Sonos Playbase - thoughts?

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Horseychick

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#225745 4-Dec-2017 09:27

Hubby is looking at replacing his current amp and wired speakers. We have a 65" LG smart TV that is about 3 years old. We mostly watch ESPN sport, Netflix, some other SkyTV and YouTube stuff. Room is very large so as it's open plan lounge/dining/kitchen so needs good sound.

I've suggested we go wireless so he's found the Sonos Playbase and is considering that. I've read reviews online and they are a mixture of good and not so good.

Has anyone purchased one of these and can give some feedback?

Or does anyone have an alternative to suggest that we should look at?

Mistenfuru

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#1912510 4-Dec-2017 09:35

If you get the Playbase, then definitely get the Subwoofer to go with it.

Other than that, we run one and it handles Movies well, on par with any other decent quality soundbar. (but with the Benefit of Sonos connectivity)

It'll never be quite as good as true surround sound though!

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trig42

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#1912527 4-Dec-2017 10:06

I'd agree with above - get the Subwoofer as well.

If it was me, I'd get the Soundbar rather than the Playbase, as it can be wall mounted/takes up less space.

You can expand later with a couple of Play:1 or Play:3 speakers as surrounds too.

Wills1

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#1912772 4-Dec-2017 16:41

I would also look at the soundbar option.

We were weighing up between the Sonos Playbar and the Bose Soundtouch 300. Walked away with the Bose, they both sounded similar, however IMO the Bose looks a lot nicer with the black tempered glass top. Later added the bass module, great setup. I prefer the minimalist option rather than AV receiver and speakers.

eracode

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#1912810 4-Dec-2017 17:21

We have the Playbar, a Sub and two Play Ones as rears with our large telly. When you have a decent soundtrack, they sound wonderful - eg Star Trek Discovery.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

Dunnersfella

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#1912846 4-Dec-2017 17:51

The flaw in your plan is that you've noted the room is large.

Soundbars / soundbases are effectively designed to produce quality sound in smaller to medium sized rooms, with larger spaces they may not be able to move enough air to provide a convincing performance.

This isn't a knock on Sonos, it's a comment that pertains to all soundbars etc.

See if you can get a dealer to allow you to demo it in your own home.

Almost all dealers provide a demo unit for this purpose. Bose even provide a money back guarantee on some of their products when you purchase on-line.

gehenna

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#1912862 4-Dec-2017 18:35

Just for a change of pace, I've got an LG SJ5 sound bar with wireless subwoofer. It's very good indeed, and with my LG 65" it can connect wirelessly to the TV (instead of needing HDMI/ARC or Optical). Also has Bluetooth.

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jarledb

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#1912866 4-Dec-2017 18:47

Have considered the Sonos system, but don't like their strange reliance on optical connection and not so great support for various surround sound encodings.

Bose looked interesting until I saw the price. For a 5.1 system its $8,400 NZD!

Denon has a nice wireless system: https://www.au.denon.com/au/product/homecinema/avreceiver/heosavr - But I don't like the fact that its only 50 watts and that there is no room correction/EQ on the system.

So I am coming up short at the moment. The curse of already having a good surround sound receiver (from Denon) and good speakers.

Hopefully Denon will be out with a 7.1 version of the Heos AVR with better features sometime soon (no news on it though, so could be waiting years).

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BlinkyBill

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#1912868 4-Dec-2017 18:59

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dafman

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#1913674 6-Dec-2017 07:49

I'm also looking at soundbar options for a 55" Sony. I am also pretty heavily invested in Sonos with a Play 5, two play 3's and two play 1's. However, I'm in two minds about the Sonos soundbars.

This is a second TV, so I don't want to pay for both a Sonos soundbar and subwoofer as $2.7k is more than twice what I want to pay - so am looking at either a Playbar or Playbase on its own. From the reviews I have read, with a subwoofer - both the Playbar and Playbase perform equally well. On their own, the reviews seem pretty one-sided that the Playbar is the better performer. But there are two things I don't like about the Playbar - 1. it's an old design and looks like it, 2. I will be placing the soundbar on a shelf under the TV and, when not wall mounted, the Playbar is designed to sit with its drivers firing upwards - not outwards as with wall mounting. You can sit it on its side, but then I would have its metal case sitting directly on glass shelving and the IR sensor could be blocked (according to reports I have read.

The advantage of Sonos is that I already have two Play 1s which could easily be brought into play (excuse pun) when required for surround duties.

The other option I like is the Sony HT-NT5. It looks great, has a wireless sub and would play nice with the Sony TV. However, all the reviews point out its lack of midrange, which is something I have noticed with all the Sony soundbars I have listened to.

So not sure which way to go at the moment. I'm not interested in Bose, or any other brand - I will be going either Sonos or Sony. So I am thinking I might just hold off until Sony release their next gen soundbars, plus hoping that Sonos will surprise us with a new Playbar in the near future.

rogercruse

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#1913692 6-Dec-2017 08:40

eracode:

We have the Playbar, a Sub and two Play Ones as rears with our large telly. When you have a decent soundtrack, they sound wonderful - eg Star Trek Discovery.

As a big fan of Sonos - speakers everywhere even in the garage - I've replaced a Samsung home entertainment system with a Sonos PlayBase for the TV lounge.

Now waiting for my piggy bank to fatten up and my wife to be looking the other way before I get the Sub.

And when the Sonos One's are formally available and my wife has forgiven me for spending too much the last time, I'll swap around my existing speakers to complete the setup of the TV lounge.