for me it sounded better plus better quality and holds its value really well unlike the Samsung that will drop like a stone ,as someone mentioned its its good if you can get some kind of discount as its not cheap , my TV has earc and works seamlessly for me , always found the Samsung great for action scenes in movies but lacking for a great all rounder which I feel my Sonos does and if in the near future something comes onto the market I think is a must ill pretty much get my money back for my Arc set up.

I agree. For movies the samsung is equally good as the sonos but with music and other stuff it falls short. Since my q950ts 75” doesnt support lpcm passthorugh on earc and dolby atmos on xbox gets a huge lag i couldnt get anything other than 2.0 stereo when using the sonos. To bad