I’ve listened to a lot of sound systems. Mostly the demonstrations of these systems are done in controlled environments where the configuration suits perfectly. And rightly so, it shows off the product for all it can do.

But with Soundbars one of the challenges is how will it sound at home? Will it actually be close to that good?

I’ve just had my MIND. BLOWN.

The Sennheiser Ambeo soundbar arrived for review at the EFTM office and it’s a big box. Inside is a big unit. Probably one of the heaviest and tallest sounders I’ve seen.

And that’s your first challenge. As a temporary installation I just moved our TV onto a slightly taller stand behind our entertainment unit.

But at home, this unit couldn’t sit on the same entertainment unit as your TV unless it’s a very deep unit.

More likely the TV is on the wall, and this mounted below it, or this sitting on the entertainment unit below.

It’s big, because it’s good.

If you want the nuts and bolts and technical details, I’m sure an audio nerd has reviewed it online. But let me tell you my experience.

Out of the box I was confused by the probe that was the first thing I grabbed in the box. But in an unfamiliar move here in the man cave I consulted the setup guide.

It was a calibration microphone – so the AMBEO pipes out some strange alien-like sounds and it adjusts to suit the room – because no two rooms are the same now are they!

I connected our Samsung 4K Blu Ray player and PS4 direct to the soundbar, and used the ARC connection for HDMI into the TV.

Choose Soundbar as the input option for the TV and threw in my reference movie MARTIAN. Epic.

The sound was flashing around me left, right, all around.

Then I put in a Dolby demo disk, some great movie clips on here to test, but the real value came when I played a demo called “Raindrops”.

I’m not shitting you thunder and rain was coming down from the ceiling. FROM THE CEILING.

Now I’ve heard Dolby Atmos before. Many times. But I’ve never truly heard it with such clarity and direction.

Keep in mind here this is a single soundbar. No rear speakers, no nothing. Not even a Sub. It’s all built in. 5.1.4 sound.

There’s app control for even more customisation, Bluetooth and all that – but the reality is – this is all about the TV sound and great content.

I’ve never experienced anything like it in an uncontrolled environment. Quite simply mind-blowing sound.

Clarity, Direction, Separation – the Sennheiser Ambeo has it all.

Watching movies should be done sitting front and centre. That’s the same place you should be right now when I tell you the price.

It’s…..

$3,999. Free shipping on orders over $50 though so that’s good right?

Pricey, but worth every cent.