Sennheiser has announced a more affordable version of its Ambeo Soundbar Plus, as the parade of new TV audio solutions continues at IFA 2022.
The Ambeo Soundbar Plus still costs £1,299 with pre-orders opening today. It’s smaller, but also packs much of the same tech as the award-winning original Ambeo Soundbar (which now has a ‘Max’ suffix).
That means the same 3D sound – with support for Dolby Atmos, Sony’s 360 Reality Audio, and DTS:X – and the ability to scan the room to create the perfect soundscape for the environment. It’s also possible to up-mix stereo and 5.1 content to achieve those 3D sound experiences.
Sennheiser says this is the world’s first 7.1.4 channel standalone soundbar, while it can also be combined with the new Ambeo Sub. There’s support for major casting tech standards including AirPlay 2, Tidal Connect, and Spotify connect, while you’ll also be able to use Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant voice controls.
If you want to go all in on the accompanying Ambeo Sub, it’ll cost an additional £599. It has a 350W Class-D amp, as well as bass that retains audiograde quality right down to 27Hz, Sennheiser says. If you wish, you can connect up to four of these subwoofers to the Ambeo Plus Soundbar. Both can be pre-ordered today, before they go on sale on September 22.
The prospect of a more affordable Ambeo Soundbar is an enticing one, especially if it’s based on the same tech. In our 2019 review of the original, our reviewer gave it a perfect five-star review, citing the superb 3D audio performance and claiming the sound was “as good with music as it is movies.” Only the price and the size let it down. However, it did have an integrated subwoofer, which the Plus does not.
Our reviewer called it “arguably the best-sounding soundbar on the planet. Superb cinematic audio from a single-box solution – and it’s wonderfully musical too.”
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
