Sonos - Playbar

Some people (myself included) think the playbar sounds better for music than the Arc. I have both, and prefer the playbar. I suspect the arc is optimizing for other things, like Atmos, which is why for regular TV sound or music the playbar sounds much fuller.

I use it as PC speakers, with a sub. Incredible sound and value. https://preview.redd.it/xp0w4f0hozyf1.jpeg?width=8192&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1e9304db893c2f9b66b48f8edc6eddb03722428c

As others said don’t waste your time and money on surround, this room isn’t suitable. Get a Sonos bar and maybe a satellite by the dining if you really have to. But sound coming from a different direction than where the TV is positioned can be disappointing.

I have both Sonos and Bose . I have Bose 900 Bose 500 and Sonos arc and playbar. Both have their pros and cons but based on Sonos edging out Bose on sound quality and the app I used to recommend them more based on software alone. I was close to upgrading my whole home to Sonos until the app update that caused all the headaches. To this day the app is terrible and the soundbars have so many issues connecting that I don’t even want to use it anymore . Say what you want about Bose but the app is basic and it just works.

Curious-I have a few random Sonos pieces including two play bars. They’re old but they are great! I have one sub with it in a shop and it’s glorious. The playbar itself isnt too shabby. I’m looking for another soundbar for the basement. I have looked at a few of their options and I’ve def read mixed reviews I’m more of a music junkie but would like better sound than what I have with just the normal TV. And recommendations? I’ve looked on eBay for another playbar. IDK though - I’m sure all this stuff will be “too old” here soon and don’t want to spend cash on something I’ll have to update soon. Is the Beam the way to go? Regular Arc? Thanks for your time and thoughts!

Offcourse it will happen again, they did it once, so next time when they need to boost their sales, they will do it again. If we look at release dates for, for example play 5, then the original deprecated first gen was released in 2009, the 2.gen was released in 2015 and the five (Third gen) was released in 2020. This means that the successor for the Five is probably soon going to be released and then, there is a fair chance they are going to discontinue the 2.gen Here is a link to a recently released list of "legacy" devices, Sonos are going to phase out feature updates for these, this is the first step, before releasing S3 and "obsoleting" these products [https://support.sonos.com/en/article/legacy-product-update](https://support.sonos.com/en/article/legacy-product-update) * Boost * Connect * Connect:Amp * Play:1 * Play:3 * Play:5 (Gen 2) * Playbar * Playbase * Sub (Gen 1) * Sub (Gen 2) * SYMFONISK Bookshelf (Gen 1) * SYMFONISK Table lamp (Gen 1) So the Playbar is going to be "obsolete" rather soon. I can see from this list that i will go from 1 device that can not run the latest software to 9. I have 4 Play 1 first gen, 3 Play 3, 1 play 5 first gen and one playbar. When they pulled their stunt with the S2, i was in the process of buying a sonos sub and another Play 1 for another room, i dropped that and completely lost interest in buying any more Sonos. It seems very likely, that if i want to upgrade to the upcoming S3, i will have to replace all 9 speakers. To their credit, i must say all 9 speakers still work, none have broken, it's really a shame, they made so good hardware, with so poor software update.

I imagine it's because the Playbar is the oldest (if I'm not mistaken) sonos sound bar, so it's missing some advanced features. Combine that with the fact they're built like tanks, last forever, and sound just as good as most modern Sonos sound bars, and it's no wonder the used market is full of them.

Playbase (and the even older Playbar) are still supported by the Sonos S2 app

The Sonos Playbar was a decent soundbar...10 years ago. If you want the best bang for the buck: Samsung Q990D. If you really want the best system available and money is no issue: Either Sony Theatre Quad or Sonos Arc Ultra with 2 Subs and 2 Era 300s as Surrounds.

playbar is pretty good for under $200 imo. I had one for a long time and really liked it. I still have trouble with my arc cutting out sometimes.

I don’t know about the Ultra, but the sound of the Playbar appeals to me more than the Arc.

I’m happy it works for you and bet it sounds better with a sub. I picked up a Beam Gen 2 for $200 vs Ray @ $179. They are leagues apart in sound quality so the value isn’t there for me. The Beam 2 has Atmos along with HDMI vs none and optical cable. Ray sounded like a Bluetooth speaker to me when I tested it at BestBuy. I had the chance to buy the Ray for $60 recently and turned it down - that’s how much I don’t like it. To me the Play:1 alone sounds better with bigger bass. I picked up 2 playbars for an avg cost of $175 over the Ray even though they are also optical and no Atmos but they are so much more powerful than the Ray.

It's funny. For me it was different. I went from TV speaker to beam Gen 2 and was impressed. Then my Dad got a cheaper but not bad "Dolby Atmos" Soundbar. I realized that the true secret sauce is Trueplay. That is what's makes the Sonos Bar better Imho. Overall, if you want to have better surround while not spending to much money, get a pair of Ikea Bookshelves and use them as surrounds. Your Beam will then have more headroom as it doesn't need to simulate the rears anymore

the cheapest Sonos system is a bundle of previous gen components: Playbar ($250 used), pair of Sonos Ones($100-150 x2 used/refurb), optional Sub mini ($429). That's more like $1k total, if you're willing to skip the sub (the Playbar actually has pretty good mid-bass, *better* than the Arc non-Ultra). You lose out on Atmos and e-arc and some other modern features (Playbar is like decade old) but it's a very capable traditional home audio setup and sounds fantastic. This is what I have in living room- even Playbar + pair of Sonos Ones sounds fantastic at \~$500 total. I ended up adding a Sub Gen 3 and a pair of Fives in my office though lol, so I got got.

The playbar is far better than the original Sonos arc. These are a steal.

The minimal amount of research that I did, told me to not upgrade and keep my playbar…even with that recent Costco sale to clear out the older arc. Although, I did upgrade to a 2 sub system, which is great. But the playbar is an excellent product, despite not having atmos, etc.

I use the playbar and two ones, with a sub mini, it’s excellent for both tv and music. Later models, with HDMI are notionally better but in practical terms 5.1 in my set up is excellent.

Playbar sounds very good with music and agree with you that the playbar sounds better than arc ime.

Buy a second hand Sonos Playbar. This bar is sh*t.

Playbar not S2 compatible, Playbase was but I upgrade Beam gen2 for Dolby Atmos etc and it was compatible with sub gen2 an my Play1 rears

honestly i miss my playbar. back in the day i had a player, sub, and two ones (the OG ones) and that setup fucking rocked. had it for like 8 years. i got the arc on sale last year and also got the era 100s and it sounds good but i still miss the sound of my old setup. anyway, highly recommend the playbar if you can get one.

I know you got a small space but... get a used playbar for 150-200 or a gen 1 beam for 120

I have a Playbar + Sonos One rears + Sonos Sub. I think it's fantastic. There are some downsides notably Atmos as mentioned (up-firing speakers), lack of HDMI E-arc. The biggest issue I have encountered is when using it with PS5: unless I use Linear-PCM (vs Dolby) there is notable audio lag, but Linear PCM only puts out stereo audio through Playbar. You can either get 5.1 with lag or 2.1 with no-lag. I imagine this may apply to similar other scenarios. In terms of audio, Playbar was often considered to be *better* than Arc original, not sure if this is still the case with Arc Ultra. If you're looking for a budget setup and are fine with the compromises, it's a great deal. You could honestly even skip the Sub and Sonos Ones. I got the Sub on sale and it was only a marginal upgrade but just enough where I didn't want to bother going through returns processs. Surrounds are nice but only come into play for certain types of media

Well if it’s not a huge quality I sound then I’m not spending anything on new gear as long as the playbar is working

Playbar still slaps both when it comes to richness of sound and volume.

Arc + sub is pretty sick for music. Better than the Beam 2 I use in the dining room, but it beats the Arc without a sub hands down. Old Playbars still crank out tunes if it’s placed right. I have one almost on floor level on the bottom of an open tv stand (Samsung Atmos soundbar above it on shelf 2 for TV) and it BOOMS, but another Playbar on the wall above a TV does not. Arc Ultra with 300s and Sub 4 is best, but I have a couple 300s alone in the kitchen and music room which are really nice and of course the Move 2 is great but not as great as everything else listed.

Just upgraded my Playbar+2x Play:3s and a Sub to an Arc Ultra with Era 300s and the Sub, and I already miss the old setup for playing music with all speakers on. Gonna find a new room to set it up in. An excellent product only betrayed by its limited input choices. I had to run it before with an audio extraction box to get DD 5.1 to it.

Sonos Playbar + 2 One + Sub Mini - very happy and wouldn‘t change. Little bit too much bass for using in the flat

Sonos playbar, sub and 2x play1s. Have nothing to compare it to - but I’m happy. Sonos app ca frustrating, they’ve had a year or more of issues. I like that only the playbar needs to connect, everything else is WiFi.

Laughing at this picture. Should I get 2 inch bookshelf awkward speakers or like a beefy Sonos play bar for 200 bucks that fits perfectly

I’m with you. Got one earlier this summer and am super impressed with bass and separation. No, it does not support all the newer standards but it kicks butt in my small office. And when paired with 2x Play 1s, it’s almost overkill. Finally, in my opinion by itself it’s the equal of Beam Gen 2 + Mini Sub.

Because it’s older and like others said newer tvs have more features that the newer soundbars can utilise. However what I will say as a playbar owner is get one and the sub and the playbar is better than the rest of the other Sonos soundbars for sound. The sub gives it a new lease of life

Sonos? ???? — bold reaction for someone still risking firmware updates that might brick their soundbar and send it on a one-way trip back to the factory.