Looked at Q990B to pair with a recent flagship Samsung TV. From forum discussions I read, seems the back speakers drop from time to time. Could be software related issues not uncommon with Samsung.

This would be moving from a proper AVR setup to the simplicity of soundbars and wireless speakers. Close to pulling the trigger on Sonos for better options to add more speakers and better featured app. Noting that Sonos has its share of software problems.

At the current price Q990B is good value for money at less that half of other setups.

Q990B is a much better option than the Q930B. And Sony Soundbars are just not as good as the Q990B with the exception of HT-A9 + subwoofer (which is almost 3x the price of the Samsung). The only concern with Samsung is the lack of firmware updates once the 2023 model comes out. The 2023 model Q990C is almost the same as Q990B except for some feature updates which will not be available through a firmware update for the Q990B.

If you use room calibration and your rear speakers are powerful enough, then not really a problem. Rear surrounds are more tolerant to placements.

You can always store the subwoofer away until you need it.

Sonos price is just a lot more compared to Samsung or Sony for comparable soundbars. Could be Samsung and Sony had adjusted the pricing for the local market.

I had two detailed listening sessions with a full Sonos Arc with sub and rear speakers and compared that with the Samsung Q990B. Samsung is better. The concern with Samsung products is when the next model gets released, firmware support is lacking for the older model. And we are talking about the much better Arc over the Beam.

None of the soundbars discussed will give decent Atmos. Mostly marketing claims. Maybe the Q990B will.

I guess sharing a summary of my experiences may be helpful for the current soundbars discussion.

Full disclosure. I recently purchased the Sony A9 as it is close enough to my AVR setup for streaming content. I also looked at USD price points for different soundbars to get an idea where each price performance segment it is competing against. Seen a lot of reviews and time to listen at the stores.

Sonos was my initial choice just that it will be twice the cost of the Sony to get all the pieces together to match the sound stage etc. Just the way Sonos is priced locally.

The Q990B is actually quite close to the Sony but it does not do well with spatial music in comparison. Samsung at almost one third the price was tempting.

All said the Q990B currently is like at half the price in US. Samsung has this habit of really good pricing and just before the 2023 models start selling. Maybe you can find a system at under RM2k at more than 50% discount from its original price. Not the flagship Q990B but more mid range?

Q Symphony seems great for some Samsung TVs. I have the QN95B and needed a firmware update to fix the vibrating or buzzing backplate problem. What the firmware did was to silence frequencies around 100Hz and below. Something to do with the thin backplate with all Samsung TVs with the One Connect box and resonance frequency causing the backplate to vibrate loudly.

One nice thing about better soundbars is room calibration on the fly. And that allows speaker placement changes to be corrected in a simple manner. Compared with AVRs with the calibration microphone tedious process.

Issues as you described. There were discussions on avsforum.com around the Samsung Q990B with non-Samsung TVs

Samsung is clearly the better sound and different market segment. However, need to be aware or careful with Samsung as they have QC issues and firmware support is only for current products. For example 2022 model Q990B and 2023 model Q990C are similar except a different colour and some tweaks to the software features.

Of course Samsung is a lot less money against comparable Sony or LG soundbars.

Also unless you spend a lot more money expectations for good ATMOS with most soundbars are limited. Size of up facing drivers matters to have that "sound" bouncing off walls.