Sound quality: Sonos' Playbase delivers sound quality that falls in the very good range - although it has some noticeable sonic quirks it reproduces music and dialog very well. The bass has good impact and goes deep, but is a bit prominent and boomy. Although the midrange is fairly even, it lacks a bit of fullness and is a bit constricted, hazy, grainy, and metallic. The treble is extended; on some program material it might sound slightly prominent and a bit sizzly. This model is generally open sounding and does a decent job recovering room ambience of recordings (the sense of the acoustic space in which the music was recorded), but misses finer detail and complexity. The Voice enhancement feature makes the midrange a bit more prominent, nasal, and grainy. There was no significant difference in sound quality between the optical and WiFi inputs. The system 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 setup the soundbase can be used with a TV without a network connection. Connecting via WiFi or LAN cable is straight forward. The soundbase must be registered with the manufacturer for full network functionality; registration requires the user's email and a password. Programming the soundbase to respond to a TV remote was very easy. The system comes with the optical cable needed for TV connection. Ease of Use: If the Playbase has been programmed to respond to TV remote control volume and mute commands it can work seamlessly with most TVs. The Playbase 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 Playbase 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 top front and are easy to see and access. The play/pause control was well labeled, but volume was not, and depending on the source the play/pause button acts as an unlabeled mute button. 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 Playbase 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 during the initial setup. 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 app or directly from their own apps. The Playbase 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 top front and are easy to see and 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.
