Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Plus Review

Sennheiser’s original Ambeo soundbar (now renamed the Ambeo Soundbar Max) hit the scene a few short years ago and has, until now, remained the only child in Sennheiser’s soundbar family. It has remained in the spotlight since its launch in 2019, but it's hard to ignore the elephant in the room (which is ironic as it is the elephant of the soundbar world): while its weighty and space-filling sound demands your attention, it's also a weighty, space-filling behemoth of a unit.

So let's say you want that signature Sennheiser pedigree in a soundbar that doesn’t weigh almost 19kg. Enter, the Ambeo Plus, the Ambeo Max’s slightly less brash and bold cousin, which looks more like your traditional soundbar thanks to a slimmer profile and narrower build. But does this makeover sacrifice the Ambeo spirit? A little, but it’s still a very talented soundbar in its own right.

Price

The Sennheiser Ambeo Plus starts at £1299 / $1500 / AU$2400, which is interesting for many reasons. First of all, we need to address the Ambeo Max, which originally retailed for £2199 / $2500 / AU$4000, making this new Ambeo seem like a relative bargain. However, since the Max has been knocking around for a few years, it has seen a considerable price decrease. We’ve seen it at £1799 / $2000 / AU$3195 across many retailers recently, making the value proposition of this new Ambeo in comparison to its beefier relation a little less clear cut. 

However, the bottom line is that the Ambeo Plus is still a fair whack cheaper than the Max. That, though, puts it in direct competition with Sony’s formidable HT-A7000 – a soundbar so good that it has just won Product of the Year for the second year in a row at the What Hi-Fi? Awards.

The Ambeo Plus is a fully functional soundbar in its own right, but Sennheiser does offer a wireless subwoofer that can be purchased separately. The Sennheiser Ambeo Sub is a £599 / $700 / AU$1120 optional addition if you still have some money left over after the initial cost of entry.

Build

Hardware is something that we can often depend on Sennheiser to impress us with, and the Ambeo is no exception. The soundbar is supremely solid and has a quality finish all round. With a smooth plastic construction that weighs just 6.3kg, the Ambeo Plus is a much more svelte and manoeuvrable soundbar compared to its more cumbersome sibling. 

At 105cm long and just under 8cm in height, the Ambeo Plus is also much shorter and narrower than most other soundbars in its class, including the Sony HT-A7000 and Sonos Arc. The Ambeo is therefore notably compact for its class, making it a solid option if you’re working with a more confined set-up arrangement.