Sonos Playbase Wireless Soundbar For Home Theater (PBASEUS1BLK)

What the world has been waiting for!

Great concept – perfectly executed
There have been a few other form-factors like this before, but none of them have been able to impress like the Sonos Playbase. They were either not thin enough, thin but thin-sounding, or too small to support popular sized TV’s. In comes Sonos Playabase, and they knock it out of the park! Incredible sound AND gorgeous aesthetics – thin, solid, elegant, with killer sound – a real home run!

Where will I put it?
That’s always one of the big concerns with any music or home theater system – if it sounds great, then it usually involves multiple speakers and wires and connections. Where are you going to put any of this without having your living room look like a mixing studio? Even something as simple as a Playbar takes up space and can be hard to fit into your environment. What’s even better, is that since you already have a TV in your living room, Playbase sits right underneath the space already being used for your TV! It is as if it doesn’t take up any space at all.
So simple, easy, fun and satisfying
You literally unpack Playbase, lift up your TV and slide Playbase underneath, plug in the power cord, plug in the optical cable to your TV, download the app, setup the Playbase with a single button press, and you are off to the races! I really think almost anybody could do it.

Amazing sound – for music or video
What is really impressive is that Playbase sounds as good with music as it does with video. So we all know the benefits of Sonos – access to all the streaming music services you want, or your own music library, with the ability to group as many Sonos players as you want to build a great multi-room music system. Now add killer Home Theater sound to that equation, with a design that really doesn’t take up any extra space in your living room. Suddenly your room is alive with fantastic sound, and you hardly notice where it is all coming from. This is really exciting!

How about that bass?
How could anything this thin have so much bass? I mean really – it sounds like you have a subwoofer playing, but all there is, is a Playbase that is about 2” thick! When you look at this elegant, sleek, thin work-of-art, and then you hear the sound output, it is a truly incredible experience. Besides, it is so proportioned, it really just looks like it is some kind of nicely designed TV stand – my family can’t believe that all the sound they hear is coming from the Playbase.

Constructive criticism
$699 is a fair amount of money, but I feel it is worth it since the benefit is so substantial. I really am impressed with the simple, elegant design that almost disappears in my living room, but provides such a powerful sound experience with music or Home Theater. Still, I do wish it could have cost a little less.
No HDMI input – only optical. My TV has an optical output, so no issue here. I suppose there are some TV’s that don’t have optical, so you should just check to make sure. After experiencing the Playbase, I would have actually bought a new TV that has optical, if my TV didn’t have one. Not everybody wants to or can afford to do that, so just check before you buy.
A full 5.1 surround sound experience? Not really, especially when comparing to a system with rear surround sound speakers. The clarity of sound is very good, especially vocals and dialogue. Front surround sounds effects are also very good. Playbase has a very wide soundstage that is genuinely immersive. The low-end bass is extremely potent for small to medium sized rooms, to a moderately loud volume. If you have a huge room, or want to wake up your neighbors, you will need more than Playbase can deliver. But here is the good news: you are buying into a modular and expandable system. Playbase can accept two Sonos Play:1 speakers that can be added wirelessly as surround speakers (you just need and outlet to plug them into). And for the really huge rooms, you can bond Playbase with the Sonos Sub, for a truly over-the-top experience. The reality is for me, Playbase is actually too loud for my small-to-mid-size room. It is only on the weekends, during the day, that I am able to crank it all the way up without bothering the neighbors.

Conclusions
Playbase is what the world has been waiting for – cutting edge design, that is clean and simple + room-filing sound that impresses with music or video content, in a thin package that slips right under your TV! It seems so obvious, but I suppose it has not really been possible until now – the technology or innovation just wasn’t there to make all of this happen. Yes, it is a little on the expensive side, but the quality and experience are both top notch. Sonos favors simplicity, with only 1 optical connection, so if you a techy gadget person who is looking for all the “bells and whistles”, you won’t find them with Playbase. What you will find is a truly great performing all-in-one system that blends in perfectly to your living space. You will find yourself listening to more music than before and enjoying your TV-time more than you thought possible.

I connected the Sonos Playbase to out TV in the family room; the sound is so good. We love it, delivery was quick as well we received it 3 days before delivery date quoted. Very happy.

Don’t know how I ever lived without this. I replaced by old tower stereo surround system with the Sonos PLAYBASE and it’s unreal. Loud, crystal clears, bass-filled sound that fills my entire apartment. My favourite part is that I can stream music to it from anywhere with my iPad, iPhone, or MacBook Pro.

This is a review for the PLAYBASE. I bought this from Amazon to replace my 18 year old THX certified Klipsch 5.1 surround sound system that was more of a hassle then it was worth. Although the Klipsch system was plenty loud enough with booming base from the sub, the voices were often muffled and hearing dialog made me think my hearing was just getting too old. I was constantly fiddling with my receiver settings to get clearer speech. All sound was connected through the receiver using digital optical cables. After several years I had enough.

I spent a LOT of time researching a replacement system as my requirements have changed in 18 years. I no longer need a booming 5.1 surround sound system as I live in a smaller condo. Once I saw the Sonos PLAYBASE I fell in love with the aesthetics. The elegant look of sitting under the TV with the removal of all those speaker cables running to and from the receiver or needing a receiver at all was the look I preferred.

Friends of mine had several Sonos speakers and I was always impressed with the rich sound they produced. The Sonos app also made it really fun when guests want to add their own music to the playlist queue. Great for entertaining.

My current setup:
DirecTV DVR receiver (HR24-200) outputs via HDMI to an Xbox One X. The Xbox One X outputs via HDMI to a Sony 65″ 4K HDR TV (XBR65X900E). The Xbox One X also outputs the audio via digital optical cable (S/PDIF) to the Sonos.

I went direct from the Xbox instead of from the TV to avoid any sound pass through issues from the TV. The Xbox has a 4K Blu-ray player for physical media. Digital movie collection is pulled from a Synology +1511 NAS using a 5ghz wireless signal via the PLEX app. I do not use any of the “Smart” TV Apps.

Pros:
– Ergonomically the most elegant home theater sound solution I have seen.
– Powerful. I don’t have a decibel rating, but you can definitely drown out anyone or any sound in the room. I have an open floor plan and it easily fills 800 square feet.
– Significant base response. Not as much as the massive sub it replaced, but enough to have you feel it. You can change the amount of base and treble with the Sonos app.
– Exceptional build quality. This thing is a tank. It’s rated to hold 75 pounds. My TV is 77 pounds. I have zero concerns about the extra 2 pounds.
– Crystal clear speech. I’m able to hear what background voices are saying during scenes. Previously only possible with headphones. It’s THAT clear.
– Detailed configuration and calibration through the Sonos app, including a night time setting that really does cut down booming noises. A godsend for late night viewing if in a condo or close proximity to neighbors.
– A wide footprint to accommodate most TV stands. My TV stand fit with ease. Pictures attached.
– Echo connectivity.

Cons:
– Physical Connections. There is no HDMI or headphone connection. This may cause problems for some, for me it did not. My “Smart” TV disabled the headphone out connection when I disabled the speakers. I got around this by using my Xbox controller output for headphones.
No Bluetooth options.
– Cost. This sucker is pricey, but in line with other similar options.

Issues:
A lot of people reporting lip sync issues. I had a speech delay, but ONLY when watching DirecTV. So I ran some tests.
– Changed the Xbox audio output from surround sound to stereo. Lag reduced, but still there.
– Ran the audio straight from the DirecTV box to the Sonos bypassing the Xbox. Still there.
– Setup up an antenna and pushed the over the air channel audio from the TV to the Sonos. NO lag.

So the issue is with DirecTV. The lag varies as well. Some channels are worse. No idea why this is. DirecTV compression logarithms? The number of splits that occur to feed my condo? Cosmic rays? Whatever the case it ONLY occurs with DirecTV. All other connections, including streaming from my NAS, Amazon, or YouTube are perfectly in sync.

Bottom Line
For me it came down to the look and sound quality. I was about to get a sound bar which in my opinion looks very much like a bolt on to your home theater. This looks seamless and once I paint the TV stand black will look even more seamless.