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Sonos PLAYBAR
84
Engadget Review
Sonos' Playbar makes an excellent addition to your living room, but only well-heeled music lovers can afford one.
Pros
- Simple set up
- Great, room-filling sound for a soundbar
- Top-notch build quality
Cons
- Expensive
- Mobile app needs a better UI
View All Critic & User Reviews
Sonos PLAYBAR
- Critic Reviews (16)
- User Reviews (4)
- 86AVERAGE CRITIC SCORE16 ReviewsEngadget80Sonos Playbar review: an excellent (and expensive)Sonos' Playbar makes an excellent addition to your living room, but only well-heeled music lovers can afford one.CNET70A sound bar for Sonos disciplesThe Playbar has its charms. It's well-designed and innovative, with great virtual surround effects that you can't get elsewhere without spending more... But ultimately we can't love the Playbar because, well, we wouldn't want to listen to it everyday.Gizmodo70Sonos Playbar Review: Everything Wireless Should BThe Playbar does a lovely job, but you could get something that sounds just as good with more features for less money. That said, Sonos is a luxurious, simple, and satisfying way to listen to music. If you can afford it in the first place, you won't disappointed.Wired80Sonos Playbar Film StripIt’s a simple, versatile, top-quality sound bar that can vastly improve a home theater’s audio acumen.GigaOMNot RatedSonos, its new Playbar, and the future of home entA Sonos speaker – for your television: That’s the idea behind the Playbar, the company’s first soundbar. It’s a big step for a company like Sonos, which is about to get a whole lot more competition.EngadgetNot RatedSonos Playbar: a home theater soundbar that wireleWhether we were listening to Pink Floyd or watching a clip from Super 8, the Playbar delivered the high fidelity audio we've come to expect from Sonos. Speaking and singing voices are replicated faithfully, and the unit shines in the high and mid range.PC World Australia90Sonos PLAYBAR wireless soundbarSonos’s PLAYBAR music system requires an accompanying smartphone or tablet and a little bit of practice, but as a way of bringing together all your music sources *and* replacing your TV’s speakers, it’s without equal. It’s not the best soundbar we’ve heard, but it’s close.Tech Advisor90Sonos Playbar reviewThe Sonos Playbar is a superb soundbar. Not only is it sleek and well-built, but it also provides unparalleled sound with plenty of extra features which make it even more desirable. We can't fault the Playbar, but the high price will put it out of reach for some.Pocket-Lint90Sonos PlayBar reviewThe Sonos PlayBar is a fantastic piece of kit that really delivers. While the price might seem high on the surface you are getting a speaker that replaces your AV receiver, a stack of speakers, and has the ability to be apart of a bigger streaming system as well.SlashGear80Sonos PLAYBAR ReviewThe audio performance for both music and movies is excellent, and even if you don’t pair it up with rear PLAY:3 speakers and a SUB ... you’re still getting excellent sound.The Guardian100Sonos Playbar soundbar - reviewThe Playbar is everything that Sonos promises: great sound, simple setup (although the vagaries of set-top boxes and games consoles mean you won't be free of the occasional scrabbling around on hands and knees). Combined with a Sub, it gives a huge sound.Pocket-LintNot RatedSonos Playbar: Sonos enters the home cinema marketA quick listen and the system sounds good, although we weren't in the best environment because of a snafu on Sonos' part in booking a recording studio that killed the sound dead rather than allowing it to bounce off walls.Wired UKNot RatedSonos Playbar tested: wireless speaker company entPerformance as a soundbar is excellent, with a great deal of stereo separation between the left and right audio channels, and a good deal of clarity in the centre channel for movie dialogue.CNET UKNot RatedSonos PlaybarSonos' first home cinema system is a nine-speaker sound bar that can be controlled by your TV remote. It's loud, and music sounds great, but it lacks HDMI input and needs a separate, expensive sub to make the most of movies.SlashGearNot RatedSonos PLAYBAR hands-on: Your TV audio gets cleverPromising the traditional Sonos ease of setup and use, but with a dual-personality catering both for TV and movie audio, and for music, the PLAYBAR hooks up as another zone in your home entertainment network.What Hi-Fi100Sonos PlaybarIf you’re looking for a simple device that will massively improve the sound from your TV and give you immediate access to more music than you could ever possibly hope to listen to, only the Sonos Playbar will do.T380Sonos PLAYBAR reviewAs a standalone unit, the PlayBar is a great bit of kit – injecting life into your TV (and source) audio, while delivering immersive musical streaming sonics. With its built-in Class-D amp and clever optical integration, it does away with the need for a dedicated AV receiver and individual speakers.TechRadarNot RatedHands on: Sonos Playbar reviewWe were impressed with the Sonos Playbar at first listen and we love the fact that its uses extend beyond simply watching films and TV.FlatPanelsHD80SONOS PLAYBAR REVIEWAs a music player Sonos is leading the pack on functionality, but is being held back by its compact size and limited stereo perspective. As secondary source of sound in e.g. a study or a kitchen the sound is adequate, but as an all-round system in a living room it doesn’t quite deliver.TrustedReviews90Sonos Playbar reviewFor everything but the most crashing of movie soundtracks the Sonos Playbar sounds great too, with excellent clarity and an expansive soundstage.IT Pro Portal90Sonos PlayBar reviewAs a standalone soundbar it’s an impressive piece of kit, but the PlayBar is so much more. If you already have a Sonos system, it will act as a new ZonePlayer for your living room – and if you’re used to listening to a Play:3 or Play:5 you’ll be very impressed by the sound from the PlayBar.Techno Buffalo90Sonos PLAYBAR Review: A Phenomenal SoundbarI don’t think I can go back to a PLAYBAR free world. Give it a try, once you get a sample of all it has to offer, you’ll be hooked yourself.BGR100THE BOY GENIUS REPORT: SONOS’ PLAYBAR TAKES OVERWhat’s ... remarkable is that the Sonos living room delivers an even better experience, and with better sound than 99% of what you could recreate piece by piece, component by component.Expert ReviewsNot RatedSonos Playbar review - Hands onBased on what we've seen, the Playbar could be exactly what Sonos owners need to upgrade their home cinema system. It's a capable sound bar in its own right, with integrated streaming being a real bonus, but it's when you pair it with other Sonos kit that it truly amazes.TrustedReviewsNot RatedSonos PlaybarOverall we’re really impressed with the Sonos Playbar. Like most TV soundbars it provides a significant upgrade in audio performance for both music and movies, and is incredibly easy to setup and use. It is arguably a bit limiting with its lack of inputs, and isn’t exactly cheap.
- 93AVERAGE USER SCORE4 ReviewsEngadget Reader80February 23, 2014Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!Very nice piece by the award winning brand Sonos. Believe it or not this one of the few sound bars thats "full range" no sub needed even though Sonos recommends it. With virtual surround sound processing you wont be disappointed watching the big game.Engadget Reader100November 12, 2013Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!A gadget unicorn - EngadgetEngadget Reader100March 27, 2013Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!A gadget unicorn - EngadgetEngadget Reader90March 12, 2013Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback!The best in its category. We highly recommend it. - Engadget
Key Specs
TYPE
Soundbar
WIRELESS CAPABLE
Yes
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