Design and build:

Comparing Sonos Arc vs Samsung Q990B, the HW-Q990B is slighter longer in width. They are both suitable for larger TVs like 75”-80” sizes. The Arc is available in black, shadow and white colors. Samsung sticks with the basic black. They are made of plastic. While the Arc has plastic grilles, the Q990B Samsung has metal grilles and a sturdier build.

Samsung has plastic-made satellites with metal grilles and a wooden subwoofer.   They are wall mountable which will save some space leaving a clean room.

Performance:

Comparing Sonos Arc vs Samsung Q990B, the Samsung HW-Q990B comes with rear speakers and subwoofer. It is an 11.1.4 channel bar compared to the 5.0.2 in Sonos Arc. With dedicated rears and subwoofer, it is undeniably the best between the two. Samsung uses SpaceFit for room correction when the bar is connected to Samsung 2021-2022 QLED TV (Q70A Series and up models). Along with this it uses Auto Sub EQ for improvising the subwoofer sound.

Samsung Q990B has a total of 15 drivers among which 4 are for height channel. When we played Atmos contents, the Atmos effects were prominent where you can feel helicopter flying above you. Soundtracks and movie effects are clear along with good clarity in vocals. Dedicated rear speakers are quite capable of delivering powerful sound field across the room. The HW-Q990B soundbar produces a strong bubble of sound around the user so music and movies are handled quite well.

If you compare the two soundbars, you will realize the HW-Q990B system can get louder. While both cross 90 dB SPL, it is better to place the Sonos Arc in mid-sized rooms. Low ends make you feel the thump and rumble needed to enjoy bass heavy contents. Overall, this soundbar system will give you home theater like experience.

Sonos Arc has Trueplay Tuning for room calibration. However, it is only available on Apple devices. It has a total of 11 drivers. Adding surrounds and subwoofer with Sonos Arc will deliver an overwhelming and absolute cinematic experience. Comparing the Samsung HW-Q990B vs Sonos Arc, the Arc has a wider soundstage and is great in terms of accuracy. They both use side-firing drivers has sound will follow the action on screen. You can try different modes in the HW-Q990B bar like Adaptive Sound or Standard.

The soundbars differ in terms of surround sound. Sonos Arc has decent surrounds due to its side firing drivers. Samsung delivers even more powerful sound around the user thanks to dedicated surround speakers. While the Q990B has 4 up-firing drivers, Sonos Arc has two and it seems adequate to deliver impactful and present Atmos effects. As a single soundbar, the Arc delivers convincing and powerful audio performance.

Features:

Sonos Arc supports multiroom system. It can create up to 16 groups where 32 devices can be paired. It will work with Sonos S2 OS. Samsung allows connecting Bluetooth TVs wirelessly. It has Tap Sound feature with which you can tap the smartphone on the top of the bar so that sound from the phone will play through the bar.

It has Q-Symphony feature with which the soundbar and TV (2021-2022 Samsung QLED TV) will work together to deliver more immersive sound. Both the bars will work with Apple Airplay 2. With this you can create multiroom audio, stream contents from Apple devices or app, etc.

Connectivity:

In terms of connections, the Q990B has more options. While both have HDMI eARC, Samsung offers optical and 2 HDMI In. The Arc has HDMI-to-optical adapter along with an Ethernet port. For wireless connectivity, while they both support Wi-Fi, Arc only supports Bluetooth.

Multiple speaker pairing:

Samsung Q990B already comes with rears and sub. Sonos Arc is expandable as well. Connect Sonos surround speakers (Sonos ERA 100 or 300) along with Sonos Sub.

Control options:

The Arc has touch-sensitive buttons like volume up/down, play/pause and mic mute.  Samsung has volume controls, input and mute/unmute buttons. Comparing Sonos vs Samsung soundbar, the Q990B only has Amazon Alexa built in. The Arc can be controlled with both Alexa and Google Assistant but does not have the remote like the Q990B. If the bar is connected to a Samsung Smart TV (2017 or newer models), then the TV remote will be able to control the bar.

Both the bars support mobile apps. Sonos S2 app is available that allows streaming along with setup and controls. Samsung SmartThings app allows users to use their smartphone as a source of control.

Settings:

Samsung Q990B offers more settings than the Sonos Arc. They have night mode, bass/treble options, dialogue mode and height level controls. In addition to this, the HW-Q990B bar has 7-band graphic EQ, different sound modes (Adaptive sound, 3D surround, game pro, etc)

Cost:

Comparing Sonos Arc vs Samsung Q990B, the Arc is cheaper and is available for under $750. Samsung HW-Q990B exceeds $1000. If you add Sonos One SL and Sonos Sub Gen 3 with the Arc, the cost will exceed $2000.

FAQ:

Sonos Arc vs Samsung Q990B, which is good for gaming?

Between the two, the Samsung Q990B is great for gaming. It supports HDMI 2.1 along with ALLM and VRR. It will deliver low latency, crisp and clear images and texts on screen.

Is Sonos Arc good enough?

Sonos Arc is a great soundbar that has good tonal balance. It has clear vocals, can deliver good music with a decent bass. With side-firing drivers, the soundstage is there, and you can feel it. Whether music or movies, the bar can handle them well. While it is not a high-end soundbar, it is still a great option.