Sound quality: Sonos's Playbar delivers sound quality that falls in the very good range - although it has some noticeable sonic quirks it repoduces music and dialog very well. Bass has good impact and is very clean, but the deepest bass is lacking. Midrange is even but a bit constricted, slightly hazy, and can sound a bit metallic. Treble is extended, but on some program material upper treble might sound slightly pronounced and a bit smeared. The overall sound is generally open, and the speaker does a good job recovering room ambience--the sense of an acoustic space, such as the hall or room in which a recording was made--but misses finer detail. The sound bar can provide satisfying volume in a medium sized room.
TV setup and ease of use: Very good overall. Setup: The initial setup for TV use requires a connection to a network, but after it's been setup the soundbar can be used with a TV without a network connection. Connecting via WiFi is straight forward, but if you opt for a LAN cable connection the setup will be confusing since the instructions make reference to a control used on other Sonos products rather than the actual control combination used for the Playbar. The soundbar must be registered with the manufacturer for full network functionality; registration requires the user's email and a password. Programming the soundbar to respond to a TV remote was very easy. The system comes with the optical cable needed for TV connection. Ease of Use: If it has been programmed to respond to TV remote control volume and mute commands it can work seamlessly with most TVs. The Playbar does not have a physical remote control; it is designed to work with the TV remote after it's been programmed and via WiFi with app remotes that are downloaded onto Apple and Android mobile devices during the initial setup. We found the general use section of these app remotes (used to control the soundbar for TV use like a physical remote) to be easy to use and glitch-free. The console does not have an on/off control - it is always in auto on/auto standby mode. It has volume and mute/play/pause controls but lacks source selection controls. All controls are on the right side of the soundbar towards the rear where they may not be easy to see or access. The console display is a simple light and there are no source, volume level, DSP effects, or surround/stereo status indicators for optional surround sound operation; this model is intended to be operated using the display screens of the mobile device apps.
Features setup and ease of use: Excellent overall. Setup: The initial setup for TV use also takes care of setup of non-TV features that don't involve optional accessories. Ease of Use: The Playbar does not have a physical remote control; it is designed to work via WiFi with app remotes that are downloaded onto Apple and Android mobile devices. We found both the general sections (used to control the soundbar like a typical physical remote) and the streaming content player sections (used to play audio streamed from the Internet, the mobile device, or from a computer on your home network) of these app remotes to be easy to navigate, well marked, well organized, and glitch-free. Audio from Internet content providers Spotify and Pandora can be streamed using the Sonos apps or directly from their own apps. The Playbar console does not have an on/off control - it is always in auto on/auto standby mode. It has volume and mute/play/pause controls, but lacks source selection controls. All controls are on the right side towards the rear where they may not be easy to see or access. The console display is a simple light and there are no source, volume level, DSP effects, or surround/stereo status indicators for optional surround sound operation; this model is intended to be operated using the display screens of the mobile device apps.
