The problem with Sennheiser's AMBEO Soundbar is that it's a
soundbar. When it comes to serious sound, this can't possibly work – can it? I
love my stereo and surround sound – but indeed, this isn't either. Before you
start throwing around accusations of bias, I must disclose that my favourite
wireless earbuds are Sennheiser's Momentum True Wireless 2s, while I still don
my oldest over-ear headphones, Sennheiser HD 535s, which are now over twenty
years old. So it's not like I'm against the brand, but can a humble soundbar
deliver the sonic goods.READ MORE. gravtechnologyHaving heard the AMBEO, my answer is yes. It's easily the
best one I've used – and I've tried dozens over the years. This is the first
that does a respectable job of producing Dolby Atmos/DTS:X surround sound
without the use of separate surround speakers. Still, costing £2,199, it needs
to be good. That's twice the price of premium models from the various Korean
and Japanese makers – and while its rivals come with wireless subwoofers, the
Sennheiser relies entirely on its built-in bass drivers.
VITAL STATISTICS
This is big and heavy. It weighs 18.5kg and is 135mm tall,
which is likely too tall for benchtop placement with many low-slung modern TVs.
That height is on its feet; if you're wall-mounting, reduce it by 10mm. It's
1,265mm wide and 171mm deep. That's a couple of hundred millimetres less
comprehensive than a typical 65-inch TV and just a touch more expansive than a
standard 55-inch TV…
Its weight is almost worryingly high – indeed, it's pretty
much the same as an LG 55-inch OLED TV. Why so heavy? Perhaps it has something
to do with the thirteen, yes thirteen, drivers contained therein. Let's count
them; there are six bass/midrange drivers, each 100mm in size. There are five
25mm aluminum dome tweeters and two 89mm full-range units. More drivers than a
bus depot, then! The two full-range ones are on top, angled forwards slightly
to act as Dolby Atmos-enabled speakers. If you have a ceiling within a
reasonable range, they should do a decent job of emulating ceiling speakers.
I've discussed this with Dolby Laboratories over the years. It isn't simply a
matter of speakers bouncing stuff off the ceiling. Some Dolby magic sauce is
applied to the signal sent to these height channels to enhance the height
effect.
Two of the tweeters are on the angled ends of the AMBEO,
firing slightly forwards. The other three are in the expected positions, firing
directly out into the room, one at the left end, one at the right and one in
the middle. Three bass midrange drivers are between the centre tweeter and each
of the outer ones. Yes, Sennheiser somehow managed to squeeze all thirteen
drivers in. A small monochrome OLED display centred near the bottom of the
soundbar provides visual feedback to the listener.
Interestingly, the enclosure appears to be sealed, with no
bass reflex ports or passive radiators – and of course, no subwoofer. Yet
Sennheiser claims a frequency response of 30Hz to 20kHz, and not just in that
vague aspirational sense so often used in measured performance but at -3dB
points like proper hi-fi speakers. The manufacturer doesn't talk much about the
amplification, merely specifying it at 500W maximum. READ MORE. digitalfitnessworld
