Samsung HW-Q600C review: Two-minute review

The Samsung HW-Q600C is a usefully compact, usefully specified soundbar/subwoofer system, and is ideal for use with smaller (think under 55-inch) TVs in less-than-cavernous rooms. Because it’s a Samsung product, it’s properly built from decent materials, and because it’s a Samsung product it’s simplicity itself to set up and operate (even though the control options are somewhat limited).

Because it’s a Samsung product it pretends there’s no such thing as Dolby Vision HDR, too – but that’s unlikely to be a deal-breaker for anyone who doesn’t want to use its 4K HDMI passthrough functionality.

In many ways it’s an admirable performer where movie soundtracks are concerned. Certainly the integration between soundbar and subwoofer is smooth, and there’s detail aplenty available throughout the frequency range. The Samsung grips and steers effect well, and organises a coherent and convincing soundstage like some of the best soundbars. 

It’s far from the last word in sonic height, though, and is unlikely to blow you away with the spatial audio aspect of its reproduction. Slightly less critically, it’s a less-than-inspiring listen if you decide to use it as a music system, too. Rhythmic expression, in particular, is a bit lumpy. 

If you can live with its mild-but-undeniable shortcomings, though, the Samsung HW-Q600C is a solid option for those with smaller TVs in smaller rooms and who are on a smaller budget. 

Samsung HW-Q600C review: Price and release date

• September 2023
• $599 / £549 / AU$799

The Samsung HW-Q600C launched in September of 2023. In the United States, it sells for a maximum of $599, in the United Kingdom, it’s no more than £549, while in Australia it costs AU$799, tops. Anyone with half an idea of how to operate a search engine should be able to better those prices without too much effort.

Even if you end up paying top whack, though, there’s plenty of product here for your money. But you should be aware that a similar spend gets you the similarly specified Sony HT-G700, the subwoofer-less Bose Smart Soundbar 600 or the Philips B8905, though – so the Samsung is not what you’d automatically call a ‘no-brainer’...

Samsung HW-Q600C review: Features

• Nine speaker drivers in the soundbar
• Single 165mm driver in the subwoofer 
• 360 watts of power

Samsung isn’t exactly making with the specifics, but it’s prepared to divulge the number, if not the size or composition, of the drivers in the soundbar. There are three on either side of the front face, dealing with left- and right-channel information. Another sits in the centre, where it takes care of – hey! – the centre-channel stuff. Two more fire upwards from the top of the soundbar via Samsung’s ‘Acoustic Beam’  technology, and are charged with creating the ‘height’ aspect of Dolby Atmos and/or DTS:X movie soundtracks. The subwoofer, meanwhile, has a single forward-facing 165mm bass driver doing the low-frequency business. Amplification is of the Class D variety, and there’s a total of 360 watts shared out between the drivers.

As far as connectivity is concerned, it’s easiest to deal with the subwoofer first. It connects wirelessly to the soundbar, so should really only need to be plugged into the mains using the figure-of-eight socket on the rear (below the gaping bass reflex port). There’s also a little button to initiate pairing in the unlikely event it doesn’t happen automatically.

There are a couple of recesses at the rear of the soundbar. One has an input for mains power and a USB slot that’s purely for servicing. The other features a digital optical input and a couple of HDMI sockets, one of which is eARC-enabled. That means 4K passthrough (with HDR10+ but not Dolby Vision HDR) is available. For wireless connections, the HW-Q600C has Bluetooth 5.0, with SBC and AAC codec compatibility.

There are four sound modes available: ‘standard’, ‘surround’, ‘game pro’ and ‘adaptive’. Those first three are pretty obvious – ‘adaptive’ attempts to assess the content you’re watching in real time and adjust the soundbar’s output to suit. The HW-Q600C is also compatible with Samsung’s ‘Q Symphony’ technology, so if it’s paired with a suitable Samsung television then the TV’s speakers can complement the soundbar’s output rather than be overridden by it.    

Features score: 5/5 

Samsung HW-Q600C review: Sound quality

• Open, robust and quite detailed sound
• Well-supervised wallop from the subwoofer
• Limited 'height' aspect to performance

Given an opportunity to show what it can do by playing a Dolby Atmos-boosted 4K UHD Blu-ray disc of Jordan Peele’s Nope, the Samsung HW-Q600C is all business. There’s no teasing out different aspects of its performance over an extended listen – the Samsung is unequivocal, and will give you everything it’s got right from the off.

‘Everything’ in this instance turns out to be an impressively neutral, naturalistic tonal balance and a very decent amount of width to its presentation. Straight from the box, the subwoofer is altogether too confident – but it’s a matter of moments with the remote control handset to bring it under control. Once that’s done, the balance from the top of the frequency range to the bottom is smooth and convincing. 

The Samsung is a spacious, confident listen that can organise a soundstage properly. The nature of this movie soundtrack means there’s plenty of emphasis given to spaces and silences as well as to actual sounds, and the left-to-right and front-to-back layout here is convincing. Effects move through these two planes with real positivity and, despite being outnumbered when it comes to the driver-count, the centre channel does good work in projecting even whispered dialogue to the front of the stage where it’s direct and easy to follow. 

Once suitably balanced, the subwoofer proves quite an adept little performer too. It hits hard, sure enough, but its output is properly controlled and doesn’t just mindlessly thump along like less capable alternatives tend to. The attack of bass sounds is straight-edged and certain, and there’s plenty of detail and texture to go along with the out-and-out wallop. 

In fact, detail levels are gratifyingly high throughout the frequency range. It seems likely that some of the drivers in the soundbar are tweeters, as high frequency response is crisp and bright, and in the midrange there’s plenty of character and expressiveness to voices.

What the HW-Q600C can’t do with any great positivity is generate meaningful height to the presentation. A lot of Nope concerns unknown things from above, but when described by the Samsung system ‘above’ becomes a very relative term. Even though I’m testing in a space with unremarkable ceiling height, the HW-Q600C struggles to position sound any higher than the top bezel of the 48in Philips OLED TV it’s accompanying, and consequently the overall presentation isn’t quite as immersive as you might be hoping.

Switch to a TIDAL-derived digital audio file of Cool About It by boygenius streamed via Bluetooth and the HW-Q600C loses just a little of its composure. The light and shade that’s apparent from the subwoofer when dealing with movies (even those parts of the soundtrack that include music) goes astray somewhat, and its inputs become a little hazy and monotonal. Rhythmic expression suffers as a result, and the upshot is that it’s hard to recommend the Samsung as a true all-rounder of an audio system.    

Sound quality score: 4/5 

Samsung HW-Q600C review: Design

• 56 x 1030 x 105mm (soundbar); 343 x 184 x 295mm (subwoofer) [HxWxD]
• 11.7kg (soundbar plus subwoofer)
• The perfect size to site beneath a 48-inch TV

Out where the mainstream shop is not the place to be taking risks where design is concerned - and Samsung is far too sensible and pragmatic a company to take any chances. So both the soundbar and the subwoofer that constitute the HW-Q600C are discreet (if you enjoy the way they look) or utterly unremarkable (if you don’t).

At 56 x 1030 x 105mm (HxWxD), the soundbar portion is almost exactly the same width as a standard AV rack and will fit nicely beneath a 48in - and it won’t start looking a bit lost until you try to pair it with something bigger than 65in. As the price strongly suggests, it’s made almost entirely from plastic - but it’s the sturdy, almost tactile kind of plastic I’m talking about, and as such is entirely fit for purpose. The front and top panels of the soundbar are perforated to allow the speaker drivers behind to do their thing, while the corners are racily angled to hint at side-firing drivers – alas, there are no side-firing drivers on board.

The subwoofer, meanwhile, is an equally manageable 343 x 184 x 295mm (HxWxD) – and the unassuming nature of its boxy design is enhanced by the fact that it communicates wirelessly with the subwoofer and so can be positioned anywhere you like (as long as it’s within reach of mains power). It’s built of vinyl-wrapped MDF with some acoustic cloth covering the forward facing driver, which is pretty much par for the course.

Uninspired (or, to be fair, safety-first) design does not, of course, mean that either element of this system is anything other than properly built and finished. This is Samsung we’re talking about, after all… 

Design score: 4.5/5 

Samsung HW-Q600C review: Setup and usability

• Remote control handset 
• Extremely brief on-bar display
• Plug-and-play to all intents and purposes

There’s really not a great deal to setting up the HW-Q600C. Both the soundbar and the subwoofer need connecting to mains power – from there, they should pair automatically but there’s a little ‘pair’ button on the subwoofer just in case that doesn’t happen. After that, it’s simply a question of making the relevant connection from the TV to the soundbar – most likely this will be done using the television’s HDMI eARC output, but you’ve the option of digital optical or the HDMI passthrough too if that’s more appropriate.

Usability, too, is of the ‘child’s play’ variety. The Samsung is supplied with a small, unremarkable but comprehensive remote control handset which puts you in charge of every function, from ‘power on/off’ via ‘initiate Bluetooth pairing’ to adjusting the output of each individual channel (including the subwoofer). Confirmation of exactly what’s what is available from a little dot-matrix display at the front/right edge of the soundbar - if you squint, and if you’re able to read the quick-scrolling information as it passes through its little window. There’s also access to volume control, power on/off and input selection via some physical controls on the top of the soundbar. 

If you’re hoping for app-control, though, you’re out of luck. It’s possible to use Alexa with the HW-Q600C – but it involves quite a lot of to-ing and fro-ing with Samsung’s SmartThings app and the Alexa app. The determined user with an Alexa smart speaker can enjoy a little voice-control, though.     

Setup and usability score: 4/5

Samsung HW-Q600C review: Value

• Decent specification 
• Properly made and finished
• Not quite a Atmos-y as it reckons it is

There’s plenty to like about the Samsung HW-Q600C, and in many ways it represents very decent value indeed. As is usual with Samsung products, build quality and the standard of finish are well up to par. Specification, too, is quite comprehensive at the price. The lack of wider control options will probably rankle with a few customers, but the bigger problem - and what makes this Samsung slightly less compelling value than it otherwise would be - is the relative lack of action where the ‘height’ element of a Dolby Atmos (or DTS:X) soundtrack ought to be.

Should I buy the Samsung HW-Q600C?

Buy them if...

Don’t buy it if...

Samsung HW-Q600C review: Also consider

How I tested the Samsung HW-Q600C

• Tested for over a week 
• Used in conjunction with a Philips OLED TV
• Multiple styles of content

I positioned the soundbar element of the HW-Q600C in front of my 48in Philips OLED TV, and positioned the subwoofer next to the system rack the TV stands on. The sub and soundbar connect wirelessly, of course, and the soundbar was connected to the TV’s HDMI eARC socket. And there it stayed, for well over a week. 

During the course of testing I listened to a variety of content, from bog-standard broadcast TV to Dolby Atmos soundtracks via a Panasonic UHD 4K Blu-ray player. I streamed content from Amazon Prime and Netflix, and even gave YouTube a shot (although the majority of YouTube content is compressed to the point of non-existence).  

• Read TechRadar's review guarantee
• First reviewed January 2024

Editor's note

• Original review date: September 2021
• Current entry-level Sonos Dolby Atmos soundbar
• Launch price: $449 / £449 / $699
• Target price now: $499 / £499 / $699

As the entry-level Dolby Atmos soundbar in the Sonos lineup, the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) offers a budget Atmos alternative to the flagship Sonos Arc, which costs almost twice as much. Prices for the Beam (Gen 2) were raised by the company after the initial launch, with the official price now sitting at $499 / £499 / AU$799. Beam (Gen 2) prices typically don’t budge much except during sales events such as Black Friday, when we’ve seen it dip as low as $399 / £379. But if you’re looking to buy Sonos’ budget Atmos soundbar outside of Black Friday, expect to pay list price for it. The rest of this review remains as previously published.

Two-minute review

The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is a compact and powerful soundbar from multi-room audio giant Sonos. It's a significant improvement on the company’s original mini soundbar with virtual Dolby Atmos, HDMI eARC compatibility, and a refreshed design. 

While it’s a little more expensive than the first Sonos Beam, the new soundbar offers excellent value. That’s why it’s one of our top picks in our best soundbars guide.

Thanks to its integration with the broader Sonos ecosystem, you can combine it with additional speakers to expand your setup. The Beam (Gen 2) sounds great on its own, but you can take the audio performance up a notch by hooking it up to the Sonos Sub or using a pair of Sonos One SL speakers as your rear right and left channels. 

Setting up the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is a breeze—you need the Sonos S2 app, and you’ll be able to connect the soundbar to your Wi-Fi network and set up your voice assistant of choice. The S2 app also gives you access to the company’s TruePlay technology, which calibrates the soundbar’s audio to your room’s dimensions using its built-in microphones. 

It’s a shame that TruePlay still only works with iOS devices, as it does make a difference to the sound. Still, you could borrow a friend’s iPhone for the setup process—and we think that’s worth doing. 

Unlike its predecessor, the new Beam comes with eARC compatibility—a feature that fans of the original soundbar have requested for a while. This allows the soundbar to handle more advanced audio formats than before, including hi-res audio codecs. 

However, the standout new feature for the Beam (Gen 2) is Dolby Atmos support. While the soundbar doesn’t contain the upfiring drivers you’d need for ‘true’ Atmos, it uses psychoacoustic techniques to give the impression of height from your movie soundtracks. 

In theory, this should make it seem as though the sound from your films is coming at you from every angle; we weren’t entirely convinced, however. While the Beam (Gen 2) has a vast soundstage and powerful audio performance for its size, we didn’t experience the kind of overhead sound you get from its larger sibling, the Sonos Arc (which has those all-important upfiring drivers). You can read more about this more capable—and expensive—soundbar in our Sonos Arc review.

We’re hesitant to judge the Beam (Gen 2) too harshly for that, though. You’re still getting a far more immersive experience than you’d get from a non-Atmos bar, and there is a small amount of vertical information coming through—it’s just not as convincing as other virtual Atmos bars. Check out our Sony HT-X8500 review for a good example. Or take a look at our best Dolby Atmos speakers and soundbars guide.

Overall, if you’re looking for a mid-range soundbar that won’t take over your living room and you want the ability to upgrade it in the future with a subwoofer or rear speakers, the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is a great choice—just don’t expect a super-convincing Dolby Atmos experience. Read on for our full Sonos Beam (Gen 2) review.

Sonos Beam (Gen 2) review: price and availability

• $449 / £449 / AU$699
• Released in October, 2021

The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) launched in October, 2021 for $449 / £449 / $699, which is more expensive than the original. At launch, the original Sonos Beam cost $399 / £339 / AU$599, though it’s often discounted these days. You can find out more about  its predecessor in our Sonos Beam review.

For a cheaper alternative, take a look at our Sonos Ray review, which doesn't have the same performance but is much more affordable at $279 / £279 / AU$399.

For a soundbar with similar performance that's a little more expensive, check out our Sony HT-G700 review, which is available for $600 / £450 / AU$900, to see how it compares. 

Although it isn't the cheapest soundbar available, the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is a huge $400 / £400 / AU$800 less expensive than one of TechRadar's best soundbars of the moment, the Sonos Arc, which delivers ‘true’ Atmos thanks to upfiring tweeters. You can read more about the Arc in our Sonos Arc review.

Sonos Beam (Gen 2) review: design

• Compact build
• New plastic grille
• Touch controls

Like the original Beam, the new Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is a compact soundbar that can easily fit under most TVs on a cabinet or be mounted to a wall to keep your living room clutter-free. 

At 2.72 x 25.63 x 3.94 inches (H x W x D), it’s much smaller than the company’s flagship soundbar, the Sonos Arc, making it ideal for smaller spaces. 

Like other Sonos speakers, the design of the Beam (Gen 2) is all about clean lines and subtle branding; this soundbar isn’t flashy, but it looks stylish, and as it comes in a choice of black and white finishes, you can find the right look to fit in with your decor. 

One key difference between the new Sonos Beam and its predecessor is the design of the grille, which is now made of plastic rather than a woven fabric. This design choice is more in keeping with the Sonos Arc, and as the company points out, it’s far easier to clean than dust-attracting fabric. We asked Sonos whether the new grille brings any acoustic benefits, but the company told us it’s purely an aesthetic choice.

You’ll find a touch-sensitive control panel on the top of the soundbar. The capacitive touch sensors allow you to control your music playback, adjust the volume, and turn off the inbuilt microphones for extra privacy. We found these controls were very responsive, though you’ll probably find yourself reaching for your TV’s remote to do most of these things. 

You’ll also find a small LED light strip on the top of the soundbar, which lights up as you interact with it, and another LED beneath the microphone icon to let you know when the soundbar’s mic is enabled.

Around the back of the soundbar is a port for plugging it into a power outlet and HDMI, optical, and Ethernet ports.

Sonos Beam (Gen 2) review: setup and connectivity

• Works with wider Sonos ecosystem
• TruePlay room calibration
• Easy-to-use app

Setting up the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is very simple; you need to download the Sonos S2 app and follow the instructions to connect the soundbar to your Wi-Fi network and any music streaming services you’d like. 

You’ll also then be able to choose between Alexa or Google Assistant. Thanks to the soundbar’s built-in microphones, you’ll be able to control playback using your voice alone, ask your chosen voice assistant questions, and control your other smart home devices. 

Once you’ve done this, you’ll be able to use the Beam’s room calibration feature, TruePlay, which tunes the ‘bar’s sound to the dimensions of your room.

As you go through the TruePlay process, the Beam plays out a series of beeps and ticks across the frequency range; you’ll then be prompted to walk around your room waving your smartphone around. 

The S2 app uses the microphones built into your smartphone to analyze the audio; Sonos says it’s essential to cover as much space as possible and to minimize any other environmental noise that could affect the results. Unfortunately, TruePlay is only compatible with iOS devices currently, but it’s worth borrowing a friend’s iPhone to get the most out of your new Beam. 

The app also allows you to pair the Beam with any other Sonos speaker, such as the Sonos Sub, or a pair of Sonos One SL speakers that could be used as left and right rear speakers. 

Integration with the Sonos network gives the Beam (Gen 2) something many other soundbars don’t have: an easy way to upgrade your home cinema system. While the new Beam works very well on its own, adding in a sub and rear speakers is a great way to add to your setup over time. If you already have a Sonos Roam portable speaker, you’ll be able to ‘throw’ your audio between the Bluetooth speaker and the Beam using the Sound Swap feature. 

In terms of wireless connectivity, the Beam (Gen 2) supports Wi-Fi and Apple AirPlay 2 with compatible iOS devices. There’s also the option to hook it up to your router with an Ethernet cable if you want a more stable connection to your home network. 

One new connectivity feature for the Sonos Beam is HDMI eARC compatibility, which the company says will bring a “richer, more immersive, and higher definition sound experience”. Compared to the HDMI ARC connectivity found on the original Beam, eARC can handle more advanced audio formats and deliver superior audio quality. 

It’s a shame there’s no HDMI 2.1 support, which would allow for 4K at 120Hz and even 8K at 60Hz pass through—which, in turn, would make the Beam ideal for 8K-supporting consoles like the PS5 and the Xbox Series X.

Still, the new Beam can cope with 32 channels of audio and even eight-channel 24-bit/192kHz uncompressed 38Mbps data streams. In other words, as well as supporting Atmos, it can play hi-res audio files of your favorite songs. 

If your TV doesn’t have an HDMI port, you can connect the Beam via the optical port; Sonos provides all the cables you need in the box.

The S2 app also makes it easy to stream music, allowing you to add any music streaming platforms and navigate them without leaving the app.

Sonos Beam (Gen 2) review: audio performance

• Wide soundstage
• Great for music
• Dolby Atmos could be more convincing

Despite its small size, the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) delivers robust audio performance and is more than capable of filling your living room with sound. 

We started by watching the animated sci-fi comedy Mitchell vs The Machines, in which the Mitchell family find themselves battling with electrical appliances (as well as an army of psychotic Furbys) in an abandoned shopping mall. 

As washing machines drag themselves menacingly across the floor, the Beam (Gen 2) proved capable of handling rumbling low frequencies with real dexterity. At the same time, the soundbar’s bass prowess was even more evident as a giant Furby stomps toward our protagonists. 

As the action intensifies and the family finds themselves in a full-blown melee complete with lasers, the dialogue remains clear and easy to follow. 

While the general audio performance of the Beam (Gen 2) was impressive, we weren't fully convinced by the virtual Dolby Atmos. As vending machines propelled soda cans over the heads of the characters on screen, the sound did provide a sense of height, but we didn't get the feeling that it was coming from above our heads. 

It felt like the virtual height channels cut out around the top of our ears. While this did feel more immersive than a non-Atmos soundbar, the effect wasn't as impressive as you get with the Sonos Arc, which features up-firing drivers. 

These drivers are designed to bounce sound off the ceiling and back down to your ears, giving a real sense of sonic height to movie soundtracks and compatible audio files. Without them, the Beam (Gen 2) doesn't seem capable of providing the full Atmos experience. 

Saying that we were very impressed by the width of the soundstage. You get the sense that the action onscreen is taking place all around you without adding additional rear left or right speakers, like the Sonos One SL. 

The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) also sounds great when playing music. Listening to Little Simz' Woman, the bass sounds deep and well-controlled, while synth strings are warm and rich. Simz's rap vocal comes through with clarity, while Cleo Soul's avant-soul melodies float sumptuously above the mix.

As capable as the Beam (Gen 2) is on its own, the bass is much improved by hooking it up to the Sonos Sub, which delivers better separation between the different frequencies and a more arresting, toe-tapping sound. 

Conclusion

The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) soundbar will work perfectly well on its own to add excellent audio performance to your TV, but it also fits in well with the wider Sonos ecosystem, and is the perfect playmate for the brand’s subwoofers and rear speakers.

There's no true Dolby Atmos here, you'll need upfiring speakers for that. We also wouldn't recommend it if you’re on a tight budget. The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is nowhere near the most expensive soundbar we’ve tested, but there are cheaper options. 

If you're looking for powerful sound, the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is a fantastic soundbar, and it sounds much bigger than its small size might suggest. Because it's compact, it'll squeeze into small rooms, and can be wall-mounted to save even more space. 

Also consider...

If our Sonos Beam (Gen 2) review has you considering other options, then here are three alternative soundbars to check out.

• First reviewed September 2021.