There has been a What Hi-Fi? Awards soundbars category since way back in 2013, but Samsung has never appeared in it – until now. The soundbar package (a soundbar, wireless surround speakers and a wireless subwoofer) isn't new as a concept, but this is the first time we have felt compelled to add it as a sub-category in our Awards. That's partly because of its burgeoning popularity, although it's more down to the sheer excellence of Samsung's HW-Q990D. This thing demanded an Award, even if it meant us creating a new one to accommodate it.
The Q990D is a complete Dolby Atmos home cinema system in a box, but that isn't what makes it special. What makes it special is how close it gets to recreating the experience of listening to an AV receiver and a complete Atmos speaker package with about 10 per cent of the fuss, much less mess and a significantly smaller price tag.
Most people think of height effects when they think of Dolby Atmos – and that's part of it, for sure – but it's more about the three-dimensional positioning of sound effects. With the Q990D package, your room is filled with sound and individual effects appear in precise positions within it. You don't hear the speakers, you hear the sounds they produce, and that's a feat that no other soundbar system has previously achieved. A very worthy winner.
That's not the only discussion point in the soundbars category, though. The HT-A7000, our 'Product of the Year' soundbar for the last three years, is out. Sony need not feel aggrieved, however, as the soundbar replacing it in our list is its successor, the Bravia Theatre Bar 9.
This is a very premium soundbar that improves on the A7000 in terms of design, usability, clarity, detail, dynamics, solidity and, as we put it in our review, 'outright Atmos-ness'. Considering how successful the A7000 was, that's high praise indeed. Does that mean the Bar 9 will also be proclaimed Product of the Year? You'll have to wait until our glitzy Awards ceremony on 14th November to find out.
And let's not rule out our other Award-winning soundbars from the Product of the Year prize just yet. The Sonos Beam Gen 2 has been a mainstay since it launched in 2021, and it's a winner yet again. There has been a target on this entry-level Dolby Atmos soundbar's back for ages now, yet every rival that takes a swing at it misses, usually by a mile. On a performance-per-pound basis, it's an exceptional soundbar.
At the other end of the spectrum is the similarly long-toothed but still incredibly impressive Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Max. This soundbar is no straightforward proposition: huge, cumbersome and fussy over positioning, it demands you take it seriously – but it sounds awesome if you make the effort, which is why it's been a winner since way back in 2019.
Our final soundbar Award this year goes to the Sonos Arc, another serial winner but one that took a break from the What Hi-Fi? Awards last year on account of Sony's HT-A7000 dropping in price to the extent that it was a direct rival. With the A7000 now discontinued and no other challengers proving worthy, the Arc is an Award winner once more – which feels like a fitting swan song for a device that, post-Awards deliberations, was itself discontinued.
Its replacement, the Sonos Arc Ultra, could be even better – watch this space for our review – but if you want a superb Dolby Atmos soundbar at a great price right now, a discounted example of the outgoing Arc is very hard to beat.
MORE:
See every What Hi-Fi? Awards 2024 winner here
These are the best Dolby Atmos movie scenes with which to test your soundbar
And here is the complete list of the best soundbars you can buy right now
