Playbar/playbase

While I appreciate your attempt, I suspect that Ryan, being an employee of Sonos, will continue to give us the same thing that marketing has deemed as the "official" answer. Were he to post anything other than that, he might lose his job at the worst, or get a reprimand at the least. And for all I know, the "marketing speak" that has been used is the real answer anyway. As a company, being focused on people who stream seems to be a fairly successful strategy, at least to this point. While there's a marked number of folks here on these boards who tend to be more literate with technology, I don't think that's where their focus lies.

So, don't be disappointed if you don't get the "tell-all" answer you may be seeking. I'm betting you'll get the same thing he's said in many other threads, and has been in many other blogs. And who knows, it may be the absolute truth, no matter what conspiracy theories we may want to believe in.

Hi, Riddick,

Not sure being ignored, just not sure that they're at the point where they can do anything (or maybe announce anything?). I'm a big fan of not shooting the messenger, too, although you're certainly not doing that (but other posts in these boards seem to be).

I appreciate the hard work the folks here in the boards do, and based on my prior experience, I'm pretty sure they aren't the folks who set the company's policies. So while I'd bet they work hard as our advocates, and pass on the information they get here (and likely other places, too), I don't think they'll be able to give you what you're looking for at this moment. And I'm honestly avoiding the whole concept of whether they agree with you or not. I've been in previous situations myself in which I vehemently disagreed with the company line (many years ago, in a galaxy far, far away) but stayed with what I was told in public, while I continued to argue with others in private. It's the only sensible way to get things done in a corporate structure.

So my expectation is that we'll continue to hear the company line. Nothing wrong with us disagreeing with it, and hoping that the new CEO listens to what is being said. Of course, I'd be willing to bet that this new Playbase device was locked down long before the new CEO took his position.

At the end of the day, I agree with your desires. I want more out of Sonos, and particularly the Playbar/Playbase. But I also am cognizant that I can express my concerns to them, without expecting a direct response beyond "we'll pass this along", because that's exactly the job these folks are supposed to be doing.

And I won't be writing the CEO, either. I've never worked in any organization that makes corporate decisions by emails to the CEO. In my experience, most of those mailboxes are handled by someone else, who filters and collates information for the CEO who doesn't have time to read each and every email sent to them. So, I continue to find constructive ways to let them know what my feelings are, and where I'd like them to go, without being overly aggressive. Your post is a good example of that kind of thing, except for, in my mind, the implication that Ryan (and the others on the team) is/are lying.

This October 2015 interview with Sonos is very revealing of the vision and line of thoughts of the senior management at Sonos.

Although DTS is not specifically discussed.

My belief is that Sonos will add these features we desire over time but not to our timeline.

http://www.whathifi.com/features/sonos-plans-brighter-and-brighter-wireless-music-future

Ryan answered this in the announcement thread. IOW, you're a dinosaur if you still use physical media, and streaming providers don't use DTS.

Most importantly -- does it work with DTS?

No, PLAYBASE does not support the DTS multichannel audio codec. DTS is an alternative to the Dolby Digital codec which PLAYBASE does support for 5.1 channel home theater audio. In theory, the DTS standard supports higher bitrate content than Dolby Digital AC-3, however in practice most consumer-level DTS content is encoded at reduced bitrates. For home entertainment, DTS content is only found on physical media such as DVD, Blu-ray and Laserdisc – no video streaming services such as Netflix or Hulu support DTS. As Sonos is focused on modern listeners who predominantly stream, and because most physical discs encode DTS at bitrates substantially similar to Dolby Digital, we have decided to not support DTS on PLAYBASE as we do not believe it offers a better listening experience for the majority of our owners.

Hi Ryan,

Thank you for coming back to reply and at the end of the day your right we have all got choices and that is to buy the Sonos products or not. For me I love the Sonos device and I will be buy more because I find the products easy to use and the sounds are amazing.

Kind Regards
Riddick

Hi everyone,

The discussion on when we'd support DTS was always one with a lot of pieces to the puzzle. When we first came out with the PLAYBAR there were arguments about if it would support that format, and finally, we reached the decision not to. There's always a lot that goes into a decision like this, but in the end, our conclusion is as posted above. More and more media is being streamed online over video services which don't deliver content in DTS formats and we see the market for DTS only sources shrinking quickly. Because we were already supporting Dolby Digital, and DTS is just about the same, it was decided not to support the format.

If most of your listening is through Blu-Ray players with DTS only tracks to where it's extremely important to you, the PLAYBAR or PLAYBASE might not be the right product for you. There are ways of getting that audio codec converted as well; if you love the Sonos sound. There are Blu-Ray players that will convert the DTS format into Dolby Digital 5.1 which will work great on Sonos and give you the full surround experience.

Hi Ryan,

yes, your conclusion is correct. The Playbar and Playbase might not be the correct product for me. And yes, speaking for myself, the next time I am investing in my home theater equipment I will choose. Will it be Sonos? I don't know.

The discussion and the complaints are not purely about DTS. DTS is a very small aspect of my major complaint:
Sonos did not create a future-proof product with the Playbase.

Sonos plans for a product lifecycle for the Play 5 Gen2 of about 10 years. I would expect for the Playbase at least 5, maybe also 10. Will the technical product design make it through these years? I doubt it. Not because the sound is bad, no, the sound will be very good. I am pretty sure of it.

In my opinion: It's all about a simple interface, called HDMI in version 2.1 supporting eARC.

That would habe been future proof! That would have given Sonos a unique USP. That would have given you the freedom to react on the market changes coming in the next 2 to 5 years. That would have given Sonos the marketing punchline to stick out.

Maybe that's not needed, because the Playbase is a bridge product. Maybe the decision from your management is to shorten product lifecycles and have an alternative way to react to the market.

We all don't know.

My conclusion:
The Playbase will be one the very high quality Sonos products. No doubt about that, but it is not the innovative Sonos product your loyal customers have expected. It is not in line with the stategy Sonos was so proud of when presenting the Play 5 Gen2. That is why my next soundbar might not be from Sonos, because I fear that the Playbar (which I own) and the Playbase cannot stand the competition.

Hi Ryan.
Could you please call out a couple of those blueray players that convert DTS to DD 5.1
Thanks much

Thanks Ryan. Appreciate the prompt response.