Hello Sonos experts!
I am looking to enhance my home theatre setup with with either a Playbar or a Playbase.
My 40 inch TV is mounted in the wall of an alcove with a fairly long reach cantilever arm so we can swing the TV out and into the room when viewing. There is a shelf above the TV and and a unit below the TV. The unit plinth sticks out in the room approx 8 cm.
I plan to place the playbar or playbase on the unit currently. All seems fine and dandy right?
Problems I foresee are that to one side of the device there will be a small wall where the bay window is and that will probably block some of the sound. Maybe Trueplay tuning will help here.
The main problem is that we currently pull the TV out of the alcove and angle it in into the room when viewing so that everyone can see it clearly. I worry that the sound will hit the back of the TV when we do this.
I believe my options are as follows
** Playbar **
1. Lay playbar flat and and as close to the edge of the plinth as possible and hopefully the sound will not be too affected when the TV is pulled forward over it
2. Place the playbar in its upright position close to the very edge on the shelf above the TV. Better sound projection as upright perhaps but precarious and sound will probably hit the back of the TV again.
3. Mount the playbar with the TV mount. So that it moves into the room when we pull the TV out. This should give good sound but might look odd? Also looking for a size upgrade to 49 inch in the near future so this setup might be a bit of a squeeze.
** Playbase **
4. Lay playbase as close to the edge of the plinth as possible. Thinking that the forward facing speakers will project better into the room and not be impacted by the TV above as compared with the playbar option.
5. Position the playbase close to the very edge on the shelf above the TV. The shelf is slightly further back than the plinth so might not project sound as well as option 4
I'm looking forward to seeing what you think about the setup and your best advice. Perhaps there are some options that I've not considered?
Many thanks in advance for your help!
Question
Help Challenging set up with TV in alcove. Playbar vs Playbase
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You really need the Playbar pointing where the viewers are sitting imho, so pulled out with the TV would be the prefered option.
Maybe post a layout of your room so someone can make a more informed decision?.
Can't you come up with a shelf that will pull out and round and sit the Playbar on that?. Seems a waste of a good setup to have it it playing into no mans land..
Maybe post a layout of your room so someone can make a more informed decision?.
Can't you come up with a shelf that will pull out and round and sit the Playbar on that?. Seems a waste of a good setup to have it it playing into no mans land..
I would go with option 3. If you are running into space issues between the tv and cabinet underneath, can you remount the tv higher to accommodate? I don't think the playbar would look odd in that scenario. It would actually come across as odd to me if the sound didn't come from the same direction as the tv.
Thanks Keithmac and Melvimbe for your responses
I've been messing around with the Sketchup app to get a scale model of my room - see images attached.
1) room layout
2) playbar laid flat
3) playbar mounted with TV
What do you think - do the images help?
So would a Playbase (not Playbar) laid flat as per the configuration in image 2 also work as well? Aesthetically I think it may look more appealing ... but not 100% sure if sonically the walls of the alcove would stifle the sound.
I've been messing around with the Sketchup app to get a scale model of my room - see images attached.
1) room layout
2) playbar laid flat
3) playbar mounted with TV
What do you think - do the images help?
So would a Playbase (not Playbar) laid flat as per the configuration in image 2 also work as well? Aesthetically I think it may look more appealing ... but not 100% sure if sonically the walls of the alcove would stifle the sound.
That does help give a better idea. My first choice would be to mount the tv and playbar above the fireplace, but I can see why that wouldn't be your first choice for aesthetic reasons, and would limit the viewing area.
I'm not crazy about the viewing angle, particularly if the mantle gets in the way, but maybe it's not an issue. Given that, you might be able to get a way with using a playbase or playbar just sitting on the shelve, but I would definitely want to mount it with tv on that arm if possible.
Just a thought outside of the box, but if the size of the PLAYBAR is a concern, then perhaps using a smaller soundbar would be the way to go? It doesn't look like the space is that big, so maybe a smaller one would be a better fit? You would not be able to move to 5.1 sound, but I'm not hearing that as an option anyway. If you want to tie it into to other sonos zones, you can get a CONNECT. It wouldn't be as convenient or sound as good as a PLAYBAR, but it's an option. I did try this setup for a while (due to costs and lower use of the tv), but didn't care for it. Instead, I use play:1s for music and the cheaper soundbar for tv audio...2 separate systems.
I'm not crazy about the viewing angle, particularly if the mantle gets in the way, but maybe it's not an issue. Given that, you might be able to get a way with using a playbase or playbar just sitting on the shelve, but I would definitely want to mount it with tv on that arm if possible.
Just a thought outside of the box, but if the size of the PLAYBAR is a concern, then perhaps using a smaller soundbar would be the way to go? It doesn't look like the space is that big, so maybe a smaller one would be a better fit? You would not be able to move to 5.1 sound, but I'm not hearing that as an option anyway. If you want to tie it into to other sonos zones, you can get a CONNECT. It wouldn't be as convenient or sound as good as a PLAYBAR, but it's an option. I did try this setup for a while (due to costs and lower use of the tv), but didn't care for it. Instead, I use play:1s for music and the cheaper soundbar for tv audio...2 separate systems.
Hi Melvimbe
Yup it's not the classic cinema room set up is it? ! :D
However I have to work with what I have.
Having a set of play 1s already in the back room I'm definitely keen to get another device to add to this front room for TV and music.
I'm not considering 5.1 as the room would be a tight fit for that. Possibly a sub at most.
I've considered getting rid of the fireplace mantelpiece and mounting there but that will be a difficult (impossible) sell to the Mrs unfortunately so I'm kinda set with TV set in the corner.
Sounds like option 3 is getting some traction...
Yup it's not the classic cinema room set up is it? ! :D
However I have to work with what I have.
Having a set of play 1s already in the back room I'm definitely keen to get another device to add to this front room for TV and music.
I'm not considering 5.1 as the room would be a tight fit for that. Possibly a sub at most.
I've considered getting rid of the fireplace mantelpiece and mounting there but that will be a difficult (impossible) sell to the Mrs unfortunately so I'm kinda set with TV set in the corner.
Sounds like option 3 is getting some traction...
Buy the Playbar wall mount and go with option 3 (with a bit of work!).
The Playbar is excellent, you won't be dissapointed!.
The Playbar is excellent, you won't be dissapointed!.
I've got a similar setup in my house. I did the playbar mounted under the TV with this. I don't move mine around too much, but it's worked well.
https://uedata.amazon.com/Adapter-Frame-for-Sonos-Playbar/dp/B00P93XFFA/ref=pd_cp_23_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=165NGFTYZZTSFVE2PVCQ
https://uedata.amazon.com/Adapter-Frame-for-Sonos-Playbar/dp/B00P93XFFA/ref=pd_cp_23_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=165NGFTYZZTSFVE2PVCQ
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