Soundbar Reviews

The lack of multiple audio inputs on the Sonos Playbase and the earlier Playbar is deliberate and driven by the Sonos ethos that things should be simple to hook up and operate. Users are expected to connect the optical output of their TV to the Playbase and connect their HDMI sources to the TV, then use the TV remote (or a universal remote) to switch among devices. The problem with this is that your sound quality is reliant to some degree on your television's ability to pass a 5.1-channel Dolby Digital signal without downconversion to 2-channel Dolby Digital or PCM. These products contain a Dolby Digital decoder and provide their very best sound when receiving a 5.1 DD bitstream providing discrete information for front and surround channels. Secondarily, delivery of 2-channel Dolby Digital or a converted two-channel PCM signal through the optical input will engage the Playbase/bar signal processing to derive information for creation of the faux surround/spatial effects. Of course, the downside is that you're restricted to the information in the "core" Dolby Digtial bitstream or downconverted 2-channel signal -- no Dolby TrueHD or DTS HD-Master lossless tracks. But that's not what this product is for, and what it does do with the information it gets is quite extraordinary for any kind of standalone one-piece sound system.