Style:PLAYBAR Only Complements HD television screens with richly textured HiFi sound. Wirelessly streams all the music on earth. Simple to set up, control and expand. Understands and speaks most IR remotes language Can be controlled by free apps for your Android, iPhone or iPad. Plays all sources plugged in to your HDTV
I’m a HUGE Sonos fan. I own 3 Play:5’s and a Sub. I’d been wanting to replace my bulky 5.1 speaker system with a Playbar since it was rumored. All their products have incredible sound quality so I was optimistic about this set up.Set up is easy, sound quality is good for the unit. It’s a nice product and looks great while being easy to operate (although more reliant on the Sonos application than I’d prefer). It’s the typical awesomeness that you get with any Sonos product.When testing the Playbar with a direct connection to a device (e.g. Apple TV) and running it compared to my 5 speaker system through my receiver I was impressed with the quality. Sound was more spread out and filled the room better but dialog/center was ultimately a bit shallow feeling. If you turn on speech enhancement in the menu it helps out but something still feels slightly off. It’s something you’re unlikely to notice unless you’re actively comparing like I was but to the Playbar’s credit it was no slouch. I had a few people compare with me and everyone picked the typical 5.1 setup for better sound but had positive things to say about the Playbar - mainly noting its shallow feel in certain rangers and with dialog as the main issues.Here’s the issue though: Sonos says they want you to use your TV as a hub, all the inputs going to the TV and then optical audio out from the TV to the Playbar. Great idea - but the problem is that most TV’s won’t pass Dolby Digital (DD) 5.1 surround from HDMI to the digital/optical audio. If it’s from the TV itself (such as Netflix on a smart TV) or input directly from the coaxial cable it will pass 5.1 through the optical port BUT not from HDMI. This is either required to be HDCP compliant or is a licensing/cost issue (not sure). There are a few tv’s that do this but they’re few and far between and hard to verify.So if you have multiple sources (say an Xbox 360, Blu-Ray player, Apple TV, etc) there’s no way for those sources to ever deliver 5.1 to the Playbar as Sonos intended (assuming you add a sub and some Play:3’s to the mix). And you can’t wire multiple inputs directly to the Playbar because they have a single input for the sake of simplicity. Normally I’m fine with this, but in light of the limitation with HDMI => optical pass through on TVs this became an oversight to me upon learning about the pass through issue. You can solve this by finding a TV or receiver that does pass through DD 5.1 through the optical audio, but you shouldn’t have to. Alternatively you can use an optical audio switch, which is fine most of the time but may not work with a blu-ray player since Playbar lacks DTS support and are also limited on inputs, but this doesn’t solve what to do for certain devices that don’t have an optical audio port (e.g. most computers, Wii U, etc).In the end you’re left with a system that is capable of producing much better sound (especially if a sub and some Play:3s are added) that most everyone won’t be able to hear and results in this not sounding as good as it costs. And that’s just a shame to me.Pros:++Easy set up++Sonos+Decent sound from stereo sourceCons:—Single optical input only–No DTS support–Entire package is expensive for 5.1 (or even 3.1)The only scenario I can see this being a good thing is if you have a room where you want to add a Sonos component and a soundbar to and you want to do it in a single package without caring about other components, like for a Den or a bedroom. Any other solution seems like there’d be a better option.Ultimately I’m disappointed. Had Sonos included multiple audio inputs or HDMI pass through, or even better yet HDMI switching (in place of a receiver) then this could have been an amazing piece. But the reliance on a single optical input being provided from the TV, one which will down convert any HDMI source’s audio to stereo sound, in the name of simplicity just seems like a bad idea.Had I known about the tv’s not passing through audio I wouldn’t have bought this. My mistake, honestly, but it just makes it baffling as to why Sonos didn’t provide different input options. As it stands I’m returning it. Hopefully Sonos will look in to making an HDMI hub option as an accessory.
I’m surprised I haven’t reviewed this yet! I hooked this up to my girlfriend’s pair of Play 3’s in her living room in order to set up [surround] sound for her TV/AppleTV. We moved the 3’s to rear surrounds and use just the Playbar under the TV. I have to say, despite being an audiophile and knowing full well that Sonos doesn’t come close to leading the pack in terms of raw fidelity… I almost don’t care because they sound great and Sonos makes it sooooo painless to set things up. Within moments (and virtually zero effort on our part), we had beautiful surround sound for movies!
I started with 2 Play 3s and loved them so much I bought this. Then of course, I had to get the Sub. Once you get a taste, you can’t stop! Set up is super easy with the app. (I also have multiple Play 5s around the house.) I have Playbar hooked up through an optical cable to my Sharp Aquos and the remote control for Xfinity TV. The remote for the cable box easily adjusts the volume for Sonos so if you are worried about that, you don’t have to be. I also use the Playbar for music when the TV is not on and it sounds great. Minor issue is the sound doesn’t sound as loud as my Play 3s and 5s. Also, at first I thought the sound was not exactly synced to the people on the screen. So looked like bad lip syncing but it actually went away so either I got used to it or it corrected itself within a day or two.
Sonos has been on my wish list for a while, but after receiving a Play1 for Christmas, I decided to take the plunge. I may never look back. I wanted to add surround sound to our living room without having to bother an entire A/V Receiver set up. Having hardwood floors, I didn’t want to drill anywhere and try to fish wire through flooring, etc. I didn’t fully realize how simple Sonos makes it for you!The Playbar is the central component of having surround sound. I paired this with two Play1’s and the Sub. I first had two Play1’s, and was impressed with the quality of stereo music that came through these tiny speakers, including ample bass. I could have been fine with those, but I really wanted surround sound when we watch tv/movies. That’s where the Playbar came in. The TV connects to the Playbar through an optical cable that comes with the Playbar. That’s it. The Sonos app takes care of setting up everything for you! Just simply follow the prompts as the app guides you step by step setting up all of the speakers. I splurged and got the Sub which provides that extra deep, tight bass and life to the room.I can now come home, turn on the app and start playing music in seconds, as well as watch tv/movies in great surround sound. Highly recommend!
I could never picture myself laying down the kind of money that Sonos commands for their systems but did just that recently and glad that I did. I’ve had a Play 1 for some time now and found it to be an enjoyable simple and easy to use addition. After using a name brand 5.1 surround home theater system for several years and unable to get it to work properly with all of my streaming devices for reasons beyond my scope I decided to make the jump to Sonos. I purchased the Playbar, the Sub and an additional Play 1 to complete a 5.1 system. It’s great! Sonos makes it so simple and without all the wires stretching out everywhere and an easy ‘true tune’ to the room setup and it’s ‘heaven’. The Sub is connected directly to my tv with no tweaks or extra buttons to push to activate streaming devices properly. It fills my bedroom with the incredible home theater sound and bass that I’d been looking for. If you’re hesitating and thinking this is expensive…it is…but it’s worth it.
EXCELLENT PRODUCT
Good product easy to set up and install
We had an old Bose system with the mini-cubes in our great room. My husband had a terrible time distinguishing dialogue because of the bad acoustics in the room.
This thing sounds so good for how minimal it is. I’m excited to add more speakers in the future. Definitely get the sub because it makes a huge difference when watching movies.
Very happy, product as described, like new.No problems setting up.Great speaker system for a TV
I love this!
I absolutely love this soundbar. I will add the sub and surround speakers in the future, but for now it’s pretty awesome.
really happy with this purchase. i’m a bose person, so switching to sonos was a big deal. setup was pretty easy and sound is great and my house rocks when i turn up the volume -…
Unreal! Save your money and buy this!Sound is full and deep !
comments powered by DisqusNO DTS - WON’T PLAY BLU-RAYS - STREAMING ONLY! $700 and I can’t watch a Blu-Ray or even a DVD. No HDMI either. Do your research before wasting your money.