Sonos has added to its home theatre portfolio with the launch of the PlayBase, a new super-slim speaker designed to slide underneath your TV rather than wall-mount like the PlayBar.
The PlayBase measures 720 x 380mm, with a height of just 58mm, making it the company's slimmest speaker to date. The glass-filled polycarbonate shell, said to minimise vibrations and withstand the weight of TVs up to 34kgs, surrounds a ten-driver speaker system and ten class-D digital amplifiers, while an acoustically-transparent grille sits at the front.
Each of the drivers is custom-designed for the PlayBase and the system is comprised of six mid-range, three tweeters and one woofer. Capacitive touch controls like the Play:5 are positioned on the top of the speaker, allowing for pause, play, volume and track skipping control, while a pairing button is positioned on the left-hand side.
The seamless design features an inset moulded section at the rear that has an optical audio input, power supply and an Ethernet port, but no HDMI, meaning a TV with optical audio output is required, along with a broadband connection.
Like the PlayBar, the PlayBase can be connected to the Sonos SUB and two Play:1s, Play:3s or Play:5s in order to create a 5:1 surround setup. It also features the Dialogue Enhancement feature that enhances vocal clarity and the Night Mode feature which tones down bass during loud action scenes, both accessed via the Sonos app.
The PlayBase connects to the Sonos platform, as you would expect, offering access to 80 music services and the ability to control and group the new device with existing Sonos speakers. It also means users will be able to hear their TV sound on their other Sonos speakers when they are grouped with the PlayBase.
Additionally, the PlayBase speaker is compatible with Trueplay, meaning it can be custom- tuned to the room it is in using an iOS device, and later this year, users will also be able to control it using their voice and an Amazon Alexa-enabled device.
The Sonos PlayBase will be available globally from 4 April in black or white colour options for £699 or $699.