Sennheiser AMBEO Setup Guide + Tips & Tricks

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Congratulations on purchasing your new Sennheiser AMBEO. We’ll walk you through a few quick steps to help you get started. We’ll also provide a few helpful tips and tricks that most users will not know about, so with this guide, you’ll be able to get the most out of your new Dolby Atmos system. The first step you’ll want to take is decide how you want to position your AMBEO. It’s designed to sit under your TV or it can be wall-mounted with an optional wall-bracket. While wall-mounting is possible with this soundbar, we recommend just placing the soundbar on top of a piece of furniture directly under your TV, and if you do, we recommend separating the soundbar from the TV to provide enough clearance for the upward-firing drivers to direct sound up towards the ceiling.

Next, let’s quickly go over all the connections and what they’re for. On the front panel, there’s a microphone input that accepts an input from the special calibration microphone that comes included with your AMBEO. This will tune the AMBEO’s output to the unique properties of your room. The rest of the inputs and outputs are tucked away under the unit. From left to right there’s — a power connection, a USB port for firmware updates or servicing the unit, an ethernet port, (1x) HDMI eARC output labeled “HDMI TV,” (3x) regular HDMI inputs for connecting up other sources (such as an Apple TV or gaming consoles), an optical Toslink input, a single RCA pre-out for connecting a powered subwoofer, and a pair of analog RCA jacks that will let you connect a CD player or a legacy stereo system. The HDMI port labeled “HDMI TV” is the newer enhanced version of HDMI ARC called “eARC.” You’ll want to update the AMBEO’s firmware, first, to the latest version with the Sennheiser Smart Control app in order to take advantage of this (more on how to do that in just a few minutes). This is cool because eARC’s higher bandwidth allows for true Dolby Atmos to be transmitted out to compatible devices. A popular choice of compatible devices might be your Apple TV, for example. However, if you’re an Apple TV user, keep in mind the Apple TV 4K or newer are the only models that have an HDMI port capable of true Dolby Atmos — so if you want to experience Dolby Atmos to the full extent, you’ll just want to make sure your hardware source is compatible with the newer eARC connection.

And if you’re just getting started with Dolby Atmos, we have a fun Pro tip to help you find all the content encoded with this exciting new format: you can see all the movies and TV shows encoded with Dolby Atmos on Netflix and Amazon Prime just by typing the words “Dolby Atmos” into the platform’s search field. If you have Disney+, you'll have to search google for a comprehensive list of Dolby Atmos content for this platform, but we’re really impressed with the large amount of content that’s already available on Disney+, so be sure to check that out for the largest collection of Atmos movies.

The last step you’ll want to take is downloading the Sennheiser Smart Control app to your phone. Once you do that, make sure Bluetooth on your smartphone is turned on, first, and when you open the Smart Control app, it will automatically find your AMBEO, and walk you through the handshake process. After that, you’ll be up and running using your phone with Bluetooth, Chromecast, NFC, and access to the customizable EQ settings that you can also save as presets in the app. Both the Smart Control App and the remote control that comes with the AMBEO have special sound modes that let you conveniently optimize the sound coming out of the soundbar to better suit the content you’re watching. This concludes our tips and tricks for the Sennheiser AMBEO. This should get you up and running so you can start enjoying all the great movies in this exciting Dolby Atmos format. If you’re looking for more audio equipment or if you have any questions about this that were not in our video feel free to chat with us on audioadvice.com, call us or if you’re in the area, come into any of our Raleigh or Charlotte NC locations. Until next time, we hope you enjoy your new soundbar!