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Great build quality, sound performance and is easy to set up
Lack of HDMI and no DTS decoding
The PlayBase is multi-audio kingpin Sonos’s latest attempt to muscle in on the lucrative market in sonic supplements for today’s ultra-thin TV screens. Read more: Sonos Playbase - the speaker for your TV that will make you want to bin your Playbar
It is a rare beast for a soundbase in that it looks gorgeous, especially at closer quarters where its design and build quality can be truly appreciated, as WIRED discovered at the company's HQ in Boston.
The likes of Samsung, Panasonic, Yamaha and LG, to name but four of many, have been coining it for years with soundbars that sell faster than Glastonbury tickets. And while soundbars are ideal for use with wall-mounted screens, they can mean something of a compromise for table-top use, where they may partially block the screen unless they can be stowed on a shelf beneath the TV (which is unlikely). In most cases, there’s also the requirement of a separate subwoofer.
From the hubris surrounding the PlayBase launch, you might have been forgiven for thinking Sonos had practically invented the soundbase to meet the needs of the 70 per cent of TVs that aren’t wall mounted. Moving swiftly on though, as an alternative to the soundbar, the soundbase makes a compelling proposition. Its greater volume means a subwoofer can be built-in, plus its shape and dimensions make it a suitable surface on which to place most TVs. It can also be placed inside a cabinet, although in the case of the PlayBase it would be a shame to hide it from view given how attractive it looks.
Sonos had already attempted to woo the TV viewer with its PlayBar, which can be used on its own or with the addition of Play:1s as rear speakers and/or a Sub (another object of aesthetic excellence, and indeed a brilliant performer) to form a genuine 5.1 surround-sound experience. And, like the PlayBase, the PlayBar and its surround speakers can be active components in a Wi-Fi-based multi-room setup.
The Sonos PlayBar performs decently but lacks both HDMI sockets and DTS decoding. The absence of HDMI is a deliberate attempt to simplify connectivity matters, and the same (some might say flawed) logic has been applied to the PlayBase, which also features only one physical input — a digital optical jack.
The idea is that customers connect all other AV devices including PVRs, Blu-ray decks, AV streamers and games consoles to their TV, which acts as a hub, feeding the sound directly to the Playbase via the digital optical output.
Audio visual enthusiasts would prefer to see a slew of optical jacks on their soundbars and soundbases rather than just one, or even better, HDMI inputs. The latter allows the TV’s HDMI ARC (audio return channel) to come into play while other sources can be connected directly to the external speaker avoiding the often complex process of getting the TV to output its signal in Dolby Digital.
It’s not vital that the TV outputs Dolby Digital as a bitstream as the PlayBase can handle the default PCM signal, but the results are noticeably better when Dolby Digital is used. Another option is to use a third-party HDMI-to-optical converter such as this Flexson.
Another complaint about the PlayBase is that DTS decoding is not provided, which is a shame given that many Blu-ray discs have DTS surround-sound tracks. The result is that you have no option other than to listen to inferior PCM downmixes.
Sonos’s marketing guru Mike Papish said a few years ago: "We get a lot of requests for DTS so we may offer it in the future." For a company that prizes performance so highly – you wouldn’t believe the number of hours it spent developing the PlayBases’s built-in subwoofer – it’s disappointing not to see DTS decoding onboard.
Back on the positives. Like the company’s Play:5 speaker, the 58mm-high PlayBase is fashioned from a durable polycarbonate plastic with a pleasing matt finish. There are no visible seams and it has the most subtle of physical buttons that can be used to alter the volume, switch between play and pause and select the next or previous track when streaming music. Chances are you’ll mostly use the Sonos smartphone/tablet app or computer desktop controller to operate the device. Also, if you’re listening to music and switch the TV on, the PlayBase helpfully switches automatically to the optical input.
The 720mm-wide unit can support TVs weighing up to 35kg, so long as the weight bearing portion of the screen’s stand doesn’t protrude beyond the edges of the soundbase’s top. Owners of TVs that don’t have pedestal stands with the weight channelled down the centre should check before they buy, or be prepared to invest in a supplementary stand that floats your screen just above the Playbase such as this from Sanus.
A key aspect of the design affecting both aesthetic and performance are the 43,000 tiny acoustic holes drilled into the sides of the unit. Sonos has varied the diameter of the holes from 0.7mm to 0.9mm to cater for the differences in airflow from the various drivers (there are 10 amplified internal drivers – six mid-range, three tweeters, and one woofer).
Setting up the Playbase is straightforward, especially if you already have Sonos in the home. If not, then simply follow the step-by-step instructions clearly laid out in the iOS or Android app. After entering your router’s Wi-Fi password, you press the discreet button on the left side of unit and Bob’s your uncle.
One option is to teach it to react to your own TV remote for altering the volume, which is simple but preventing the screen from flashing up a message telling you that external speakers are being used every time you alter the volume could be more challenging, and may involve a phone call to Sonos’s excellent support line.
Sonos also recommends you use its room calibration system, TruePlay, which uses the microphone built in to an iPhone or iPad in conjunction with tones emitted by the loudspeaker. This option is not available to Android users, which is a shame because it can make a big difference.
When it comes to music services, which can be streamed to the unit via the app, Sonos is hard to beat with the likes of Apple Music, Tidal, Spotify and Deezer all on board. You can also stream from a NAS drive or from iTunes on a computer, with full replication of the settings and access to content across all devices. This makes life a lot easier if one person in the home monopolises the device with the app on it for such mundane activities as taking a phone call or checking their social media feeds, allowing someone else to still control the system.
Aside from grouping the Sonos speakers in your abode the app/controller also lets you tweak the EQ via bass and treble sliders, plus there’s a lip-sync delay adjuster and a loudness boost option, however if the TruePlay has done its job you shouldn’t need to resort to the latter. There are no DSP or pseudo surround modes to waste your time over.
The appeal of the £700 PlayBase is happily not purely a meretricious one. Watching TV and movies is, for the most part, a real joy. Even with PCM audio its powerful (the precise number of Watts is a closely guarded secret) 3.1 array delivers a soundfield that’s dynamic, expansive and sonically well constructed, and one that leaves ordinary TV speakers feeling very sorry for themselves.
Watching the Blu-ray of Super 8, for example, just before the railroad crash scene when the car rumbles in with Alice at wheel there’s a palpable throatiness to the car’s gas-hungry engine. As they set up the camera, the subtlety of the wind blowing as they rehearse the dialogue can be heard and firecrackers going off show how spatially impressive the soundfield is. Dialogue is a bit shrill at times, and with PCM the maximum volume setting may well be needed.
Pleasingly the sound doesn’t distort at high volumes and the PlayBase has a good grip on the carnage of the train crash. When the train hoots in the build-up, the kids run on wooden boards with each thud sonically delivered perfectly. You clearly catch the sound of the zip going up on Alice’s dress and the bell ringing as the train approaches. When it crashes into the car and all hell breaks loose, despite the cacophony there is still clearly the sound of the abandoned camera whirring, the shriek of metal flying around, kids shouting and train carriages flying through the air. All in all, the delivery is controlled and enjoyable, with sibilance aside, no real weakness. Read more: Sonos Playbase - the speaker for your TV that will make you want to bin your Playbar
That said, there are two steps that allow you to make subtle but significant improvements. The first is to make sure the incoming signal is Dolby Digital where available, which will yield a noticeable uplift in terms of overall clarity and refinement. The second is to add the Sonos Sub, which will blow your socks off, not literally, because in fact for all its extra muscle the Sub take some of the low end pressure off the PlayBase, which thus exerts less air and results in a smoother sound, whilst retaining detail and resulting in clearer dialogue. Also, the physical feeling of air being shunted around the room is eliminated so that the entire soundfield feels more coherent.
Musically the PlayBase is also a highly accomplished performer. Hi-Fi quality streaming from Tidal is dynamic, lustrous and tonally balanced. The drums during Jacko’s Billie Jean are punchier than a series of jabs from Tyson Fury, whilst the trumpets during the Raiders of the Lost are sparkly and airy.
Whilst not the last word in soundbase performance, the PlayBase which is aimed at the epicurean TV viewer succeeds in fulfilling its brief. Connectivity issues aside, this is an urbane piece of consumer electronics that makes a lot of sense, especially if you’re prepared to splash out on the Sonos subwoofer.
£700 sonos.com
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
