Premium audio brand Sennheiser has announced a brand-new product at this year’s CES conference in Las Vegas that’s sure to appeal to aesthetically minded home theater enthusiasts. It’s called the Ambeo soundbar.
The new soundbar isn’t about making subtle improvements to those middling TV speakers — it’s designed to bring you gorgeous and lifelike 3D sound, all from an extremely small footprint.
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“We are thrilled to be introducing the Ambeo Soundbar as Sennheiser’s first foray into the home entertainment speaker category,” said Stephane Hareau, Sennheiser’s head of global consumer products, in a press release. “We have developed it with the ambition to create one of the best soundbars on the market – an elegant all-in-one solution for all those seeking an immersive 3D, audiophile-grade home entertainment experience.”
To do this, the company stuffed 13 distinct drivers inside its thick-bodied soundbar, offering listeners a full 5.1.4 surround sound experience, all from an extremely small package. The Ambeo soundbar is able to listen to the individual acoustic characteristics of each room and adjust for them using the company’s latest audio-processing technologies, allowing it to perfectly re-create the sounds that appear on the screen.
“We believe that the Ambeo Soundbar will set a new reference in sound quality,” said Sennheiser project manager Maximilian Voigt in a press release, “It delivers the spatial ‘as if there’ experience of a 5.1.4 sound system and powerful bass, but without the need for additional speakers or an external subwoofer.”
The new soundbar is compatible with Dolby Atmos, MPEG-H and DTS:X object-based surround sound, and can even use its onboard processing to upmix traditional 5.1 content to more immersive object-based sound.
The Ambeo Soundbar has built-in Google Chromecast for easy streaming of home audio and video, and Bluetooth for those who don’t want to use Google Home.
All of this performance, onboard processing, and compact footprint does come at a price: The Ambeo soundbar is currently set to cost $2,865 when it comes out this May. We can’t wait to get some ears-on time with this new high-end soundbar option, as Sennheiser has a history of making excellent-sounding audio products, even if they may come at premium price points.
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