Q990c rear speakers volume

[Members_yIOeaEb]

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

[Obsydian]

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.

[Members_yIOeaEb]

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. 

[WakTT]

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 

[Jcantstop]

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.

[WakTT]

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  

[Atmos124-]

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 

[brian1965]

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. 

[John Squaresail]

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!!

[MitchellFN]

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.