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Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Max · Sennheiser
AMBEO Soundbar Max
A thirteen-driver Dolby Atmos soundbar with room calibration, three HDMI inputs and virtual 5.1.4 surround playback from a single enclosure.
- Type
- Soundbar
- Atmos
- Yes
- Connects by
- Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and HDMI
- Battery
- –
- Weight
- 18.5 kg
What reviewers say
Reviewers praise detailed dialogue, substantial bass without a separate subwoofer and convincing scale from one enclosure. Both find its size and price demanding. AVForums stresses the missing sound directly behind the listener, despite effective spatial processing; What Hi-Fi finds stronger processing adds reverb and reduces impact, and reports awkward app setup. Both rate music playback highly.
From whathifi.com and avforums.com
Specifications
Report a wrong or missing specSound
- Type
- Soundbar
- Channels
- 5.1.4 virtual
- Dolby Atmos
- Yes
- Drivers
- Thirteen drivers; six 100 mm cellulose-sandwich low/mid drivers, five 25 mm aluminium tweeters and two 90 mm upward-firing cellulose full-range drivers. The 5.1.4 presentation is virtual surround from the bar, without rear satellites. Originally sold as AMBEO Soundbar; renamed Max in 2022 when Plus was introduced, rather than a new hardware generation
- Amplifiers
- Thirteen class-D amplifiers; 250 W RMS and 500 W peak total audio power according to the manufacturer manual
- Frequency response
- 30 Hz–20 kHz (-3 dB, manufacturer)
- Audio formats
- Dolby Atmos, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Digital, DTS:X, DTS-HD and MPEG-H; multichannel LPCM. Current UK product page also lists Sony 360 Reality Audio; available formats depend on input and software
- Room tuning
- Included external calibration microphone measures the room and listening position; AMBEO processing uses room reflections for virtual height and surround. Light, Standard and Boost processing levels; performance depends on placement and room surfaces
Connections
- Wi-Fi
- Yes
- Bluetooth
- Yes
- AirPlay
- Yes
- HDMI eARC
- Yes
- Voice assistants
- None
- Wi-Fi
- IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac; 2.4 and 5 GHz, 2×2 MIMO; wired Ethernet available
- Bluetooth
- Bluetooth 4.2, class 1, with SBC and AAC; NFC pairing
- Ports
- Three HDMI 2.0a inputs and one HDMI TV eARC/ARC output; up to 4K at 60 Hz with Dolby Vision passthrough. Optical S/PDIF, stereo RCA input, mono RCA subwoofer pre-out, Ethernet, USB-A accessory power/service updates and 2.5 mm calibration-microphone input; USB does not provide music-file playback
- Streaming
- AirPlay 2, Chromecast built-in, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect and UPnP network streaming on current software; service availability varies by region
- Multi-room
- Network music streaming; an external subwoofer connects through the wired RCA pre-out. No wireless rear-speaker expansion is specified for Max
- App
- Sennheiser Smart Control for setup, calibration, equaliser, sound profiles and updates; current AMBEO OS2 adds adjustable voice enhancement
Design
- Weight
- 18.5 kg
- Controls
- On-bar buttons, infrared remote, OLED status display and AMBEO indicator; Movie, Music, News, Sports and Neutral profiles, plus night mode
- Microphones
- Included external omnidirectional room-calibration microphone; no integrated voice assistant is specified for Max
- Mounting
- Tabletop placement or optional SB01-WM wall bracket; room-calibration instructions require space around the bar and an unobstructed upward sound path
- Size
- Approximately 1265 × 135 × 171 mm (W × H × D, including feet), or 1265 × 125 × 171 mm without feet, from the model SB01 manual; the UK product table rounds width to 126 cm and repeats the same height for both entries
- Colours
- Black fabric grille with brushed aluminium housing
- In the box
- Soundbar, country-specific power cable, approximately 1 m HDMI cable, remote with CR2032 battery, calibration microphone with holder and approximately 5 m cable, quick guide and safety guide
Pros and cons
Pros
- Thirteen drivers including dedicated upward-firing units
- Three HDMI inputs and HDMI eARC
- Included room-calibration microphone and Wi-Fi music streaming
Cons
- Large 18.5 kg enclosure
- HDMI video passthrough limited to 4K at 60 Hz
- Optional subwoofer needs a wired connection
Closest rivals
Model | Type | Atmos | Connects by | Battery | Weight | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundbar | No | Bluetooth | – | – | 2020 | |
| Soundbar | Yes | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and HDMI | – | – | Mar 2022 | |
| Soundbar | No | Wi-Fi and Bluetooth | – | – | 2020 |
Sources
- uk.sennheiser-hearing.com/products/ambeo-soundbar
- cdn.sennheiser-hearing.com/product-documents/product-downloads/ambeo-soundbar-r…
- newsroom.sennheiser.com/the-worlds-most-immersive-sound-b6ccdg
- newsroom.sennheiser.com/hear-it-to-believe-it-223012
- audioblog.iis.fraunhofer.com/sennheiser-ambeo-soundbar-mpegh-uphear
- whathifi.com/reviews/sennheiser-ambeo-soundbar
- avforums.com/reviews/sennheiser-ambeo-soundbar-review.16470
Photo: Sennheiser
- AMBEO Soundbar Max right end and grille detail: Sennheiser
- AMBEO Soundbar Max from the front and right side: Sennheiser
- AMBEO Soundbar Max from the front and left side: Sennheiser
- AMBEO Soundbar Max top and front view: Sennheiser
- AMBEO Soundbar Max top controls detail: Sennheiser
- AMBEO Soundbar Max top audio-format markings: Sennheiser
- AMBEO Soundbar Max underside connection panel: Sennheiser
