Sonos Playbar - really not impressed with the sound.
Discussion
I'd love to hear the views of other owners.
Sounds ok as a TV sound bar although it's not as good as I was hoping, for the £600 it cost!
But when it comes to playing music at higher volumes, it's actually very poor. As soon as there is a bass drum 'thud' sound, the treble can't cope and drops in volume by a third, so with a good loud rock tune, the treble sounds as if a kid is sat there twiddling the volume up and down in time with the music.
I'm genuinely disappointed and thinking about taking it back for a refund tomorrow, and getting a proper Yamaha soundbar and sub thing instead.
Anyone else feel the same?
Would adding the sonos sub make the problem go away?
Sounds ok as a TV sound bar although it's not as good as I was hoping, for the £600 it cost!
But when it comes to playing music at higher volumes, it's actually very poor. As soon as there is a bass drum 'thud' sound, the treble can't cope and drops in volume by a third, so with a good loud rock tune, the treble sounds as if a kid is sat there twiddling the volume up and down in time with the music.
I'm genuinely disappointed and thinking about taking it back for a refund tomorrow, and getting a proper Yamaha soundbar and sub thing instead.
Anyone else feel the same?
Would adding the sonos sub make the problem go away?
Not to be harsh, but you are complaining that something doesn't have the range of deep base when you haven't got the sub, yet you are going to replace it with a soundbar and sub??
If you can stretch the budget I would consider the play bar and their sub before dismissing the songs brand completely. There are many a happy PHer that have then and do rate the package as a whole as you add to them as and when with minimal hassle.
If you can stretch the budget I would consider the play bar and their sub before dismissing the songs brand completely. There are many a happy PHer that have then and do rate the package as a whole as you add to them as and when with minimal hassle.
No, I'm not complaining about a lack of bass. I'm complaining that the item isn't up to the job. It's one of the poorest speakers I've heard (in higher end equipment). I'm amazed that every review I've read gives it a gleaming 4 or 5 stars.
Not acceptable that the treble drops out with each bass tone sounded. It can't handle basic music which is exactly what it's being sold to do.
If it 'needs' the sub to sound decent, then they should Bly sell them as a pair and not allow customers to buy the bar on its own.
Maybe I have bought a lemon. Will have to take it back to the store to see, and also to try it out with a sub.
It's also horribly annoying that I seem to have to reset my wifi every time I want to use the sonos to play music. Grrrrrrr
Not acceptable that the treble drops out with each bass tone sounded. It can't handle basic music which is exactly what it's being sold to do.
If it 'needs' the sub to sound decent, then they should Bly sell them as a pair and not allow customers to buy the bar on its own.
Maybe I have bought a lemon. Will have to take it back to the store to see, and also to try it out with a sub.
It's also horribly annoying that I seem to have to reset my wifi every time I want to use the sonos to play music. Grrrrrrr
Mine sounded good on its own but a lot better with the sub and a pair of ones, and I certainly don't have to reset my wifi. Mine is connected via optical to the TV.
Mine was essentially free so I'm not comparing it to others, there may be better on the market although it's means of playing direct from anywhere is great, just have to be careful the source is good quality.
Mine was essentially free so I'm not comparing it to others, there may be better on the market although it's means of playing direct from anywhere is great, just have to be careful the source is good quality.
Mr Noble said:
It's also horribly annoying that I seem to have to reset my wifi every time I want to use the sonos to play music. Grrrrrrr
That certainly shouldn't be happening.Your also not doing a fair comparison, Sonos is certainly not high end, but perfectly acceptable to most of us.
Also don't forget that you have a £280 Sonos Connect built into the thing, so actually, you have around £320 of speakers and £280 of Sonos Connect and you want it to sound like a Sound Bar and Sub.
If you want to hear a rocking soundbar and sub combo, ask to hear a Polk combo. Not very well marketed over here, but I have used them and loved them for the sound and performance. But they are passive and need to be paired with a surround sound amp. Thats the proper way to do a sound bar.
V.
single sonos items don't make an awful lot of sense as you are paying a lot of inbuilt cost for the controlability and networking aspect that each unit has in built. Also I'm pretty sure Ive heard the playbar is not particularly suited to music, more to voice and tv sound reproduction.
personally I think the playbar is the weak link in the sonos lineup especially when its not used with anything else - £600 on a non Sonos sound bar should get you a stonking bit of kit, which the playbar just isn't
personally I think the playbar is the weak link in the sonos lineup especially when its not used with anything else - £600 on a non Sonos sound bar should get you a stonking bit of kit, which the playbar just isn't
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