If there was a goal for creating the Sonos Playbar, it would be to conquer the living room with sound. In more ways than one, this is the company’s first sound bar and it is a sound success (pun intended). Albeit its understated looks, it fits very well to how Sonos designs their products. Furthermore, its design is functionally made so it can lie relatively flush when using a wall-mounted rack or just placing it on a TV cabinet.
The Sonos Playbar Has Understated Looks But a More Than Satisfactory Performance
The Sonos Playbar is also one of the only sound bars that delivers quite the convincing job of simulating a surround sound audio experience. It makes the sound bounce off the walls of your living room like there are speakers just to your sides of where you usually sit inside the room when there really aren’t any. There’s also a neat feature wherein you can wirelessly play up the device with the Sonos Sub and a pair of Play:3 speakers. Doing so will give you a bonafide 5.1-channel home theater system.
Even though it has all the things that you are looking for in a soundbar, it can still be quite difficult to recommend, especially with regards to newcomers of the Sonos brand. There are competing sound bars, such as the Speakercraft CS3 as well as the Harman Kardon SB 16, that may not be good as the surround sound being emitted as the Playbar soundbar, still, these other options still remain a good choice for those who are looking to stream music from a mobile device with the use of Bluetooth or AirPlay technology.
However, those who have known Sonos products for quite a while, and even those who are loyal to the brand, that are looking for better sound than what their TV usually emits, then the Playbar is a fine addition to the home entertainment set. It is definitely worth its premium price. However, and once again, this may not be for everyone else as those who are loyal to other brands may stick to other manufacturers as, truth be told, there are still other better-sounding alternatives that also feature a similar simplistic design.
Even though the competition is rough for the Sonos Playbar, you still cannot hinder the fact that it is a cleverly designed audio listening device. Furthermore, it does a pretty good job at faking a surround sound system throughout your living room.