There are some products that you expect to see heavily discounted for Black Friday, and then there are some that arrive unexpectedly.
Three years after its release, the Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar remains the best-sounding – not to mention most expensive – soundbar we’ve tested to date, which is why it picked up yet another gong at the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2021.
And, the fact you can now pick one up in the Black Friday sales with a hefty $500 saving, (available at Crutchfield and World Wide Stereo) is a rare opportunity well worth seizing.
The Ambeo Soundbar is hugely impressive in both senses of the word. It’s a beast, standing at over four feet wide. It’s also a lot heavier, which is good intel if you’re thinking of lugging it back from the shops on the bus.
But all that space has been put to excellent use. While most soundbars rely on an external subwoofer, the Ambeo simply crams in larger, more powerful drivers – and it works a treat.
You can expect spine-tingling 3D audio that sounds totally effortless, sparkling dialogue and plenty of bottom-end grunt. Connectivity is just as impressive, with Bluetooth and Chromecast for streaming.
Around the back of the Ambeo Soundbar you’ll find four HDMI sockets, three of which are standard inputs, and one of which is marked ‘TV’ and supports eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel).
This means that not only can the Sennheiser pass signals (4K and HDR, including Dolby Vision) from the other inputs to the TV, it can also receive audio – including Dolby Atmos – from the TV via the one cable. That’s useful if Netflix and/or Amazon are your main movie and TV show sources, as both carry a good chunk of Atmos-enabled content.
It’s worth noting the Ambeo Soundbar also supports DTS:X, another object-based surround sound codec that you can find on some 4K Blu-rays in place of Dolby Atmos.
Alongside the HDMIs are an ethernet socket (wi-fi is also supported), USB (for updates only), optical input and a stereo RCA aux-in. There’s a subwoofer pre-out, too, should you feel the need to add a dedicated bass unit.
Admittedly its size makes it a little tricky to position. And it doesn’t come with a wall mount, so you might need a separate trip to your local hardware store. But once you’re squared away the results are breathtaking.
MORE:
Read the full review: Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar
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The best Black Friday cheap soundbar deals 2021
