A barrage of new and exciting technology reveals over the four days of Europe’s biggest annual tech show, IFA, included everything from cutting-edge 8K TVs to state-of-the-art Dolby Atmos soundbars to wireless and high-end headphones, connected smart home tech and more. What Hi-Fi? had troops on the ground in Berlin, and here are our particular show highlights.
1 Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Plus
Sennheiser’s second Dolby Atmos soundbar is smaller and cheaper than the original Ambeo and includes up-firing speakers and an auto-calibration feature to help optimise set-up. Despite its comparatively compact dimensions, it manages to pack in a 7.1.4 sound system.
Three forward-facing drivers join a side-firing driver at each of its ends, two up-firing drivers and two up-firing woofers. If you are wondering how that equates to 7.1.4, Sennheiser explains that the soundbar uses beam-forming to create phantom speakers from its nine physical drivers. So, for example, one of the front-firing speakers might combine with one of the side speakers and one of the top-mounted ones to create a phantom height speaker. Sennheiser
