Samsung Q600H review: Proof you don’t need to spend thousands on your home audio setup

If you want one of the best soundbars in your home, you could be spending thousands and thousands of your hard-earned cash. But what if I told you you could upgrade your TV’s sound for less than £350? I know — shocking. The Samsung Q600H has a good balance between voice, SFX, and OST. It’s a sleek, easy-to-use, budget-friendly soundbar and can be customized to suit you using the SmartThings app.

But be aware that, since it’s so cheap, the sound lacks the width and height you’d usually get from more expensive soundbars. This model is also only available in the U.K. and E.U. markets, but if you’re in the U.S., you can pick up last year’s model, the Samsung Q600F, instead. We gave this soundbar 4.5 stars, and it’s our top choice mid-range option to spruce up your home sound system.

To find out more about the new soundbar, you can keep reading this full Samsung Q600H review.

Samsung Q600H review: Specs

Samsung Q600H review: Price & availability

The Samsung Q600H retails at full price for £549 on the Samsung website, but you can find it cheaper on Amazon U.K. for £349 or at Currys for £499. This soundbar is only available in the U.K. and E.U., which is a shame for those of you who are stateside, as this is a really great soundbar for the price.

If you’re in the U.S., the closest soundbar would be the Samsung Q600F. The F is the 2025 iteration of the Q600H and costs just $379 at Amazon U.S. If you’re in the U.K. and are happy to buy a model from the previous year, the Q600F will cost you £221 at Amazon U.K. We gave this soundbar 4.5 stars when we reviewed it last year, and it remains one of our top picks, so I’d recommend it if you’re trying to save money without sacrificing performance.

For a soundbar with more room-filling sound and better width and height distinction, check out the Samsung QS750F for $899/£699. This all-in-one soundbar performs well beyond its price tag and is suited for anyone who wants a more expansive sound or needs separate rear speakers.

And if you don’t want to spend too much money because this is your first venture into the world of soundbars, the Klipsch Flexus Core 100 could be a great option. It’s very affordable at $349/£299 and gives you the option to add on a subwoofer, but lacks Wi-Fi connectivity, which I found very beneficial from the Q600H for AirPlay and Google Cast.

Samsung Q600H review: Design

The Samsung Q600H doesn’t exactly stand out from the crowd. It looks like every other soundbar I’ve seen. But that’s a good thing. I appreciated that when I was watching TV, it was barely noticeable when set up underneath. The Titan Black Colour looks great and isn’t distracting.

The unit weighs 29.1 pounds, and I found it easy to lift and set up by myself. It measures 46.5 x 18.4 x 10.7 inches, so it doesn’t take up too much room either. I set the subwoofer up off to the side of my TV stand, and it looked good, without drawing too much attention.

Controls

You can adjust the sound using the on-board buttons at the top of the soundbar, or you can use the included remote control. I get a little overwhelmed when I have multiple remote controls on the go. One for the TV, Blu-ray player and soundbar can all get a bit much. Luckily, the remote of the Q600H is very thin so doesn’t feel cumbersome — it feels more like a genuinely useful addition. I also controlled settings such as sound mode and EQ through the SmartThings app on my phone, which was straightforward, which I’ll get into in more detail later on.

Features

The Q600H soundbar has customisable sound modes, EQ adjustment for bass and treble, night mode, and voice enhancement. Most of this can be controlled via the SmartThings app, which I’ll discuss more below.

Samsung Q600H review: App

This was my first time using the SmartThings app, and I was blown away by how easy it was. In my job, I have used a whole host of smart home apps, but this has to be one of the most straightforward to navigate.

In the app, you can switch between different sound modes. I found Standard mode the best for balanced audio and natural sound when watching sitcoms. Surround mode gave me more expansive sound for action sound effects. AI Adaptive sound was the best for detail, prioritizing ambient sounds over the soundtrack. The soundbar also has Game Pro mode, but unfortunately no dedicated music mode.

You can control EQ settings in the app, as well as the level on the subwoofer. I enjoyed the level of customization I got with the soundbar, but you get more freedom by paying a premium price for something like the Samsung QS90H ($999/£899). The QS90H is an all-in-one system with a 7.1.2 channel configuration — a lot more powerful than the 3.1.2 of the Q600H.

Samsung Q600H review: Sound quality

I tested the Samsung Q600H soundbar with our standard watch of “Top Gun: Maverick”, as well as a few other films I know and love, TV streaming, and music streaming via AirPlay.

Movies

I watched “Top Gun: Maverick”, “La La Land”, and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” on 4K Blu-ray. The opening scene of “Top Gun: Maverick” allowed me to evaluate the width, height, high-frequency sound and bass. I enabled AI Adaptive Sound and increased the bass. I also increased the subwoofer to the max to get the full effect of the rumble of the plane engines. In this scene, the high-frequency sounds such as ropes swishing and clanging chains were very clear — I could hear everything distinctly, but not as crisp as when using the Samsung QS90H. The bass of the jet engines stirring to life was well-balanced without rumbling, and the song “Danger Zone” wasn’t overpowered by the planes.

Using AI Adaptive Sound prioritizes diegetic sounds (things like sound effects, foley, vocals etc), as I was able to hear high-frequency details such as the light ticking of a clock, and the dialogue remains incredibly clear. In the scene where we see the Darkstar hypersonic plane take off for its Mach 10 flight, I didn’t get the impact I was anticipating with the sonic boom. While the radio dialogue in the dogfight scene was clear over the OST, it’s also worth noting that there wasn’t a great deal of width or height, and while this soundbar has SpaceFit Sound Pro, I was unable to test it as I didn’t have a compatible Samsung TV to hand — despite testing in a room with 10 TVs.

In the movie’s beach scene, the track “I Ain’t Worried” by OneRepublic playing over the scene demonstrated impeccable bass performance and great balance between dialogue and overture tracks.

Next, I watched “La La Land”, a film that I think has one of the best original soundtracks of all time (yes, they should have won that Oscar). After watching this, I would wholeheartedly recommend the soundbar for musical lovers, despite the lack of music mode. During “Another Day of Sun”, I could clearly hear the footsteps of the actors and dancers as they jumped across cars and slammed doors. Hearing these sounds so distinctly added a lot of detail to the scenes.

Throughout the movie, the dialogue was clear when the characters spoke at the same time as the OST. When the four roommates were getting ready, I could hear the echo in the bathroom set and, later, the clacking of their heels on the street.

Speaking of click-clacking, I was actually disappointed when listening to the “Lovely Night” dance scene. I could hardly hear Mia and Sebastian’s tap shoes, but other sounds such as the kicking up of dust were clear as day.

Finally, I watched “The Fantastic Four: First Steps”. Sound effects from the movements of the Silver Surfer felt very expansive; however, other SFX sounds weren’t very clear. I switched to Surround mode, which heightened the SFX and resulted in a more immersive experience. For example, when Herbie “speaks”. However, conversation from the human characters wasn’t as clear. But in general, I enjoyed watching this movie with the soundbar and think it elevated my viewing experience.

TV

To test TV performance, I watched ‘Invincible’ on Prime Video. I watched using the AI Adaptive Sound setting in the SmartThings app, and increased the bass and treble, with the subwoofer set to the highest setting.

The first episode of the TV show had a whole lot of action sound effects of a battle, with a lot of dialogue included. Indistinct chatter in the background of scenes, such as when Mark is walking through the school halls, was audible without taking over the soundstage, suggesting that the soundbar handled the layers of sound well.

The subwoofer kicked in for sound effects such as punching and more gruesome sounds like blood splatters, which were emphasised well, without taking over from the dialogue or soundtrack. I could also hear effects like the splatter of blood and guts moving across the room in accordance with the on-screen movements (gross!).

Music

To test the music playback performance, I listened to a couple of different songs using AirPlay. There’s no dedicated music listening mode on the soundbar. Firstly, I listened to “High and Low” by Empire of the Sun. This soundbar demonstrated excellent bass performance during synth sounds; however, the treble sounded harsh. I turned down the treble in the SmartThings app, which helped to improve the vocals, but it still wasn’t great.

Next, I listened to “Famous Last Words” by My Chemical Romance. This didn’t sound as forceful as I’m used to, and the layers of the song sounded disjointed. There was nowhere near enough depth to do the song justice. The stripped-back bridge resulted in a better performance because there were fewer components to confuse the soundbar, but when it built up again, it struggled to keep up.

Finally, I listened to an acoustic track, “Cariad” by The Royston Club. The stripped-back vocals sound amazing and actually made me exclaim “Oh! That’s good!” in shock. But then when the drums kicked in, they overpowered the acoustic guitar. Bass performance is seemingly the priority with this soundbar.

Samsung Q600H review: Verdict

The Samsung Q600H is an ideal option for a cheap, entry-level soundbar for anyone who wants to enhance their at-home movie watching on a budget. I’ve found it incredibly easy to use with the included remote control or the SmartThings app, and the smart features make it feel highly customisable to fit your desired sound. I appreciated the great balance between dialogue, SFX, and OST sound, and the sleek, unobtrusive design is the cherry on top.

My only real qualm with the soundbar is the lack of width and height in the soundstage, but for less than £350, it’s something I’m willing to overlook. Unfortunately, this soundbar is only available to purchase in the U.K. or E.U., with no plan for a U.S. release. However, you can purchase last year's model, the Samsung Q600F, in the U.S.

Overall, the Samsung Q600H is a solid option to upgrade your home theatre, and one I’ll be making use of to watch the best new movie releases.