Dolby Atmos soundbars, Bluetooth decks, high-tech OLED TVs and more
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 says the Soundbar Plus uses the same 3D sound processing as the original Ambeo, and Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and 360 Reality Audio are all supported.
The Ambeo Soundbar Plus is priced at £1299 – vastly more affordable than the Ambeo Soundbar Max (the new name for the Ambeo Soundbar), which is currently £2199, but it’s still much more expensive than the Sonos Arc (£769).
2 Philips Ambilight OLED and Mini-LED TVs
Philips took the wraps of a number of new TVs at IFA including models with Bowers & Wilkins speaker systems and OLED EX panels claiming up to 1300 nits of peak brightness.
The OLED+937 will be available in both 65in and 77in variants and uses an OLED EX panel with a dedicated heatsink, which Philips says will allow for a peak brightness of 1300 nits. It features a speaker system courtesy of B&W, consisting of dedicated side-firing speakers and 95W power output, which Philips claims will provide a true 5.1.2 surround performance.
The slightly more discreet OLED+907 comes in 55in and 65in options, and also uses the OLED EX panel with heatsink for the same impressive brightness. This time, the B&W speakers are a pared back 3.1, 80W system that fits more discreetly into the TV’s frame, though they still remain front firing
