Convince me to buy Sonos Playbar over Bose 300

Router speedtested at 480mbs and 2ms latency.
Sonos is the problem, not my router
The real point is that it was working OK, I have changed NOTHING and now it isn't.
I cannot, however, check the guts of Sonos programming to see what "tweaks" they have mad to "improve" performance

Buy Bose.
Sonos just appears to stop working randomly.
Surf the net. Check other peoples forums.
But Sonos has epic software issues despite a great sound if (and it is a big IF) you can ever get it to work AND to stay working consistently.

Are you living in a high-rise/apt complex? Because it sounds like you're having network issues, not Sonos issues. Sonos not working is a rarity, and I install them often.

@AudioGuru
Coming from a professional in the business, get Sonos. DISAGREE

P.S. For anyone claiming Sonos doesn't work well, get better than a $30 router. I've installed Sonos wirelessly on even the cheaper side of WiFi routers, and it works just fine. If you want great wireless, you need good hardware in the first place. That's not Sonos' fault, it's your router providing the signal that Sonos needs. Or, get a Sonos Boost, problems solved.[/quote]

I have one of the best routers in the game and am an IT professional.
The issue is not the routers or the strength of the signal, it is the poor coding that reacts badly to any and all changes and appears to randomly stop working

I have installed audio equipment professionally for many years, and I will tell you first hand the reasons to never consider buying Bose (HT products) ever again. When it comes to noise cancelling headphones, they do it better than anyone else. But HT should be left to anyone but Bose.

- Compatibility - Bose has continued to show that they are far behind in making past products work with future ones, especially as well as Sonos

- Sound - Although I agree Sonos has not shown up well in retail, I don't spend time there, I spend time in homes listening to it, and Sonos sounds far better, especially after their audio tuning SW Trueplay was released. This includes their 5.1 setups when paired with a decent TV (Sony does the best hear with 5.1 pass-through imho). I've done blind listening with folks that swear they're listening to a big theater system at a far bigger price point.

- Ease of setup/use - Sonos just works, you change inputs, fumble with remotes, or have to do anything when it comes to their Playbar over the Bose. Imagine just walking in, turning on your TV, and Sonos does the rest. Sonos is also compatible with Harmony (and any other universal remote) so you can program it in to that as well. You're wife will thank you, many have thanked me for installing Sonos over their previous HT systems (including many Bose)

- Reliability/Support - I have yet to have a single piece of Sonos not work, ever. In fact, I just had an installer I know call me and tell me (with pictures included) that a couple who's had Sonos for 12 years is still using original equipment. That's downright insane in the age of tech today. When I had a small issue with a FW update, their support guided me through simple steps to resolve WHILE ON THE JOB SITE.

- Software/App experience - This isn't even worth comparing, Bose's app is awful in every sense of the word. Also, the first versions of their wireless soundlink speakers required you to update them with a USB cable to your computer. Although it's better now, it's still no where near Sonos. You press one button to update every speaker in a home. And the selection of what you want to play and where, no one does it better in the business, and I've used them all. Also Sonos doesn't release half-baked versions of their SW like everyone else, including Bose.

- Music - Do we need to even go here? Sonos has support for every major provider of streaming music in the world (minus YouTube), your entire music library, NAS drives, Plex servers, and nearly every other option including your phone itself.

Coming from a professional in the business, get Sonos.

P.S. For anyone claiming Sonos doesn't work well, get better than a $30 router. I've installed Sonos wirelessly on even the cheaper side of WiFi routers, and it works just fine. If you want great wireless, you need good hardware in the first place. That's not Sonos' fault, it's your router providing the signal that Sonos needs. Or, get a Sonos Boost, problems solved.

As we get "older" it is more important to have clear dialog and not knock pictures off the wall when a car explodes.

We mostly watch movies, sports and TV. Some music but not the priority. Harmony remote and Alexa.


After a week or two with the Playbase, I am happy. I had to go through some hoops to get 5.1 via my TV (using an HDMI switch) and add a Harmony Remote, but things are working well. Sound wise it fits the bill - I needed something that would deliver clear dialog, reasonably deep bass and integrate in my current Sonos environment. After two Trueplay tunings, the Playbase sounds full and clear. I have separate HT setup with projector for bog screen movie viewing, but for most viewing, the Playbase on my 50" plasma is prefect for someone who wants a single box solution that delivers a clear, full representation of all forms of TV content.

As an aside, the support for Sonos is a factor - forums like this help facilitate a better listening experience.

Interesting, but I don't see that they've got other speakers that connect to the rest of my home, just speakers for the TV. Or did I not scroll enough?

Also, based on the picture of the back of the device, it looks like the surround speakers are wired, rather than wireless?

I do agree, it looks like they have HDMI connectivity.

They got these but look crappy compared to Sonos for now
https://www.vizio.com/multi-room-audio-overview

I have a quick read of the manual, the SUB is wireless the rear are wire but connect to the SUB via a cable so SUB and rear has to be close by

I will keep an eye on it for future development as an alternative solution

Maybe this :-)
Interesting development here since they partner with LeEco (Wireless, Bluetooth, DTS, ChromeCast, Google Home integration etc..)
https://www.vizio.com/sound-bars

Yeah, that could be catch 22, people don't buy the playbar if they want DTS, or they take it back when they find out, so asking current customers will distort the answer. These customers could be a large % of future potential sales, especially as UHD discs start to take off.

"and if the Playbar/Playbase decoded DTS then things would undoubtebly be very, very much simpler for pretty much everybody"

I just don't agree with this statement. And clearly neither do Sonos as they have stated that their research shows that the vast majority of video sources watched via Sonos do NOT have DTS or at least DTS exclusively.
For me, I used to have a Blu-Ray DVD player and now have an Xbox. Even though I do have Blu-rays I have NEVER once either wanted or needed to be able to decode a DTS soundtrack.

If the inability of the Playbar to decode DTS were a significant downward pressure on sales you can bet Sonos would address it.

Lack of HDMI on Sonos has nothing whatsoever to do with lack of DTS decoding. Optical can pass that through just fine - it was just a decision that Sonos made, for whatever reason.

You're technically correct. But I don't think there's a TV on the market that passes DTS out it's optical port. Hence the need for an HDMI input. I think we all accept the fact that the Sonos Playbar/Sub/Play1 would be an inferior DTS or Atmos system. compared to a discreet system. But, we just want the ability for the Playbar to accept these formats so we can enjoy some semblance of surround sound instead of what we get now - either no sound or just stereo.
Sorry I don't follow. While an HDMI port would be nice, Sonos believes it wouldn't be 'simple' enough to connect to a system with one. I don't happen to agree with that but can see a tiny bit of what they mean. However, if people say the reason we have no DTS is due to the lack of HDMI port, it should be corrected because they're completely unrelated. There is no link - and if the Playbar/Playbase decoded DTS then things would undoubtebly be very, very much simpler for pretty much everybody. There would be no need for an optical splitter, no need for a new BD player to transcode DTS to DD - and ironically, probably LESS cabling and potential for confusion. It could even be directly connected to devices easier. It would also play full discrete 5.1 audio from DTS-HD discs too as that audio also carries the core DTS signal too.
I really don't at all see that most would agree that if the system with a Playbar and Sub and Play 1's that could decode DTS/Atmos would be inferior to a discrete system. Why do you think most would - I think the addition of DTS with a Sub and P1's would make a great system with many benefits above a 'discrete' system.
Oh, regarding there being no TV's on the market that pass through DTS, erm, mine does and I'm pretty sure there are others too. I take a DTS signal into my TV's HDMI and it passes it through the optical port into my Amp.

Lack of HDMI on Sonos has nothing whatsoever to do with lack of DTS decoding. Optical can pass that through just fine - it was just a decision that Sonos made, for whatever reason.

You're right, my bad.

Currently I have a Sony model KDL55NX810, PS3 that is used for games as well as watching DVD/Blu Ray and streaming.
Charter HD cable box and Yamaha receiver. We do have the Alexa and would be very beneficial to control volume using that.

Everything is connected to the receiver with the TV being connected to the ARC HDMI.
That means the receiver is always on.

At some point the TV, PS3 (Maybe just get PS4) will be upgraded.
I want this soundbar to continue to function as expected.

I am sure the people at Best Buy are getting tired of me stopping buy.

Sonos have designed their soundbar solution with the simplest of connectivity - It connects to the audio source using an optical cable and can decode various audio formats (Stereo, PCM, Dolby Digital 2.0 and Dolby Digital 5.1). Given the Sonos track record we can assume that further iterations of the Sonos product line will still, at least, support those formats and inputs.

It is this simplicity of set-up that is at the very heart of much of the fiercest criticism for the Playbar - No HDMI audio input. This has 2 direct consequences - 1) The Playbar cannot support DTS nor Dolby Digital + 2) Many TVs do NOT pass through a Dolby Digital 5.1 signal OUT through their optical audio connection.

In other words Sonos rely to a large extent on how TV manufacturers deal with the audio signal that they receive via HDMI and then output via optical. Obviously in an ideal world all TVs would simply pass through what they received in terms of audio input and/or recoded to the format of the user's choice. But given that many TV manufacturer's also have TV soundbar offerings it is self evident that they would not necessarily design their hardware to function perfectly with that of a competitor - In other words there are also complicated commercial imperatives at play here.

That being said, if you take on board my first paragraph I don't think you can go far wrong.

I am not a big fan of anything fancier than a 2 channel amp driven speaker pair for TV so I am not affected by all the formats and the churn and the "progress" and its consequences for audio kit for TV. And Sonos may not meet all these expectations.

But for music in the home, I believe that Sonos is adequately future proofed. Voice control too will be an added feature to kit bought even ten years ago. Life is lot simpler for music lovers.