Soundbars - Sonos or B&W

Darrensen

Darrensen

Darrensen

Associate
Joined
16 May 2005
Posts
526
Hi all,

Had a demo of the B&W Panorama 2, Sonos Playbar and the Bose Cinemate 1SR in John Lewis, but unfortunately on different video clips. I've narrowed it down to the Sonos or the B&W.

Now I know they are worlds apart when it comes to price, but I wondered if anyone here has got either of these and what they are like to live with?

They both produced good bass levels, so I don't think there would be any immediate need for a sub.

Would be great to hear your thoughts.

Thanks
Darren
 
Thought Yamaha made the best sound bars to be honest, especially if your prepared to pay out this much.
 
Gadget show said Sonos the best if you buy the Sub with the Samsung HW-F750 beating it if you can't afford the Sonos sub.

If it was me, I'd get the Sonos, but then I've got a lot of their kit anyway :)
 
I have the Sonos playbar in my bedroom, as above though I love Sonos so would be my choice. The software and control is superb. Girlfriend loves coming round and using Sonos.

Bass is decent enough for a bedroom, but would consider a sub if using as part of the lounge.
 
londonbairn said:
Girlfriend loves coming round and using Sonos.
Click to expand...

You sure know how to show a girl a good time :D


Does the Sonos playbar work with the other Sonos products? I've decided against having a 5.1 setup in the bedroom and was looking at soundbars. I've also looked at Sonos for music around the house. Would be cool if it all worked together.
 
EddScott said:
You sure know how to show a girl a good time :D


Does the Sonos playbar work with the other Sonos products? I've decided against having a 5.1 setup in the bedroom and was looking at soundbars. I've also looked at Sonos for music around the house. Would be cool if it all worked together.
Click to expand...

Yup, it's all part of the same setup. You can have the whole house playing TV sound if you want :)
 
Depends how much bass you like. I listened to one in the shop and it seemed the best for a standalone bar, but the soundbar kits with subwoofers obviously have more bass.
 
Personally I would go for sonos but then I have a lot of other sonos gear in the house, the sound out of them is brilliant. Unfortunately you really need the sub to get the best out of the bass which is another £600, where as if you had another type you could fit a cheaper sub.
 
£600 ?!!?!

Is there no way to wire in a regular active sub? A BK Monolith can be had for under £500. I can't see a Sonos sub being better….
 
Raymond Lin said:
£600 ?!!?!

Is there no way to wire in a regular active sub? A BK Monolith can be had for under £500. I can't see a Sonos sub being better….
Click to expand...

(a) The Sonos sub is sonically matched to the sound bar
(b) Sonos kit is "plug and play" and carries a premium for being this easy to set up

You could wire in a normal sub, but that depends on your skill level and you'd need a Sonos Connect (£249) or a line-out from your TV to feed the sub, plus you'd have to manually set the crossover and levels to try and get a good balanced sound.

Realistically if you want a Monolith then you'd be buying a proper AV processor and quality speakers to go with it.
 
covenantuk said:
(a) The Sonos sub is sonically matched to the sound bar
(b) Sonos kit is "plug and play" and carries a premium for being this easy to set up

You could wire in a normal sub, but that depends on your skill level and you'd need a Sonos Connect (£249) or a line-out from your TV to feed the sub, plus you'd have to manually set the crossover and levels to try and get a good balanced sound.

Realistically if you want a Monolith then you'd be buying a proper AV processor and quality speakers to go with it.
Click to expand...

Except Sub woofers have no tonal characteristic, so you don't need to "sonically matched" to anything. The only thing you need to adjust is the cross over points frequency.

It seems very high tech in terms of connectivity, and reviews does say it sounds good with a good design. I just can't help but think that the sub is tie you to the whole Sonos eco system even more, at £600 it can only be used with the Sonos and not your home cinema should you want to is a bit steep.
 
you pay £££ extra for the Sonos stuff because of how easy it is to setup and the whole wireless aspect of everything and how you can easily link your whole home up including every room in your house using wireless.

get a yamaha unless you plan on buying sonos stuff for more than one room
 
Darrensen said:
Hi all,

Had a demo of the B&W Panorama 2, Sonos Playbar and the Bose Cinemate 1SR in John Lewis, but unfortunately on different video clips. I've narrowed it down to the Sonos or the B&W.

Now I know they are worlds apart when it comes to price, but I wondered if anyone here has got either of these and what they are like to live with?

They both produced good bass levels, so I don't think there would be any immediate need for a sub.

Would be great to hear your thoughts.

Thanks
Darren
Click to expand...
A hell of a bump :eek:, but as I'm looking to buy a second hand soundbar on the cheap, which soundbar did you end up owning and how did you get on with it?
 
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