Sonos Playbar media streaming

[preveo]

I'm really interested in going down the sonos route after the release of playbar. I have previously bought airplay speakers etc. and whilst okay I love the fact that anything I plug into the TV will come out of the playbar.

However the sonos rep at my local john lewis store has told me that I can not stream audio which is coming from the TV through the playbar to any other sonos speakers in the house. So for example it won't allow me to stream the audio part to other speakers in the house if I am listening to sport on TV, or watching a music video on sky, or music through appletv connected to my sony tv.

Is this right? I just can't quite get my head around the fact that this can't be done. It just seems so obvious to me that this is something which you would be able to do?

 

[ALAYTON81]

I haven't tried this myself as I only have Sonos in the living room at present, but the Sonos agent that I bought the Playbar from told me this could be done, and there are lots of references elsewhere on the internet to this feature. So I suspect that the John Lewis rep is talking nonsense. Someone else will no doubt be able to confirm.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Yes, you can do it - the Playbar is just another SONOS 'node': you can share its sources the same as you can for any other SONOS unit. All you need to do is 'group' the Playbar with whatever other SONOS units you want around your home. Ideal if you want to stream sports commentary into the kitchen so you don't miss a minute while popping for a beverage....

 

[ALAYTON81]

Clare, any idea when you will be publishing your review of the Playbar in 5.1 format (with the Sub and two Play:3s)? I am particularly interested in this because I have recently purchased this system but, after a week of listening, have some concerns about its ability to reproduce 'proper' surround sound consistently - to my ears, the reproduction of dialogue and surround effects is not consistent, sometimes sounding amazing but at other times rather muddy. Whist I want to love the system (it has so much to offer) I am starting to think I may have been better off with a full-blown 5.1 system, channeling cables into walls etc. I suspect I could still persuade the dealer to do this if I go back to him quickly. One of the problems for Home Cinema newbies such as myself is I have never had a proper 5.1 system in my house to which I can compare it, so comparisons by reviewers such as Whathifi is an important part of the research process (and yes, I know there is nothing like personal comparison, but that's not always possible).

Anyone else out there heard the Playbar in 5.1 setup and want to offer thoughts on its abilities as compared to (say) a good budget or mid-range system?

 

[The_Lhc]

Clare, any idea when you will be publishing your review of the Playbar in 5.1 format (with the Sub and two Play:3s)?

Pssst, Clare doesn't work work for WHF any more! Good question though...

I am particularly interested in this because I have recently purchased this system but, after a week of listening, have some concerns about its ability to reproduce 'proper' surround sound consistently - to my ears, the reproduction of dialogue and surround effects is not consistent, sometimes sounding amazing but at other times rather muddy.

Is that whilst listening to the same program/film? Or does it vary from program to program? I suspect you're simply hearing the difference between true 5.1 and stereo that the Playbar is having to re-process to pseudo-surround. Bear in mind also that some programs may simply have a bad audio mix.

 

[preveo]

Thanks for letting me know. I have just spoken to Sonos and they confirmed to me that was the case. He told me it just had to be sent to a group.

I was pretty sure that this could be done, but this sonos rep who I saw assured me he knew everything about the product and was soooo adamant that you could not send the audio coming from the TV to any other sonos speaker. Made me feel pretty small when I said "Are you sure?" His response was I am a Sonos rep and know everything about the product. Didn't want to push it any further but just walked away thinking to myself "You're wrong"

Isn't it bad when a lay person who spends 10 minutes on a sonos website knows more than a supposed sonos rep expert?

And that's the reason why eventually all tech will be sold only on the internet as it's so much quicker and more accurate to get feedback from people that actually know and have probably used the product other than pressing 'Play' for the demo mode in the store. Bit harsh maybe, but that's how I feel!

 

[rs6mra]

Clare, any idea when you will be publishing your review of the Playbar in 5.1 format (with the Sub and two Play:3s)? I am particularly interested in this because I have recently purchased this system but, after a week of listening, have some concerns about its ability to reproduce 'proper' surround sound consistently - to my ears, the reproduction of dialogue and surround effects is not consistent, sometimes sounding amazing but at other times rather muddy. Whist I want to love the system (it has so much to offer) I am starting to think I may have been better off with a full-blown 5.1 system, channeling cables into walls etc. I suspect I could still persuade the dealer to do this if I go back to him quickly. One of the problems for Home Cinema newbies such as myself is I have never had a proper 5.1 system in my house to which I can compare it, so comparisons by reviewers such as Whathifi is an important part of the research process (and yes, I know there is nothing like personal comparison, but that's not always possible).

Anyone else out there heard the Playbar in 5.1 setup and want to offer thoughts on its abilities as compared to (say) a good budget or mid-range system?

If you have the budget to have a 5.1 Sonos system installed I would IMHO suggest you go wired (full-blown 5.1 system) instead. Whilst I love my Sonos i wouldn't consider putting a 5.1 system together with Sonos. Convenience I can understand, but from your last post you do not appear to be entirely against the idea of channeling cables into walls. Wireless stuff is improving every day but I always say "go wired whenever you can".

I may be wrong but my initial thoughts were for the budget on a Sonos 5.1 which would be at least £1.1k (soundbar & S3 (x2)), you could get a full-blown decent 5.1 and possibly even add an S3 or S5...................

 

[Clare Newsome]

Thanks for letting me know. I have just spoken to Sonos and they confirmed to me that was the case. He told me it just had to be sent to a group.

I was pretty sure that this could be done, but this sonos rep who I saw assured me he knew everything about the product and was soooo adamant that you could not send the audio coming from the TV to any other sonos speaker. Made me feel pretty small when I said "Are you sure?" His response was I am a Sonos rep and know everything about the product. Didn't want to push it any further but just walked away thinking to myself "You're wrong"

Isn't it bad when a lay person who spends 10 minutes on a sonos website knows more than a supposed sonos rep expert?

And that's the reason why eventually all tech will be sold only on the internet as it's so much quicker and more accurate to get feedback from people that actually know and have probably used the product other than pressing 'Play' for the demo mode in the store. Bit harsh maybe, but that's how I feel!

Happy to help

Did you let SONOS know about the poor advice you got in store? Good and bad feedback is key to improving the in-store experience....

 

[Andy Clough]

Any idea when you will be publishing your review of the Playbar in 5.1 format (with the Sub and two Play:3s)?

This is something we hope to do soon, and we'll publish our findings online. We've just brought the Playbar, Sonos Sub and a pair of Play:3s back from the Gadget Show, so we have all the kit required.

 

[preveo]

You know I actually started writing an email to sonos (it's still in my drafts) but then I just phoned my john lewis store and asked him to call me when he is next in. No doubt when I do speak to him he will probably deny it as he might have learnt elsewhere but I'll give him a chance. In this day and age every-one's struggling to keep their job and I'd rather just say something to him than get him in trouble with his boss. Maybe I'm being too kind.

 

[Clare Newsome]

No, I like your approach.

I wasn't thinking of naming/shaming the individual - more about feeding back that more product training might be needed at that store! But you've got it covered...

 

[amcluesent]

Clearly a PLAYBAR running full 5.0 has to send L/R surround streams to the two PLAY:3s it's partnered with. That said, it's not clear what happens if you add a PLAY:5 in the kitchen and want to get synced stream.

Fair enough Sonos are following Apple's lead in saying 'it just works' and not saying how, but that really means 'it just works in the use cases we planned for'.

 

[Clare Newsome]

But it is clear: if you want to add any additional Sonos zone to Playbar output - simply group it as you would do any other Sonos unit in your multiroom system. They then play in party mode- synchronised audio throughout that group