I bought a playbar, before the playbase came out. The playbar sits on a big flat wooden chest in front of wall mounted TV - looks and sounds fine - better than the TV's speakers (Sony ~40" nothing special) - but honestly not a "wow!" audio experience...
I now read that the playbar was actually meant to be wall mounted with the TV... OK good to know... I can remount the TV higher and get playbase on wall underneath it, but its a non-trivial undertaking and I fear it may look a little odd.
So my questions to the community are:
1) How big an improvement can be expected from moving playbar from the chest it sits on to the wall behind it? Am I silly not to move it or is it a marginal improvement that's not worth the effort? Looking for that "wow!" audio experience from the playbar.
2) How big an improvement is the Sub when added to playbar system - and for extra credit - when the playbar is on a chest vs a wall mount....
Have been a long time very happy sonos customer and have a lot of other sonos components spread through the house. But would find it a souring experience if encouraged to remount TV & playbar & buy a sub only to still find it a "meh..." audio experience...
thanks!
Question
playbar: improvement with wall mount vs leaving on TV stand ? & Impact of adding a Sub to a sub-optimally mounted playbar?
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My understand of the reason why a wall mounting is recommended is because some of the speakers in the playbar are pointed downward, at an angle, to give it a more full sound. If the playbar is sitting on something, then the speakers might be pointed into that something so you aren't getting the full effect.
That said however, the height of the playbar can also have an impact, If your wood chest is only 2 ft high, for example, then a playbar on top of it isn't going to sound optimal either. I would want the playbar at least 4 ft of the ground or so, so that it is at head level when you're sitting down.
For me personally, my tv is mounted above the fireplace, and the playbar is sitting on the mantel. It's on the edge to expose the surface area, so to speak, as much as possible. Placing it on the wall could actual make it worse, since the mantel would 'block' the sound.
So to your answer your question, I probably would not look into remounting the tv. I'd move the playbar to the edge of the chest and see if that's an improvement. If not great, then maybe look into mounting the playbar above the tv, depding on where things are mounted there. If it makes sense, maybe remove the chest and mount the playbar underneath. I'm guessing the tv height is where you want it to be, so you shouldn't be moving that just to accomodate your playbar.
On the second question, I've always had the sub with the playbar, so i can't speak to the difference. Others have stated they loved the playbar alone, and even more when adding the sub. So I'd say, yes it adds signficant value, but hard for anyone but you to know if it's worth the cost. It might makes sense to buy direct from Sonos so that you can return if you don't hear the value you want.
That said however, the height of the playbar can also have an impact, If your wood chest is only 2 ft high, for example, then a playbar on top of it isn't going to sound optimal either. I would want the playbar at least 4 ft of the ground or so, so that it is at head level when you're sitting down.
For me personally, my tv is mounted above the fireplace, and the playbar is sitting on the mantel. It's on the edge to expose the surface area, so to speak, as much as possible. Placing it on the wall could actual make it worse, since the mantel would 'block' the sound.
So to your answer your question, I probably would not look into remounting the tv. I'd move the playbar to the edge of the chest and see if that's an improvement. If not great, then maybe look into mounting the playbar above the tv, depding on where things are mounted there. If it makes sense, maybe remove the chest and mount the playbar underneath. I'm guessing the tv height is where you want it to be, so you shouldn't be moving that just to accomodate your playbar.
On the second question, I've always had the sub with the playbar, so i can't speak to the difference. Others have stated they loved the playbar alone, and even more when adding the sub. So I'd say, yes it adds signficant value, but hard for anyone but you to know if it's worth the cost. It might makes sense to buy direct from Sonos so that you can return if you don't hear the value you want.
I haven't mounted, but from looking at pictures of the Playbars speakers, it looks to me that they are angled diagonally so that they face out and up at a 45 degree angle either way? I suppose if one were to mount one upside down (so that the "Sonos" was on top instead of on the bottom), one could angle the speakers down too.
I can't say which is better, but just wanted to flag what might be not 100% correct in the above.
I can't say which is better, but just wanted to flag what might be not 100% correct in the above.
The sub makes a significant difference but I suppose it depends what you are watching/ listening to?.
I went from Playbar only to Playbar + Sub and Pair of Play 1's and with Music it really is stunning to listen to!.
With the TV or Movies it really depends on how they've coded the surround channels, hard to find any TV in 5.1 to be honest.
For me it's a wow factor with the Music but and well produced 5.1 Films..
I went from Playbar only to Playbar + Sub and Pair of Play 1's and with Music it really is stunning to listen to!.
With the TV or Movies it really depends on how they've coded the surround channels, hard to find any TV in 5.1 to be honest.
For me it's a wow factor with the Music but and well produced 5.1 Films..
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