​Samsung 2017 QLED Q7 TV: Full, in-depth review

Sound

All the main manufacturers would like you to buy a soundbar and Samsung’s new soundbars are very nice indeed. However, many people rely heavily on the built-in speakers and so we tested with these. They were actually impressive getting loud and surprisingly well-rounded. Don’t expect thumping bass but for general usage, whether for movies or music, few people other than audiophiles will complain.

Conclusion

Samsung has certainly put together an attractive all-round package here and despite fierce competition it’s not to be dismissed. It’s a bit of a Porsche Boxster to the Q9’s 911 though… the only reason you’d buy this is because you couldn’t afford the top model which is likely to fix the image foibles we saw here. And you’ll know that every time you run into them.

But price is more of a problem outside of Samsung's range. The 55-inch Q7 costs a whopping $4,499, the 65-inch model is $6,499 and the 75-inch model is $10,999. A 55-inch LG OLED TV costs $4,199 and offers better everything. More troublingly a 55-inch Hisense costs just $1,298 – you could buy three of those for the same price and still have hundreds of dollar left over. And it offers better picture quality in terms of colour, black-performance and upscaling.

While LG’s OLED range tops out at 65-inches, Hisense’s 75-inch competitor costs just $2,998 – that’s $8000 cheaper than the equivalent Q7!

We very much like the Q7 as it’s a decent TV with few weak points, some nice design features and is far more a piece of furniture than the cheap-looking Hisense. If you live in a VERY bright Aussie home then the high brightness rating of Samsung’s new TVs may also be a deal breaker.

But when you could throw in a free car when choosing a big Hisense ULED TV over a big Samsung Q7, it’s a no-brainer. If you have enough money to dump on a Q7 then you really should be looking at the superior Q9 or LG’s OLED TV instead.