The sound bars on the market today, the well-known Playbars that are mounted on the wall, do not meet the needs of most HDTV owners.
Sonos, listening to consumer needs, seems to have moved on to a design change. Most importantly, the new sound bar won't look like its predecessors, but will be more like a platform. Someone finally figured out that it makes more sense to put the TV on top of the external audio device that almost all ultra-thin HDTVs require.
But there are other questions. How big of a TV can a Playbase hold? More importantly, how did they manage to fit all the audio gear, including the woofer, into a 28.35-inch wide x 14.17-inch deep by 2.28-inch tall sound bar?
It turns out that the Playbase, which is part of Sonos' growing Home Theater lineup, can handle a 75-pound TV (a 65-inch 4K LED TV from LG weighs about 60 pounds). The body is made of a strong resin material called polycarbonate glass. And it includes a woofer.
The system also supports Sonos' Trueplay technology, which allows you to have a better sound experience no matter where you place the Playbase.
It will be available on April 4th for $699. It will connect to your TV via a single optical cable. To achieve true 5:1 surround sound, you will need a pair of Sonos speakers, which the Playbase can connect wirelessly. It can also connect wirelessly to a stand-alone sub-woofer. The Playbase can be controlled via the Sonos app or via touch controls on the top of the speaker.
Later this year, Sonos will add voice control via Amazon Echo Dot and Alexa integration.
