Advice on Playbar placement - can it go above TV?

  • 8 October 2013
  • 26 replies
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Hi guys

I've bought a Playbar to go with our TV. The TV is currently on its stand which takes up most of the space on the TV cabinet, so no room for the Playbar.

My two options are leaving the TV on the stand and wall mounting the Playbar above the TV - would having it so high cause any negative affect on the sound displacement? Or the second option is wall mounting the TV and having the Playbar either sat or wall mounted below the TV.

My preferred option is number 1, as I'd rather have the TV as low as possible - the middle of it is currently eye height when on the sofa so that's ideal, and wall mounting it means raising it so we'll be looking upward a little.

I've attached a pic of the set up. The TV is a 65" so if wall mounted it will be fairly high (around 5 foot if just above the telly). Also, if above the telly, is there a minimum it should be above to not have the back of the telly affecting the sound?

Thanks!

http://i40.tinypic.com/s43spe.jpg

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26 replies

You can wall mount Playbar above or below the TV. When it's placed above, it's inverted: so that the speakers fire at 45 degrees below the horizontal.

See the FAQ: https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1994
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Ah, cool. So I just fit it with the grey/silver bar along the top so it directs the audio downwards 45. Awesome, thanks! Glad I asked as I'd have probably put it the other way round without thinking about it....! 😃 Thanks
There's a cutaway picture at http://www.sonos.com/shop/products/playbar.
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Emanef if you do this let me know if you're satisfied as I look to do the same.

I wonder as some says it's even better sounding this way but who knows and doesn't matter as long as it's good.

Think it might look really nice as well.


Good luck with drilling etc. please post an updated Picture if you go ahead, thanks!


SeYa/Ambrose...
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Will do! Hoping to get it done next week some time so I'll post back.
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A question. If I mount the soundbar above my TV the speakers will be directed downward? I want to place the soundbar above my mounted TV which would make it closer to the ceiling. Would this affect the sound quality?
Welcome to the forums.

A question. If I mount the soundbar above my TV the speakers will be directed downward?
If you follow the mounting recommendations here, then yes.
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I have my Playbar mounted above my wall mounted TV,
Sounds great.
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Ah, cool. So I just fit it with the grey/silver bar along the top so it directs the audio downwards 45. Awesome, thanks! Glad I asked as I'd have probably put it the other way round without thinking about it....! 😃 Thanks

I have the same TV on a similar cabinet and am curious how the wall mounting of the Playbar worked out for you. Y y concern is that the TV is a bit away from the wall given the depth of the stand, so the Playbar will be set back from the face of the TV.
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We didn't in the end. We changed the TV for a Samsung 60" LCD and had it wall mounted, so had the play at fitted underneath.
...[My] concern is that the TV is a bit away from the wall given the depth of the stand, so the Playbar will be set back from the face of the TV.

My daughter's Playbar is mounted above their DLP rear projection TV (a TV quite a bit deeper than today's flatscreens), and it sounds fine. But the son-in-law did mount it far enough up so that the sound wouldn't bounce off the back of the TV, so I'd certainly allow for that.
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Thanks. I think I'm going to try the Flexson TV Mount for Sonos (FLXPBTV1021) and mount the Playbar to the TV itself. It looks like a sturdy, though very expensive, solution.

We currently have universal Soundbar Brackets for our Panasonic plasma/soundbar and, while it works, those arms are a bit flexible and don't seem to be the most supportive mount.

We're still considering doing a proper wall mount for both the TV and the Playbar, but the TV sits at the ideal height already while just on it's stand, so I don't see any advantage to mounting it to the wall.
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Any follow up feedback from those who decided to mount the playbar above the TV?

I am planning on getting a 75 inch to replace the 60 inch above the fireplace where currently the playbar is between the fireplace and TV. But with the TV already high, I'd rather keep it low or lower to eye level and move the playbar on top but my wife thinks that would look ugly in a great room.

Any pics or experiences?
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Any body have any recent experience with the play at above a mounted TV over the fireplace???
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Bueller....
If I mount playbar above TV and invert it so it points 45 degrees below the horizontal, won't that cause the right channel to be on the left side and vice-versa?
If I mount playbar above TV and invert it so it points 45 degrees below the horizontal, won't that cause the right channel to be on the left side and vice-versa?

The Playbar senses this and adjusts output accordingly.
Hi guys, I've just got my Playbar and now I am in a dilemma where to put it. It could actually go only above the tv because it (the tv) stands on a stand approximately 30cm in front of the wall, in the eye height when one sits on the sofa.

The two options are:
1. On the wall, some 20-30 cm above the tv, but somewhat behind behind the tv
2. Directly on the tv with a mount like this: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41k7A1JLQsL.jpg (no drilling necessary)

What do you think, which one is better, regarding the sound quality?
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...
The two options are:
1. On the wall, some 20-30 cm above the tv, but somewhat behind behind the tv
2. Directly on the tv with a mount like this: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41k7A1JLQsL.jpg (no drilling necessary)

What do you think, which one is better, regarding the sound quality?



If you look at this image of the soundbar without coverings... you will see the angle that the speakers are at.



I would have to think that if you placed it on the wall behind the screen the audio would be directed into the back of screen, bounce back to the wall... and you'd likely not be pleased with the audio quality at all.

I have no idea the strength or stability of the brackets you mention... I'd worry about vibration, stability, etc... but If it were me and these were truly the only two options... I'd try the brackets and see if I liked the look and the sound.


FYI - I have both of mine on the stands their accompanying TV stands on - just in front of the TVs' bases - and they work very well....
Thanks for the quick response!

It stands now in front of the TV on the cabinet and it is OK, but the problem is, I have a cat who likes really much to scratch textiles like the one on the Playbar, I'm afraid it's gonna ruin it, actually I'm pretty sure it will 🙂.

I'm going to try the brackets, there is always an option to screw it in the wall later 🙂.
Ok, I've done it. I have mounted the Playbar over the tv with the aforementioned brackets, it's quite stable, though I've had to put an effort to screw those brackets at the back and hope that it won't loosen. It doesn't even look that bad and the sound, particularly with two Play:1 speakers as back surrounds is extraordinary, been completely satisfied. Movie experience is realy greeat. Only Sub to add and will be perfect.


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I have my PlayBar above my TV on the wall and it works and sounds great. Just make sure that the silver bar is on top!
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Great! And thanks for coming back with photos!

Glad you love it. You are right... a SUB will add a lot to the audio when you get it added.
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The Sub make a world of difference!
Glad I came across this thread. We currently have our Playbar wall-mounted below our TV and I've wondered why the sound often seems muffled. We were not aware of the drivers' 45-degree alignment, which totally makes sense now; we're actually sitting BELOW the direction the drivers — they're aimed toward the ceiling, essentially. My thinking is that the Playbar would actually work much better mounted over the TV so that the drivers point down toward our ears. Simply flipping the Playbar in its current location would point the drivers toward the floor. Knowing now that the Playbar doesn't have traditional, forward-facing drivers makes the traditional, below-TV mounting placement counter-intuitive. I'd love to get other thoughts, but I think now that I need to move both my Playbars above their TVs high enough to point the drivers down toward our ears appropriately. 45 degrees seems like a challenging angle to work with in any configuration. I know Sonos is trying to address multiple placement options, but maybe there's a different angle that would work better.