If you take your home cinema seriously, then you’ll understand the need for a serious audio upgrade over your TV’s built-in speakers. If you don’t have the space (or the budget) for a fully-fledged speaker package, one of the best soundbars is the next best thing and the Sennheiser Ambeo Max is one of the best you can get.
Released way back in 2019, the Ambeo Max continues to claim the flagship spot in Sennheiser’s current soundbar lineup and, right now, it’s on the receiving end of a monster AU$1,500 discount – available directly from Sennheiser or at Amazon. The discount means the Ambeo Max drops in price to AU$2,499 which, admittedly, could still fairly be considered ‘a lot’ for a soundbar. The excellent Samsung HW-Q990D can regularly be found for under AU$1,500, as can the Sonos Arc, for example.
But, turning to the opinion of our colleagues at What Hi-Fi?, the Sennheiser Ambeo Max "can produce audio with natural tonality, cohesion and solidity, and the 3D audio processing is some of the best we've heard.” That’s high praise indeed, and at its original AU$4,000 price tag, it still managed to secure a glowing five-star rating.
Key to the Ambeo Max’s success is its use of larger speaker drivers than what you’ll traditionally find in other soundbars – six 10cm woofers, five 25mm tweeters and two 9cm full-range drivers firing upwards, to be precise. While their use does mean the Ambeo Max is max by nature (it weighs 18.5kg), the extra heft allows it to produce a sound with incredible scale. If you feel you want even more bass, you can add an Ambeo subwoofer for AU$870 (down from AU$1,120).
You might think the lack of rear speakers means it won’t be all that effective at creating a surround sound effect, but our What Hi-Fi? colleagues would beg to differ. During their testing they found the Ambeo Max was more than capable of placing various sounds in and around the room with great accuracy. Dialogue is delivered with great clarity too, and the companion app gives access to a number of adjustable EQ presets to fine tune the sound even further. A microphone is also included for calibration to ensure the soundbar performs to its best in your individual room.
It’s certainly a sizable investment, but when you factor in how much you’re saving, it does make the Sennheiser Ambeo Max incredibly good value.
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