Most other features and settings are accessible using the remote and onboard display in the bar, but it’s often easier to use the SmartThings app. The basic layout lets you choose the sound mode (I usually stick to Standard), adjust the EQ, engage enhancements like Active Voice Amplifier, and set channel levels.

I appreciate Samsung’s inclusion of channel levels for most of the bar’s gazillion audio channels, but level locking is the heaviest feature in my assessment. I have surround speakers directly behind my couch due to space constraints, which means I have to move them back and raise the other channels to balance things out.

This task is made easier with Sonos’ Era 300 speakers (9/10, Recommended by WIRED) connected to the Arc Ultra, because the Sonos TruePlay calibration adjusts the sound in your room (however Stand-alone Wi-Fi speakers can have their own characteristics). Auto calibration is something I’d expect in any system costing nearly $2,000, yet year after year Samsung fails to add it. The company’s Space Fit feature supposedly analyzes sound in real time, but I didn’t notice any meaningful changes.

My other beef is a persistent volume issue when using Spotify Connect. When you’re streaming directly from Spotify, the volume level adjustment strangely jumps up or down seven steps per tap which is annoying, so it’s always too loud or too quiet. Add in the lack of Chromecast, and Android users are forced to limit streaming directly from SmartThings or grab an extra remote. It’s a minor fix, but that’s also why it’s so annoying.

Sound Swirl

Despite its streaming quirks, the Q990D has things where it counts. Each component of the four-piece system works in concert to offer a powerful, balanced, and incredibly fluid stage to everything you play. You won’t get the premium detail found in bars like the Arc Ultra, but there’s enough tactile touch to appreciate the little things, and plenty of bombast to elevate your cinematic moments to new heights, literally.

Dolby Atmos is not surprisingly the star of the show. The “Amaze” scene from my Atmos demo disc is definitely a standout moment. I could almost feel the humidity around me with the insect buzz of the intro, as the rolling thunder crackled with visceral surprise and the rain finally truly arrived from above to place me deep in the jungle flora.