German audio brand Sennheiser launched its third and cheapest soundbar called Ambeo Soundbar Mini. This soundbar is priced at $799, which is still not cheap but is comparable to the company’s previous $2499.95 Ambeo Soundbar Max and $1499.95 Ambeo Soundbar Plus. Compared to this, it can almost be said to be an entry-level price.
The Ambeo Soundbar Mini retains many of the core specifications of Sennheiser’s previous soundbars and still supports a variety of 3D surround sound formats such as Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, 360 Reality Audio and MPEG-H. Can be paired with up to four Sennheiser Ambeo Sub subwoofers and still supports full streaming capabilities such as Bluetooth, Spotify Connect, built-in Chromecast and AirPlay 2.
But after all, the price is lower, and some configurations of the Ambeo Soundbar Mini have also been cut. First, Sennheiser says the Mini is less than half the size of the Soundbar Plus, measuring 70 x 10 x 6.5 centimeters. This means it has fewer drivers (the Mini only has six drivers – four full-range and two bass, while the Plus has nine), and no full-range drivers fire upward to take advantage of ceiling reflections, instead, which relies purely on virtualization technology to achieve height channels, and no speaker openings can be found on the top of the speaker.
Despite not having dedicated upward-firing drivers or the option to buy and pair external rear surround speakers, Sennheiser claims the Ambeo Soundbar Mini is capable of virtualizing 7.1.4-channel audio.
Another downside of the Ambeo Soundbar Mini compared to Sennheiser’s more expensive soundbars is the physical ports. The Ambeo Soundbar Mini only offers a single HDMI eARC port to connect to your TV, no optical or auxiliary inputs, and no HDMI pass-through, meaning the soundbar takes up an HDMI port on your TV.
Additionally, the Ambeo Soundbar Mini has the Alexa voice assistant built-in, the microphone can be calibrated to the room in which the soundbar is placed, and the soundbar has night mode and voice-enhanced audio options.
Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Mini will be available on September 1st.
