Tefel Cinnabar Ultima in test

Teufel’s Cinnabar Ultima promises an impressive sound experience without the need for a separate subwoofer. If desired, a wireless sub and rear speakers are available. We tested everything.

The Teufel Cinebar Ultima is a prime example of how much soundbars can improve television sound in a reasonably compact form factor. The sound bar is anything but small, measuring in at 110cm tall, but with an impressive 380 watts of output and innovative Dynamore Ultra technology, it delivers a wide soundstage and strong bass that can easily replace hi-fi systems. As usual with Teufel, the Cinnabar Ultima can be expanded to include a powerful wireless subwoofer and even wireless rear speakers if desired. Then the price of around 1100 euros is already in the category of medium hi-fi systems, but it could not be easier to set up and control.

Additionally, there is a variety of connection options and a choice of elegant or brutal designs, catering to both prestigious and alternatively extrovert tastes. Good technical data is one thing, everyday life at home in the living room or bedroom is another. We took a closer look at the soundbar to find out how it performs in real life.

The Teufel Cinnabar Ultima impresses at first glance with its robust and high-quality design. The size of the soundbar is an impressive 110 x 14 x 16 cm and with a weight of over 11 kg, it is delicate. Due to its excellent workmanship it does not feel heavy. However, this becomes problematic if the soundbar is placed on a TV board or other piece of furniture in front of the television. Because even with a massive 86-inch device, the housing is still a bit stretched across the giant display – the Cinnabar is practically on the wall like a television.

There are removable fabric covers on the front and sides that stick magnetically and protect the membranes. A red LED display flashes in the center on the front, which shows the input, volume or other parameters such as strength of treble or bass in the form of a matrix display. The manufacturer not only provides easily recognizable information, but also a touch of retro feeling. A control panel is provided at the top of the tone bar with buttons for volume control, playback control and source selection. A sturdy metal remote control also allows control from the sofa and direct access to menus and equalizers for treble and bass. A little strange: the battery compartment of the remote control can only be opened using a star screwdriver.

Once the magnetic speaker covers are removed, the user is illuminated by two front and two sidefired full-range speakers with shiny bronze-colored Kevlar membranes and a diameter of 90 mm. There are also oval Kevlar woofers on the left and right sides of the centrally placed display. On the back of the Cinnabar Ultima there are not only connections, but also two sturdy hooks on which the soundbar can be attached to the wall. Like most of the manufacturer’s devices, Teufel Cinnabar Ultima is available in black and white.

The Teufel Cinnabar Ultima offers a good number of connection options, making it a versatile companion in the living room. Connection to the TV is via a single HDMI cable with audio return channel (ARC, unfortunately not included on our test device), which means the volume can also be controlled using the TV’s remote control. . Alternatively, an optical signal connection is available, suitable for older TVs or other audio devices. A set-top box or game console can be docked to another HDMI port. There is an RCA connection for analog devices. The soundbar can also be connected directly to a computer using a USB-A to Micro-USB cable. The sound bar is then recognized as an external sound card. Music can be streamed via Bluetooth with the aptX codec in almost CD quality. Unfortunately there’s no WiFi here, nor any other connection options like AirPlay. If you are looking for this, you should take a look at the Cinebar Ultima Streaming with an additional connection module, which among other things also offers a LAN connection.

The Tefel Cinnabar Ultima is easy and simple to use, thanks to the easy-to-read display, easy connection to the television and the intuitive remote control – as long as you get used to the operating logic. Due to the matrix display, users have to navigate from menu item to menu item with considerable effort; After a short wait time explanations appear via scrolling text. However, to confirm individual menu items, the middle, large button is not used, but the “right” button. At first it almost drove us crazy. The optional T6 subwoofer and reflex speakers, along with two wireless rear speakers, are also added here.

Afterwards, the operation worked quite well, even though activating the voice mode instead of the normal mode was still quite complicated. More buttons on the remote control or graphical menus instead of matrix menus would have been helpful here – but the Cinnabar Ultima has been on the market for years and is still very popular.

The soundbar offers limited individual sound adjustments (bass and treble) and modes for night time or better speech intelligibility. Dynamore Ultra technology has been added to it, which provides more spatial sound. A switchable auto-on function turns the Cinnabar Ultima on automatically when a signal is received. However, there is no connection option with the Internet, so wireless music streaming is only possible via Bluetooth – but then in high quality via aptX.

The sound quality of the Tefel Cinnabar Ultima is very good and the level consistency is impressive due to the 380 watts. Thanks to Dynamore Ultra technology, the soundbar provides a wide soundstage and simulates a virtual surround impression if desired. Two 90 mm full-range membranes and Kevlar woofers ensure powerful and sufficiently clear sound. The Cinnabar Ultima is strong when it comes to music playback, vocals are clearly set out and instruments can be easily localised. Ultimately, for our taste, the higher class is still a little lacking in clarity compared to the soundbar elite. When it comes to scale, the Ultima Soundbar is unmatched – it’s amazing what can come out of such a slim bar!

The Cinnabar Ultima achieves a lower limit frequency of 44 Hz, which is notable for a soundbar without a separate subwoofer. Among action-packed movies and series, it impresses with clearly understandable dialogues as well as surprisingly deep tones. Overall, we like the Teufel soundbar even better for television, movies and series than for music because, as already mentioned, the lack of that last bit of clarity is less important here. Spatial sound, on the other hand, is not as clear. Ultimately, the complaint is on the higher side, especially since this is technically “only” a 2.1 soundbar. Even with the two optional rears, there is 4.1 instead of 5.1 – surround sound is greatly improved by the additional speakers. Overall, we are very satisfied with the sound, especially with the optional subwoofer, which achieves significantly more depth and thus creates a true home cinema feel.

With a price of around 500 euros, the Tefel Cinnabar Ultima is not necessarily one of the cheapest soundbars on the market. In the Power version with subwoofer it is 800 euros, with sub and rear speakers it is 1100 euros.

The Teufel Cinnabar Ultima impresses with its strong sound and huge volume level. Finally, the clarity is still lacking at a minimum for first-class musical enjoyment. A lot can be achieved here thanks to the neat setting options and of course this always depends on the premises in which the Cinnabar Ultima is located. In our opinion, the soundbar is especially ideal for movie lovers who value “thick sound” with powerful bass without the need for a separate subwoofer. Of course, it gets even better with an additional wireless subwoofer and optional rear. The sound is then audible and clearly more full and deep and has a more spatial sound. Despite the Dynamore Ultra, the latter is limited to a limited range only with the soundbar.

The fact that Tefel soundbars are quite old in the market now is worth noting when it comes to the variety of connections and displays. WLAN, LAN or AirPlay are missing, and from today’s perspective it is difficult to use the soundbar through the matrix display. Of course, once it’s set, it hardly matters. If you’re looking for a powerful soundbar that impresses with both movies and music and makes an additional hi-fi system unnecessary, you should definitely consider the Teufel Cinebar Ultima (Streaming).

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