REPRODUCED FROM W HATHI-FI?
thatpopsup in the Sm artControlapp,m eaning you can controlyourm usicand althe soundbar functionsin one convenientplace. W ithin the Sm art Control app, you’l find a plethora ofways to adapt and custom ise the Am beo’ssound,including dedicated presetsfor diferentcontent(although the handy adaptive m odeworksnicelyifyoudon’twantto fiddle),as wel as ways to view and switch audio codecs. Here you wil also find the nam esake Am beo buton, which is used to switch the Am beo m odeonand of.ButwhatexactlyisAm beo?It's Sennheiser’s custom proces ing that enhances spatialim m ersive audio.Itworksalongside the likes ofDolby Atm os to furtherthe im m ersive audio efect.In practice,itcertainly creates the ilusion of wider soundscapes, but it’s not withoutitsdownsides–m ore on thatlater. O nthetopicofim m ersiveaudio,we’d berem is not to m ention the Am beo’s clever room calibration system .Using itsarayoffourbuilt-in, far-field, high-precision microphones, the Am beo features a m uch m ore straightforward form of room calibration than its Max counterpartand othersoundbarrivals.Youdon’t need to plug in and position an external m icrophoneawkwardlyuntilyoureachthesweet spot,orwaltzaround yourroom scanning your walsand ceilng with yoursm artphone.Instead, you justtap the calibration buton in the app and the soundbardoes the rest.Itonly takes around three m inutesto calibrate the soundbar,
and itsoundsm uch beterforitwith im provem ents to spatialsound. Atlast,we com e to the speakerconfiguration ofthe Am beo Plus.Housed within the m odestchas isare nine speakers, comprising seven ful-range alum inium drivers and dual10cm subwoofers.Two ofthe ful-range drivers and both subwoofers face upwards to reflect sound for overhead im m ersive audio, and another two drivers point diagonaly outwardson the cornersofthe soundbarto create a widerspread ofsound. SOUND It might be physicaly compact, particularly com pared to itssibling,butthe Am beo Plusstilhas a franklyastonishing abiltyto fila room with sound despite itsm uch sm alerfootprint.There isadistinct diferencebetweentheAm beo seting being onand of,and itrealydependson personalpreference as to whetheryou’lwantto use it. The Am beo seting alows for a m uch broader soundstage – however,itcan sacrifice precision asa result.In the early m om entsofBlade Runner2049, the sweeping soundtrack feelsthunderouswith the im pres ively weighty bas ofthe soundbar,and it avoids the botom ing out and distortion that this scene can often expose in otherdevices.O ficerK’s descentinto the dystopian concrete jungle ofLos Angeles feels appropriately spacious, with the am bient sounds of the city including hum m ing vehicle engines and holographic advertisements
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