Playbase quality without subwoofer
We have a Bose 1-2-3 in the small family room of our condo. It has a subwoofer, but we are never able to play it very loud as it would disturb people in the next unit. We recently bought the Sonos 1 and are quite impressed. I'm thinking of buying the Playbase to replace the Bose unit, but do not want to buy the subwoofer -- at least not at this time. We may add a pair of 1s in the next future. Can anyone advise as to the audio quality compared to the Bose?
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People's tastes differ but I find the ported sub more than sufficient and I live in a free standing home and usually finish watching the telly fairly earlier. In an apartment I would be more than happy with the Playbase as my only music and TV speaker though the surrounds add a lot.
Some food for thought though. There is supposed to be a new home theatre speaker announced in a few weeks. Might be worth while to see what that is like. Also, check the dimensions of the Playbase to see it fits well with your TV and research how well your TV and any associated equipment will work well with the Playbase. You need to pass Dolby 5.1 to the Playbase.
Some food for thought though. There is supposed to be a new home theatre speaker announced in a few weeks. Might be worth while to see what that is like. Also, check the dimensions of the Playbase to see it fits well with your TV and research how well your TV and any associated equipment will work well with the Playbase. You need to pass Dolby 5.1 to the Playbase.
Thanks, Silverthorn. Our Sony TV does pass 5.1 and has an optical output. I am not doing anything for at least a month, so will check out the new system. I appreciate your advice.
This type of advice cannot be really give over a forum
My advice is to go into a store and listen to both setups (just the playbase vs playbase + sub)
I understand the playbase has better base than the playbar but I've had soundbars with built in subs before (bose soundtouch 300) and even then I still find a huge difference by adding a stand-alone sub - it's best to have a nice big sub with a large driver and you just can't fit that into a small soundbar/speaker I'm afraid
Even if you went with $10,000 floor standing Klipsch speakers - I would still suggest to get a Subwoofer - but that's just me, I like bass - not everyone needs a lot of bass, it depends how immersive you want those low end sounds to be (like explosions, thunder etc)
With the Sonos sub, if a movie has a thunder strike and the volume is loud enough I can actually feel the thunder in my body (like the thunder strike was just outside my house and shook the ground!) and I'm not sure a playbase could do the same (I know the bose soundtouch 300 couldn't come close and it has the ported sub built in too)
My advice is to go into a store and listen to both setups (just the playbase vs playbase + sub)
I understand the playbase has better base than the playbar but I've had soundbars with built in subs before (bose soundtouch 300) and even then I still find a huge difference by adding a stand-alone sub - it's best to have a nice big sub with a large driver and you just can't fit that into a small soundbar/speaker I'm afraid
Even if you went with $10,000 floor standing Klipsch speakers - I would still suggest to get a Subwoofer - but that's just me, I like bass - not everyone needs a lot of bass, it depends how immersive you want those low end sounds to be (like explosions, thunder etc)
With the Sonos sub, if a movie has a thunder strike and the volume is loud enough I can actually feel the thunder in my body (like the thunder strike was just outside my house and shook the ground!) and I'm not sure a playbase could do the same (I know the bose soundtouch 300 couldn't come close and it has the ported sub built in too)
+12Don’t have a playbase, and it is apparently marginally better at bass than the playbar, but for the playbar the dfference to my ears is night and day with the sub. It so good I got another to add to the play 3s in the kitchen. A personal choice if it is usable in your environment and whether the cost is justified, but in terms of a difference it is very noticable.
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oops! Totally misread the question! Realised you did’nt want the sub up fron rather than askingnif it was worth adding. As advised above have a demo and then you’ll know. Good luck!
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oops! Totally misread the question! Realised you did’nt want the sub up fron rather than askingnif it was worth adding. As advised above have a demo and then you’ll know. Good luck!
To put this into perspective, I find that my Seinheisser headphones have more bass than a soundbar without a stand-alone sub (such as using the playbar or soundtouch 300 by itself)
+1After reading comments above....
Rattle and vibration are not attributes of a good subwoofer
The playbase with the built in sub sounds great for most applications- Small room, apt etc. Or for someone who wants a neat, tidy excellent sound package. Over all sound is very good & a relative cheap departure to the Sub -Playbar combo.
The play bar is 3 channel, ( right, left and center) so dialog will sound much clearer compared to a 2 channel ( left and right)
Bose, some refer these speakers as excellent midrange speaker company, there are other options that are far better and some for half the price. IMO bose , you are buying an expensive brand name, they're Ok, good.
Hopefully June 6th press conference announces a new sound bar- with Atmos. Fingers crossed.
Rattle and vibration are not attributes of a good subwoofer
The playbase with the built in sub sounds great for most applications- Small room, apt etc. Or for someone who wants a neat, tidy excellent sound package. Over all sound is very good & a relative cheap departure to the Sub -Playbar combo.
The play bar is 3 channel, ( right, left and center) so dialog will sound much clearer compared to a 2 channel ( left and right)
Bose, some refer these speakers as excellent midrange speaker company, there are other options that are far better and some for half the price. IMO bose , you are buying an expensive brand name, they're Ok, good.
Hopefully June 6th press conference announces a new sound bar- with Atmos. Fingers crossed.
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