Playbar refresh in 2018?

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

In 5ghz band with 80mhz spectrum it will have a link speed over 850mbps. So it could hapoen
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. 🙂

And given it has play controls and voice it is presumably a speaker rather than the ‘super connect’ some have been asking (myself included)

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 !

How many HDMI ports? I can't make any sense of that FCC page 🙂

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?

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!

..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.