Review
Roderick Scott 0

By now Sonos has done quite the job establishing themselves as the new leaders of home audio.  Through name drops by Jay-Z, scoring many high-reviews by the media, and being beloved by consumers.  They got you covered in all aspects of sound that you might want desire.  Offering up a variety of sizes + price points: from the Play:1 ($199), Play: 3 ($299), & Play: 5 ($399).  

Early last year, they revealed another piece of hardware that would tackle your home stereo system w/ the Playbar.  Adding the missing piece to the Sonos puzzle w/ amplifying your TV sound along w/ music.  We've tested it for about a month now as we will see if the PlayBar upholds the already strong legacy of Sonos products.  As well as if this could be for you or not?

Buy Your Playbar Here

Sonos-Playbar

Setup/Software

Setting up your Playbar is pretty much the same way setting up any other Sonos device.  You can either plug your speakers directly into the your HDTV's digital audio input or plug into the Sonos Bridge accessory, to connect multiple devices to create its own music network.  Gaining access to control your Sonos speakers require you to sync your Android or iOS device/computer to it by hitting the Play/Pause button + Bridge button and then press play.  
 
 
Previously the Sonos mobile app was in serious need of revamp and a few months back, they finally got it.  The desktop app remains the same.  Now w/ Google Play Music in tow, you have a slew of music service apps at your disposal.  From whatever you have in your local storage to Spotify to Rdio to Pandora and more.  The Playbar software has additional software additions like speech enhancement that boosts the human voice and night sound suppresses the audio like loud booms + such so to not to awake sleeping family members.  Both quite welcome additions to the mix.  

Design

Although portraying the similar long rectangle shape damn-near all soundbars possess, there is still a sense of style to it.  You got aluminum accents/finish along w/ a cloth matte body.  Underneath it al are 9 speakers in total: 3 1-inch tweeters + 6 3.5inch speakers - all equipped w/ their own amp.  The tweeters on each end of the Playbar face outward to expand the sound.  The Playbar weighs in at 11.9lbs and is just over 35inches wide but still manages to fit comfortably on my TV stand.  Just as long as its not too cluttered, you'll have plenty of room.  
 
 
 On the rear, it has 2 ethernet, 1 digital audio, and a power input for your connectivity.  Unfortunately, if you need more inputs you'll have to improve your setup a bit more.  So don't expect to add any none Sonos speakers to the mix.  And all Sonos products are wall-mountable and the Playbar is no exception.

Sound

The Playbar has quite the big sound you would expect from the Sonos brand.  Providing you w/ quite the home theater sound experience.   From Casting tunes from my phone using Chromecast to hearing new elements of A Different World's theme song to the gunshots + footsteps when playing COD: Black Ops 2.  Everything sounds great and that's without a Sonos Sub.  The ideal home theater setup is probably the Playbar w/ a Sub + a pair of Play:1 speakers to get great sound w/o taking up too much space.  Of course the focus of the Playbar is home theater sound but it can be utilized for music as well.  While the sound is actually a bit better on the smaller Play speakers, it still sound great on here as well.  

And lastly, it doesn't matter how you set the Playbar up.  Sonos has a built-in accelerometer inside to adapt its equalization depending on its surrounds.  In other words if you wall-mount or lay on your standard TV stand, it will pump sound properly w/o it omitting it the wrong direction.  So dope!

Sonos Playbar review grade

For Sonos owners, the Playbar is the missing piece to create a Sonos-based home theater.  For everyone else, its one of the top soundbars on the market.  

TG 2 Cents

At the end of the day, the Playbar is a great addition for those of you already invested in previous Sonos products.  As you can add any Play speaker to it to create a true 5.1 wireless surround system.  Audiophiles will not be disappointed in the sound it is pumping out.  Being a cord-cutter, I stream about 98% of my content form my Xbox 360.  Since Microsoft's gaming console utilizes Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, everything I watched was turned up.  You definitely feel like Superman w/ heightened hearing w/ everything coming out the PlayBar.  Another great Sonos product as part of their growing inventory of products.  Chalk this up as one of the few products, I will truly miss when sending it back.  

To Buy Or Not To Buy

The real question is can you personally spare a minimum of $700 to transform your home in a Sonos one?  If you want to look at the previously mentioned ideal setup.  We got the Playbar, a Sub for $700, and a pair of Play: 1s for $400.  Not that you can put a price tag on quality sound but just something to be aware of.  If you can spare it, the sound is great but is not the only sound game in town though.    
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Categories: HD Life Review

Author: Roderick Scott

Father. Husband. Creative. Mild foodie. Batman in my dreams.