Customer Ratings & Reviews

Waste of money and time and then extra $600 bucks for a subwoofer

Extra points to Sennheiser for keeping things green by not packing this speaker in any styrofoam. I ran into a couple of issues for both of my use cases. Trying to get the speaker connected via Bluetooth on my iPhone, was not as simple as a pair of headphones. Pairing wasn't so hard, but I had to make some extra adjustments to get any sound to come out. On my older Samsung TV, I also had to make a settings adjustment for ARC to work properly with the speaker. In both cases everything appeared fine but the speaker would provide feedback both with a red light and error noise. However, once I got them working, I had no issues controlling the speaker with either the remote or via the mobile app. You can easily crank the volume on this speaker to the max - which is quite ear-splitting - with no distortion as far as I could hear. I will say though that if you're expecting bass you can feel, you will want to pickup a subwoofer. I tried to make adjustments via the app to attempt to pull more bass out of the unit but it just wasn't there to pull. If you do add a sub, you'll note there's no shortage of ports on the back of the speaker for various connection types. The remote is straightforward, letting you do most of the things you can do with the app instead outside of tweaking the different styles. Pro-tip: don't try to pull the plastic tab for enabling the batteries - you need to open the unit up and remove it. Speaking of the styles, you will definitely hear a difference in each offering, and on top of that, Ambeo takes the output to a new level. Ambeo just provides a more room-filling experience than what you get when it's turned off. I'm not sure there's a time I would disable it. The Smart Control app worked flawlessly for controlling the unit once it was setup, and is the only way to further tweak the default styles. However, I did choose to upgrade the firmware on the unit when I first got it. I don't know if the app hung up or what, but I waited an hour while it attempted to do so over Wi-Fi, restarted the app, and it was available shortly after.

It probably goes without saying that built-in television speakers are atrocious. Nothing hurts the home theater experience like watching a movie on a 70"+ 4K television while listening to the audio produced by the television's built-in speakers. When you have the option, a receiver with a full 7.1 hardwired Dolby Atmos speaker setup is obviously the way to go. Considering the investment in such a system, however, in addition to the challenges with installing everything in an already finished room, soundbars have become a very nice option for improving the home theater experience through improved audio. This is the first soundbar I have ever owned. Prior to this, I actually used two Apple HomePods linked together through my Apple TV to provide audio in several of my rooms. I was hoping that a soundbar would provide a more elegant and less cumbersome or problematic solution as I would occasionally have issues with the HomePod stereo pair failing and hearing audio from only one speaker at a time. To begin, the unboxing process was stellar. Given that perception often defines our reality, I was very impressed with the quality of the box and how the soundbar was meticulously packaged. The directions were provided using icons and they seemed pretty clear... Use an HDMI cable to plug the source audio and video into the soundbar and then run a second HDMI cable from the soundbar to the television. That's all there is to it! Unfortunately, however, the ease of such a setup eluded me. I could plug the Apple TV into the soundbar and I could hear the audio. As soon as I plugged the soundbar into my television, however, the audio stoped and I had no picture. After about 30-45 minutes of troubleshooting (which was a little annoying given the cost of this soundbar), it appeared as though the problem was with my 70" Toshiba television. From what I could tell, the television was returning (or trying to return) an audio signal back to the soundbar through the ARC (audio return channel). There are three HDMI inputs on the television and this occurred regardless of which input I used. Further, in using the smartphone app (which I will talk about in a little bit), every time I plugged the TV in, the soundbar automatically switched inputs internally from the Apple TV (which had audio) to the television (which did not have any audio). I could try to switch the input back to the Apple TV manually through the app, but the soundbar always switched itself back over to the television. There was no way for me to "lock" the input from the Apple TV. When I switched the exact same setup to a computer monitor with an HDMI input and, subsequently, another television in another room, I did not experience any problems at all and things worked as simply as they should have from the start. As a result, I was a little annoyed that the primary television I was planning on using along with this soundbar appeared to be incompatible with the soundbar. (I even changed all of the settings on the television to turn of ARC and other remote device control features to no avail.) I was hoping that maybe a firmware update to the television would help, but there were no upates available (I was running the most current version of the television's firmware). With that problem out of the way (given an apparently incompatible television), the setup process was relatively simple using a smartphone app that you need to download through the appropriate android or Apple app store. The soundbar will perform a self-calibration in the room and I would recommend sitting in the center of the room while that is occurring because it absolutely blew me away how a soundbar at the front of the room can simulate surround speakers around the room. I heard sounds coming from the sides and behind me while it was calibrating knowing full well that the speakers were directly in front of me. Honestly, it was a little wild and impressive. Once setup, the soundbar worked seamlessly with my Apple TV and television, allowing me to control everything through the single Apple TV remote. When I turn everything on, the Apple TV, soundbar, and television all turn on. When I turn them off, everything turns off. When I adjust the volume through my Apple TV Siri remote (or my iPhone through the simulated remote), the soundbar volume adjusts accordingly. I also like the feature that will accentuate the dialogue through the center channel of the soundbar to help eliminate problems with the music, sound effects, and other audio overpowering the movie's or show's spoken dialogue. There are also settings through the smartphone app that allow you to select the type of listening experience you want, whether it be music, a movie, or you can let the soundbar determine that automatically for you. A limitation I noted, however, is that it is not possible to manually adjust these settings. The treble, bass, and other similar settings are not customizable (or, if they are, I have not been able to find where they can be customized). While this unit includes subwoofers, they are relatively small and, in my opinion, the bass produced by the soundbar is pretty paltry. It is possible to hook up a separate, stand alone subwoofer to the soundbar, which is something I am planning on doing because, when watching a movie, there really is no bass that helps you "feel" the audio as one would expect from a full home theater setup. So, in summary, one problem is that, until you purchase the soundbar and try to hook it up, you will not know if your television is incompatible with the soundbar. Assuming your television is compatible, however, the setup is very simple using the smartphone app and the soundbar performs its own customization and calibration for the space in which it is installed. The audio is crisp and clear, and the surround sound is incredible (in my opinion) for a system that has the speakers all sitting in one location at the front of the room. As far as audio quality is concerned, the soundbar sounds great but lacks that deep bass that you can feel when listening to music or watching a movie. If you are going to pick up a soundbar like this, I would highly recommend also buying a stand alone subwoofer to plug in to it to address that shortcoming. Again, this is my first soundbar, so I do not really have other soundbar experiences against which I can perform a comparison. Given that I previously used full-size (not mini) HomePods in a stereo pair for home theater audio, however, there really is no comparison. The audio sounds just as good, but the surround sound from the soundbar is simply superior to anything produced by the HomePods. (It is also possible to connect to the soundbar through bluetooth, I believe, which provides additional listening options that are not necessarily available through Apple-centric HomePods.) The soundbar does allow for two different HDMI inputs as well, so it is possible to use it across more than one audio source. (It is also a nice feature that the brightness of the lights on the soundbar can be adjusted as well, especially in a darker room.) So, what is my final verdict? If you have the ability to install separate, discrete surround sound speakers (including a subwoofer) within your room with a receiver, that is your best option for the best movie or television audio experience possible. Given cost and other limitations of doing so, however, having a soundbar is not a bad compromise that still remains light years ahead of using whatever built-in speakers you have in your television. This unit is expensive and provides great sound, but the bass is lacking and you may want to also buy a subwoofer to supplement the unit. After all of that, including the television challenges I experiences, I am still very happy with the soundbar (even though I am now using it in a different room because I am not replacing the 70" Sharp television hanging on the wall in my other room).

I have 3 soundbars and this is no doubt the best. Given its price, it should be. The clarity of the sound is absolutely amazing. The Atmos feature actually does make a difference for movies even though the sound is produced by a thin, but long bar. The sound is indeed immersive, the Ambeo setting adds to movies, and there are some really good features. Details: - The packaging was impressive. Very nicely done. - The build quality is excellent. - The ability to raise and lower the volume of the center "channel" is excellent. Great for movies with lots of loud scenes, explosions, etc. - The ability to edit the 6 sound profiles is good; however it only has only 4 different "sliders" for "Foundation", "Low-Mid", "Clarity" and "Brilliance." The manual describes these settings, but they are still a bit nebulous. Would like to see a full equalizer. - The ability to be able to change parameters via a web based interface (and not just the app) is fantastic. Just type the IP address into the web browser and all the settings are at your keyboard fingertips - so much nicer than an app if one is sitting in front of a PC (or tablet). - The LED indication on the bar is good (although it would be great if there was a small info LED with codecs, volume, settings, etc). - The ability to stream music from a PC or a NAS drive is great. It streams WAV and WMA files even though the manual is silent on those codecs (note downloading the good PDF manual is a must). - Spotify and Bluetooth also work well too. But there are some things that have precluded me from rating the bar higher than four stars. These include: - While the sound is clear, balanced and full, the bass is just ok. That is not too surprising for such a thin bar, and it isn't bad. Sennheiser does sell an optional subwoofer for $600 or one could add a sw from another manufacturer which is great. However, for the price of this bar, perhaps a sw should have been included. Sennheiser rates this bar down to 38 Hz. While I did not personally measure it, I think that rating is a bit optimistic. - Would ideally like to see more than just Spotify or Tidal natively supported. Prime music, Deezer, Qobuz, Pandora, etc would be welcome (although I could cast them from my phone or PC to the unit). - A few times as I was testing out and exploring the features, I found that I had to restart the soundbar to get back some features. While not that of a big deal, and I don't expect that to happen much if at all as I settle in with normal use, this really should not have been necessary. - Likewise after listening without interaction for a period of time, then going back to the app to modify a setting, the app would show "disconnected". After a few seconds it would function fine - I assume it was reconnecting - but this was a minor annoyance. Perhaps a firmware update is needed (updating the firmware IS very easy and user friendly, BTW) - Very minor nit, but the app does not rotate into landscape mode on my Android tablet. Sennheiser is very clear that the bar should be used in a room that has a flat ceiling. While my ultimate use will be in a smaller room (study) with a flat ceiling (which is where I have it installed now), I did want to try it it my 20x15' family room which has a vaulted ceiling. I watched a couple of Atmos movies and listened to some music. Now, there is no way the Sennheiser could compete with my everyday AVR and 5.1.2 setup, it did acquit itself quite well - for movies better than music which was just ok. As previously mentioned the bass was lacking. If you are going to purchase this and want some good bass, you will probably want to buy a subwoofer to go with it. And that is the main reason for my 4 stars. If you buy the bar and the sw, it will run you over $2K. And for that money, you may be better served to buy separates, but you would also need an amp/receiver. Having said that, setting up this bar could not have been more easy, and it is relatively compact. And it comes with very good sound for such a thin unit. In the smaller room, movies sounded very, very good with excellent Atmos and good dynamics. Music was pretty good too (but not as good as movies and not as good as a good pair of bookshelf speakers that provide good separation). So all in all, this is an excellent unit with great features, and is highly recommended, but it is pricey. And don't expect the same sound as can be obtained with a decent AVR and separate speakers and a sw (albeit that could be a more expensive, is more complex, and would take up a lot more space).

The AMBEO Soundbar Plus is the newest member of the Sennheiser AMBEO lineup just under the AMBEO Max Soundbar, BUT it is more powerful RMS-wise. With the impressive construction, the overall weight and speaker quality reassure you of your purchase as soon as you start unpacking. Pulling everything out, it is heavy right down to the remote. The I/O ports available on this soundbar are just mind-blowing and add value like no other. You essentially get another TV worth of inputs on this soundbar PLUS the versatility with adding non-brand specific subwoofers along with one RCA jack for those who can't completely let go of yesteryear. I recommend this if you have a TV larger than 55in because if you don't, the soundbar will make your TV look silly. The remote is simple and well laid out for anyone to manage. Setup was as easy as simply plugging in the HDMI to the ARC port of my TV and powering on. Download the Sennheiser Smart Control app for the easiest and most feature-rich customizability. In app, the bar will be calibrated and you can tweak things to your liking. This Soundbar Plus is a clean and crisp sounding bar even at higher volumes. High, lows, and mids all sound clean and distinct in the airy soundstage without blending together. Touch controls are very responsive, allowing for source control, bluetooth, volume, and Alexa activation all from the top of the bar. Now, here is where I have my first "wish". I wish there was a way to know what is going on outside from decoding the colors of an LED bar. Keep your owner's manual (not available in the box you must download) close so you can decode what is going on if you find yourself trying to see what codec is active. Sound quality is pristine and clarity is amazing BUT it is lacking in the low end which means GET A SUB!!!! If you are a bass-head, love explosions and rumbling, this will leave you wondering what is going on. Until after I updated my EQ I was disappointed with bass coming from this speaker, but it is a bar only so you should know that. This is a perfect soundbar for someone who doesn't like a lot of bass and enjoys clear audio with HUGE soundstage. The 360 spatial effect is stunning. However, it can be a bit overdone with upscaling lower resolutions MP3 and other codecs. Watching movies often had me wondering if sound is from the TV or something you heard outside. My recommendation to improve sound here is to keep Voice Enhancement on and boost the "Foundation" and "Low-Mid" in the EQ to get the best sound for people just buying the bar. LOVE Connectivity Options - WiFi, AirPlay, Chromecast, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, and Bluetooth 5.0 AAC & SBC Dolby ATMOS, DTS:X, MPEG-H and 360 Reality Audio Smart Home Connected - Google Home, Apple Homekit, and Alexa compatible. Alexa Built-In - This is the best Alexa you will own in your house. Automatic Self-Calibration Voice Enhancement Smart Control App Ambeo 3D Sound 3-HDMI Ports (2 input w/ 2.0a and 1 output w/ 2.1 and eARC) Up to 400W Total RMS The app is excellent and the best way to interact with the soundbar. RECOMMENDATIONS HDMIs are 2.0a not 2.1 - for this price, all ports should be newest 2.1 standard. Add OLED screen somewhere to show what input/mode/codecs are active. Future satellite speakers for rear placement to fully immerse the viewer. Better Bluetooth codecs like LDAC and aptxHD could help audio quality when streaming. In short, this is an excellent soundbar, but if you are after a full theater experience, you WILL want to hook up a subwoofer. This brings me to my second recommendation, add satellite speakers! I have used many types of soundbars, and once you add satellite speakers to a soundbar, it is hard to go back. This may be one of the best in sound, but for the price, it lacks bass, and other systems offer more, including satellite speakers, for a more immersive experience. I cannot speak on the sound of the sub, but it will fix what I am yearning for - a deep and full bass when watching movies to recreate the theater experience.

Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Plus I upgraded from the Energy Powerbar Elite which is about 10 or so years old. So for context it was a 2.1 that had a subwoofer. It sounded good, but it has aged a bit given the inability to work with newer codecs. Setup 3.5/5 The sound bar can be hooked up a couple of different ways. You can hook it up using eARC and still have your other devices hook up to the TV, you can just use good old digital optical, or you can us eARC and have your devices plugged directly into the soundbar. I encountered some issues using eARC and having my devices plugged into the soundbar itself. I ended up just using eARC and having my AppleTV plugged into the TV instead. This may be a quirk of my "ancient" hardware. The soundbar needs to be setup by using an app and I found that the app was not as user friendly as I would expect. I base this upon whether or not I could tell my parents or spouse to set this up and could be confident that they could set it up. Some settings that I would think would be front and center like EQ were buried in an edit button. I don't think the average user could dare click on something like edit due to the fear of messing something up. Sound 4/5 I was pretty blown away with the sound. I watched a few tv shows that I normally watch with my son and heard things that I had never noticed before. I toggled between sound presets and found that each added their own dynamic profiles to the media that we were watching. One thing that I didn't quite like was that there was not enough low end for my liking. I want to feel what I am hearing. I am used to having the independent subwoofer from my old soundbar and that sounded great to me. I never really got that from the AMBEO. Even my HomePod's low end blows both soundbars out of the water. I fiddled around with the settings and never really found what I was looking for. There is a subwoofer that can be purchased to accompany the AMBEO and that may be my next purchase. Looks - 5/5 The soundbar looks wonderful. It feels like a premium product which I would expect from Sennheiser. The cloth texture feels nice when I was handling the unit. The only gripe I have is that the sound level indicator is an LED strip on the top of the soundbar. It would be nice to see in a future version a sound level indicator on the front of the unit like near the LED AMBEO logo. Overall 4/5 I would recommend this soundbar as it does sound amazing.

I was deciding between the Sennheiser and Sonos Arc Ultra to replace my current system with an onkyo reciever 5 wired speakers and a Klipsch powered sub.. I went with the Sennheiser since it is a snap to use the klipsch sub I have. The sennheiser bass is not too bad without the sub though. The Atmos effect is not perfect but very convincing given i can remove the clutter of wired speakers around the room. The Ambeo plus plays very nicely with my Sony A90j Oled. You do need to review the settings on your tv to ensure that it will pass atmos signal along to the soundbar. I connected using the eARC hdmi connection. I am using a fire cube for my streaming and all of this works great together. Call me impressed at the sound quality from this soundbar.

The Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar is really, really good.. almost perfect, actually. The surround sound quality is exceptional but, it could REALLY use a little extra bass for those moments during a movie where some intense action scene would be complimented by a quality, thundering type of bass. My simple reason for this not being a perfect 5-star worthy product is; for such a premium product/premium price, you may be better off spending the extra that it costs for the "optional" subwoofer or a Sennheiser soundbar that comes with a subwoofer. Don't get me wrong, the sound quality this produces IS good. The vocals are clear and crisp and the additional "voice" feature really does a nice job of bringing voices forward for the listener. This feature helps understand what is being said during movies scenes that have a lot of other background noise or music. I have found keeping the AMBEO setting turned on produces the highest quality, most consistent sound for my listening pleasure. If only the bass was a little bit deeper it would be an easy 5/5! Build quality and weight is really nice, as to be expected with a premium brand/product. Overall, this is a solid soundbar that produces nice sound and does well with its room filling surround sound capability.

This product is listed as capable of more than what it is. I have two home theater surround systems, a 5.1 and a 5.2.4, both of which have true channel separation, and set up according to Dolby specs. The Ambeo sound bar claims 7.1.4. With a built-in subwoofer. This Sound Bar does not even come close to replicating the true surround systems in my house. To start off with, the bass is OK to augment dialogue, but It does not come close to replicating, low frequency, sound effects, and content. You will definitely need a subwoofer if you choose this product. As far as the remainder of the channels, I did not get much of surround or Atmos effects. Again, decent for augmenting dialogue but does not have Good channel, separation, surround or Atmos. I found that it was just a nice Sound bar. The set up was very simple, connect to the TV via eARC, plug in the power cord And power it on. Download the app, which was very nice and useful, and glide through the set up. It does come with room calibration and it does do something to improve the acoustics, but overall limited to what this product can deliver. I found the extra features through the app and different modes. Interesting, but ultimately, I found the dialogue enhance the most useful, as the other moods seem gimmicky and attempting to make this product deliver more than it can. One disappointing feature that I found was, due to the size and weight of the sound bar, it cannot be attached to standard sound bar mounts To a TV. It has to be resting on a console table or you can buy separate Ambio wall mounts which force you to mounted to the wall. The make and quality of this sound bar is solid and nice but I just found it to be over priced for what it can deliver. I think you can buy and Set up a true 5.1 system with the receiver for the same amount of money or a little more and get a much better experience. If you are truly set on a sound bar I would look elsewhere.

Easy to setup and I can understand the dialog in movies and shows. It also connects whenever I turn on the TV, and shuts off when I turn off the TV, so I don't have to use two remotes. It was also on sale.

Buyer beware! eARC may not work for you if you have a Samsung QLED Neo TV with this soundbar. Contacting Samsung was a dead end as they state its not their issue. Sennheiser took two weeks to respond to my support inquiry and at the end of it did not have any answers. The soundbar would not turn on 99% of the time with the TV no matter what settings were enabled on the TV for eARC. It did work 2 times but was intermittent and even then the Samsung smart remote would not control volume up and down. Certified 8K hdmi 2.1 48Gbps cabling was used end to end on HDMI port 3 of the Samsung as designed. Returned it for a new 8k Denon receiver and works perfectly to the TV w/o changing any other settings. I expected more from Sennheiser, especially for a premium priced soundbar setup. Note - this is not a Best Buy problem or issue but product related.