Sennheiser has entered the premium soundbar market with a 24bit $3,499 3D audio soundbar, the device was shown for the first time at CES 2019.
The 5.1.4 soundbar will be marketed under a new brand called AMBEO and will be available in Australia from May 2019. 
At this stage it’s not known which retailers will be stocking the device however specialist dealers have told SmartHouse that they are “extremely” interested in the new soundbar offering which will sit alongside premium soundbars from Bluesound, Heos and Harman who are launching a new top end Harman Kardon soundbar in Australia.
We knew that Sennheiser was looking to expand beyond their #1 premium headphone range in Australia now they have moved what was a concept product to an actual on sale product.
The new bar features 13 drivers and virtualisation technology co-developed with Fraunhofer IIS. Sennheiser claims that its bass levels are powerful enough to avoid the need for a separate subwoofer.
Dolby Atmos is supported on the Ambeo Soundbar, along with MPEG-H and DTS:X, while its own upmix technology will recreate stereo and 5.1 outputs no matter the source content.
Also built in is support for Google Chromecast as well as Bluetooth and HDMI eARC/CEC control compatibility. When you set up and if you move your room around the device has automatic room calibrationwhich means that you will get the best experience no matter where it is placed.
According to Sennheiser the device that was released at CES 2019, places the listener inside the sound experience with incredible realism, delivering 3D sound that blurs the line between playback and reality from a single all-in-one device.
Visitors to CES (January 8-11) can experience the AMBEO Soundbar at the Sennheiser booth (South Hall 1, booth no. 20200).
The AMBEO Soundbar is also compatible with Dolby Atmos, MPEG-H and DTS:X.
Due to its Upmix Technology, it can also recreate stereo and 5.1 content in stunning 3D. The soundbar features five different presets (movie, music, sports, news and neutral) tailored to a range of scenarios and content types that precisely adjust not only the frequencies but also the 3D sound characteristics.
