Sound quality:
Samsung's HW-Q60C/ZA has very good overall sound quality - although it has some noticeable sonic quirks, this model reproduces music and dialog very well. In the Standard sound mode with the tone controls set to provide the most even tonal balance the bass has good impact and goes fairly deep, but is a bit prominent and tubby. The midrange is even, but is somewhat hazy and a touch plasticky. The treble is fairly extended, but is a touch smeared. This model does a decent job of recovering room ambience, but sounds a bit congested. The two channel sound field extends somewhat above and a bit to the sides of the speaker enclosure and lacks front to back depth.
There was no significant difference in sound quality between the HDMI, Optical, USB, and Bluetooth inputs.
Multichannel
When 5.1 channel program material is played back in the Standard sound mode the sound field may extend somewhat past the sides and well above the soundbar, but still lacks depth and there was no rear surround effect - sounds that should have been in the rear come from the front.
Dolby Atmos
When playing Dolby Atmos material in the Surround mode with Dolby Virtual turned on, the width and height of the sound stage expands and depending on the program material can fill the front end of the room; the sound stage can extend up and above from the front of the room to almost directly overhead, but there was no rear surround effect.
TV ease of use: Very good overall. This model can work seamlessly with most TVs - the soundbar's volume and mute functions can be controlled by a HDMI CEC compatible TV's remote when connected via an HDMI cable. If an HDMI connection is not used the soundbar's volume and mute functions can be directly controlled by the IR remotes (the typical remote that comes with a TV) of Samsung and other major brand TVs. The soundbar's own physical remote is easy to use - although the area around the volume and mute buttons is a bit cluttered, all of the major controls are clearly labeled. The soundbar console was fairly easy to use - Although the console display lacks a persistent power on indication, the source, mute, sound mode, and Dolby Atmos playback displays are in words and are highly visible; they are momentary, but can be recalled with a button press. The volume display is numeric but momentary and can't be recalled without changing the level. All controls are adequately identified and are easy to access. Use with a Bluetooth connected TV is a bit convoluted - if you turn the soundbar off and on, or switch from the Bluetooth connection to another source and then back again you have to manually re-connect the TV to the Bluetooth input.
Features ease of use: Very good overall. The soundbar's physical remote is easy to use - although area around the volume and mute buttons is a bit cluttered, all of the major controls are clearly labeled. The soundbar console was fairly easy to use - although the console display lacks a persistent power on indication, the source, mute, sound mode, and Dolby Atmos playback displays are in words and are highly visible; they are momentary, but can be recalled with a button press. The volume display is numeric but momentary and can't be recalled without changing the level. All controls are adequately identified and are easy to access. Use with Bluetooth sources is a bit convoluted - if you turn the soundbar off and on, or switch from the Bluetooth source to another source and then back again you have to manually re-connect the Bluetooth source device.
