What Hi-Fi has refreshed its running guide to the best Dolby Atmos soundbars, and two systems now sit at the top of the list: the Samsung HW-Q990H as the best package, and the Sony Bravia Theatre System Trio paired with its Rear 9 speakers and Sub 9 subwoofer as the best premium pick.
The HW-Q990H replaces its own predecessor, the HW-Q990F, which had held the top spot until now. According to What Hi-Fi, the newer model keeps the same winning formula but adds more nuance and scale to the sound, a change the outlet credited to tuning work rather than a hardware overhaul.
The package is a soundbar, two wireless surround speakers and a subwoofer working as an 11.1.4 system, What Hi-Fi's shorthand for a setup with 11 main channels, one dedicated low-frequency channel and four upward-firing Atmos speakers. Between them, the four boxes pack 23 individual drivers: 15 in the main bar, three apiece in the two surround speakers, and a pair of eight-inch woofers in a push-pull arrangement inside the subwoofer.
Samsung launched the HW-Q990H at £1,599 in the UK, $2,000 in the US and AU$1,999 in Australia, though What Hi-Fi noted UK retailers have regularly discounted it to around £895. No Indian price for the package has surfaced in the reporting so far. The outlet also gave the HW-Q990H one of its 2026 Awards, for best soundbar system priced between £500 and £2,000.
For buyers willing to spend more, What Hi-Fi's premium pick is Sony's three-piece system: a narrow center-channel bar flanked by two cylindrical speakers standing in for the left and right channels, backed by a pair of shorter Rear 9 surrounds and a boxy Sub 9 subwoofer. Together they form a 5.1.4-channel setup. No price for the Sony package appears in What Hi-Fi's writeup.
On connections, the system carries an HDMI eARC port plus a separate HDMI input that supports 4K at 120Hz, variable refresh rate and auto low-latency mode, alongside Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, AirPlay and Spotify Connect.
What Hi-Fi described the Trio's handling of Atmos effects as consistent whether the center and side speakers were used alone or with the full array added, writing that "effects move cleanly from front to rear, while the system maintains the same sense of cohesion that impressed us with the Trio on its own." Running its usual bass stress test, a scene from chapter two of Blade Runner 2049, the outlet said the Sub 9 "refuses to distort or warble, and yet it reaches plenty deep, and there is a sense of tonal variation within the bass, which makes it sound tuneful and dynamic."
Both verdicts come from What Hi-Fi's own testing rather than an industry-wide consensus, and the outlet's full guide to Dolby Atmos soundbars covers budget and mid-range alternatives beyond these two picks for anyone shopping around a Samsung TV or another set that supports the format.
RRFiled by The Reviews Roundup Desk
What the reviews are saying: verdicts on new devices from the outlets that tested them, summarised and credited to each. This desk does not test products itself.
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