Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Mini vs Sony BRAVIA Theatre Bar 8
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| SennheiserAMBEO Soundbar Mini | SonyBRAVIA Theatre Bar 8 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | September 2023 | April 2024 |
| Sound | ||
| Type | Soundbar | Soundbar |
| Channels | 7.1.4 (virtual) | 5.0.2 |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
| Drivers | Six drivers, with two 100 mm cellulose woofers and four 40 mm cellulose full-range drivers; front and side placement in the maker manual, without dedicated upward-firing drivers. The 7.1.4 presentation is virtualised | 11 speaker units in an acoustic-suspension enclosure; 45 × 90 mm front and centre cone speakers, 10 mm front soft-dome tweeters, a 22 mm centre soft-dome tweeter, and 46 × 54 mm up-firing and side speakers |
| Amplifiers | Six Class D amplifiers, total 250 W RMS | S-Master HX digital amplifier, 11 channels |
| Frequency response | 43 Hz–20 kHz (-3 dB) | – |
| Audio formats | Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS:X, multichannel LPCM, MPEG-H and Sony 360 Reality Audio | Over HDMI eARC, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Atmos, DTS, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio, DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS-ES, DTS 96/24, DTS:X, IMAX Enhanced and LPCM up to 192 kHz/24-bit; 360 Reality Audio; High-Resolution Audio |
| Room tuning | Automatic AMBEO calibration using four microphones, adaptive sound, stereo upmixing, adjustable presets, equaliser, Voice Enhancement and Night Mode | Sound Field Optimization; 360 Spatial Sound Mapping; Voice mode and Night mode; DSEE Ultimate; Voice Zoom 3 and Acoustic Center Sync with compatible BRAVIA TVs |
| Connections | ||
| Wi-Fi | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth | Yes | Yes |
| AirPlay | Yes | Yes |
| HDMI eARC | Yes | Yes |
| Voice assistants | Alexa | None |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax), 2.4 and 5 GHz, 2 × 2 MIMO | Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.0 Classic/BLE with SBC and AAC audio; Bluetooth 5.2 BLE and LC3 are for the separate AMBEO Sub connection | Bluetooth 5.2; SBC, AAC and LDAC (receiving); A2DP and AVRCP |
| Ports | One HDMI 2.1 eARC connection and USB-A for accessory power/service; no separate HDMI inputs, optical, analogue or Ethernet connections | HDMI eARC/ARC out to the TV; HDMI in (4K/60p 4:4:4, HDR, Dolby Vision, HLG, VRR, ALLM, HDCP 2.2); S-CENTER OUT for TV Center Speaker Mode |
| Streaming | AirPlay 2, Chromecast built-in, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect and UPnP | AirPlay; Spotify Connect; Bluetooth |
| Multi-room | Supports up to four separately sold wireless AMBEO Sub units | AirPlay to several speakers; wireless SA-RS5 or SA-RS3S rear speakers and SA-SW5 or SA-SW3 subwoofers (up to two of the same model) sold separately |
| App | Sennheiser Smart Control and browser interface for setup and sound controls | Sony | BRAVIA Connect; settings also appear in the Quick Settings menu of compatible BRAVIA TVs |
| Design | ||
| Weight | 3.3 kg (better) | 4.7 kg |
| Controls | Included infrared remote, app, browser and soundbar touch controls | Power button on the bar; supplied remote control with SOUND FIELD, VOICE and NIGHT buttons; HDMI CEC with the TV remote |
| Microphones | Four far-field microphones for room calibration and voice control, with mute button; Alexa built in where supported, Google Assistant and Siri through external compatible devices | None; Sony says the speaker system doesn't have a microphone |
| Mounting | – | Wall-mountable with the supplied brackets and template; supplied feet raise it to 76.2 mm |
| Size | 70 × 6.9 × 10.1 cm with feet, or 70 × 6.7 × 10.1 cm without feet (width × height × depth). Current UK sheet gives approximately 3.3 kg, while the shared maker manual gives approximately 3.56 kg | 1,100 × 64 × 113 mm (W × H × D) |
| Colours | Black | – |
| In the box | Soundbar, remote with lithium battery, HDMI cable, country-specific power cord and guides; September 2023 release confirmed by TechRadar | Sound bar, remote control, TV center speaker mode cable, HDMI cable, AC power cord, two feet, wall mounting brackets, screws and template, documents; batteries in some regions |
More comparisons
- Sonos Beam Ultra vs Sony BRAVIA Theatre Bar 8
- Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Mini vs Sonos Beam Ultra
- Samsung HW-Q800H vs Sony BRAVIA Theatre Bar 8
- Sony BRAVIA Theatre Bar 7 vs Sony BRAVIA Theatre Bar 8
- Sony BRAVIA Theatre Bar 5 vs Sony BRAVIA Theatre Bar 8
- JBL Bar 1000MK2 vs Sony BRAVIA Theatre Bar 8
- JBL Bar 500MK2 vs Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Mini
- Sony BRAVIA Theatre Bar 6 vs Sony BRAVIA Theatre Bar 8
- Bose Smart Soundbar vs Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Mini
- LG US90TY vs Sony BRAVIA Theatre Bar 8
- Klipsch Flexus Core 100 vs Sony BRAVIA Theatre Bar 8
- LG US95TR vs Sony BRAVIA Theatre Bar 8
- Sony BRAVIA Theatre Bar 8 vs Sony BRAVIA Theatre Bar 9
- Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar vs Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Mini
- Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Mini vs Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Plus
- Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Mini vs Sonos Beam (Gen 2)

