Cyber Monday is already offering some seriously competitive soundbar deals, to the extent that we're seeing savings surpass those of Black Friday weekend. Some of our favourite models are continuing to drop in price and are well worth checking out; unfortunately, this Sennheiser is not one of them.
Well, the Ambeo Soundbar Mini is cheap, but with a three-star review under its belt, it's a tough model to recommend regardless of the discount. We initially reviewed this compact Dolby Atmos soundbar for £699 and noted in our review that it was "expensive compared to its peers". Now that it's down to just £299 on Sennheiser's official website, we can retract this statement for the duration of Cyber Monday; but that doesn't mean you should buy it.
Its closest rival, the Sonos Beam (Gen 2), has dropped in price yet again (we've practically lost track of how many times this has happened) to a new low of £304 on Amazon. To cut a long story short, the Sonos Beam is a much better buy, thanks to its sonic superiority.
In many ways, the Sonos and Sennheiser are similar soundbars with one major difference separating them. They both feature stylish and high-quality builds and support Dolby Atmos despite lacking dedicated upward-firing drivers. Instead, the crucial overhead sound aspect of the immersive format is handled by a clever psycho-acoustic audio processing system.
The Sennheiser takes the edge on sound format support, with DTS:X and Sony 360 Reality Audio on board, and it sounds crisp and clear too. However, this is where we have to stop praising it, because if you want the better-sounding 'bar, then the Beam (Gen 2) is clearly a better choice.
Its warm, rich and refined sound is much more engaging and dynamic compared to the Ambeo Mini, and while the Beam doesn't have oodles of low-end weight, it's certainly more authoritative than the Ambeo. The Beam also sounds more open and expansive, which is an important quality for any Dolby Atmos soundbar. Comparatively, the Ambeo features quite a narrow and uninspiring sound stage, which inhibits its cinematic quality.
For the sake of five Great British Pounds, we implore you to skip this Sennheiser deal and go for the Sonos instead, even if the savings might not appear as large on paper. The Beam (Gen 2) is still an absolute steal at £304 on Amazon, and this is unquestionably the lowest price we've ever seen it at.
MORE:
Read our full Sonos Beam (Gen 2) review
And check out the best soundbar deals here
As well as our picks for the best Dolby Atmos soundbars