Speech distorted HW-Q90R

[Welsh_chap]

Hi. Last month I purchased HW-Q90R 7.1.4 surround system directly from Samsung. It is connected to Sky Q and a 4k OLED TV.
The sound bar is connect to the tv via ARC (high-speed hdmi cable). Sky Q is connected to the soundbar.
When Sky Q audio is switched to Dolby Digital or Dobly Digital Plus, centre channel speech is distorted/muffled. Selecting normal and it's ok.
Has anyone experienced this? Is there a fix?

I'd add that it doesn't happen everytime I switch the system on. I've had the soundbar about three weeks and its happened 3 or 4 times.
Many thanks.

[Nostalgia]

Same here. In fact, every source that channels the center speaker will get the distorted sound. Got this only for two days and thinking of returning it. Stereo mode sound excellent though. But with DD or Atmos, the problem is there and unacceptable.

[Welsh_chap]

After a bit of trial and error, the fix for my system was to unplug the tv for 10 seconds. I don't know yet whether there was a glitch and that the problem is permanently resolved. We'll see.

[Nostalgia]

Tried that also but the problem still exists. You can try with any source with the center speaker is being used. The problem is there. Tried with stereo source but put the bar on surround mode...then you get the distorted sound also. Super frustrated and confused mate. T_T

[Welsh_chap]

I'm sure you've probably tried it already, but changing the HDMI lead might be worth a go.

[Welsh_chap]

And if that doesn't work, then I think I'd be tempted to get it replaced. 

There's a chat facility on the Samsung website,  probably worth chatting with Samsung Support. 

Hope you resolve it pal, it's not a bad set up when it's working.

[Nostalgia]

Thanks mate, the HDMI cable I’m using is the one that came with the bar. I will try the new cable and see if it’s getting better then. Found out there are some of the people having this kind of issue as well.

[MD_]

Has anyone resolved their issues?

I am having a similar/same issue with a HW-Q60T. I also had the problem with a HW-T550 but I returned that and had the HW-Q60T as a replacement. In my case, it doesn't matter which settings I choose on the soundbar, the TV or the set-top box, basically the common denominator seems to be if the volume is low the sound is extremely muffled and distorted. This is particularly a problem at night when the kids are in bed and I want to watch the TV on a low volume. It's unacceptably bad. 

UPDATE: I tried playing audio via BT as well and the same problem exists. Muffled sound when volume is low (sound at volume level 5 and under is very poor. I have to go to 10 and above for it to even be acceptable)

[MD_]

UPDATE - I noticed Samsung released updated firmware for HW-Q60T (ver 1003.6 released 27/11/20) and tried it. It seems to have resolved the distortion problem!  I checked the Q90R page and there was a new firmware version released on 19/11/2020 so maybe also fixed.

firstly, thanks Samsung for fixing the issue. I had faith that you would in the end, even if it took too long for many people.

secondly, it would have been nice to have been contacted or some information put out on the website somewhere about the issues and how they were resolved, it was only by chance that I checked the website to find the updated firmware

[Roly69]

Same distortion on voice/speech at certain frequencies on new Samsung Q Series HW-Q600A soundbar.

have not been able to follow the poor instructions to update the firmware to try and see if that fixes the issue. 
The quality of the sound bar is excellent with the exception of this one issue.

Hopefully someone can suggest how to check your existing firmware and a firmware update process that works (Samsung official notes are unclear and did not work).