Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Mini (with AMBEO Sub) review: Small home cinema without a home cinema
A TEST REPORT from David Haydl 
on October 23, 2023, 8:00 am | Write a comment
A breathtaking, room-filling and rousing sound: This is what the Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Mini promises. I'll clarify in this test report whether it holds up.
tl; dr: The Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Mini is the smallest and “cheapest” soundbar in the AMBEO series. Its RRP is 799 euros, while the next most expensive AMBEO Soundbar Plus has a starting price of 1499 euros. This means that the barrier to entry has been significantly reduced, but the Soundbar Mini is still not a device for beginners. It is more recommended if you don't have the money to put down for a full-fledged home theater or if you don't have enough money for nowprowhether you want to drink beer at all profit.
The promise on Sennheiser's website is "The world's most immersive sound", but can the Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Mini deliver on that? When it comes to playing music, everything is great here, just as I'm used to from the manufacturer. For films and series with Dolby Atmos, the size of the room and the orientation of the soundbar in it are very important. Otherwise, if you listen closely, you'll notice the lack of upward-facing speakers.
All in all, my criticisms are limited. My only criticism is the workmanship of the included remote control and the fact that there has to be total silence when calibrating the AMBEO mode so that it works accurately. You should also be well informed before buying, because if you have an incompatible television, for example, you may not be able to benefit from the main features of the AMBEO Soundbar Mini profit.
Small note: The test will primarily be about the AMBEO Soundbar Mini, while I will only explain and evaluate the interaction with the soundbar for the AMBEO Sub.
- Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Mini (Amazon/Sennheiser)
- Sennheiser AMBEO Sub (Amazon/Sennheiser)
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Unboxing and initial setup
The AMBEO Soundbar Mini and the AMBEO Sub both come in cardboard packaging. At this point, my obligatory tip again: If you have to pick up the AMBEO Sub from a parcel office, we recommend doing so by car or with a cargo bike, as the parcel is quite heavy.
In the packaging of the soundbar there are also: ProThe product itself includes a power cable, an HDMI cable to connect to a TV, instructions and a remote control. The subwoofer also comes with a power cable and various pieces of paper.
The furnishingproprocess can be carried out in the Sennheiser Smart Control app as soon as all devices have been connected to the power supply. The steps are very self-explanatory. I found it practical that the soundbar automatically receives the WLAN access data via the AirPlayProgreat. Subs can be paired either immediately or later via the app settings. All you have to do is locate the devices found after a short period of timeprocess confirm – it couldn’t be simpler. Up to four subwoofers can be connected.
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- Calibrating AMBEO takes about three minutes. (Picture: TechnikNews)
Design and workmanship
The design of the AMBEO Soundbar Mini is basically quite inconspicuous and at the same time so independent that it is recognizable. The ProUnfortunately, the product is only available in black.
The sides of the soundbar are covered with fabric and the top is made of plastic. This gives the whole thing an elegant and high-quality appearance. On the top there are four microphones and touch-sensitive buttons for functions such as selecting the audio input. What it doesn't have are upward-facing speakers for better three-dimensional sound.
All connections were placed on the back. In addition to the power connection, these include an HDMI and a USB-A port. HDMI is there to connect to a television and USB-A gives you the option to power other devices.
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What is unusual is that the AMBEO Soundbar Mini comes with its own remote control. This has rubberized buttons and is made of plastic. Unfortunately, the casing doesn't seem to be of the highest quality and the buttons don't really feel good either. The remote control can be used to change the sound mode, control the volume, adjust the input and turn the soundbar on and off. I would have liked to be able to change the current track too. So you still have to use a smartphone.
Picture: TechnikNews
Specifications
The AMBEO Soundbar Mini can be played via WiFi, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Chromecast, AirPlay 2, Bluetooth 5.0 (with AAC and SCBT) and Alexa. Apart from that, as mentioned earlier, you can connect it to a TV using an HDMI cable.
Inside there are six Class D amplifiers and two woofers. The device also supports several technologies for 3D audio and immersive sound: Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, 360 Reality Audio from Sony and MPEG-H.
sound quality
What the soundbar also has and which makes the things mentioned above possible is the in-house AMBEO technology, which is responsible for the name. This is used to adapt the sound of the drivers to the acoustics of the room, for which virtual speakers are placed in the room. This is intended to ensure that the sound is fuller and you feel even more like you are sitting right in the experience.
But first let's discuss the more boring area of application for the soundbar: enjoying music. Boring because the sound is very well coordinated and because you can sometimes hear a lot more details in songs. Nothing that we aren't already used to from Sennheiser.
films and series
It gets more exciting when you watch films and series with the Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Mini with Dolby Atmos. Dolby Atmos essentially ensures that sound can come from several different directions to match the content. This actually requires several speakers in different positions, which are generated by AMBEO technology.
It is also important that the television (and a possibly connected set-top box) supports this and that everything is set up correctly. The best thing to do is to research the manufacturer's instructions on the topic before buying so that you don't buy anything that you may not be able to use optimally afterwards.
Once everything is configured correctly, Dolby Atmos playback works surprisingly well for a device of this size, provided the environment is optimal. The small meeting room in which my demo appointment at IFA 2023 took place or my bedroom, which is around 10 square meters in size, are ideal. Then you really think you are in the middle of the film, as the sound comes from several directions according to the picture. And thanks to the sub, the sounds are only positively amplified.
But there are also suboptimal places of use, such as my living-dining room with kitchen. This is very large and open and, thanks to the kitchenette and the passage into the anteroom, there are not only smooth surfaces to which the virtual speakers can “stick”. Also, my TV is in one half of the room instead of in the middle. The result: The “Atmos effect” was still there to my left, as the wall is not far away, but was rather lost to my right, where the kitchenette is.
If you listen closely, you'll notice that upward-facing speakers are missing, but it's not really a problem.
Smart control app
The Sennheiser Smart Control app for setup and configuration is available to download free of charge from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
One practical area of this is “Demo Experience”, primarily for configuring Dolby Atmos with a TV. There you can hear what Dolby Atmos should actually sound like and then compare it with content on the television to see whether it really sounds that way.
Various equalizers are also included. There are several ready-made options to choose from, and these can also be modified. The night mode takes the intensity out of the sound, which is intended to disturb sleeping people less at night. Ultimately, the effect isn't really that special, so manually reducing the volume does the trick. Speech amplification is supposed to do the complete opposite, but in reality you don't really notice a big difference here either.
Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Mini/AMBEO Sub: Prices and availability
The price of the Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Mini is 799 euros and the AMBEO Sub costs 749 euros. Both can be purchased via the links at Sennheiser. Alternatively, these are Soundbar and the Subwoofer also available via Amazon.
Picture: TechnikNews
We would like to thank Sennheiser for providing the AMBEO Soundbar Mini and the AMBEO Sub!
