The Sonos Playbase Is the Ultimate Soundbar Alternative
The American company returns with its first product since 2015’s Play:5.
Given the way in which television manufacturers have relegated built-in speakers to a poorly designed afterthought, soundbars have become a virtual necessity for today’s TVs. However, despite the fact that soundbars work best with mounted televisions, Sonos has discovered that only about 30% of TV owners actually mount their sets while the rest of us just place our TVs on a piece of furniture with the soundbar right in front of the screen. So, after three years of development and fine tuning, Sonos has come up with the perfect solution: the Playbase — its first product since 2015’s redesigned Play:5.
A significant improvement over other similar designs on the market, the Playbase packs Sonos’ renowned all-in-one wireless speaker system into a package that measures only about two inches thick — and one that’s sturdy enough to support a 75-pound television right on top of it. Inside, listeners will find ten individual drivers — six midrange, three tweeters, and a horizontally-mounted woofer — to go along with ten digital amplifiers. Best of all, though, is that the Playbase can be seamlessly paired with other Sonos devices to create a customized surround sound system. And that system doesn’t have to be relegated to TV viewing: since the Playbase is WiFi connected (like other Sonos speakers), it can easily be used to play music from your favorite streaming service.
The Playbase is expected to launch in stores and online on April 4 for $699 USD.
