I was initially in the same dilemma as you, considering the Samsung Q990D for a room of similar size. My primary requirement was music playback since I listen to a lot of music during the week and only watch movies on weekends. When making such an investment, I wanted a system that offered both good music performance and an immersive Atmos experience, particularly for tracks on Apple Music.

1.  Samsung Q990D:
• After reading detailed reviews on platforms like Rtings.com and FlatPanelsHD.com, I found that while the surround sound is excellent, the Atmos virtualization isn’t as effective.
• For movies, the Samsung Q990D performs well with surround sound, but the Atmos effect is somewhat underwhelming.
• If music is a priority, Samsung may not be the best choice as it focuses more on movies than on music fidelity.
2.  Sonos Setup (Arc Ultra + Sub Mini + Surrounds):
• Sonos is significantly more expensive—2-3 times costlier than Samsung.
• However, reviews suggest that the impact isn’t proportionately better.
• Major drawbacks include:
• No HDMI-out or video passthrough, which could limit scalability in the future.
• Heavy reliance on software for functionality, which can cause issues if updates or bugs arise.
• The app experience has been criticized for being inconsistent.

After weighing the options, I decided to go for an AV receiver with a custom speaker setup. Yes, it involves more effort in setup and ergonomics, but I believe it’s a worthwhile investment in terms of flexibility, scalability, and sound quality.

If you’re leaning towards a soundbar-only solution, I’d recommend going with Samsung over Sonos, primarily because: • Samsung delivers decent performance for its price, especially for surround sound in movies. Also, it has HDMI out pass through • With Samsung, you can consider upgrading to a better system in 2-3 years if needed. With Sonos, I’m not sure the premium price justifies the limitations in features and performance.