Is Sonos planning a Playbar refresh in 2018? It'd be great to have a Playbar with updated look matching other Sonos speakers.
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Assuming this recent FCC filing does bode for a new Playbar or similar HT ‘control’ unit later this year, does anyone know of a technical limitation why existing Sub and Surrounds would not work for the newer high def audio surround formats if able to pair with a new Sonos HDMI enabled device?
I understand the limitations of optical vs HDMI etc, and I realise anything at this time would be pure speculation. Just curious as to thoughts of others on this point.
I understand the limitations of optical vs HDMI etc, and I realise anything at this time would be pure speculation. Just curious as to thoughts of others on this point.
I understand the limitations of optical vs HDMI etc, and I realise anything at this time would be pure speculation. Just curious as to thoughts of others on this point.
In 5ghz band with 80mhz spectrum it will have a link speed over 850mbps. So it could hapoen
I don't see any issue, there are multiple wireless Atmos soundbars already on the market that have wireless sub woofer and wireless surround speakers - as one example, google the samsung k950, it supports lossless formats like Atmos and the sub woofer and surrounds are wireless - so there is obviously no issue with wireless tech, it's more than capable (remember that the soundbar does all the processing, it's just telling the other speakers what sound to make and when to make it), all the grunt is done by the soundbar which is connected via HDMI
If a new playbar is released I'm going to feel a bit shitty, because I just bought my Playbar only 1 month ago 😢
If a new playbar is released I'm going to feel a bit shitty, because I just bought my Playbar only 1 month ago 😢
Thanks for the replies. Makes sense that the wireless signal could cope. It copes woth 4k video so the audio should be a breeze My original thought was more around whether there might be any limitation in the speakers themselves (memory, cpu etc in a similar vein to the reasons the older kit can’t cope with software based Airplay 2). Hopefully this is not the case.
I bought the playbar knowing full well it was dated technology and happy to enjoy it whilst waiting for the next evolution. Just hoping that the rest of the system won’t be ‘obsolate’ by design or historic limitation. But I guess if it does not work then at least there’s a ready excuse to tell the Mrs when buying replacements ?
I bought the playbar knowing full well it was dated technology and happy to enjoy it whilst waiting for the next evolution. Just hoping that the rest of the system won’t be ‘obsolate’ by design or historic limitation. But I guess if it does not work then at least there’s a ready excuse to tell the Mrs when buying replacements ?
Well if a new version does come out my Playbar may start to have "issues" so I can take it back to the store lol, if I can get a replacement that's new in the box then I can sell it and use the funds to put towards a new version haha
Considering HDMI 2.1's eARC is only 37 Mbps max, they should be able to push that with a 20 MHz channel. Of course, I'm assuming that whatever new device this is has HDMI 2.1... but since those devices aren't being certified until late this year, it may not.
BTW, HDMI-ARC is only 1 Mbps, and optical is like 384 Kbps. Just for comparison purposes. 🙂
I wouldn't assume that. I wouldn't be surprised if Sonos has decided to add voice controls to all new products going forward if there is a chance customers could want it. Given that the Sonos One was released at the same price point as the Play:1 (at the time) the cost of including voice probably isn't that much. It is quite possible that a 'super connect' would be placed near a tv and could be considered an ideal location for voice control.
To speculate some more, is it possible that the S14 is more of a super connect/center channel speaker? If it really is designed to handle additional codecs and 7.1 (or more)....and the target consumer is the customer who isn't satisfied with a soundbar, then why make it a soundbar? If it's a center channel that can take hdmi and then drive front speakers and the rest of the speakers in the setup, that could be more appealing to customers. Since it would have less speakers than a full soundbar, it could lower the cost of production and possibly make it more appealing to customers who don't want the full $700 price tag. It probably could stand on it's own for customers who want to sonos in the room and better than tv audio, but not a full soundbar (that may or may not work with your tv). It could even be a replacement for the play:3, and be able to pair with other S14s if you like. And since it has an hdmi input, it could be used as a computer speaker for those who really want that.
Looking at it from a sales point of view, if this is a playbar replacement, then customers are mostly going to replace their existing playbar. You'll get some new customers, but they may have been good with the old playbar anyway. However, if it's a center channel/superconect/play:3 replacement, you can drive the sale of additional speakers as front speakers or double up in a stereo pair. I am speculating though, so I could be very wrong. For one thing, I don't know if this can be done at a decent price point, or if there is enough of a market for such a device.
For me personally, whatever it is, if it doesn't support front speakers, it's probably not going to be enough for me to replace my playbar. I have a setup that it's broke, so there is no need. The need would only come in when it comes time to replace the tv, and that's a few years off. I honestly wouldn't even want the voice control as Alexa is already in the room.
I would actually they rather pursue the route of a smaller AV speaker acting as a kind of 'hub' to which other speakers could connect than a direct playbar replacement. Indeed it could be Play 3 sized 'shrunk Play 5 gen 2' with HDMI in and out (and ideally one or 2 other inputs - digital and analogue). It could then stand on its own as an 'improvement over TV speakers' but with added scope to expand to 5.1 or 7.1, and itself becoming a dedicated centre channel, just by adding more speakers on wider locations.
However, the label view shows the base of the unit as being square lending weight to not being a speaker at all as it cant be a One replacement ! Only time will tell !
Im definitely interested as will relegate the playbar to another TV room and go for an upgrade in the main room !
However, the label view shows the base of the unit as being square lending weight to not being a speaker at all as it cant be a One replacement ! Only time will tell !
Im definitely interested as will relegate the playbar to another TV room and go for an upgrade in the main room !
How many HDMI ports? I can't make any sense of that FCC page 🙂
I dont know where the HDMI reference came from - Im just repeating what others have said. I dont see anything about HDMI at all on FCC.
I see 5GHz wifi as well or is it for Sonos network only?
5 GHz is what the Playbar and Playbase use to communicate with Sub and surround speakers... so it's for Sonos-use only, I would imagine the same for whatever this device is.
I believe that some of the FCC information has been retracted so it may have mentioned HDMI previously and no longer does.
I have waited for Sonos to release a home theater solution with HDMI before buying. For those that didnt wait, you knew what you were buying...and the playbar is a 5 year old product. Tech constantly changes with new models...enjoy what you have!
I have waited for Sonos to release a home theater solution with HDMI before buying. For those that didnt wait, you knew what you were buying...and the playbar is a 5 year old product. Tech constantly changes with new models...enjoy what you have!
Wouldn't it be great if rather than update the playbar that they released a HDMI enabled Connect type device that acted as an updated ‘brain’ for the playbar and took over the control aspect from the playbar for the 5.1, 7.1 or whatever co-ordination and then linked to the playbar (to simply act as a speaker) for centre channel duties. I’m assuming here they could address this through a software update to the existing playbar.
Existing customers would have an upgrade path and hold outs would have the options they’d been waiting for with less waste going to land fill.
Wishful thinking I expect. But I like the idea.
In the DTS WLAN1 PDF it mentions io cables for the test, power rj45 and HDMI. Looking at the label PDF I think the super connect idea looks like a possibility or it's a really big label on a square playbase. 🙂
Looking again though the description of the unit says high performance all in one home theatre smart speaker?
Wouldn't it be great if rather than update the playbar that they released a HDMI enabled Connect type device that acted as an updated ‘brain’ for the playbar and took over the control aspect from the playbar for the 5.1, 7.1 or whatever co-ordination and then linked to the playbar (to simply act as a speaker) for centre channel duties. I’m assuming here they could address this through a software update to the existing playbar.
The problem with that is the playbar is designed to hang on the wall, so you're Superconnect (that seems to be the popular name for it) would also need to hang on the wall in aesthetically pleasing fashion. Like the playbar, it needs power and an hdmi/optical connection to the tv.
Also, customers would not want to be limited to using a playbar as the only center channel option...and there probably isn't a tech reason it has to be. Give customers to option to have the playbar as L-R-Center, just center, or use a different sonos speaker as the center.
Personally, I like the idea of having a speaker built in to the superconnect to acts a center channel. You can design the unit so it sits well on a wall. You may even be able to set it so the speaker could be setup as L-R, rears or some other speaker assignment in the setup, if the customer wants the speakers to be identical and is ok with extra cost. You wouldn't be able to use the playbar with this, but I'm betting customers who are interested in this don't really want a soundbar anyway.
But I could absolutely be wrong.
That’s the one downside of sonos, wireless but still needs the power cord, so never going to be as elegant as custom install options. I’ve never really been a fan of a ‘bar’ solution, asthetically or in terms of the limited seperation. I’d rather a fully blown option that gave the option of using whatever speakers from the range could be paired as LCR. Ideally Play 5s. But as things stand the overall flexibility and relative ease of using Sonos far outweighs the limitations and the sound is good enough to great (never expected reference at this relatively cheap price point).
I’d like an option in their HT ecosystem that seperated the brain/processing device from the speakers rather than an all in one being the only option. But that’s just my preference.
I’d like an option in their HT ecosystem that seperated the brain/processing device from the speakers rather than an all in one being the only option. But that’s just my preference.
The DFS report is worth a look. It mentions play 1s as slave speakers.
So that sounds like it'll be able to use DFS channels in the 5 GHz band... that gives it a lot of flexibility in terms of making sure it's got a clear channel for the surrounds/sub. If they can meet the low power requirements of those DFS channels, and quickly change channels if other transmissions are detected without affecting the audio, that gives them lots of extra 5 GHz channel space to use that most regular routers won't even touch.
Edit to add: If that FCC report ends up being final, that's 18 more non-overlapping 20 MHz wide 5 GHz channels available for Sonos to use for the rear/sub speakers. Most routers won't consider using those channels mainly because of the low power requirements reducing the coverage area of the 5 GHz signal. Of course, that isn't a big concern when all of the devices are all in the same room a few feet from each other.
Edit to add: If that FCC report ends up being final, that's 18 more non-overlapping 20 MHz wide 5 GHz channels available for Sonos to use for the rear/sub speakers. Most routers won't consider using those channels mainly because of the low power requirements reducing the coverage area of the 5 GHz signal. Of course, that isn't a big concern when all of the devices are all in the same room a few feet from each other.
One of the German websites suggested that the new device included the optical and hdmi port - good news for me if true
That would make a lot of sense. I'm sure there are many non-tech people who can plug in an optical connection, but can't figure out which HDMI port on their TV is ARC enabled.
I think it's just a complete rumor.
Sonos is a wireless, multi-room music company. They design their products with the expectation of their buyers combining music and movies into one system. It doesn't seem fitting to the Sonos brand...
Don't get me wrong I would LOVE Atmos on a Sonos bar, but it's, well, Sonos. I can't expect it. Music is their thing, multi-room etc.
Sonos is a wireless, multi-room music company. They design their products with the expectation of their buyers combining music and movies into one system. It doesn't seem fitting to the Sonos brand...
Don't get me wrong I would LOVE Atmos on a Sonos bar, but it's, well, Sonos. I can't expect it. Music is their thing, multi-room etc.
One unusual detail in the FCC data, I first saw it pointed out by Dave Zatz on Twitter, is that whatever it is, it has Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) support. This isn't regular Bluetooth, so no, you won't be able to stream audio from your phone or tablet... but it does make one wonder what it'll be used for...
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