With this Samsung HW-Q600A and the Sony HT-X8500 showdown that we have going on today, we have two pretty awesome and affordable Dolby Atmos soundbars going head to head. I have looked at the Sony HT-X8500 a few times now and it always seems to do pretty well for itself. Now, it may have met its match in the Samsung HW-Q600A as while I am a huge Sony fanboy, I would have to say that Samsung is pretty damn close in terms of tech companies that I hold in very high regard.
The Price:
I know that you can go to Walmart or Target these days and you can get a soundbar for around 100 bucks. However, that is not the kind of thing we are looking at today. To be fair, one of the things that makes this two speakers so interesting is that these are two very fairly priced Dolby Atmos soundbars that are very affordable.
Sony HT-X8500:
I was pretty blown away when I took a look at the Sony HT-X8500 as right now on Walmart, you can get this soundbar for $199.00! I swear this thing gets cheaper, each time I look at it on Walmart. 200 bucks for a Sony Dolby Atmos soundbar, that is just crazy. There are none on Amazon as I write this, but on eBay, you can find a few of these on there, but they are all currently priced at more than the 200 bucks that Walmart are asking for it.
Samsung HW-Q600A:
I am pretty sure that the Samsung HW-Q600A had an RRP of around 600 bucks when it was first released which was not a terrible price at all. Once again, I am going to Walmart here as Amazon does not have any in stock and the price there is a very reasonable, $447.99 which again, I feel is a fantastic price, especially as this comes with a dedicated subwoofer. I of course had a look on eBay and there are some even better deals on there, the cheapest I saw it was around the 300 bucks range which is a steal!
The Verdict:
The deals on both of these at the moment is just insane. I am really struggling to pick a winner here, even if you went for the great deals at a named retailer like Walmart, it is hard to choose. As I have to pick a winner, I think I am going to have to give this to the Samsung HW-Q600A as it does have a dedicated subwoofer with it. Still, even as I write that, I am blown away at how much Walmart is selling the Sony HT-X8500 for right now!
The Design:
The design category of this Samsung HW-Q600A and Sony HT-X8500 fight to the death is something I am very excited about. Sony and Samsung are number 1 and 2 for me when it comes to the style that they offer with their home entertainment equipment so this is going to be a hard one for me to call.
Sony HT-X8500:
The Sony HT-X8500 really is a very cool looking soundbar. The dimensions of this are 6.75 x 37.25 x 6.25 inches so it is around average size for a soundbar. What really grabbed my attention with this the first time I saw it was that awesome looking metal grill. The way it wraps around the soundbar is just so cool and gives the soundbar a real premium kind of look to it. On the top of the soundbar, we have this strange almost fake leather like material which is rather odd, but it does give it some elegance and a style of its own, I do worry about it getting caked in dust and damaged though. That Sony logo is there right on the top which is always something I like to see. Sony is the one company whose logo I like out on full display.
I recommend that you check out this Sony HT-X8500 Review The Best All-in-One Soundbar? video that shows off just how cool and sleek this looks. On the back, you have an HDMI and an optical port on the back of here along with your power and a standard USB port. It is worth noting that this does have a built in subwoofer so you do have the open area to allow for this on the sides, but you do not really notice it to be honest with you. As you would expect from a Sony product, the Sony HT-X8500 has a tremendous remote control that has some dedicated buttons for a few of the soundbar’s main features. It is a solid remote and one that I like a great deal.
Samsung HW-Q600A:
I was very impressed with the overall build quality of the Samsung HW-Q600A. The dimensions of the soundbar are 4.1 x 38.6 x 2.3 inches so it does have a slimmer profile than the Sony. I really like how Samsung has used a metal grill for this and the fact it covers not just the front, but the top of the soundbar is something that I think is very cool. It gives the soundbar a very sleek and cool kind of style and I would 100 percent be cool having this out on display in my living room or home theatre. The plastic that they have used to make the majority of the soundbar has a very strong feel to it. On the back of the soundbar, you have an HDMI, optical USP, and power port. You do also have a port for connecting it to the subwoofer… speaking of which.
We do have to look at the awesome subwoofer that is part of the Samsung HW-Q600A package. This is a very solid subwoofer and coming in at 8.0” x 11.9” x 13.9” it has a solid and decent size, but without taking up a ton of space. It has a very sleek and cool vibe going on, the front is covered with fabric and the port is located on the back. In all, it is a great looking subwoofer and it compliments the soundbar very well. The remote control that Samsung gives you is pretty cool. It does not have as many buttons like the one that comes with the Sony, but it still gives you all the control you need over the soundbar and subwoofer.
The Verdict:
These are two great looking soundbars, but I have to pick the Samsung HW-Q600A as my winner, I love the way that metal grill on the front and top of the soundbar looks, plus the accompanying subwoofer is very cool too.
The Sound:
Our final round and main event in our comparison steel cage match is looking at how good these soundbars sound when playing your favorite movies, TV shows, and video games!
Sony HT-X8500:
Getting a Dolby Atmos soundbar of this quality for 200 bucks is just insane, a few years ago, this was unimaginable! The Sony HT-X8500 is not offering the greatest Dolby Atmos effect I have experienced, but it is certainly passable. I watched Venom: Let Their Be Carnage with this and I was impressed with the Dolby Atmos that this provided and did feel that the soundbar did a good job in general of making the sound go all around the room. For someone just looking to dip their toes into the world of Dolby Atmos, I am actually having a hard time coming up with a better soundbar than this one here. I have looked at this soundbar a few times now and I like it more and more each time I get to play around with it. There are better Sony Dolby Atmos soundbars out there that is for sure, but again, at this price, this really is something special.
The overall sound performance of the Sony HT-X8500 is solid. If you were to watch a loud action movie like Rampage, for example, you are going to be impressed with the level of bass the built in subwoofer offers. It is not room rocking or anything like that, but it still packs a hell of a punch. It also has some excellent clear voice going on here too, watching a show like Lost for example is great as you hear everything nice and clear. I am not saying this is the greatest Dolby Atmos soundbar in the world, but for 200 bucks, there are not many that can match the bang for your buck that you are getting with this. This is the soundbar for you if you want Dolby Atmos sound from a company that you actually know, but do not want to spend a fortune!
Samsung HW-Q600A:
As the Samsung HW-Q600A is a Dolby Atmos soundbar that comes with a dedicated subwoofer, I was very excited to get the chance to check this out. I watched many videos like this Samsung HWQ600A Soundbar With Sound Demo to try and get an idea of what I could expect. The Dolby Atmos that you are getting here is pretty damn impressive. Samsung does have more “premium” soundbar offerings, but I watched Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom which is a movie I know very well, and the Dolby Atmos track along with that subwoofer, really did impress me. I felt like I was getting cinema quality sound and for the asking price here, it really is amazing. The way that the Samsung HW0Q600A is able to fill the room and hit you from above thanks to the Dolby Atmos is really cool.
I was not sure how good the thrown in subwoofer would be, but I was very impressed with that too. Watching a movie like Independence Day is great as the subwoofer really does help give those epic action scenes that extra bit of oomph like you would get in the movie theatre. This is a soundbar/subwoofer combo that I would legit happily have in my own home, that is how impressed I was with it. My wife loves this show on Amazon Prime (it is on Disney Plus too) called, This Is Us and she was very impressed at how clear this was. I think that for those that want and need dialogue to be as clear as possible, this set really is quite perfect for them, especially if they want to be under the 500 bucks range. Samsung has a great range of soundbars on the market and there are some that are more “premium” than this, however, I still think this is great and perfect if you want to bring the home theatre experience home at a more reasonable price.
The Verdict:
I have to say that for 200 bucks the Sony HT-X8500 may be one of the best deals I have seen on a soundbar in a very long time. Getting a Sony Dolby Atmos soundbar for that kind of money is just insane. However, I do have to say that side by side the Samsung HW-Q500A is the clear winner when it comes to sound. I think that it is not just because of the included subwoofer which helps with more bass. The Dolby Atmos performance and the general performance is better here than it is with the Sony.
What Is The Best Soundbar?
I have to say that this Samsung HW-Q600A and the Sony HT-X8500 soundbar fight that I put together today was a great deal of fun. These are two awesome soundbars, but they are actually hard to compare. Side by side, I have to say that the Samsung HW-Q600A is the winner here. It sounds better, it looks better, it comes with a subwoofer and it just does all that the Sony can do, but better. However, I just cannot get over that you can now get the Sony HT-X8500 for just under 200 bucks. If you have never had a Dolby Atmos soundbar before and want to get in on this trend, but do not want to spend a lot of money, you will struggle to find a better deal than the HT-X8500.
