Sonos - Playbar
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Reddit Reviews:
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Last updated: Aug 1, 2025 Scoring
Liked most:
33
2
"Coming from an ancient and small LCD prior to 2017, I think the things that improved my movie and TV viewing experience ranked from the greatest improvement to least would be: Playbar, then sub, then surrounds, then bigger OLED TV."
"my first and favorite Sonos speaker ... I love the sound of the Playbar, for both movies and music, as it was the perfect combination for both. ... At the time, I loved it for both movies and music, and still do for music. ... I keep it because it was such a great soundbar. ... Playbar was better for movies. Louder, crisper sounds and better fidelity. ... In stereo and 5.1, the Playbar is better."
"still doesn't compare to the Playbar for stereo content ... When comparing both soundbars for music, the Playbar still wins out. ... In many of the songs I listened to, the Playbar just sounded better. ... There's a richness to the sound of the Playbar that can't be matched by the smaller drivers in the Arc. ... the Playbar sounds better to my ears. ... The Arc Ultra, like the Arc, has a bit of muddiness that isn't present on the Playbar. ... If you're simply listening to music, the Playbar is better. ... the Playbar was wonderful to listen to for music. Better than most soundbars I've tried. ... There's this warmth and texture to the music with both speakers."
8
1
"my first and favorite Sonos speaker ... I love the sound of the Playbar, for both movies and music, as it was the perfect combination for both. ... At the time, I loved it for both movies and music, and still do for music. ... I keep it because it was such a great soundbar. ... Playbar was better for movies. Louder, crisper sounds and better fidelity. ... In stereo and 5.1, the Playbar is better."
"I ’m still rocking the playbar and prefer the sound signature to the original arc for music and movies alike ... Man I totally know what you mean"
"on the Playbar, the mids come in very nicely. ... The Playbar was that good. Bigger mid drivers goes a LONG way in producing better mid range sounds. ... If anyone used the Playbar before, they should notice the difference in fidelity."
9
1
"I’m sticking with my 15 year old playbar, sub, and play 1s 😂"
"I've got a play bar, sub (gen 1), and two play1s in the basement, and they still sound fantastic."
"I have not experienced a single issue with them in all these years."
3
2
"a clean simple wireless 5.1 (ish) setup it's great imo."
"I'm not one to tinker endlessly with sound settings, so when combined with their simplicity it's a great product for me."
"Been super happy with it.. and I was a die hard 7.1 separate amps, lots of wiring etc person.. the sonos is not the same caliber as a full on atmos setup obv but I enjoy mine daily."
3
0
"especially since they can be found for 200-300 on marketplace"
"they were impressive for their price point ... the Sonos setups held their own surprisingly well given the cost difference."
"if you’re space-constrained picking up a used Sonos Playbar could cost a few hundred units of currency and you’ll get a pretty nice sound."
Disliked most:
3
3
"I can’t warrant the spend to upgrade the Playbar without them. ... At the time of the Playbar it did more or less what was needed….now I think expectations for premium soundbars are different in 2024 (look at LG soundbar specs for instance). Maybe I’m an edge case. Limited space and a requirement to get the most out of physical media or remux copies with a Sonos ecosystem and Sonos soundbar set up…."
"I was happy with my Sonos playbar for 3 yrs, and then fell in at atmos hole thanks to some girl band that released their cd on atmos format."
"You lose out on Atmos and e-arc and some other modern features (Playbar is like decade old)"
1
2
"The reason I don't use it in the house is it doesn't support AirPlay, which I use frequently to play music in multiple rooms. ... I'd still be rocking it in the living room if it supported Airplay."
"Ultimately went with the Sony since my partner wanted to be able to play Bluetooth occasionally and didn't wanna tinker with having to download sonos app, etc."
3
3
"I can’t warrant the spend to upgrade the Playbar without them. ... At the time of the Playbar it did more or less what was needed….now I think expectations for premium soundbars are different in 2024 (look at LG soundbar specs for instance). Maybe I’m an edge case. Limited space and a requirement to get the most out of physical media or remux copies with a Sonos ecosystem and Sonos soundbar set up…."
"I was happy with my Sonos playbar for 3 yrs, and then fell in at atmos hole thanks to some girl band that released their cd on atmos format."
"You lose out on Atmos and e-arc and some other modern features (Playbar is like decade old)"
1
2
"My old LG B4a didn’t get along well with the Playbar after the TV came out of standby. Sound would occasionally not output from the optical port and I’d have make sure the TV was powered all the way down."
"the soundbars have so many issues connecting that I don’t even want to use it anymore"
0
3
"Ultimately went with the Sony since my partner wanted to be able to play Bluetooth occasionally and didn't wanna tinker with having to download sonos app, etc."
"the soundbars have so many issues connecting that I don’t even want to use it anymore"
"To this day the app is terrible"
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