topic Re: Q990c rear speakers volume in Audio & Video

Q990c rear speakers volume

Members_yIOeaEb — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 10:36:14 GMT

Hi everyone,

I come by this question a lot on the internet, so I know this is an issue that lots of users have.

A solution cannot be found however.

The problem that I have is with the rear speakers of the q990c soundbar. I have positioned them about 1.5 meters behind the couch. I absolutely love the sound of the bar in front. However, the volume of the rear speakers just isn't enough.

I know all about these speakers just operating when Atmos content is played and they're intended for supporting the main sound. I also have figured out how to crank up the volume to +6 in the SmartThings app.

But, it just isn't enough.

The capacity of the speakers must be much higher then what they are projecting now.

Maybe this community knows a way to get the volume higher? I really hope so, as to be honest, I am somewhat disappointed about this expensive piece of electronics that I was so anxious to get.

Thanks so much for any solutions!

Setup:

The Frame 55" 2022 / HW q990c

HDMI eArc Connection

SmartThings app: adaptive sound+/ SpaceFit

Volume soundbar: -5

Volume rear speakers: +6

Re: Q990c rear speakers volume

Obsydian — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 12:09:31 GMT

Only the Smartthings app or the soundbar remote can modify volume to various channels, I have the Q900A and set rears to +3.

Note it all depends on what format of sound you watch and if that uses the rears or not, even when rears are used it is most of the time to soundstage the front and rear, as in your sat in between and get the overall effect.

Bottom line don't expect massive volume from the rears unless dolby is telling it to.

Re: Q990c rear speakers volume

Members_yIOeaEb — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 08:10:21 GMT

Thanks for your answer!

I guess I will have to make do and accept that this is what can be expected.

I have bought speaker stands, so I can position the rear speakers right behind the couch. At that position they sound as they are intended.

I remain baffled that Samsung decided to limit the possibilities of the speakers to such an extend that I cannot place them where I want.

Re: Q990c rear speakers volume

WakTT — Tue, 17 Oct 2023 22:37:49 GMT

I have the same issue as you the rears just do not deliver a volume level to immerse the room and I have a reference too ….

q770C with the atmos surrounds is so much more balanced I actually enjoy this bar better than the 990c because of this difference.

I can’t believe this couldn’t be fixed by a firmware update to allow a larger level adjustment or a basic setting to adjust the base balance between front and rears

Re: Q990c rear speakers volume

Jcantstop — Sun, 10 Dec 2023 03:27:02 GMT

Yeah turn the rears all the way up, turn the soundbar speakers down then crank the volume. Changes everything. I thought it was amazing before but now it’s even more amazing.

Re: Q990c rear speakers volume

WakTT — Sun, 10 Dec 2023 08:02:09 GMT

As an update to my Issue, I found it was the setting on my Amazon Firestick.
It was set to support Atmos and a few others and this was causing poor rear volume.

I changed the Firestick to the default of letting it choose the best format and problem solved, I have much more balanced sound and volume levels are much more controllable , no need to do the extreme rear high and fronts low any more. Hope this helps

Re: Q990c rear speakers volume

Atmos124- — Sat, 16 Dec 2023 09:06:12 GMT

I have the 990c and have my rears setup at the back of my lounge as my lounge is small and I have to turn the rears down or they overshadow the bar. Are you playing content on the adaptive setting as this Will upscale non atmos content and utilise the back speakers more . For reference I use Apple TV and have it plugged into the bar as my tv only has arc not earc. If your plugged directly into your tv you may have to check the tv settings as well

Re: Q990c rear speakers volume

brian1965 — Sat, 06 Jan 2024 13:29:36 GMT

I am extremely disappointed with my HW Q990C. I too have the same configuration and have the latest SW version 1004. At least you can get some sound whereas I can only hear from my rear speaker if I put my ear directly on the speaker itself. The bar and sub are working great but rears are just horrible. Unfortunately I cannot return mine as I purchased mine pre-owned but am contiplating selling them but how to sell them if rears don't work properly.

Not only do I have rear speaker problems, my sound bar every few hours speaks out saying that it has disconnected from the network which is very annoying. It did this on version 1003 and does it on 1004. I know this is also a known issue.

When I was on the SmartThings app and had version 1003, the app would always say it was the latest version although on Samsungs website, 1004 was the latest firmware version in which I had to manually update. Another annoying thing is after your update the bar a lot of people don't know is you need to manually update the sub and rear speakers manually using your remote.

The sadest part of this whole issue is the lack of answers and support from Samsung. I have learned more about these speakers from the community. As you said there seems to be no solution and no one seems to have any kind of fix. Because of this I cannot endorse or recommend anyone to purchase Samsung soundbars. I have a lot of Samsung products and love them but as my first Samung soundbar my experience with it has been a huge disappointment and I hope Samsung will still do the right thing and through a firmware update fix these well known issues.

Re: Q990c rear speakers volume

John Squaresail — Mon, 15 Jan 2024 22:32:34 GMT

Did just that, front to -6 and rear to +6, and use rear as front so rears have more a multi channel effect in normal tv. Mode on surround. Samsung needs a multi channel stereo update for this bar asap!!

Re: Q990c rear speakers volume

MitchellFN — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 04:08:16 GMT

When so many things suck these days, why not Samsung too? I am more than frustrated with this issue, when paid more money than others cost for something that was expected to be better. The rear speakers are, honestly, useless. Placing the rear speakers right behind the couch is a very inconvenient solution - if it even can be called a solution. The rear speakers belong next to a wall, to avoid stretching power cables on the floor.

Re: Q990c rear speakers volume

WakTT — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 12:01:54 GMT

Did you see my response if you happen to be using a Firestick make the audio output settings to auto as it made the worlds of difference . If I selected a type then the rears dropped volume , with letting the FS choose I have great sound and volume level from the rears

Re: Q990c rear speakers volume

MitchellFN — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 16:27:21 GMT

Yes, but it does not apply to my situation. Besides, this is a problem with the soundbar, regardless what input is used. I play sound through Wi-Fi (Alexa) no cable connected, so it is just the soundbar, cannot blame any other device, and try to adjust the volume balance between front and rear and cannot get the rear volume high enough. Maybe my soundbar is defective (?) and I need to contact Samsung support, because when select the rear (with the soundbar remote) and push the button to raise the volume, I hear the front volume going up instead of the rear.

Re: Q990c rear speakers volume

winston007 — Sun, 30 Jun 2024 12:19:43 GMT

I just bought the soundbar q930D and found the same problem... after some further reading, it had to do with the fact that my TV was too old and didn't have eARC input. So by using my Apple TV, I was able to solve the issue. I connected the HDMI from the Apple TV to the HDMI input on my soundbar and then a second HDMI cable from the HDMI out (TV ARC ) in the soundbar to the TV HDMI

Full credit to the Dolby website - https://www.dolby.com/experience/home-entertainment/articles/connecting-your-dolby-atmos-enabled-soundbar-to-your-tv/#usinghdmipassthrough

Re: Q990c rear speakers volume

Kaiofficial — Thu, 04 Jul 2024 13:51:59 GMT

Try updating firmware to 1004. Then while its on.. Hold down the down button for the speakers drivers to recalibrate all the channels.

Next, get a spl meter... Recommend decibel X meter app on google playstore. Apply C weighting and slow rate. Play atmos test track and set all channels to 70hz. Set a baseline volume which is the main volume on the smart things app to 70hz. Then in standard mode adjust all the rest of the individual channels to 70hz. Take note that "wide" and "rear side" does nothing in standard mode.

Next, go to adaptive mode and only adjust "wide" and "rear side" to 70hz. These are the same middle speakers which is labeled as "side" in standard mode.

If u adjust correctly, ive got my center as -3. And the rest of the channels are around -3 to 3. My main volume is around 13 for 70hz. Yours might defer depending on the size of your room.

Re: Q990c rear speakers volume

Gooner08 — Sat, 19 Oct 2024 10:22:18 GMT

Press LEVEL Select the speaker with the Left or Right button Adjust the volume with the Up or Down button

Re: Q990c rear speakers volume

Legfitter — Sun, 27 Oct 2024 00:29:25 GMT

Try resetting speaker volumes by switching off the bar and then holding down the lefthand source select button for 5 seconds until the bar powers on.

I found the sound bar to be a disaster so I stopped playing with the volumes of speakers and let it calibrate itself after doing the above.

Re: Q990c rear speakers volume

Wcd40 — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 04:49:38 GMT

All, I just received my q990c and configured as wireless setup, qSymphony and surround sound. I too was surprised by the low volume of the rear speakers! However when watching the movie “Mission Impossible-Dead Reckoning” the rear speakers became alive and loud! The experience is simply awesome!

Re: Q990c rear speakers volume

Rick Marshall — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 19:02:06 GMT

It's very upsetting a company like Samsung will leave us hanging. I have a Samsung Smart TV and Q990C Soundbar, rear speakers are a huge dissapointment. Definately in the firmware/software of the bar. I use my computer to stream TV and music. I use Linux OS and in the OS there are sound settings and a test feature that tests 7.1 speakers. Guess what? The rear speakers have sufficient volume same as the bar. I also found setting the sound to surround rather than adaptive and turning the bar mic to off improves the over all experience. I guess my choice for electronics will waver from Samsung to other Mfgers. when my TV, sound system, my phone, etc. need replacing.

Re: Q990c rear speakers volume

InAz — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 02:47:52 GMT

I have FS and just received my 990C. Yeah, Soundbar sounds great but rears are barely audible. Called Samsung about it & they just said bring it up to 6. Nothing works, 1st day listening & poking around and no good results. How does the FS work to increase volume?? I can't find setting for audio output.

Re: Q990c rear speakers volume

InAz — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 02:55:49 GMT

How old is your tv? It doesn't see like that setup would work but what do i know. I have a 2019 Samsung Q65 4k with eARC but don't have hdmi 2.1. Maybe that's my issue. It dies suck barely able to hear my rears. Only had my 990C & a bit disappointed. Great difference in sound from soundbar but no surround sound effect due to low volume in rears.