Samsung's QS90H soundbar finally delivers on the no-subwoofer promise

[AlphaOscar89]

Engadget just put out a review of Samsungs new QS90H soundbar and its actually a genuinely rare positive verdict for the all in one no separate subwoofer promise that soundbar companies have been making for years without really delivering

The QS90H drops the wireless subwoofer entirely and instead crams four internal woofers, two on each side, designed to push air in two directions instead of just one, alongside 13 total drivers in a 7.1.2 channel configuration, and the reviewer specifically called out how shocking the amount of low end tone is without any separate box on the floor

Whats interesting is Samsung isnt the first to actually pull this off, Sonos beat them to it back in 2024 with the Arc Ultra using their Sound Motion technology, and the reviewer directly compares the two, noting Sonos gives you a slightly bigger 9.1.4 channel configuration for 99 dollars more but comes with a buggier companion app that some users still report ongoing issues with

One of the standout features on the Samsung is something called Convertible Fit, which lets you lay the soundbar flat on a table or mount it vertically on a wall, with a gyro sensor automatically detecting the orientation and adjusting which drivers handle which duties, and the reviewer confirmed it genuinely works as advertised with no noticeable difference in sound quality between orientations

The catch, and its a real one, is that several of the best features like wireless Dolby Atmos and Q-Symphony audio expansion require pairing with a compatible Samsung TV to actually work, so if you own a different TV brand youre not getting the full experience this soundbar is capable of

At 1,000 dollars its not cheap, and the review notes its underpowered for larger rooms, but for small to medium living rooms where you want a minimal setup without sacrificing bass, this sounds like one of the few soundbars that genuinely lives up to the all in one marketing pitch

Samsung QS90H soundbar review: An all-in-one promise fulfilled - Engadgetwww.engadget.com

[HangmanPage_WCW]

The Samsung TV lock-in for the best features is such a frustrating but predictable move, feels like every ecosystem company wants to punish you for not buying everything from them even on a thousand dollar standalone product

[BlackSunLynx]

Genuinely impressive that they got real bass out of internal woofers pushing air in two directions instead of the usual gimmicky small drivers most all-in-one soundbars use, that seems like real engineering rather than marketing spin

[ParallelSelf90]

Sonos Arc Ultra beating them to this by two years and still having app reliability issues is such a classic tech company problem, great hardware innovation undermined by basic software polish

[Rhys74]

1,000 dollars for a soundbar that requires you to already own a specific TV brand to unlock half its features feels like a steep ask, this needs a serious price cut or feature parity across TV brands to be a slam dunk recommendation

[VoidKnight]

8.8 out of 10 is a strong score for a product with real limitations like this, shows the reviewer thinks it delivers enough value despite the TV lock-in and larger room limitations to still be a great pick for the right use case

[Nina26]

Convertible Fit actually working without a noticeable sound difference between orientations is more impressive to me than the bass claims honestly, thats a hard engineering problem to solve well

[AmberCrossing]

Underpowered for larger rooms is the caveat that matters most for a lot of people, small to medium room soundbars always sound great in a review setup but plenty of living rooms are bigger than what these companies test in

[Crow69]

Its wild soundbar companies spent years insisting you absolutely needed a separate subwoofer box and now two companies in two years have basically proven that was never strictly true, just needed better engineering

[Natalie72]

Would love to see an independent lab measurement of the actual bass extension and output levels rather than just a subjective its shocking how much bass description, subjective impressions can vary a lot between reviewers and living rooms

[MayanHan]

The four woofer setup with two on each side pushing air both directions is a clever alternative to just cramming in one bigger driver, curious how this compares acoustically to a proper standalone subwoofer over the long term