You can save on Samsung and Sonos Dolby Atmos soundbars – here's which one we would pick

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If you’re in the market for a new Dolby Atmos soundbar and have read our recent reviews, you will have spotted the Samsung HW-Q990D and Sonos Arc Ultra as two potential options – and for good reason.

Both products earned perfect five-star ratings from our reviewers when we got them in for testing, and are seeing a steady stream of healthy discounts right now.

You can buy the Award-winning Samsung HW-Q990D for £893 on Amazon, a healthy £806 discount on its launch price, right now.

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Meanwhile the Sonos Arc Ultra, which also holds a place in our best Dolby Atmos soundbars guide, currently sells for £999 at most stores.

And while we can guarantee both are great options that will delight any movie fan, if we had to pick between the two at the moment, we would recommend that most people go for the Samsung.

This isn’t a dig at the Sonos Arc Ultra, which is a fantastic-sounding unit that delivers a clean, precise, spacious and three-dimensional sound that is full of detail.

But when the Samsung costs less, and comes with twin wireless satellite speakers and a dedicated subwoofer, it’s hard to ignore.

While the Sonos does deliver a decent sense of direction for a soundbar, there is no getting around the fact that actual surround speakers give a wider, more three-dimensional performance.

This is particularly true on the Samsung HW-Q990D, which is the best performer we have reviewed in its class – which is why it's our current Product of the Year winner.

As our reviewers said in our review:

“It’s a hugely compelling package overall, and while it’s certainly not cheap, it is good value compared with alternative systems that offer similar specification and features. If you want something approaching ‘proper’ Atmos sound without buying an AV amplifier and 12 individual speakers, it has to be on your shortlist.”

So if you want surround sound, the Samsung is the one to get.

Our only caveat is that if you genuinely don’t have the space for the extra speakers, the Arc Ultra is a fantastic option, and one we can wholeheartedly recommend, especially if you’re already embedded in Sonos's ecosystem.

MORE:

These are the best Dolby Atmos soundbars we have reviewed

Our picks of the best surround sound packages

We rate the best AV receivers

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Alastair is What Hi-Fi?’s editor in chief. He has well over a decade’s experience as a journalist working in both B2C and B2B press. During this time he’s covered everything from the launch of the first Amazon Echo to government cyber security policy. Prior to joining What Hi-Fi? he served as Trusted Reviews’ editor-in-chief. Outside of tech, he has a Masters from King’s College London in Ethics and the Philosophy of Religion, is an enthusiastic, but untalented, guitar player and runs a webcomic in his spare time.