Did anyone buy the Sonos PlayBar (soundbar) ?

[TonyHetherington]

Did anyone buy one and what are your thoughts on it?

I'm looking at getting Play3, 5, and PlayBar along with 2 new TVs in about 3-4 weeks time (new house completely renovated) and like the idea of a playbar to fit in with everything.

Is it worth it? Are there better alternatives at £600, but just won't get the streaming? The streaming isn't a necessity, but I like the idea that if I have a party I can move the playbar to the kitchen/outside for the evening.

Thanks

[eastsider]

I haven't got one but very tempted - interested in any feedback from owners. John Lewis demo setup of the playbar is pretty impressive to my ears.

[TonyHetherington]

Oh I didn't know they had a demo on - I'll hunt that out. Had a look in Currys but they didn't have it at all, let alone a demo.

[eastsider]

TonyHetherington said:

Oh I didn't know they had a demo on - I'll hunt that out. Had a look in Currys but they didn't have it at all, let alone a demo.

JL canary wharf have it, and that is a relatively small JL store, most of its waitrose. So any decent size JL should have the setup I think.

[JimbobVFR]

eastsider said:

I haven't got one but very tempted - interested in any feedback from owners. John Lewis demo setup of the playbar is pretty impressive to my ears.

What's the betting the demo wasn't just the Playbar but also the Sonos sub as well. I might be wrong but I believe the Playbar doesn't have a normal sub connection but can only work with the matching wireless sub which is a £500 extra.

Edited by JimbobVFR on Saturday 6th April 10:18

[VEX]

I think so.

Certainly to do 5.1 you need the Bar, 2x play3's and the sub.

That's a lot of money for only one input!

[5potTurbo]

eastsider said:

TonyHetherington said:

Oh I didn't know they had a demo on - I'll hunt that out. Had a look in Currys but they didn't have it at all, let alone a demo.

JL canary wharf have it, and that is a relatively small JL store, most of its waitrose. So any decent size JL should have the setup I think.

You'd think that would be the case, but JL in Southampton didn't have a sound bar demo, although they sell them and everything else by Sonos. They did have demo Plays though. I'll certainly look in CW myself then as I'm there for work almost every other week.

ETA: Vex is right, though. All those bits will add up ££££. I'm more leaning towards 5.1 Bluetooth speakers from Samsung or LG and adding Sonos for other audio in the new house.

Edited by 5potTurbo on Saturday 6th April 16:35

[ayton 1]

I have had one for a couple of weeks,much better sound than Tv, also Wifi music form laptop is
great as is radio stations with the Bridge.

[eastsider]

Just double checked the Canary Wharf JL setup - 100% just the playbar no sub. It does sound good!

@ayton - thanks for the user update. How do you have the playbar setup - wall mounted, freestanding, above or below your TV screen?

[bigandclever]

TonyHetherington said:

I like the idea that if I have a party I can move the playbar to the kitchen/outside for the evening.

Just a thought - the Play5 has (effectively) a carrying handle moulded in - won't the sound bar be a bit big for moving around?

[TonyHetherington]

It'll be once a month, if that, and from what I understand it's a case of unplugging the power and input cable and just plugging the power in elsewhere - not a big job at all, nor difficult I don't think. It's not a small unit, but equally not massive. Enough to power a small party

[ayton 1]

eastsider, mine is freestanding at the bottom of TV. volume control by TV remote very simple & you forget its there. When playing music
from itunes I control it all from lap top via wifi bridge.

[mids]

I'm itching to get one but am holding fire until Sonos implement cloud streaming in the UK (either amazon which already works in the US or google music). Hopefully that isn't going to be too much longer because they have recently 'officially' updated the status of the suggestion to show that they are working on it.

https://ask.sonos.com/sonos/topics/add_the_amazon_...

[Digger]

Hi chaps . . .

Those of you who are living with both a Play 3 & a 5 do you regret going for the 3 instead of a 5?

[JimbobVFR]

mids said:

I'm itching to get one but am holding fire until Sonos implement cloud streaming in the UK (either amazon which already works in the US or google music). Hopefully that isn't going to be too much longer because they have recently 'officially' updated the status of the suggestion to show that they are working on it.

https://ask.sonos.com/sonos/topics/add_the_amazon_...

Until Google have an API I can't see Google music happening unfortunately.

[Mustang Baz]

TonyHetherington said:

Did anyone buy one and what are your thoughts on it?

I'm looking at getting Play3, 5, and PlayBar along with 2 new TVs in about 3-4 weeks time (new house completely renovated) and like the idea of a playbar to fit in with everything.

Thanks

Tony - as a matter of interest, did you go with this set-up in the end? Am in a very similar situation re house move/change and replacement TV's, and also considering wireless capacity.

[Patch1875]

Digger said:

Hi chaps . . .

Those of you who are living with both a Play 3 & a 5 do you regret going for the 3 instead of a 5?

I use both, it's really down to room size in a small room the 5 feels a bit to much also I prefer the 3 at lower volumes.

[TonyHetherington]

I've not bought yet tho still intend to go this route. Will be sure to update this thread when I do

[VEX]

I have a 3 in the kitchen and a 5 in the study.

The 5 has better bass and volume, but then it should it is bigger.

The 3 in the Kitchen works well for the general listening.

V.

[ukwill]

mids said:

I'm itching to get one but am holding fire until Sonos implement cloud streaming in the UK (either amazon which already works in the US or google music). Hopefully that isn't going to be too much longer because they have recently 'officially' updated the status of the suggestion to show that they are working on it.

https://ask.sonos.com/sonos/topics/add_the_amazon_...

Sonos already supports other streaming vendors. I've been using spotify for the past couple of years both with and without it.