With the amount of high quality content these streaming services are putting out… I really feel a good sound bar is a must have piece of tech for any home. And today we’re going to be checking out some higher end atmos capable speakers. First we’ve got the Bose Smart Soundbar 900, then theres the Sony HT-A5000, and then there’s the Samsung HW-Q800A. 

Now I chose this line up for a few reasons… first we’ve got soundbars from very popular brands that come to mind when building out a home theater. We’ve got Bose, Sony, and Samsung… But also, depending on your needs and taste… there should be something here for everyone.

Now when it comes to pricing… all of these soundbars are in the same wheel house. Now both the Samsung Q800A and Bose Smart Soundbar 900 retail for $900. However… I have noticed that samsung likes to put the Q800A on sale on a regular basis for around $700 to $750. Where as ever since I got the 900… I haven’t seen it go on sale once. And finally there’s the Sony HT-A5000 which retails for a cool thousand dollars. 

Now for simplicity sake… in this video we’re only going to be focusing on the soundbars themselves. Cause with all of these soundbars, if you want to you can add additional subwoofers and or surround sound speakers. And with both the Sony and Samsung soundbars you can use them in tandem with a compatible Sony or Samsung tv. And thats a whole other story. Nonetheless, if you want to pick any of these sound bars up, they’ll be linked down below. 

Now first let's talk about the design of these soundbars. Both the Sony and Samsung soundbars do a great job disappearing when you’re watching a movie in a dark room cause both of these soundbars are using materials that do a great job of not reflecting any light. The Samsung has a non-reflective wire body, where as the Sony is mostly specked plastic. And this is good, cause soundbars are supposed to be heard… not seen. 

Where as with the Bose… thats a different story. Now I will have to admit, the Bose is the most premium looking and most premium feeling soundbar here. We’ve got a metal grill on the front and we’ve got a glass top. However… this glass top does cause a major reflection. And depending on your set up… this could be rather distracting. Now I know this is a minor detail… But id thought id point it out… cause every time that I watch a movie with this soundbar… my eye just gets drawn to the glass top.

Now when it comes to dimensions… the Sony is an absolute unit. It has a length of 47 and 3 quarter inches, a thickness of 5 and a half inches, and a hight of 2 and 3 quarter inches. I really feel that placing this soundbar can be challenge for some people. But then there’s the Bose which has a length of 41.1 inches, a thickness of 4.2 inches and a height of 2.3 inches. This sound is also pretty big… but much more manageable. And finally there’s the Samsung which is the smallest soundbar. The Q800A has a length of 38.6 inches, a hight of 2.4 inches and a thickness of 4.5 inches… Now, even though this soundbar is pretty small, so placing this soundbar is going to be much easier than these other two soundbars… you do gotta keep in mind that the Q800A has an external subwoofer that you have to worry about. 

Now placing this external subwoofer isn’t going to be too hard… because it connects to this soundbar wirelessly… But this external subwoofer will might not be for everyone. Now unlike the Bose and Sony soundbars which are fully self contained soundbars… meaning that they don’t need an external subwoofer… but you can always add one if you wanted too… 

The Q800A is dependent on this subwoofer. Because without it your audio is going to sound very flat. Now some people will might actually be excited that the Q800A comes included with an external subwoofer. And if you’re trying to kit out your living room or man cave… then by all means, the external subwoofer is great. However, some people will might prefer a fully self contained soundbar. Maybe they just don’t have enough room for a subwoofer or they don’t want the type of bass a subwoofer provides in certain situations. 

Now obviously, since the Q800A has an external subwoofer… its going to have the most hard hitting and deepest resonating bass here. But personally, I wouldn’t recommend the Q800A if you’re looking for a soundbar for your bed room or if you live in an apartment with thin walls. First off, if you’re looking for a soundbar for your bedroom… you’ll might just not have the space for a subwoofer. But also, I don’t really like the overwhelming bass a subwoofer provides when im watching something in my room. I just want enough bass to get the message across. 

And personally I wouldn’t recommend the Q800A if you live in an apartment… unless you don’t mind being that neighbor. So overall, I would mainly recommend the Q800A or any other soundbar that is dependent on an external subwoofer for living rooms or man caves if you own a home. But nonetheless, I did want to highlight the difference between a soundbar that is dependent on an external subwoofer versus a self contained soundbar. 

But now lets talk about ports. Now both the Bose and Sony have an AC port for power. And thankfully, neither of these two soundbars have an external power brick that you have to worry about hiding. Which does make wiring the soundbars into you home theater set up much easier and it also makes wall mounting these soundbars easier as well. But, I do have to point two things out. First off, these power cables are a little short. So wiring these soundbars will might a little hard. And also, the bose doesn’t come included with a wall mounting kit. Thats sold separately. Where as these other two soundbars come included with them.

But then there’s the Samsung… which has an external power brick that you have to worry about. And personally I really don’t like this. Having an external power brick just isn’t sleek. And its not like there wasn’t enough room on this sound bar to integrate it. 

Now continuing on the topic of ports… all of these soundbars have an HDMI out port that has both ARC and eARC support. So you can fully enjoy your uncompressed Dolby Atmos audio content or any other uncompressed audio format if your TV also has a eARC support. But the Bose is the only soundbar here that doesn’t have an HDMI in port. 

Now the Bose is definitely geared towards someone who is strictly going to stream their content from their smart TV. Where as with both the Sony and Samsung soundbars you can plug in a blue ray player if you wanted to. However, these HDMI in ports are a little different. 

The HDMI in port on the Samsung tops out 4K 60 Hertz… not bad, but personally I wouldn’t plug in my gaming console into this HDMI in port especially if you have a PS5 or XBOX Series X. Where as the HDMI in port on the Sony can support upto 8K HDR and 4K 120 Hz. Now 8K HDR isn’t super important right now… because you need an 8K tv, 8K Content and a blue ray player that can spit out 8K… but the fact that the HDMI in port on the Sony can support 4K 120 Hz means that its less likely to be a bottle neck if you plug in your gaming console or blue ray player. 

But something the Bose has that these other two soundbars don’t is an ethernet port… but personally I really don’t think that matters too much cause all of these soundbars have wifi. Now all of these soundbars have Airplay 2 support which is good if you’re an iPhone user, and you can cast to all of them which is good if you’re an android user. So as long as you’re connected to the same wifi network… you can stream music to any of these soundbars. 

And also with wifi, you can use either the Bose or Samsung as a smart speaker. However, with the Bose you can use either Google assistant or Alexa… where as with the Samsung, you can only use Alexa. And then there’s the Sony which you can’t use as a smart speaker. But personally I don’t feel that thats a big deal. 

But now lets talk about speaker set ups. The Sony has 3 frontward firing speakers, there are 2 frontward firing subwoofers with exhaust ports that shoot out the sides of this sound bar… there are two beam tweeters which specifically try to bounce sound off of your walls, and there are two additional upwards firing speakers which bounce sound off of the ceiling. Overall, this is a very solid set up. Then there’s the Bose which has a frontward firing tweeter, it is then flanked by 4 frontward firing woofers… two on each side. There are then bass chambers which have exhaust ports that shoot out the back. And finally there are 2 upwards firing woofers. One on each side. Just like the Sony. And finally there’s the Samsung which has 3 frontward firing tweeters, there are two frontward firing woofers, there are two beam tweeters that shoot upwards. And like I mentioned earlier… there is an external subwoofer that handles the bass. 

But, before we jump into the sound test… I feel that it is very important that we talk about max volume performance on these soundbars. Now both the Bose and Sony are able to fill a large room with sound all by themselves. Where as with the Samsung Q800A… this soundbar is only able to fill a small or medium sized room with sound. However… if you were to use the Q800A with a compatible Q-Symphony TV… where the built in speakers on your TV will work in tandem with the soundbar… then the Q800A is able to fill a large room with sound.
Now if you have a compatible Sony Bravia TV… you’ll also be able to use your TV’s built in speakers in tandem with your soundbar. But unlike Samsung’s soundbar… the Sony isn’t reliant on a compatible TV to fill a large room with sound. The A5000 is able to deliver all on its own. Where as the Q800A is pretty reliant on a Q-Symphony TV. 

But with all of that being said, we’re going to jump into the sound test. All of these soundbars are playing with their stock EQ’s, they're all playing by themselves… as in none of them are getting any help from the TV… and the Q800A is playing at max volume here. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be able to keep up. 

So like you may have just heard, obviously any soundbar is going to sound better than your TV’s built in speakers. You TV most likely just has a pair of downward firings speakers that bounce sound off of the table, don’t get all that loud and they become a rattling mess at higher volumes. And even if you have a more premium TV, like lets say the Samsung Q80A who’s built in speakers sound pretty good… upgrading to a soundbar will without a doubt improve your movie watching experience. 

Now like I mentioned earlier, the Q800A just doesn’t get as loud as these other two soundbars by itself. At max volume, by itself the Q800A performs more similarly to the Bose Smart Soundbar 300. A capable soundbar… but a much less premium soundbar. However, if you were to use the Q800A with a Q-Symphony compatible TV… thats when this soundbar performs like you’d expect. So we’re going to jump into another quick soundtest but this time with the Q80A

So with a little help from the Q80A… the Q800A is able to keep up with these other two soundbars. So for this reason… I would really only recommend the Q800A to someone who has a Samsung Q-Symphony compatible TV. If you have a TV from a different brand… or if your Samsung TV doesn’t have Q-Symphony support… for me the Q800A is a bit of a tough sell. 

But nonetheless, when it comes to sound signatures these soundbars are pretty different. Now since the Q800A has that external subwoofer… this set up is going to provide you with the hardest hitting bass here, and its also going to resonate the deepest. But the Q800A does also lean more towards a brighter sound signature. And at time can sound a little narrow. 

Then there’s the Sony… now from a sound signature standpoint, this sound bar does lean more towards a warmer sound signature. As in it has more bass, but the mids and highs aren’t super pronounced. Which sometimes can make it a little hard to hear dialog and sometimes this soundbar can sound a little shallow. 

However, where this soundbar really stands out is that it has an above average amount of bass for a self contained soundbar. Now the A5000 isn’t going to have as much bass as the external subwoofer like with the Q800A… but this soundbar is going to have no problem rattling the walls in your house. 

And also, in this soundtest, the A5000 was playing with its bass set to medium. So if you wanted to, you could kick it up a notch. 

And finally there’s the Bose, which I feel is the most balanced sounding Soundbar here and it also has the best instrument separation here. And also, I can’t help but feel that the Bose 900 has the most noticeable sounding vertical channel here. 

Now all of these soundbars have a vertical channel… and these vertical channels are what gives you dolby atmos support. Now what dolby atmos is, is that its an audio formate that allows creators to place sounds in a 3 dimensional space. So lets say there’s a helicopter on the screen. If the creator chooses to, they can make it sound like that helicopter is above you… where as if you has a sound bar that didn’t have a vertical channel… that helicopter is going to sound like its coming at you or like its at the same level as you. 

Now the A5000 also has a decent sounding vertical channel… but since this soundbar does lean more towards a warmer sound signature… its vertical channel isn’t as pronounced as the Bose. And then there’s the Samsung which has the weakest sounding vertical channel here.

So overall, when it comes to sound… I think the Bose is going to be able to please most people. It has a good amount of physicality in its bass so you are going to be able to feel what is happening… dialog is well pronounced on this soundbar so you can hear what people are saying very easily, and this soundbar has the best instrument separation and the most pronounce vertical channel which really helps with the overall immersivness of this soundbar. 

But then there’s the Sony, which does lean more towards a warmer sound signature. Now personally I am not the biggest fan of how this soundbar sounds. However, if you are someone that is looking for a ton of bass out of a self contained soundbar… then the Sony A5000 is a great choice. Cause this soundbar does have an above average amount of bass for a self contained soundbar. 

But if you are trying to kit out a living room or man cave and need a ton of bass… then you’ll might want to go with the Samsung Q800A. Thanks to its included external subwoofer this set up is going to give you way more bass than these other two soundbars. However, I truly feel that this soundbar is best when paired with a compatible Samsung Q-Symphony Tv. 

But external subwoofer aside, the soundbar itself does lean more towards a brighter sound signature. And at times this soundbar can sound a little narrow. But the main thing I would look out for is its vertical channel. Out of all of these speakers… it is the weakest. So you are not going to get the best Atmos experience with this soundbar. Especially if you’re going to use it on its own.

But finally lets talk about the Apps and remotes on these soundbars. Now personally I feel that sony has the worst remote and app here. The remote itself looks old and these buttons feel like complete mush. However, you can mess around with all of the setting on this soundbar directly from the remote it self. Which is good, cause Sony’s app isn’t the best either. And personally I actively avoid using this app cause I have constant connectivity issues with it. 

But then there’s Samsung’s which I also have connectivity issues with. So much so that I have had to reinstall this app multiple times. However if you can get this app to work… you have a good amount of customization options. You can adjust your EQ and you can also raise of lower the bass of the sub woofer. However, if you decided to use Q-Symphony with this soundbar… you won’t be able to customize your sound. You’ll still be able to adjust the bass from your subwoofer… but you can adjust your EQ. And for good measure here’s a look at the remote. It looks much sleeker than Sony’s remote. 

And finally here’s Bose’s remote. Its pretty simple as well… but much sleeker than Sony’s remote and it feels much better as well. And you can even have some preset stations on your soundbar as well. However, where bose really shines here is its app. I’ve had zero connectivity issues with this app and from this app you can adjust your EQ to your liking. Now is not as granular as Samsung’s app… but you can adjust the center channel, the bass, treble and vertical channel to your liking. So overall, I do have to say that bose has the best app here and it also has the most customization options here. 

But with all of that being said, if you are trying to choose between any of these soundbars… it really does depends on your needs. Personally I really think the Bose Smart Soundbar 900 is a solid pick that should be able to please everyone. I feel this soundbar has the best instrument separation here and a very strong vertical channel which is really going to help with the overall immersaivness this soundbar provides.The Bose 900 is also able to fill a large room with sound all on its own… and it also has a very solid app.

However, I feel this soundbar is mainly geared towards your average user that is going to mostly stream their content directly from their smart TV. I think the Smart Soundbar 900 could do away with its ethernet port and instead add an HDMI input that can handle 4K 120 Hertz. And personally I wish the top of this soundbar wasn’t so reflective. 

But then there’s the Sony HT-A5000… if you’re someone thats looking for a tone a bass out of their soundbar… then this is a great option. And if you have a blue ray player, this is a great option as well cause of its HDMI in port that can do upto 8K HDR… but more importantly, it can do 4K 120HZ.

But the main drawback about the A5000 is just its sheer size. This soundbar just simply isn’t going to fit everywhere. There’s also the nature of its warmer sound signature… so sometimes the A5000 can sound a little shallow… and then there’s it app. I feel sony really needs to update their app for all of their speakers.

And finally there’s the Samsung HW-Q800A… this is a sound bar that I can only recommend that you pick up if you have a Samsung Q-Symphony TV. Without it, the Q800A is going to struggle to keep up, and at max volume it is going to leave you wanting more. And I also feel that this soundbar has the least impressive vertical channel here. 

However, if you do have a Samsung TV with Q-Symphony… then the Q800A is a good pick up if house trying to kit out a living room or man cave. Thanks to the included subwoofer, this is a good starting point to get a home theater set up that if going to shake the walls in your house.