Sonos Playbase review: an expensive TV speaker that's also good at music

Just like the Playbar, it’s an easy-but-expensive recommendation for people who want better sound than what their TV can do on its own. Just like the Playbar, the Playbase can instantly become part of your existing Sonos multi-room music setup. It works with dozens of streaming services, and music sounds just as good coming out of it as any blockbuster action sequence.

But the Playbase has the same limitations and questionable future-proofing as the Playbar, despite shipping four years later. It only uses optical audio. It doesn’t support DTS surround sound. It’s expensive — and that’s even before you consider adding in a Sonos Sub or two Play:1 speakers for a 5.1 arrangement.

Sonos says the Playbase can safely hold TVs up to 77 pounds, and I believe that. The Playbase feels solid. Knock on it with your hand and nothing echoes or reverberates. Every inch of space inside is being used for something, even if the impressive inner workings are something you’ll never get to see. You just see Sonos’ logo, touch controls on the top (identical to those on the Play:5), and lots of tiny holes drilled into the front. Around back are three ports: ethernet, optical in, and power. Most people likely won’t have to plug anything into the ethernet jack since the Playbase works reliably well over Wi-Fi for music streaming.

Setup worked flawlessly for me. You open the Sonos app, plug the Playbase in, and follow a few screens to get started. Sonos guides you through the steps of turning off your TV’s built-in speakers and programming your regular remote to control volume on the Playbase, which takes just a few seconds. You’ll also choose which room to include the Playbase in if you’ve already got other Sonos speakers to group it with. Anyone with an iPhone can try to enhance the Playbase’s output by using the "Trueplay" feature of the Sonos app, which has you walk around the room and uses your phone’s microphone to optimize the sound profile for your surroundings. Unfortunately, Trueplay doesn’t work on Android, so I tested the speaker without any room adjustments.

I tested the Playbase using the optical out on my Vizio TV, but also plugged it directly into my PS4 and Xbox One S at various points since some older TVs will only send out stereo sound over optical. If you buy the Playbase standalone, the speaker will mix down 5.1 surround sound for optimal performance from its three-channel audio comprised of ten drivers: six midrange, three tweeters, and one woofer. One advantage over the Playbar is definitely low end response; the Playbase’s flat, long design gives it the upper hand at boomy bass. It’s a noticeable difference, but no substitute for the Sub if you want your audio to really thump.

The soundstage is extremely wide and dynamic, easily filling my entire living room and providing a great balance of clarity and oomph. Nothing is harsh or muddled. My tests included a Blu-ray of Guardians of the Galaxy, Rogue One on Amazon Video, Captain America: Civil War on Netflix, Sunday night’s Wrestlemania 33, a lot of cable TV in general, and several hours of streaming music via Spotify. You get some feel of surround from certain content, where it does very much seem as though sounds are coming from the left or right side of the room. Overall, the Playbase definitely outperforms soundbars in the $300 to $500 range, but it should, and I’m not sure the superior audio will be enough to justify its $700 price for everyone.

So far all I’ve done is praise the Playbase while reminding you of its premium price tag. But Sonos has made questionable decisions in its years-long effort to make this product. For one, there are no microphones inside the Playbase, so whenever Sonos rolls out support for Alexa, you’ll still need an Echo to control the speaker with your voice. Only a few months ago, Sonos’ CEO admitted that the company has been slow to innovate and fell behind the industry (and Amazon) on voice. So what happened here, exactly?

Second, Sonos has disappointed some home theater enthusiasts with what’s seen as a stubborn choice not to support DTS surround sound. The PR line is that most streaming services don’t use it and Sonos is focused on a wider audience. Sorry, Blu-ray audiophiles; you’re not the priority. There’s also no HDMI connectivity, a head-scratcher of a decision that limits what the Playbase will be capable of in the future. For $700, both should probably be there. In some ways, the Playbase is technologically inferior to receivers and other home theater components a third of its cost.

But next comes the real gamble.

Photography by Chris Welch / The Verge.