Next generation Playbar 2018?

So the exact opposite of what anyone into home Theater would want.

Got it.

many AV receivers have a variety of 'sound modes' - one that many of them feature is "Multi Channel Stereo" which is also what is being asked of Sonos. They have it for Music so why not have it for TV also ? Not sure why you say its "the exact opposite of what anyone into home Theater would want" yet a feature included on almost all AV receivers on the market today !
This is a market sonos are competing in so its not too much to ask for such a feature to be added on Sonos also.
see here https://www.the-home-cinema-guide.com/av-receiver-listening-modes-explained.html for a list of the most common AV receiver brands and their 'sound modes' - all with "Multi Channel Stereo" !

Funny, I remember Denon promising Alexa functionality as coming early last year. 😉

here in UK hardly any music channels on TV are in 5.1. Sonos' 'pro-logic like' efforts are woefully bad such that the rear speakers are mostly silent (in TV mode) without a 5.1 source - hence the reason you see so many topics by those with a Playbar and 'Play x' rear speakers saying they dont work !

I don't play music channels on my TV. Why would I? I have Sonos. :D
To watch the music videos whilst listening to the music :?

A USP that hasn't been sold in 5 years and was replaced by a free controller? I'm not sure you understand the concept of a unique selling point.

Think about this....

OK...Everyone wants Dolby Atmos. However, designing a Dolby Atmos capable Playbar is only part of the picture. Even if such a Playbar handled the Left/Center/Right channels with at least two built-in upward firing speakers at either end; Sonos would still have to design surrounds with an upward firing speaker in each as well. The current Sonos sub would probably work.

So now next the question becomes does Sonos still support; but scuttles the existing line of speakers in favor of the new Dolby Atmos capable speakers (which will undoubtedly have a higher price point) or do they maintain two distinct line-ups?

Bottom-line....Integrating Dolby Atmos is more complex than adding Alexa to a Play 1 and calling it the Sonos One. :8

There would be a multitude of ways to incorporate Atmos.

They could incorporate upward firing speakers into a new Playbar. Or they could come out with a new speaker that solely provides Atmos (see the new Damson Atmos speaker set). Or they could come out with multiple upward firing speakers where you would buy a pair or two pairs and place them around the room. Or perhaps supporting Atmos and requiring that two or four play 1s be mounted near the wall/ceiling junction. Lots of ways of potentially doing it.

Separate speakers apart from the surrounds means more outlets required vs integrating the upward firing speaker into the surround. Otherwise with bunch of electrical cords following across the room you might as well ditch Sonos and go with a wired setup. Not advocating dumping Sonos but IMO having more cords to plug-in defeats the clean look of having Sonos.

Think about this....

OK...Everyone wants Dolby Atmos. However, designing a Dolby Atmos capable Playbar is only part of the picture. Even if such a Playbar handled the Left/Center/Right channels with at least two built-in upward firing speakers at either end; Sonos would still have to design surrounds with an upward firing speaker in each as well. The current Sonos sub would probably work.

So now next the question becomes does Sonos still support; but scuttles the existing line of speakers in favor of the new Dolby Atmos capable speakers (which will undoubtedly have a higher price point) or do they maintain two distinct line-ups?

Bottom-line....Integrating Dolby Atmos is more complex than adding Alexa to a Play 1 and calling it the Sonos One. :8

There would be a multitude of ways to incorporate Atmos.

They could incorporate upward firing speakers into a new Playbar. Or they could come out with a new speaker that solely provides Atmos (see the new Damson Atmos speaker set). Or they could come out with multiple upward firing speakers where you would buy a pair or two pairs and place them around the room. Or perhaps supporting Atmos and requiring that two or four play 1s be mounted near the wall/ceiling junction. Lots of ways of potentially doing it.

Doesn't the current playbar sort have that capability given it contains an acceleromiter and can be oriented in one of two directions?
If they were to update the playbar they could also change the orientation from 45 degrees to 90 degrees. Not a huge deal in terms of design if they are starting from scratch.

I've been contemplating for a few weeks to buy a Sonos soundbar to go with new LG oled but have been put off. The sound quality is fantastic which we all know however the overall design and spec looks dated. Please Sonos your competitors are moving forward and are gaining ground and in some quarters have gone past you incorporating Up to date features with comparable sound quality and are overall far better value for money.
I want to part with my hard earned cash but won't commit because it looks like a future proof,stylish well equipped soundbar/play bar isn't on the horizon or is it? I want to be proven wrong.
The overall product range is good but the bar is like an ageing car trying to keep up with new models . Come on step up you would have an enhanced market share if you showed you were imaginative and progressive instead of simply reinventing the wheel as you've done by producing a flat old car in the form of a sound base .You certainly have lost my custom Which I'm gutted about because I had my heart set on owning the play are but it simply doesn't tick the boxes or cut it like it did 4 years ago tech has moved on.

In almost the same situation as you. I’ve just bought a LG OLED 65” C7 and need a sound solution. With all of the questions regarding on whether the Playbar will be updated for Apple AirPlay 2 and the dated specs and looks, I’m really struggling to spend the best part of £2000 so I’m waiting to see what pans out. I won’t buy the current offering I don’t think.

My only concern is: do Sonos have enough experience and knowledge to manage HDMI stuff? It means hdcp, CEC, ...
For sure it is more complex than optical and there are more competitors with more experience there: Denon, Yamaha, Sony, ...

Any official news from Sonos on this before i go spend £1500 on a rivels system? Thats a lot of cash to lose for the sake of not confirming a possible 2018 release.

So they should do full stereo (multichannel stereo) option

No idea what either of those two options are. Full-stereo is stereo. Multi-channel stereo is also stereo and redundant.

So the exact opposite of what anyone into home Theater would want.

Got it.

many AV receivers have a variety of 'sound modes' - one that many of them feature is "Multi Channel Stereo" which is also what is being asked of Sonos. They have it for Music so why not have it for TV also ? Not sure why you say its "the exact opposite of what anyone into home Theater would want" yet a feature included on almost all AV receivers on the market today !
This is a market sonos are competing in so its not too much to ask for such a feature to be added on Sonos also.
see here https://www.the-home-cinema-guide.com/av-receiver-listening-modes-explained.html for a list of the most common AV receiver brands and their 'sound modes' - all with "Multi Channel Stereo" !

Just because receivers can do that. Why would you?

I cannot fathom a use-case for that in a home theater.

Just because receivers can do that. Why would you?

I cannot fathom a use-case for that in a home theater.

pick one of the 50+ a music channels available through satellite TV - why should it matter whether my music is via a sonos music source or a TV source ? the 'Full' option should be available on both sources.

There are many others asking this. see here https://en.community.sonos.com/wireless-speakers-228992/full-stereo-option-when-watching-tv-audio-please-6341426/index1.html

unfortunately the crappy search on this forum does not lend itself to continuing old threads once they have dropped off the bottom of the page new topics are made asking the same thing over and over.

this thread is about a new Playbar/base for 2018 to address the shortcomings of the current one. Im just asking they also include a feature available in every other AV receiver (which is the alternative option to sonos 5.1) on the market today for "Multi Channel Stereo" from any source - not much to ask I think (like DTS/HDMI !)

I honestly rare think about whether the audio is coming across in true 5.1 or not. I don't really want to spend much time thinking about. In truth, it sort of makes me feel old because I can't always tell what speaker is producing which sound. I mostly just don't want it sound bad, and it never really does. I want it to be 5.1 if it can, but if it's not, I'm not going to spend any time messing with the configuration.

That said though, I do really like having the full stereo mode for non-tv sources. I do occasionally listen to amazon music through the fire tv as I like the visual feedback though. It would be nice to have the sonos option to switch full stereo in those scenarios, but I doubt I would bother with it. Ideally, and maybe this isn't possible, I'd rather Amazon have a configurable option on the firetv to output the audio in stereo instead of 5.1 when playing music...since it knows when music is playing while the playbar would not. Probably too much to ask for though.