#Sonos sound bar Bluetooth#
#Sonos sound bar tv#

(It needs less bass if it's wall-mounted.) There's even a second remote sensor on the Playbar that's positioned to better receive commands in the wall-mounting position. A sensor inside can tell which configuration the Playbar is in and adjusts its sonics accordingly. It's a clever trick that allows the Playbar to have a thin profile in either configuration, whereas other sound bars are generally either too tall on a tabletop or stick out too much when wall-mounted. The Playbar also has a unique multipositional design: it works flat against a tabletop or flat against a wall for mounting. One way or another, your remote signals will make it to the TV.

#Sonos sound bar tv#

And even if you happen to have a TV with an unusually low remote sensor, the Playbar actually repeats any remote signals it receives from its front panel out the back of the Playbar. The Playbar has a noticeably low profile (3.35 inches high), which helps keep it from blocking the remote sensor on your TV, thus avoiding a design drawback found on many other sound bars. Instead, Sonos flexes its design expertise with a host of nifty features that show the company's attention to detail. For everyone else, stick with the better-sounding alternatives that are nearly as simple.

#Sonos sound bar Bluetooth#

Similarly, competitors may lack Sonos' best-in-class digital music software, but for most buyers streaming music from a smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth or AirPlay is good enough, especially with the rise of cheap 'locker' services like Amazon Cloud Player.įor Sonos disciples who are looking for better sound from their TVs, without a lot of fuss, the Playbar is a nicely designed sound bar worth its premium price. Competing sound bars like the Speakercraft CS3 ($600 street) and Harman Kardon SB 16 ($600 street) aren't as good with virtual surround sound, but they sound better in most other ways, especially when it comes to bass. It's home theater, reinvented from the ground up, ditching legacy compatibility for the simplicity of wireless.Īnd yet, it's not an easy product to recommend, especially to Sonos newcomers. You can even wirelessly pair up the Playbar with the Sonos Sub and a pair of Play:3 speakers for a bonafide 5.1-channel home theater system. The Playbar is also one of the only sound bars that does a convincing job of simulated surround sound, making it sound like there are speakers to your sides when there aren't. Its understated looks fit Sonos' design ethos and it's ingeniously designed so it can lie relatively flush when wall-mounted or placed on a TV cabinet.

In many ways, the company's first sound bar is a success. Now Sonos wants to conquer the living room with the Playbar ($700).