I’ve written about the Sonos PLAYBAR previously, and tonight I got a chance to try one out and came away impressed. But first, let me show you the PLAYBAR:
Here’s the PLAYBAR, it weighs under 6 kilograms and has 9 different elements inside it. You can mount it on the ceiling, under your TV or place it in front of your TV. In terms of the latter, it will pass through IR signals so that it doesn’t interfere with the ability of the TV to process remote control signals. I should note that it comes with a remote control that has the ability to learn any other remote control function. That way one remote control can run all your devices.
On the back is a TOSLINK connection along with two Ethernet ports. One in, one out. Nice to have, but the whole point of using a Sonos device is to leverage both 802.11 wireless as well as their proprietary mesh network. A mesh network has devices that has their wireless signals overlap each other so that each device improves the strength of the network. Thus, you can mix the PLAYBAR with Play:3 and Play:5 speakers for example and toss in a SUB to get extra bass and create a surround sound system without any wires.
There’s also one other feature:
Sonos has an app called Control for iOS and Android as well as Mac and PC that allows you to not only control your sound system, but you can stream audio content to the system wirelessly. That could be your MP3s in your collection or it could be streaming services such as Tunein Radio, Pandora or even SirrusXM. The key feature is that these streaming services are completely integrated into the app which means that you do not have to run a separate app to get to your streaming content. Another plus, you can use this app to create zones for your content. You can place Sonos speakers in your living room, den, and bedroom and use the app to play your content in whatever room you want for example.
So, the question you want answered is how good is the PLAYBAR? In a word, impressive. By itself it does excellent stereo separation and even surround sound effects work well. What was more impressive was the fact that anything that was thrown at it was reproduced perfectly. Movie audio, electronic music, vocals, whatever, it all played back perfectly. It was impressive. What was even more impressive was the fact that as additional Sonos hardware was added to the mix, the sound even more mind blowing. I’ll also say this, this was demoed in a room where this system had to contend with a very large room which had to be about 3 to 4 thousand square feet in size and had 15 foot ceilings. The audio quality from the PLAYBAR was stunning in this environment. Thus in a condo, a basement, or someplace else in your home, the PLAYBAR will simply blow you away.
So, what does all this audio goodness go for? The list price is $749 and it’s worth every penny. It will be shipping in early March. If you want a sound bar, do yourself a serious favour and take a look at the Sonos PLAYBAR. It has sound quality that is simply impressive and you’ll want one the second you hear it. I’ve requested one to try in my condo so that I can give you an even more detailed review. Watch for it.
UPDATE: Here’s an oops moment. There were a few things I got wrong. Here’s the corrections straight from Sonos:
The PLAYBAR doesn’t include a separate remote control of its own. The idea is that people have so many remotes already, so the designers didn’t want to clutter things up with another remote. To that end, the PLAYBAR is able to learn most manufacturer or universal IR remotes very easily, letting you adjust the PLAYBAR’s volume with your existing remote. Of course, you can also control the PLAYBAR from anywhere in your home with the free SONOS app on your iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch, Android phone/tablet, Mac or PC, as you saw last night.
Also, the PLAYBAR can’t use PLAY:5s for 5.1 surround sound. The PLAYBAR, PLAY:3 and SUB have two wireless radios: a 2.4Ghz radio, designed to keep your SONOS players connected to each other over the SonosNet mesh network, and a 5Ghz radio that enables the lightning-fast communication between PLAYBAR, SUB and the PLAY:3s that is required for the surround sound experience. The PLAY:5 doesn’t have a 5Ghz radio, so it won’t work as part of the 5.1 setup. You can definitely stream sound from your PLAYBAR to a PLAY:5 or other SONOS unit elsewhere in your home, it just won’t be specifically a rear surround channel. With two tweeters, two mid-range drivers and a subwoofer apiece, PLAY:5s would be completely overkill as rear surround speakers anyway, really!
Thanks for helping me get this right!
Sonos Introduces PLAYBAR
Posted in Commentary with tags Sonos on February 13, 2013 by itnerdHiFi masters Sonos has introduced SONOS PLAYBAR, the soundbar for music lovers. PLAYBAR brings immersive HiFi sound to the TV and, being a full Wireless HiFi System, streams all the music on earth through one easy-to-use player. The sophisticated all-in-one design of PLAYBAR combines exposed aluminum with high performance speaker fabric for a look that’s timeless, understated and because it does not require a subwoofer or speaker wire, easily fits into any room and setup. Its built-in sensors help PLAYBAR automatically adjust EQ and channel orientation so it can lie flat on the TV stand or rotate for low profile wall-mounting above or below the TV. Designed for easy setup and use, PLAYBAR connects to the TV with a single optical cable, playing everything that is connected to it, including cable boxes, Blu-ray players and game consoles. It understands common audio formats output by TVs including Dolby Digital. Customers can control the volume or mute with a regular TV remote or with one of the free Sonos Controller apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac or PC.
PLAYBAR will retail for $749 and will be available on March 5th globally.
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