Rear speakers music: HW-Q90r

[humanSpirit84]

I just purchased the HW-Q90R(the complete set, subwoofer and rear speakers) and when I play music on it, the rear speakers seem to be very quiet, even if I turn their level to 6. Is there any way I can get them to play full music as well? I have an open living room and would like for music to fill the room better. My friend has a Sonos 5.1 and it has a "full" mode meant for music where all speakers play the music, thereby filling the room with the music. Is there something similar on HW-Q90r?

[AndrewL]

@humanSpirit84: If you press the Sound Mode button on your remote and try some of the available options, do you notice an improvement? You can choose from Standard, Surround, Game Pro and Adaptive Sound - Standard and Adaptive sound like they are more likely to produce the desired result, but I'd recommend trying them all. I would also recommend checking the volume options on the connected device/media player.

[AS2107]

Looks like this is common problem being faced by many. Samsung has to work harder because all this is getting a bad name.

[humanSpirit84]

I tried both, standard and adaptive mode. I also ensured that I have the latest firmware. What I am looking for is a "full music mode" where basically, all the speakers, especially the read speaks play the same music. I have a large living room and this feature would really benefit most people, not just me. It is why Sonos has this feature on their 5.1 setup.

Are there any plans for a software update that could provide what I am looking for? Or is there some setting that can allow for this?

[Evanp]

The only way to hear sound from all speakers without 7.1 content is through the "surround" option. It's Samsungs version of upscaling the 2.0, 2.1 or 5.1 sound to hear them from all speakers at the same time. All the other modes are content oriented, in standard mode with a 2.0 stereo file you will hear just that, just the front speakers.

[Chris726]

This is a complete joke. Massive rear speakers and sub but can't get more than a faint noise out of them! Will be sending mine back!

[Buccaneerian]

We have the same issue where rear speakers are almost inaudible.  You can only really hear the sound when your ear is up against the speaker.  Dealer's solution was to turn down settings to minimum on main sound bar and to increase volume???

Initially we had a Q70 but the HDMI ARC connection packed up so we bought the Q90.  The first one the woofer and rear speakers stopped operating.  Two days ago it was exchanged and now the woofer and the rears are working, but are almost inaudible.  What is the point in having rear speakers if they do not work and do not even offer 5:1 sound even thouhg they are supposed to offer 7:1 sound?

We are now looking around for an alternative brand.

[humanSpirit84]

I went ahead and returned mine. No amount of playing with configurations helped my case. 

I have switched over to Sonos and love my new setup:

Living Room: Custom 5.1 setup with the following:
1. PlayBar
2. Subwoofer
3. Two rear Play 5’s

The two rear Play 5's in my house sound amazing for both, surround audio and music. They produce plenty of sound output and have phenomenal audio detail.

I love many Samsung TV models but this experience with their audio has made me lose trust in them as an audio electronics company.

[Buccaneerian]

This morning I thought I would use the Bluetooth on my phone to play music on the sound bar.  The rear speakers although not great are audible at a higher volume than when playing an ATMOS movie.

These are our settings for the Q90 soundbar and Q90 TV. 

Treble  -  6

Bass - 2

Sync – 0

Centre level - 6

Side - 4 

Front top level - 6

Rear level - 6

Rear top level - 6 

Virtual sound – On

On TV settings – Sound – Sound Output (AV Soundbar Q90R (HDMI), Sound mode – Adaptive Sound.

Sound Expert settings – Woofer & Equaliser all settings at “0”.

Digital Output format – Dolby Digital

Digital Output delay – 0

Dolby ATMOS Compatibility – On

Sound feedback – Low

When watching an ATMOS movie, we get the banner across the front of the sound bar stating that audio is in ATMOS.  However woofer and rear speakers are almost inaudible.  We expected at least 5.5 format but with rear speakers almost inaudible we do not get the effect.   

[gcomptech]

I have a Samsung surround sound system that is approximately 6 years old, with wireless rear speakers. I can blast the music out of all of the speakers just by changing the SFE and DTS modes to, I believe it is, Matrix. All speakers produce equal volume and my standing in the hood takes a beating for  few days. Play around with your digital mode settings and you should be golden.