Upgrading your home theater with one of the best soundbars isn’t a decision you make on the fly. Here’s what you should consider first.
The Samsung HW-Q990F and Sonos Arc Ultra represent two distinct approaches to premium home theater audio, but both are highly praised for their quality and features. Both are excellent systems, but they’re built for different kinds of buyers with somewhat different priorities.
The Samsung HW-Q990F is Samsung’s 2025 flagship, offering a complete surround sound package. The Sonos Arc Ultra takes a different approach, at least in its base form. It’s a standalone soundbar that works within the Sonos ecosystem, letting you use it on its own or expand it with additional Sonos speakers and a subwoofer later.
So, which of these systems is better? Here’s my take. Specifications
Samsung HW-Q990F
Sonos Arc Ultra
Dimensions
48.5 x 2.8 x 5.4 inches
46.4 x 4.4 x 3.0 inches
Colors
Black
Black, White
Channels
11.1.4
9.1.4
Ports
HDMI (x2), Optical, Ethernet
HDMI eARC, Ethernet
Wireless connectivity
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3
Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3
Wireless compatibility
AirPlay 2, Chromecast, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect
AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect
Expandability
Samsung TVs
Sonos speakers, subwoofers
$2,000
$1,100 You should buy the Samsung HW-Q990F if.
The Samsung HW-Q990F is the system to get if you want everything you need for an immersive surround sound setup right out of the box. The package includes the main soundbar with 15 drivers, two wireless rear speakers with three drivers each, and a subwoofer with dual 8-inch drivers. That adds up to a true 11.1.4 channel configuration, which is about as immersive as soundbar systems get.
What makes this system particularly impressive is that the rear speakers feature up-firing drivers for height effects, rather than solely forward- and side-firing elements. That helps make Dolby Atmos content sound genuinely enveloping. The immersion is excellent, and you don’t have to buy anything extra to get the full experience. In my experience, I found the level of immersion to be among the highest among soundbar-based systems.
