Verdict
The Sennheiser Ambeo Mini is compromised , of course of action – but this low , expensive , and high - achieving soundbar will nevertheless prove just the ticket for any number of hoi polloi .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The moment Sennheiser launched itsAmbeo Soundbar Plusand change the name of its original Ambeo toAmbeo Max , the path was clean-cut for a smaller , more affordable Ambeo soundbar . And here it is , the Ambeo Mini .
Availability
The Sennheiser Ambeo Mini is on sale from September 1st , 2023 , and in the United Kingdom it be £ 699 . American client are face at $ 799 to secure one , while in Australia it ’s priced at AU$1299 .
This make it the most low-cost Ambeo soundbar , and by a distance – but that ’s really not the same as low-cost . Any telephone number of brands with just as much believability as Sennheiser will deal you a soundbar for this sort of money , many of which – on paper , at least – seem to have a chip more to offer . This , then , is not the first Ambeo soundbar with it all to bear witness …
Design
What happen when aSonos Beam Gen 2and a Sennheiser Ambeo Plus fuck each other very , very much ? The Sennheiser Ambeo Mini , that ’s what .
At 65 x 700 x 100 mm it ’s so similar in sizing and symmetry to the Beam Gen 2 as to be almost indistinguishable in silhouette . In its utilisation of high - timbre charge card wrapped seamlessly in black acoustic cloth , and its sloping top venire that forms a lip where it meets the front of the human body , it ’s Ambeo Plus all the way of life – albeit on a smaller scale .
There ’s not a pot of cloth here , not muchstuff , for your money – an all - in weight of just 3.3 kg confirms it . But be assure that what there is of the Ambeo Mini is flawlessly constructed and built to last .
Features
The Sennheiser Ambeo Mini is compatible withDolby Atmos , 360 Reality Audio , DTS :X and MPEG - H spatial audio data format – that ’s a fact , and therefore a feature . What ’s less of a lineament is Sennheiser ’s state desire to rescue 7.1.4 -channel phone from just six drivers – that ’s more of an dream .
To try and make its dreams amount truthful , Sennheiser has deployed six drivers that are subject to some fearsomely complex virtualisation applied science the company developed in tandem with Fraunhofer .
Four of these drivers are 38 mm full - kitchen range items – there ’s one at either end of the soundbar , angle out to make some audio breadth , and the other two expression forrad . The other two are 102 mm bass drivers that are concealed behind the plastic of the top panel – they put up the bottom end of a take 43Hz – 20kHz frequency response .
All of these drivers are conduce to the practical height distribution channel the Ambeo Mini require to make , and all of them are made of cellulose . They ’re powered by 250 watts of Class D gain .
get audio information on board in the first place can be done in any of quite a few ways . There ’s Wi - Fi andBluetooth 5.0(with SBC and AAC codec compatibility ) for wireless stuff , along withSpotify ConnectandTIDAL Connect , UPnP , Apple AirPlay 2and Chromecast – those last two mean gentle multi - room consolidation .
The physical connexion are on the rearward panel of the chassis – there ’s anHDMI eARCsocket and a USB - A slot ( as well as a mains mightiness input , a reset button , and a set - up button ) . Those of you skip for HDMI passthrough will be let down .
coiffe up and control the Ambeo Soundbar Mini is bare , and there are quite a few ascendence alternative . First off , you ’ll necessitate the Sennheiser Smart Control app that ’s devoid for Io and Android – this is where you get memory access to the automatic room calibration feature . Position the soundbar , keep quiet while it fires out a series of trial tones , and before you know it the Ambeo Mini is optimised to the space in which it incur itself .
The app is useful in passel of other ways , too . The obvious stuff like bulk control and input survival are available , but there ’s also the facility to switch the Ambeo virtualisation engineering on or off , pick out one of the six EQ presets most appropriate to the content you ’re observe , check for software updates and so on . It ’s a clean-living and static user interface , and all the better for its perfect and unshowy presentation .
There are four far - field mics subside into the top panel of the soundbar – that ’s how it ’s able-bodied to discover the test - tone of voice . They ’re also used to facilitate vocalism control – the Ambeo Mini hasAmazon Alexabuilt in , and if you ’ve a suitablesmart speakeron the same electronic internet as the Mini you’re able to useGoogle Assistanttoo . If you value your seclusion , there ’s a mute sense of touch - control condition on there too , along with a few other major dominance and an light-emitting diode strip indicating mass level .
Sennheiser also provides a removed restraint French telephone , and a proper one at that . It ’s a decent size , nicely form , made from racy charge plate and feature each and every major function . Some backlighting would n’t go awry , and you ’ll need to squint to take the labelling of the release , but by persist standards this is an upmarket item .
Sound Quality
Sennheiser is clearly keen to evidence Ambeo Soundbar Mini possessor that it can wirelessly pair off with as many as four Ambeo Sub subwoofers at a time . But I ’d suggest hearing the form of scummy - frequency answer the Ambeo Mini is capable of all by itself before you rush into anything .
The claims for prolongation down to 43Hz vocalise utterly sane – and not only does the Sennheiser dig deep , it hits hard and has proper detail and variation to go with its out - and - out impact . Its bass performance is prodigious .
And it ’s no slouch where the remainder of the frequency kitchen range is concern , either . The midrange is open and illuminating , with dialogue consecrate a whole stack of detail regarding tonus and timbre as well as lineament and saturation ; the top of the frequency mountain chain is unmistakably bright and substantial given there are no actual tweeter involved . The integration of the frequency range is bland and convincing despite the low - end intensity , and key is neutral and consistent throughout , too .
Dynamic headroom is considerable , and with the soundtrack to Mad Max : Fury Road via UHD 4 K Blu - electron beam on board the Sennheiser ’s power to turn on a dime and switch from quiet to ear - splittingly forte is impressive . Not that there are too many subdued mo in this moving-picture show , of course …
What ’s just a small less impressive is thespatial audioaspect of the Ambeo Soundbar Mini ’s replication . The combination of physical drivers and Ambeo virtualisation technology permit the soundbar to make a soundstage that ’s far extensive and substantially deeper than its size of it might show is possible – and it ’s organised , assure , and strikes a ripe balance between focus and interval .
But there ’s a shortage of the top effect that are usually the whole stage of a spatial audio soundtrack – the Ambeo Soundbar Mini can put auditory sensation up around the top of your TV , but if the intention is to create a dome of audio , then it ’s a rather squashed dome .
Switching to Atmos - mastered medicine via TIDAL get in touch only reinforce the overall feeling . An Atmos single file of Life During Wartime by blab out head sounds bluff and prescribed , has a sweet amount of midrange item available , is split and unified all at the same time , exist on a unco wide soundstage … and is just slightly truncated where the superlative aspect is touch on .
The limits of the Ambeo virtualisation applied science are made more apparent by take heed to less state - of - the - art depicted object . The 5.1 - channel soundtrack to dead on target Grit lose just a little positivity and intensity level when liken to the aboriginal 7.1.4 -channel alternative – and when I ask the Sennheiser to virtualise some two-channel euphony into a spatial audio presentation , quite a minute of its composure desert it .
It becomes foggy where it was antecedently focus , and the soundstage loses a lot of definition . It ’s quite a adequate to medicine verbaliser if listened to in stereo – although it ca n’t help but sound a little modest - scale when you do so .
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Should you buy it?
The Ambeo Mini is capable of punchy , elbow room - filling sound as long as that elbow room is n’t monumental .
This sort of money will buy that – but ineluctably it comes from a multi - part production that ’s quite a lot big than this .
Final Thoughts
Until now Sennheiser has managed to justify the premium pricing of its Ambeo soundbars thanks to their unarguable operation . The Ambeo Mini , though , is more or less different .
By the banner of compact , tidy soundbars it looks quite pricey – even if it ’s get a stack of positives where operation is concerned . By the standard ofDolby Atmos soundbarsat this sort of money , it ’s not quite as immersive as its best rivals – but , of course , it has size and public lavatory on its side . It ’s not for everyone , the Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Mini – but for some people it ’s going to be absolutely perfect .
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every soundbar system we review thoroughly over an elongated period of time of sentence . We use industry received examination to compare features by rights . We ’ll always secernate you what we find . We never , ever , accept money to survey a product .
Find out more about how we test in ourethics policy .
FAQs
The Ambeo Soundbar Mini support up to four additional subwoofer , but if you need to impart rearward or surround legal speaker system then the Ambeo Mini does not put up that functionality .
