Sonos Playbar

[simonlewis]

I've just recieved an e-mail from superfi saying that i've been invited to a demonstration of sonos playbar on march 9th at my local superfi.

I was just wondering if anybody else has heard of it & what are your thoughts.

 

[simonlewis]

5* review here.

 

[foncused]

This looks very interesting! One thing I'm pondering though is the Sky connectivity. I've read in a few places that the Sky box does not output 5.1 via hdmi. If you were to have the full Sonos AV setup i.e. an Playbar, Sub and 2 Play 3's, what sound config would you get when you listened to a Sky channel. I cant see how you would get 5.1 into the TV as it only has an optical out, therefore, unless some clever decoding is done on the playbar itself, wouldnt you just end up with stereo?

Pete

 

[BenLaw]

As long as you go sky -> optical -> tv -> optical -> playbar, you should get 5.1 as I understand it.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Or:

a) If Sky channels are all you watch, you can run the optical directly into the Playbar (just mute the TV sound)

b) Use an optical switch and run both TV and Sky box in to the Playbar. We're currently doing some testing to work out the best kit and settings to achieve this (and many other permutations) and will let the WHF team know our findings....

 

[Samd]

My TV (Samsung 6 Series) only outputs 2.1 CH via the optical jack if the source is connected through HDMI and this apparently is quite common spec. So the switch idea might be good but is it automatic?

 

[Clare Newsome]

That's what we're testing at the moment...

And re the 2.1 issue - Sonos engineers say the Playbar is capable of 'rebuilding' the 5.1 signal where TVs do downmix.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Playbar connectivity kit all tested - all products covered in this WHF news story

 

[bigboss]

It surprises me as to why Sonos didn't include more connectivity options, forcing users to buy another product to overcome this deficiency.

 

[BenLaw]

Playbar connectivity kit all tested - all products covered in this WHF news story

CYP looks like a European (British) company. What are they doing about connectivity in the US?

 

[bigboss]

I'm sure someone must be working on it, or similar products may be available there already. Need to check on my computer when I get home.

 

[farawaydave]

just using the sonos sub with the playbar sounds interesting but how will the playbar output to the sub when the pb isnt directly connected to the sub or the bridge?

 

[bigboss]

just using the sonos sub with the playbar sounds interesting but how will the playbar output to the sub when the pb isnt directly connected to the sub or the bridge?

Wirelessly.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Playbar connectivity kit all tested - all products covered in this WHF news story

CYP looks like a European (British) company. What are they doing about connectivity in the US?

I only know European situation, i'm afraid.

Sure there will be plenty of enterprising companies/retailers doing the same Stateside.

 

[ALAYTON81]

I have just bought the Playbar and sub and set it up in 5.1 format with two Play:3 speakers. Unfortunately, my Pioneer Kuro (4280xd) does not pass audio through its optical output, so I have my Bluray player and Sky HD connected to the Playbar using an optical splitter. The primary problem with this is that the Playbar's main specification hole (the lack of DTS decoding) means we simply don't get audio from Bluray discs that don't have a 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack (which is most of them). It seems unbelievable to me that Sonos hasn't included this functionality within what is clearly intended to be a premium product - it means essentially that in order to get surround sound, we have to go back to the reduced picture quality of DVDs. Is there any way round this problem, short of buying a new TV (which I am not going to do!)?

I have also noticed that the sound quality from Bluray (even where there is a DD 5.1 soundtrack) seems noticeably lower in quality than with Sky HD (with movies, for example), which is not what I had expected. In particular, the sound is significantly more enveloping from Sky than from Bluray. Does anyone have any ideas as to why this might be?

Thanks.

 

[The_Lhc]

I have just bought the Playbar and sub and set it up in 5.1 format with two Play:3 speakers. Unfortunately, my Pioneer Kuro (4280xd) does not pass audio through its optical output, so I have my Bluray player and Sky HD connected to the Playbar using an optical splitter. The primary problem with this is that the Playbar's main specification hole (the lack of DTS decoding) means we simply don't get audio from Bluray discs that don't have a 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack (which is most of them). It seems unbelievable to me that Sonos hasn't included this functionality within what is clearly intended to be a premium product

As I understand it, including DTS would require the payment of an additional license, something in the region of $40 per device. Many people already think the Playbar is too expensive but Sonos have said they could add DTS with a future update, so clearly they're thinking about it, but how they'd get around the license fee for existing customers I don't know.

I have also noticed that the sound quality from Bluray (even where there is a DD 5.1 soundtrack) seems noticeably lower in quality than with Sky HD (with movies, for example), which is not what I had expected. In particular, the sound is significantly more enveloping from Sky than from Bluray. Does anyone have any ideas as to why this might be?

Check what format your blu-ray player is sending out through the optical output, possibly it's only sending stereo?

 

[ALAYTON81]

Thanks very much, I will check the Bluray player's settings. I figure there must be a setting somewhere that's not right.

The point about the price of the DTS license is interesting. Clearly this is already an expensive product and I can see many people balking at the price and not buying or even considering the product on that basis alone. However, if you are not put off by the cost, and for those who have already bought the Playbar (especially with the sub as well), then your budget is clearly not that tight, and if the question is would you rather lose the ability to play Bluray (or else buy a new TV) or pay another £30-odd to get DTS capability, that seems to me to be something of a no-brainer. In fact I'd send Sonos a payment right now...

 

[The_Lhc]

I think part of the issue is that Sonos are clearly aiming this as a TV only device (ie it should only be plugged into a TV), in which case the lack of DTS isn't an issue (as no TVs will pass DTS out of their optical outputs). The only problem with this is that 1) as you found out not many TVs pass DD5.1 out of their optical outputs either (it's rare even on new TVs, although it seems to be appearing slightly more now) and 2) it's quite an expensive solution for simply replacing TV audio.

As good as the device is (and there's no denying it's a very clever piece of kit, particularly paired with a Sub and Play:3s for full surround), it does appear to fall between two camps, those that want a simple, cost effective TV audio solution, who will find this too expensive and those that want a complete replacement for their home cinema system, which it clearly was never designed to be, for the reasons already mentioned.

For me personally I'm not going to replace my HT system with it and it's overkill for any of the other rooms that have a TV in them.

 

[techgenius]

I visited the Gadget show for the first time yesterday to look at Soundbar options. Spotted a new soundbar on the Monitor Audio stand. It's called the ASB-2 and seems to have:-

HDMI 3 in 1 out switching

7.1 processing

3D surround processing (which worked really well)

built in sub-woofers (which I think is why it's quite large - drivers are bigger than normal)

Optical and coax digital, stereo phono, 3.5mm jack inputs

Sub out

Airplay and DLNA wireless music streaming

It's a fair size unit but sounded absoluely awesome on the skyfall movie clips they were playing. They told me it's available late summer at £1,000. Seems like it does everything and solves a lot of the issues with optical only SB's. HDMI is definately the way to go and they seem to have really thought about this. It also doesn't need a seperate sub box, which is a bonus for me

 

[ALAYTON81]

I completely agree with you. You would have assumed that Sonos would have been equally aware of (1) and (2) and factored that into the product's capability. It seems simply too early to release a product that relies purely on the optical capability of TVs. I wasn't told about this limitation during the buying process, and no doubt the same applies to many other people.

My only alternative to this system was proper 5.1 separates, but with small speakers (such as the Minx). However, I wasn't that impressed by the sound on test, and once you factor in the cost of the wiring and chasing cables into the wall, such a system would not have been much cheaper (if at all) than the full Sonos system. The larger speakers of the Sonos, and their wireless nature, therefore meant they appeared a hugely attractive option (including for keeping my wife happy!). I am still happy with the choice, the surround sound on Sky HD is very good to my ears (although I have never had a full 5.1 system in the house with which to compare it), music abilities are excellent and if I can improve the Bluray player's sound to that same degree then all the better. Thankfully, I don't have many Blurays already!

 

[ALAYTON81]

Techgenius, thanks.

Before going with the Sonos system, I thought long and hard about the high-end Yamaha soundbars, which have similar technical abilities to the Monitor Audio you mention (and a seperate subwoofer). My concern about a single soundbar is that the surround processing (even if technically excellent in ideal conditions) is too reliant on the vagaries of the room it is installed in. It is difficult to see how it could ever be better at producing surround effects than having actual speakers at the rear.

 

[woodster]

Put simply, it is a design shortcoming, which they will regret. This is clearly going to affect sales, which wil bite them compared to other options on or coming to the market with more than simple optical capability.
Sonos, I am flabbergasted, previously well thought out kit, that I have invested in myself, this time not so clever!

 

[improva]

I've just recieved an e-mail from superfi saying that i've been invited to a demonstration of sonos playbar on march 9th at my local superfi.

I was just wondering if anybody else has heard of it & what are your thoughts.

I helped my sister buying a soundbar. Sonos is certainly nice and feature rich. But she had no intentions of using it for music streaming so http://www.atlantictechnology.com/default.asp?NodeId=170 was a far better choice in my and her opinion.

 

[The_Lhc]

Hmm, cracking spam Gromit!

 

[improva]

Hmm, cracking spam Gromit!

Don't you agree that one should audition more than one soundbar? If you just compare the Sonos Soundbar with what comes out of most tv-sets it is absolutely fabulous!