Many state-of-the-art Smart TVs convince with a crisp, sharp picture, but often disappoint their buyers with a rather mediocre sound. The Sonos PLAYBASE WLAN speaker is now supposed to get rid of this annoying problem once and for all. Our following test report will tell you whether this project succeeds in practice.
- With ten amplified internal drivers, the Sonos Playbase delivers...
- Rich bass & crystal clear dialogues: The speech enhancement of the ...
- Fits discreetly into any home: With its unobtrusive...
Scope of delivery and first impression of the Sonos PLAYBASE WLAN speaker
In terms of appearance, the traditional US manufacturer Sonos has opted for a relatively simple, but at the same time very appealing and modern design for the PLAYBASE WLAN loudspeaker: The loudspeaker, which is available in white or black, has a particularly elegant polycarbonate glassHousing, which ideally looks like it is made of one piece - definitely a real enrichment for every living room and a guaranteed eye-catcher.
With its dimensions of 72 x 38 cm and a minimum height of only 5,8 cm, it also looks pleasantly slim, so that it can be accommodated in most lowboards.
Ideally, however, the slim television is placed directly on the loudspeaker - a maximum weight of 35 kg is supported, which is usually absolutely sufficient. When it comes to the scope of delivery, Sonos does without numerous included components that can quickly make inexperienced users lose track: In addition to the actual speaker, there is also a suitable power cable, an Ethernet cable, an optical audio cable and a very detailed user manual.
- With ten amplified internal drivers, the Sonos Playbase delivers...
- Rich bass & crystal clear dialogues: The speech enhancement of the ...
- Fits discreetly into any home: With its unobtrusive...
Features of the Sonos PLAYBASE WiFi speaker
Ten reinforced internal drivers are slumbering inside the Sonos WLAN loudspeaker, which help to ensure that a cozy evening in front of the TV also becomes an acoustic experience: these are six mid-range drivers, three woofers and one tweeter.
The result is crystal-clear voices, a really impressive sound and rich bass – unfortunately, you often look in vain for the latter in similar loudspeakers. Ideally, spoken dialogues are played back automatically via the middle channel – i.e. the channel that can best be picked up by the ear. If you still have problems with the perception of spoken dialogues, you can alternatively activate a practical speech improvement. Another useful feature of the speaker is the so-called Trueplay Speaker Tuning: It contributes to this. that all components of the speaker are optimally matched to each other, so that the sound experience is always optimal in both smaller and larger rooms.
On the other hand, if you like to watch TV, especially in the late evening hours, you should be familiar with the problem that quiet noises can hardly be heard, while louder noises can help to wake up any roommates. If, on the other hand, you activate the innovative Sonos night mode, quieter sounds are automatically amplified, while louder sounds are quieter - completely automatically, without reaching for the remote control.
Handling of the Sonos PLAYBASE WiFi speaker
Many loudspeaker boxes first have to be laboriously connected using a wide variety of cables - a real horror scenario for people who have never dealt with such a device before. The Sonos PLAYBASE speaker, on the other hand, is completely different: It is simply connected to the TV using the optical cable included in the scope of delivery - and that's about it. The speaker conveniently streams music from a wide variety of well-known streaming providers via WLAN.
This has the great advantage over Bluetooth that no intermediate device, such as a Smartphone, is required - conversely, there are no annoying jerks or dropouts, which a Bluetooth connection often entails. What is striking, however, is that the Sonos PLAYBASE loudspeaker without a HDMI port comes along.
Sonos justifies this phenomenon with the fact that not every modern television has its sound via HDMI outputs and an optical connection is much more convenient and easier to set up anyway. However, the decision against HDMI also comes with a small disadvantage. The reproduced volume is always the same, even if you have actually selected a different volume with the TV remote control.
Because: The PLAYBASE comes without its own remote control. However, such is not absolutely necessary, since Sonos has given its slim speaker an automatic intelligence that is able to recognize the volume input on the TV remote control and then implement it accordingly - the associated becomes possible Initial setup using a free Sonos app.
The sound experience of the Sonos PLAYBASE WiFi speaker
With regard to its sound experience, the Sonos PLAYBASE WLAN loudspeaker lives up to its quite high purchase price in every respect. Music and dialogues sound crystal clear and clean, the ejected basses are pleasantly full. However, you should be aware that the bass is not too deep due to the speaker's handy dimensions - in contrast to a device with an external subwoofer. Such can be done with the also available in white and black Sonos SUB wireless subwoofer If you wish, you can easily retrofit it - but you have to invest another 700 euros for this. You can also use the speaker with other speakers, such as the Sonos PLAY: 1, PLAY:3 or PLAY:5, which are placed behind the viewer and thus enable cinema-like surround sound. Unfortunately, you also have to dig deep into your wallet for this.
- With ten amplified internal drivers, the Sonos Playbase delivers...
- Rich bass & crystal clear dialogues: The speech enhancement of the ...
- Fits discreetly into any home: With its unobtrusive...
Conclusion
The Sonos PLAYBASE WLAN speaker not only impresses with its pleasantly slim and attractive design, but also with its crystal-clear sound and pleasantly rich bass. There are further plus points for the easy handling and for many innovative functional properties, only the purchase price is a bit high.
