Sonos PLAYBASE

Surprisingly, the viability of this product was questioned by many inside the industry when it was released. To us it made a lot of sense, and given that Sonos have been out of stock of the new PLAYBASE more often than not, it appears that our instinct was correct.

The Sonos PLAYBASE is essentially a soundbar that sits under your TV rather than in front of it (see the picture above). As the profile of TV stands gets smaller this makes lots of sense – it is not uncommon for your soundbar of choice to obscure the lower portion of your screen, necessitating raising the TV.

As luck would have it this is also a very good soundbar, incorporating a woofer, six mid-range drivers and three tweeters. It also features all the usual streaming sources we have come to associate with Sonos. Some of the other features include: • A speech enhancement setting which reduces the intensity of loud sound effects on TV or recorded visual material without affecting the dialogue; • A night sound setting which reduces the dynamic range of the material you are listening to for late night listening. The soft passages sound a little louder and the loud passages a little softer; • It will play any source that is connected to your TV; • It will handle TVs up to 35kg in weight. The PLAYBASE is available in either black or white, and sells for $995.