Sennheiser Ambeo Plus vs Sony Theatre Bar 9

[Venger]

About a month ago I took delivery of a Samsung S95D along with a Panasonic UB820 blu ray player and I've been blown away by everything except the sound.

I always knew a soundbar would probably be required so I'm now in the market for, ideally, a soundbar only - no sub, no rear speakers and after a lot of reading (too much reading actually) this afternoon I went and demo'd the Sennheiser Ambeo Plus against the Sony Theatre Bar 9.

Using the same scenes from Top Gun Maverick for each bar, it was quite eye opening.

I was so disappointed with the Ambeo Plus - altho quite natural sounding there was virtually no bottom end at all, very bass light and how the Sennheiser website can describe it as having "...rumbling 38hz bass..." is absolutely beyond me.

The Sony Bar 9 had a lot more bottom end, in fact it was quite amazing actually, when the missiles hit to disable the enemy runaway you wonder if you'd ever need to add a sub.

The thing that has REALLY surprised me about both soundbars is that neither gave any sense of surround sound whatsoever...nor any kind of impression of sound coming from anywhere other than beneath the TV screen.

I fully appreciate that the only way to really achieve 'proper' surround sound is to have speakers behind your listening position but there has been acres written on the clever technology that sort of fools you into thinking you're immersed in sound - this was not my experience at all.

I could buy the Sony and probably be happy with the improvement in the general sound of my tv but £1000 is a lot of money just to do this , I think I'd feel a bit short changed in not experiencing anything approaching surround sound or even a wider soundstage.

Does anyone out there own either of these bars and run them on their own with no subs and rears (I appreciate rears aren't an option for the Ambeo)?

Did you find that after a while you had to at least add a sub?

 

[daytona600]

Without Subs & Rear / Side / Ceiling speakers you will never get a full " Atmos experience "
2.0 Stereo with great speakers will sound much better than lots of cheaper speakers/soundbar

Small Speakers + AV receiver start with 3.1 or 5.1 & add more speakers ( surrounds/side/ceiling ) for 7.2.4 in the future
Elipson Planets & Slimline AV amp for a 5.2.4 system

 

[Venger]

Many thanks for your reply.

Without Subs & Rear / Side / Ceiling speakers you will never get a full " Atmos experience "
2.0 Stereo with great speakers will sound much better than lots of cheaper speakers/soundbar

I totally get that but I have read so many reviews on many different soundbars that talk about how they create a soundtage that sort of immerses you in sound.

This is from What Hi-Fi's review of the Sony Bar 9...

"...This array is designed, as expected, to create a sort of bubble of sound in your room using Sony’s 360 Spatial Sound Mapping, which creates phantom speakers in places where physical speakers don’t exist..."

"...the most Atmos-y delivery we’ve heard from a solo soundbar. You’ll need to add wireless surrounds if you want the audio to stretch behind the listening position, but the Bar 9 alone pushes sound far out to the left and right, a long way into the room and right up to the ceiling..."

Up to the ceiling... really, I'm assuming it's all just a marketing gimic?

Your room looks great btw, interestingly I note your rear surrounds aren't actually behind your listening position. Part of the reason why I don't want rears is because I can't get them behind me. My sofa is flat against a wall with the TV in the corner on an angle which makes it almost impossible to get rears behind you at an equal distance.

 

[R2D2]

You could get the Sonos Arc here:

Sonos Arc Premium Smart Soundbar - Black

The premium smart soundbar for TV, music and more. Enabled by Sonos’ powerful new software platform, Arc introduces Sonos’ most immersive home cinema experience yet.

petertyson.co.uk

I have had this by itself and thought it was good but I wasn’t either using DTS which I find fantastic because my Samsung TV like yours doesn’t decode DTS. So you are going to be limited to Dolby Atmos surround sound and PCM surround sounds. You won’t be able to decode DTS X either. You also wouldn’t be spending a £1000 on just a soundbar then.

The best soundbar I think is the Samsung 990d but that has rears and a sub.

If you wanted just the soundbar and sub then I think this would be best:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Soundbar-Wireless-Q-Symphony-HW-Q800D-ZA/dp/B0CTKRV7Z2

You are not going to get a surround sound experience from just a soundbar and a £1000 is a lot of money on just a soundbar.

 

[Venger]

Given the horror show that is/was the Sonos app I don't think I could buy one of their products at the moment.

I've read myself round in circles tbh and more than once I've thought s@d it, I'll just buy the Q990D but just wonder if it's (a) almost too much for my room and (b) where do I place the surrounds.

I had also had a demo on Monday of Sony's HT-A9 system as the guy in the shop was saying that these don't necessarily have to be placed in what you might consider optimum positions as they'll do a calibration test of your room etc etc and work out what works best.

These definitely gave a sense of surround sound but without a sub sounded completely gutless, no bottom end at all... they're also expensive if you factor in the sub.

One thing he also mentioned was to consider buying a HDMI equipped amp and adding just two stereo speakers. I didn't even know HDMI amps were a thing. I suppose that could be an option, I've got an old pair of KEF Coda 7's somewhere so would presumably only need the amp.

 

[R2D2]

Given the horror show that is/was the Sonos app I don't think I could buy one of their products at the moment.

I've read myself round in circles tbh and more than once I've thought s@d it, I'll just buy the Q990D but just wonder if it's (a) almost too much for my room and (b) where do I place the surrounds.

I had also had a demo on Monday of Sony's HT-A9 system as the guy in the shop was saying that these don't necessarily have to be placed in what you might consider optimum positions as they'll do a calibration test of your room etc etc and work out what works best.

These definitely gave a sense of surround sound but without a sub sounded completely gutless, no bottom end at all... they're also expensive if you factor in the sub.

One thing he also mentioned was to consider buying a HDMI equipped amp and adding just two stereo speakers. I didn't even know HDMI amps were a thing. I suppose that could be an option, I've got an old pair of KEF Coda 7's somewhere so would presumably only need the amp.

The Samsung Q990D is brilliant and a good deal here:

Amazon.co.uk

You can place the rears on the side of the room if you wish, or even try without them. The soundbar is great.

You could go the amp route too. Cheap Denon amps are great. Here’s a good Denon amp:

Denon AVR-X1800H 7.2 Ch. 175W 8K AV Receiver with HEOS Built-in - Black

Enjoy incredible 8K video and 3D audio from the AVR-X1800H. It easily fills small to medium-size rooms with brilliant audio from a 7.2 or 5.2.2 set up with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. And with HEOS® Built-in, you can wirelessly stream music and share with every HEOS-enabled speaker around your home.

petertyson.co.uk

If you went the amp route you can add more speakers in the future and it will decode DTS.

Probably get a cheaper deal through Peter Tyson eBay.

 

[Venger]

Interestingly, whilst just looking at amps with HDMI capabilities, I've discovered WiiM streaming amps that have eArc.

Presumably, that could hook up directly with the TV and I could then utilise my Coda 7's...I could even hide them behind the TV.

 

[daytona600]

Dolby 5.1 Speakers
Dolby Atmos 5.1 + two Ceiling = 5.1.2
or higher 9.1.6 ( 7.1.4 below )

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orkz0nplRoM



.

 

[Venger]

Yep, I'd love a room like that!

 

[daytona600]

AV limited only by your pockets - Mega Atmos System

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVW2G9uqB2o

 

[bigboss]

The effects of soundbar to produce pseudo surround sound experience is totally dependent on the room as it relies on walls and ceiling to bounce sound off. Try to get a home demo if possible.

I have the Sonos Arc system with Sonos Ones for rear and Sonos sub for a true wireless 5.1 system. Absolutely amazing performance. You don't need to touch the app at all for it to work. Simply set it up and use the app once to assign and calibrate. That's it. You change the volume with your TV remote.

 

[Venger]

The effects of soundbar to produce pseudo surround sound experience is totally dependent on the room as it relies on walls and ceiling to bounce sound off. Try to get a home demo if possible.

I get that, which feels like even more of a gamble tbh because who's to say it'll bounce around your lounge correctly! A home demo sounds a great idea, not just on soundbars either but with the possible exception of Audio-T, who offers that service?

I decided that basically taking a punt on a £1000 soundbar just to improve the general sound of the TV was too risky so I bought the WiiM amp in the end.

What an amazing little amplifier - hooked up to an ancient pair of Coda 7's I rewatched the scenes from Top Gun Maverick used in the demo and it was fantastic really. A decent amount of bottom end and with the speakers behind the TV, people are gonna think how on earth does a TV that's 11mm thick have such a big sound!

I can also stream my music to the amp and it even has a sub out should I want to add that.

I'm now on eBay looking at the mountain of secondhand bookshelf speakers trying to find something to upgrade the Coda 7's with!

 

[bigboss]

I get that, which feels like even more of a gamble tbh because who's to say it'll bounce around your lounge correctly! A home demo sounds a great idea, not just on soundbars either but with the possible exception of Audio-T, who offers that service?

I decided that basically taking a punt on a £1000 soundbar just to improve the general sound of the TV was too risky so I bought the WiiM amp in the end.

What an amazing little amplifier - hooked up to an ancient pair of Coda 7's I rewatched the scenes from Top Gun Maverick used in the demo and it was fantastic really. A decent amount of bottom end and with the speakers behind the TV, people are gonna think how on earth does a TV that's 11mm thick have such a big sound!

I can also stream my music to the amp and it even has a sub out should I want to add that.

I'm now on eBay looking at the mountain of secondhand bookshelf speakers trying to find something to upgrade the Coda 7's with!

There are few retailers who offer home demo, depending on where you live. Richer Sounds offer home demo within 10-mile radius for example.

 

[Venger]

Richer Sounds offer home demo within 10-mile radius for example.

They really need to make more of that imho opinion because I've spent a lot of time on the Richer Sounds website in the last 6 weeks and I can honestly say I've never seen that advertised anywhere.

 

[bigboss]

They really need to make more of that imho opinion because I've spent a lot of time on the Richer Sounds website in the last 6 weeks and I can honestly say I've never seen that advertised anywhere.

Remember that you form a tiny proportion of customers who understand the value of a home demo. They won't use valuable advertising space to advertise this bit.

You need to scroll to the bottom of the homepage to customer service and you'll find the link to demonstrations. It's not really hidden deep.

https://customerservice.richersounds.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360012945598-Demonstrations

 

[bigboss]

Personally, I prefer a dedicated centre speaker which is part of the soundbar to stereo speakers. The purpose of the centre channel is to centre the sound in the middle of the sound space. With a TV you have a central image, and you want to feel like the sound is coming from that image.

 

[R2D2]

Personally, I prefer a dedicated centre speaker which is part of the soundbar to stereo speakers. The purpose of the centre channel is to centre the sound in the middle of the sound space. With a TV you have a central image, and you want to feel like the sound is coming from that image.

With having centre speaker along with left and right speakers you can decode soundtracks and they sound good.