Categories: Audio

Sonos Playbar Home Theater Entrant Detailed

The Sonos Soundbar has arrived. Could it be the Sonos home theater solution we’ve been pining for? First uncovered via a FCC filing late last year, the Sonos Playbar is now ready for its closeup.

According to Heise Online, the Playbar consists of 9 speakers contained within about a 35″ long handsome enclosure. Of course the requisite wireless capabilities are included, but the Playbar incorporates optical connectivity to receive audio directly from a television or other video source. Related, as with some of our favorite compact audio solutions, Sonos will relay your remote IR commands through the Playbar and out the back… should the soundbar happen to obscure your televisions IR receiver. Further, it’s quite likely the Playbar will recognize your television remote volume controls. Additional details come to us via Sempre Audio, who have the Sonos Playbar clocking in at about 12 pounds and indicate it can be wirelessly paired with a Sonos Sub and Play:3 units for a true 5.1 home theater experience – although one wonders about latency (and breaking the bank).

The Sonos Playbar will run 700 Euros when it’s released in March. The Sonos Sub also runs 700 Euros overseas, so it’s a safe bet the Playbar will land in the $700 – $800 range here in the US. Which puts the Playbar+Sub solution at the same price point as the Bose SR1. While we can’t yet compare audio quality, the Sonos Playbar should be significantly more versatile given its wireless capabilities, including music streaming. But we are a bit bummed Sonos didn’t incorporate HDMI-ARC.

Published by
Dave Zatz