Sennheiser launches Ambeo Soundbar Mini with Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 surround sound and Alexa in compact form factor

News of the Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Mini has leaked several times, first in April on Sennheiser’s own website, and more recently on several online retailers’ websites. Now, Sennheiser has officially announced the launch of its most compact Dolby Atmos enabled soundbar, completing the Ambeo family, which consists of the Plus and Max soundbars and Ambeo Sub subwoofer. Both, the larger Max and the middle-sized Plus, have been widely praised for their excellent immersive 3D sound, so customers expect similar performance from the Mini.

According to Sennheiser, the Ambeo Mini has less than half the volume of the Plus. Housing six drivers (four full-range and two four-inch subwoofers) powered by 250 Watts, it’s capable of going down to 43 Hz in bass frequencies. The Mini has fewer drivers than the Plus and Max (housing nine and thirteen respectively) and lacks the up-firing ones typically needed for the overhead sonic element in Dolby Atmos systems; however, Sennheiser states that through advanced DSP techniques, it can simulate up to 7.1.4 virtualized channels. It also features the Ambeo one-touch room calibration which “scans the room, adjusting the surround virtualization to account for various room sizes, reflections, and textures.”

The Ambeo Mini supports popular 3D audio formats, namely Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, Sony’s 360 Reality Audio and MPEG-H. In addition to Alexa Built-in, Google Assistant and Siri can be used via Chromecast and AirPlay respectively. Using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth 5.0, users can stream from popular streaming services like Spotify, TIDAL, Amazon Music, and Apple Music, while controlling the speaker using the new Smart Control app. As for physical connections, the Mini sports an HDMI eARC socket and a USB-A slot, and comes with a remote control.

Although a number of initial reviews have praised the Mini’s sound quality, there are plenty of high-performing competitors – the Sonos Beam Gen 2 and Bose Smart Soundbar 600 being the most directly comparable, specially given their similar specs but lower prices.

The Sennheiser Ambeo Mini will go on sale starting September 1 for US$799.99.

Buy the Bose Smart Soundbar 600 with Dolby Atmos, AirPlay and Alexa Voice Control on Amazon