Samsung vs Sennheiser Soundbars: Which Is Better?

Soundbars are a great investment to make your home theater shine. It is a very daunting task to pick the right one for your needs, however. There are numerous considerations to keep in mind, like proper surround support and pricing.

Today’s guide is going to take a closer look at the higher end of the soundbar world. How does Sennheiser’s AMBEO Max soundbar stack up against the Samsung HW-Q90R?

Both of these are above the $1,000 price range and have some striking similarities. If you’re looking for the best possible sound for your home theater, a soundbar is a great choice over a traditional sound system.

When it comes down to the AMBEO Max against the HW-Q90R, it’ll help to take a closer look at the specs, performance, and overall sound behind both soundbars. Let’s dig a little deeper to see which of these soundbars is the best choice for your needs.

Samsung vs Sennheiser Soundbars: Side-by-Side Comparison

Samsung vs Sennheiser Soundbars: What’s the Difference?

Aside from the channel setup, there is a fair bit of similarity to be seen between both of these soundbars in use. These are both killer soundbars within their specified price range and, as such, it makes for a fairly tough comparison.

Sound Quality

The AMBEO Max has a sonorous soundstage and is great for a variety of media. The bass response is excellent, as is the treble and mid-range. This isn’t a true surround sound system in the strictest sense, but Dolby Atmos mixes sound absolutely incredible.

You won’t really notice the lack of a subwoofer here, though there are connections for providing your own. Whether it be gaming, films, movies, or shows, there is plenty to love here in regard to the sound experience.

Great Surround Sound

SENNHEISER AMBEO Soundbar Max

$1,799.95

• Deep 30Hz bass
• Delivers 3D surround sound via advanced room calibration
• Built-in equalizer and 3 bespoke AMBEO 3D technology modes
• Fully compatible with Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and MPEG-H
• Built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Chromecast, AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, and Tidal Connect

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11/25/2023 11:41 pm GMT

The Samsung HW-Q90R, likewise, has an amazing soundstage. Dolby Atmos mixes really shine here, as well, though there is less bass response from the unit itself. The low-end is carried by the subwoofer, which handles this with zero issues.

There is a less measurable high-end response, but it cuts off past the point where human hearing can discern a difference. As with the AMBEO Max, this is a great choice for gaming, films, movies, and shows. You won’t be left wanting in regard to the actual sound coming from this Samsung soundbar.

Connectivity

The connectivity is about what you would expect from the AMBEO Max. The usual suspects like HDMI and optical are present. There is also a legacy RCA input, for connecting older Hi-Fi systems or other equipment. HDMI eARC is supported, for those curious.

This helps make sure the audio reaching your soundbar isn’t compressed, or otherwise altered when leaving your broadcast device. There are HDMI outputs, as well as a mono-RCA connection for adding an additional subwoofer. Provided you aren’t looking for shielded or balanced inputs for the RCA jacks, you should be more than handled.

The Samsung HW-Q90R, likewise, has a good amount of connectivity. You won’t find the RCA connection here, but there are inputs for HDMI and optical alike.

HDMI is likewise provided with eARC support, meaning you won’t have compressed audio when it hits the soundbar itself. The included subwoofer connects wirelessly to the soundbar itself, so placement shouldn’t be much of a concern.

Protocols

The AMBEO Max supports a wide variety of audio protocols used in streaming media. There is support for Dolby Digital Surround, DTS-X, and Dolby Atmos. As such, you won’t be left wanting, regardless of the age of your media.

With Dolby Atmos gaining more and more prominence over the last few years, it is great to see it in full use here. Sennheiser’s soundbar also ships with full support for Google Chromecast, meaning you can broadcast media directly to the soundbar for listening or viewing.

Our Pick

SAMSUNG HW-Q90R

$985.95

• 17 built-in speakers
• Built-in 4K passthrough
• Dolby Atmos and DTS:X
• Adaptive Sound technology

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11/25/2023 07:16 pm GMT

(As of July 14, 2023, the SAMSUNG HW-Q90R is currently unavailable on Amazon. Please check back later.)

The HW-Q90R also has support for Dolby Digital Surround, DTS-X, and Dolby Atmos. This is great, considering the price point of this soundbar. It isn’t quite as cheap as a JBL surround soundbar, but it is very firmly on the higher end of the mid-range pricing for soundbars.

There is no Apple AirPlay 2 or Chromecast compatibility, sadly. Samsung has packaged a wireless subwoofer with a massive 10-inch driver powering it. This might not make up for the lack of broadcasting from a mobile device, but it certainly helps with reinforcing the low end of any media.

Additional Features

The Sennheiser AMBEO Max has a graphical equalizer for helping provide a little emphasis or correcting sounds you may find too harsh. This is easily adjusted on the device itself and it comes with a variety of presets for starting points if you don’t feel like tinkering around with it.

Another important thing of note with the AMBEO Max is the inclusion of true HDMI passthrough. The HDMI passthrough implemented allows you to pass on the video broadcast to multiple displays and has full support for HDR. As such, you get crystal clear images at up to 4K resolution with killer sound accompanying them.

The HW-Q90R from Samsung also has true HDMI passthrough, meaning you get to use your soundbar to transmit video to your preferred displays. This is always a welcome addition to see in any soundbar, and recent years have seen steady improvements to the overall display output.

The highest resolution supported is 4K, just like with the AMBEO Max. HDR10 support is present, meaning you have great colors that can really pop depending on your display.

Samsung vs Sennheiser Soundbars: 6 Must-Know Facts

1. The AMBEO Max comes with Atmos and DTS-X support out of the box.
2. The AMBEO Max is one of the more expensive soundbars on the market.
3. The AMBEO Max is wall-mountable, provided you purchase some additional hardware.
4. The HW-Q90R has no room calibration provided.
5. The HW-Q90R is quick to set up compared to some of its contemporaries.
6. The HW-Q90R does not come with a built-in equalizer.

Samsung vs Sennheiser Soundbars: Which One Is Better? Which One Should You Choose?

The Sennheiser AMBEO Max is a stellar soundbar that comes with a whole host of features that make it a standout. It may not come with a huge amount of channels supported out of the box, but the overall sound quality more than makes up for it.

There are high-quality drivers which provided crystal clear sound, which only helps in giving your media depth and clarity. Atmos support comes out of the box, which also helps to make it a great choice for any situation. The only real downfall is the high cost of this particular soundbar, with it coming in at over $2,000 at some retailers.

Samsung’s HW-Q90R is a solid mid-range entry for a soundbar. It has Atmos support out of the box, 7-channel audio, and a whole host of other exciting features which make it a compelling pick for any sound source. Where it falters is in the lack of streaming support, which is a shame.

Users won’t find support for Apple AirPlay 2 or Chromecast here, nor does it support Alexa. That said, if your budget won’t allow a massive soundbar like the AMBEO Max, the HW-Q90R is a great choice.

As with any purchase, make sure you weigh your needs and wants against your budget before coming to a decision. To keep it short, the AMBEO Max is a clear winner, but the HW-Q90R is a great choice, as well.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Bryan Toussaint/Shutterstock.com.