OT-Sonos-OT

CoMoBGE

looking at getting into Sonos. Trying decide if a Playbar is better than the new sound bar(beam) plus 2 new play 1s? It’s about the same price. Want to know what other people think of their Sonos systems? Thanks

nolaegghead

You can put a bunch of new Echo whatevers around and they supposedly sync up, or not, whatever you want to do.  And since you can connect the dots to any AV system, you can piggyback on existing equipment that is easily superior to Sonos stuff with speakers.   That said, I don't have any Sonos stuff.

lkapigian

Love my Sonos,  but I is nothing of Playbar FWIW

Thunder

I have a playbar/Sub/2 play 1s in the basement (used for tv and music), gen 2 play 5 in the kitchen and gen 1 play 5 in the master.  Looking to add an amp with outdoor speakers to the patio.

I absolutely love my Sonos.  Listen to more music since I’ve had it than ever before.  It’s simple and extremely flexible.  Different music each at its own volume in every room if wanted or group the rooms you want.  

As as far as playbar vs beam, can’t say. I’ve never heard the beam.  I’m sure it sound greats.  I will say the sub adds a lot to the sound (bass) of the playbar.  I would definitely consider the sub if you’re going to listen to music.

CoMoBGE

nolaegghead said:

You can put a bunch of new Echo whatevers around and they supposedly sync up, or not, whatever you want to do.  And since you can connect the dots to any AV system, you can piggyback on existing equipment that is easily superior to Sonos stuff with speakers.   That said, I don't have any Sonos stuff.

If you want voice connectivity on the playbar you have to add an Amazon dot(the new Beam has it built in). I want wireless for my front living room system. I appreciate your input. Do you have a different wireless system to look at? I’m willing to look at other systems. 

GlennM

I have a playbase, sub and two play ones in my family room. Play one in living room. Love it, the no wires and minimal look is great. Sounds fabulous

CTMike

I have been a Sonos user since 2010, we love it. I sold my Playbar when I realized it doesn’t decode DTS encoded sound tracks. Besides that downside, we love the system and use it daily. 

smak

I am a Sonos fan.  Easy to setup.  Easy to use.  Good sound.

It is not for everybody.  Audiophile types will talk down about the sound quality... People looking to do things on the cheap will complain about the price...

I have the playbar/sub/p1s  and a playbase/sub/p1s setup.  Both are great.   With the optical connection it can be a bit tricky at times getting 5.1 sound just right.  A number of TVs only send stereo out the optical if the source is coming from an HDMI input.  I added a splitter to my setup to send the sound to the Playbar/Playbase bypassing the TV.  Much better results.

I would think that the HDMI connection on the Beam *might* solve that issue.

I have not heard the Beam in person so i cannot comment on a sound comparison.

I have an Amazon Dot on the side table for voice control.   To me it makes more sense to have that away from the speaker.

Thunder said:

Looking to add an amp with outdoor speakers to the patio.

I rearranged things awhile back.  Put my Connect:AMP (actually was a ZP120 before the rebranding) in the garage, an easy cable run through the wall, and some outdoor speakers on the patio.   It is great.   Going from the kitchen to the egg without missing a beat.

unoriginalusername

I returned my play ones and got a new play 5 which I liked so much I got a second. Sold a play three and replaced with a HomePod as it’s so simplistic and works better for the family in a common area and the sonos is hooked up to my turn table. 

Thatgrimguy

HUGE Sonos fan. I have the speakers all over. 3 playbars, 2 subs, 2 play 1s, 2 play 3s, an older play 5, 2 connect amps and 1 connect for my serious sound system. Most of this is at my house 2 of the play 3s and one play 1 is at work.


It's flexible. sounds great and syncs perfectly. Inside or outside my house I can switch between any streaming music service, any TV or even external stuff through the aux connections.

I've not seen the new Beam in person so I can't offer any real input on the comparison.

55Kevy

Big Sonos fan here.  Have had a Playbar since 2015, 2 Play1s since 2016.  Customer service is excellent.  I find the sound quality to be fine given my age and hearing quality.  I would guess that the sound quality of the Playbar is better than that of the Beam, given the price differential and physical size.

johnnyp

I’m a little biased because I used to work for the company. But...

Bose makes a product lineup called SoundToucb that is their version of a WiFi music ecosystem.   They are comparably priced across the board, but the Bose hardware is a higher performing  audio system in every way.  That being said, Sonos’ software is much more seamless and easy to operate. Personally, I own the Bose version. I’m incredibly happy with the performance of the music.  

My more objective $0.02 when making your purchases decision... prioritize between the quality of the audio system and the ease of the software interface.  That should guide you toward one product or the other 

TheToast

I love the Sonos speakers but the Playbar is seriously old now and hasn't been updated in years. So I'd shop around before shelling out. I instead went for a Samsung bar that I tried out and liked the sound of - third of price of a Playbar. 

jeroldharter

I had a Bose 5.1 speaker system in the past. It suddenly stopped producing sound. Customer service was not very helpful. I had to ship them the subwoofer because all of the brains are in it. They tested it, told me it was fine, and sent it back to me unchanged. Now it is junk and I still have the speakers hanging from my ceiling.

Now I have Sonos. I agree with the above that (just like Bose) audiophiles will complain. But for the rest who just want great sound, easy setup, functionality - Sonos is great. Each speaker is its own and independent of the others.

Definitely get the new Beam rather than the old Soundbar (which I have). The Soundbar has only an optical connection which makes getting 5.1 sound difficult. The Soundbar does not play well with all TV's and DVD players (LG for TV's and Samsung for DVD players is the way to go for the Soundbar by the way). The HDMI connection will be much more functional and Sonos claims that the Beam will soon work with Apple Play which is a good improvement. The Beam also has Alexa integrated so you don't need any Amazon pucks or even Sonos One speakers to use Alexa.

I have the Playbar, 5 Sonos One, and 2 Sonos Play 5 speakers and am very happy with the system. The integrated Alexa is a cool feature. I can say "Play the top hits from 1974 in the living room" and it does. It is fun when entertaining because anyone can verbally take over the playlist. Pick your guests wisely. Not cheap but you get what you pay for.

My friend has a conventional speaker system with the Sonos Connect module which lets him control all the speakers and groups with the Sonos App. That is a great way to go as well if you have a lot of existing speakers.

nolaegghead

the usability, connectivity and low input source layer is what we're talking about here, right?  the amps and speakers should be separate from this conversation 

unoriginalusername

TheToast said:

I love the Sonos speakers but the Playbar is seriously old now and hasn't been updated in years. So I'd shop around before shelling out. I instead went for a Samsung bar that I tried out and liked the sound of - third of price of a Playbar. 

See the new beam?

https://www.sonos.com/en-ca/shop/beam.html

TEXASBGE2018

I too have a Bose. Originally, I went the whole Audiophile route and bought a Huge woofer, Receiver and 5.1 Surround. Then I got the remote and realized just to listen to TV it was a giant PITA. I took all of it back and got a Bose Cinemate Series 2. I've had it for 8 years and still works great. When it dies eventually I will get either another Bose or a Sonos. They are way too easy to use to justify anything else. I don't need Movie Theater sound in my living room. Now If I had a dedicated media room, this conversation would be totally different.

EggHeadJohn

Huge SONOS guy here! My living room setup is Playbar (mounted with TV articulating mount), (2) Play 1's for surrounds and Sub. I have a Playbar mounted on the wall in the bedroom. Lastly, a Play 1 in the bathroom. All running through the SONOS boost which I think provided a more solid connection. 

Not sure how I feel on the Beam but if you have a smaller TV and don't want to shell out the $700 then I say go for it. You wont be disappointed. 

northGAcock

Question for you SONOS guys. I am doing a AIRBNB next week in Colorado. The house is fully wired inside and out. My question is.........are there multiple input options.....or is there a limitation of Bluetooth only? My exposure to SONOS is limited to one experience where i had to download the app....and play via the Bluetooth. My use case is can I connect a XM receiver to a device and have the full functionality of playing across....the entire house? Not sure I have provided enough info but all I have at this time..... 

johnnyp

northGAcock said:

Question for you SONOS guys. I am doing a AIRBNB next week in Colorado. The house is fully wired inside and out. My question is.........are there multiple input options.....or is there a limitation of Bluetooth only? My exposure to SONOS is limited to one experience where i had to download the app....and play via the Bluetooth. My use case is can I connect a XM receiver to a device and have the full functionality of playing across....the entire house? Not sure I have provided enough info but all I have at this time.....

Well....you do need the app, but you are not limited to Bluetooth.  Most of the functionality comes via WiFi

Every sonos connected Item, can be listening to a different source, if you desire.  Pandora, XM, Spotify, Internet Radio, etc. 

Yes, you can connect an XM receiver to a sonos connected device via AUX input and I believe (someone correct me, if I'm wrong) that you can rebroadcast that Aux input to various other sonos connected items from around the home.

Just a clarification- the house may be wired inside and out....but to what?  If it's a central multi-zone receiver, it likely has a sonos device set up as an input.  Meaning that each set of speakers wont be independent, but will rather be dedicated to a singular receiver

I hope that helps. 

northGAcock

Johnny....I think you helped..but also think I might consider the XM app as well.

dstearn

CoMoBGE said:

looking at getting into Sonos. Trying decide if a Playbar is better than the new sound bar(beam) plus 2 new play 1s? It’s about the same price. Want to know what other people think of their Sonos systems? Thanks

The Beam is designed for a smaller room. If you are in a larger room then I would recommend the Playbar. I have the Playbar, Sub and two Play 1s and the sound in my town home with 25 foot ceilings is great. The Sono's app guides you through the calibration process to insure that the system sounds correct for your room.

Sound quality is on par with a component system I had set up in my previous home. 

I also have one Play 5 but plan on getting another.

Aviator

I remember asking about sonos here and did not get a single reply.
Anyway went ahead and bought a bunch of these and let me tell you, they are the bomb. May not be good for an audiophille, but the most used camera now is the one on your phone. 

CoMoBGE

Thanks for all the info. I decided to wait for Amazon Prime Day and got the Sonos One for regular price with a $50 Amazon gift card. Did that special 2x. My local Best Buy has the Beam and Playbar on display and I will go decide tomorrow. Thanks again for the info. 

RedSkip

@CoMoBGE Nice score!

YukonRon

I run with Bose because over the years I have lost a bit of my audiophile cred....
Bose is a client of ours and I have just stayed with what I know, ignorance is bliss...
However, I am now needing, more than ever, a system that is universal indoors and out, so I will be doing some research, much more than I had in the past.
This thread has been useful, it has started the process for me.
Thanks to the OP.

SkinnyV

I have the whole setup

playbar , sub , 2 play 1’s. In main room.

2 additional play 1 ‘s in other rooms. Pair 2 play 1s and get amazing sound in any room. Love it as much as the day I bought it.

northGAcock

Rolling Stone article that may be of interest to some.

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/sonos-is-betting-its-speakers-on-paid-music-streaming-706396/amp/?__twitter_impression=true