I have a brand new playbar connected to my TV, I only unboxed it today, but I have to admit that when I disconnected my stereo and the playbar took over, I was disappointed. Perhaps my expectations were unrealistic?
My old stereo is a Denon UD-M3, and I have two Celestion F1 70w speakers connected to it. My feeling is that the soundbar is clearer in the high frequencies, but the old stereo has a lot more power. Is there any way to objectively compare these? I know there's a lot of functionality in the Sonos that I'll never get from the old speaker, but I don't feel too clever buying a $700 system to discover it's inferior, or perhaps just marginally better or a bit different.
Fortunately I can return the Sonos if I'm unhappy, so I'm not just whining. I'm hoping for some tips to discover where the soundbar excels. 🙂 I have two Play:1s that I had intended to configure for surround, but I may reconsider anyway if the main system is a downgrade. I'm not planning to get the sub, a further $700 is not what I had in mind.
Question
Playbar vs my 15 year old stereo?
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Those speakers and amplifier are a heck of a combination - I'm not surprised that they sound in many ways better than the Sonos Play:Bar. Loudspeaker design hasn't changed significantly in the last 15 years, and neither have amplifiers, so the only real change has been in the receiver processing - so for music and 2 channel sources, yes, those old speakers should sound better. They also have a larger cabinet, so more bass should be there as well, as well as a flatter response (closer to what was recorded). Plus, you may actually have somewhat significantly more power in the amplifier.
The Play:Bar excels in its integration into the Sonos ecosystem, and the variety of digital sources that Sonos can use. It also has a center channel, so you can get more clear dialog on TV or movie programming - this is probably the extra high frequency response you're hearing. The smaller drivers and smaller cabinet, plus lower pure amp power, will tend to lead to a smaller speaker sound, and some distortion at higher volumes where the bookshelves haven't reached their distortion level yet.
As for objective comparisons ... well, yes, there are ways, but flat response microphones and the like are required, it's not pretty. You can also learn and be instructed how to notice such differences, but it takes time and effort - and at the end of the day, this one comes down to preferences, since it's *YOUR* system.
This really comes down to priorities and which you feel sounds better for how you listen: you can pick up a modern receiver that will use your old speakers, often with its own streaming capabilities, or use a Sonos Connect to add Sonos streaming to it, and still use your older speakers, to get the best of both worlds. You can also then add a center channel, and in some cases wireless rear speakers, to a modern receiver - and of course if you wanted a subwoofer, it could be a less expensive wired model, as well. Or, you can use a Play:bar for convenience and app control.
The Play:Bar excels in its integration into the Sonos ecosystem, and the variety of digital sources that Sonos can use. It also has a center channel, so you can get more clear dialog on TV or movie programming - this is probably the extra high frequency response you're hearing. The smaller drivers and smaller cabinet, plus lower pure amp power, will tend to lead to a smaller speaker sound, and some distortion at higher volumes where the bookshelves haven't reached their distortion level yet.
As for objective comparisons ... well, yes, there are ways, but flat response microphones and the like are required, it's not pretty. You can also learn and be instructed how to notice such differences, but it takes time and effort - and at the end of the day, this one comes down to preferences, since it's *YOUR* system.
This really comes down to priorities and which you feel sounds better for how you listen: you can pick up a modern receiver that will use your old speakers, often with its own streaming capabilities, or use a Sonos Connect to add Sonos streaming to it, and still use your older speakers, to get the best of both worlds. You can also then add a center channel, and in some cases wireless rear speakers, to a modern receiver - and of course if you wanted a subwoofer, it could be a less expensive wired model, as well. Or, you can use a Play:bar for convenience and app control.
I think your expectations might have been misplaced. I certainly would not expect a PlayBar to sound better than a decent amp and a pair of nice bookshelf speakers (which I gather the Celestion F1s are).
My old stereo is a Denon UD-M3, and I have two Celestion F1 70w speakers connected to it. My feeling is that the soundbar is clearer in the high frequencies, but the old stereo has a lot more power. Is there any way to objectively compare these? I know there's a lot of functionality in the Sonos that I'll never get from the old speaker, but I don't feel too clever buying a $700 system to discover it's inferior, or perhaps just marginally better or a bit different.
Fortunately I can return the Sonos if I'm unhappy, so I'm not just whining. I'm hoping for some tips to discover where the soundbar excels. 🙂 I have two Play:1s that I had intended to configure for surround, but I may reconsider anyway if the main system is a downgrade. I'm not planning to get the sub, a further $700 is not what I had in mind.
Just add the sub and I don’t think you would be disappointed
+22Sonos can come close to matching a high end system (and age doesn't make it not high end).
Sonos is more about listening to more music because of flexibility. I think its close or as good as a high powered system but gets 500% more use. Its one of those decisions you have to make.
Well you don't really have to make as you can get a Sonos Connect and hook it to the old system to get sonos flexibility for the most part with a system you may have spent a lot of money on and don't want to replace at this time.
I have 2 legacy system hooked with Sonos Connects.....and barely use them. Most of my listening is through Play speakers.
Sonos is more about listening to more music because of flexibility. I think its close or as good as a high powered system but gets 500% more use. Its one of those decisions you have to make.
Well you don't really have to make as you can get a Sonos Connect and hook it to the old system to get sonos flexibility for the most part with a system you may have spent a lot of money on and don't want to replace at this time.
I have 2 legacy system hooked with Sonos Connects.....and barely use them. Most of my listening is through Play speakers.
An apples to apples comparison would involve play unit pairs, that can deliver the physical separation needed for obtaining quality stereo sound. And where Sonos delivers more value than legacy wired Hifi is in features, being clutter free, and ease of use. Sound quality from home audio hasn't significantly progressed in the last decade and Sonos is in this boat as well.
The bar/base are meant to enhance the sound from TV, minus the clutter of wired speakers for Home Theatre effects.
The bar/base are meant to enhance the sound from TV, minus the clutter of wired speakers for Home Theatre effects.
Hey, I’ve had big systems before, Yamaha with old school infinity reference 60 floor standers and no sonos can not reproduce that kind of sound but what ‘kefir’ was saying is he was disappointed with the sound as was I but add the sub and it makes a huge difference. Removing the bass from the Playbar so it’s only doing mids and highs ‘awesome’
For listening to 2 channel music, I believe that a play unit pair + Sub would do better than a bar/base + Sub. The physical separation of front speakers is necessary for the stereo illusion to be generated; the bar/base lose out on that.
If music listening was the priority, that's the route I would take. But if TV is also to be supported, then there is the solution of bar/base, but that involves loss of stereo sound for music.
If music listening was the priority, that's the route I would take. But if TV is also to be supported, then there is the solution of bar/base, but that involves loss of stereo sound for music.
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