#Note: Sonos discontinued (but still supports) the Playbase. I'd recommend you to consider Sonos Ray instead (if you can).
- Also see: Sonos Arc vs Beam (Gen 2)
Summary
In summary, the Five is a music first speaker whereas the Playbase is focused on home theater (duh... it's a soundbar). If you're expecting both music and movie performance from your speakers, then I'd recommend getting the Five.
Note that Sonos Five replaced Play:5 (Gen 2).
On 6 August 2020, Sonos discontinued (but still supports) Playbase, too.
Sound Quality
Have you ever noticed that there often tends to be quite the opposite opinions about a speaker?
I can understand this for more "personal taste" kinda products like clothing, for example.
But for engineering products like speakers? Personal tastes and preferences probably still play a role. But shouldn't it be less?
Why is it that we can't set a universal metric for sound quality?
First time I asked this question to myself has been a pivotal day.
Because it turns out that in the mid 90's, Electrical Engineer PhD Floyd Toole came up with a method called Spinorama. This is exactly what he accomplished with this. Turns out that his book Sound Reproduction is like the bible of audiophiles.
Put it simply, Spinorama is a set of measurements that gives a comprehensive overview of a speaker's performance from various angles.
It allows you to compare the performances of different speakers before even laying your ears hands on them.
Isn't that amazing?
This is why Spinorama was apparently groundbreaking news for audio industry. Hence in the mid-late 2010's, most brands and magazines began publishing Spinorama measurements, despite the challenges of making such measurements.
Fortunately, now we have the Spinorama data for a bunch of quite popular speakers. Pierre Aubert put all this untidy data together and put it into https://www.spinorama.org/. This is a stunning source. Pretty valuable stuff from him right there.
All good up to this point.
Now there comes a caveat.
Since the sound speakers propagate are in the form of omnidirectional waves, all measurements are obtained in anechoic or semi-anechoic chambers (a super-quiet room where soundwaves don't bounce back, here's how different that room sounds [a mind blowing time-adjusted video]).
This is a problem because it means that Spinorama alone, unfortunately, won't give us all we need. Placement and reflections play an equally important role there too.
This is why most A-class brands (like SVS, Bang & Olufsen, etc) often come up with room correction features, adjusted either manually or automatically. The EQ adapts itself to the placement (room, corner, center, etc) for a better (deeper and more accurate) sound. Which is great.
Additionally they often emphasize the importance of placement, here is an example: https://www.svsound.com/blogs/subwoofer-setup-and-tuning/75365187-the-art-of-subwoofer-placement
Anyways...
The source code under Pierre Aubert's work is licensed under GPL (General public license). He didn't perform any of the measurements himself, and instead he compiled all of them into one place, so that makes sense.
At this point, I thought that if there was a tool that combined both the Spinorama with the room acoustics data, it'd be extremely useful.
Unfortunately, it turns out that there wasn't any.
This is where I stepped in and partnered with an Acoustics and Audio Engineering PhD in order to achieve this.
We combined Spinorama data with room acoustics and came up with Soundton. A very simple, 2D online tool that allows you to:
- Reveal optimal speaker positions in a room,
- Test with real speakers from real brands,
- Compare different speakers and different positions in the room.
It can be very valuable for the vast majority.
The colormap provides you the locations with the best (green) and worst (red) listening experience.
It works the best with subwoofers since Soundton processes low frequency response waves only.
- Soundton is going to be, say, 80% accurate. Not 100%.
- Because, other parameters such as the age/materials of the building, furniture/windows in place also have an impact on room acoustics.
- If you want absolutely the most detailed room analysis, then what you need is an acoustics consultant. Mind you that's going to require deep pockets and patience though... assuming you find the right person and they get the job done.
Anyways...
No matter what model, Sonos speakers deliver vividly clear and dynamic sound with deep, vibrant bass. Both Five and Playbase fill a room with sound from one speaker. If cost is no object, one has the option of adding two Sonos Five speakers as rears to the Playbase to engulf the viewer in a truly dazzling home theater experience.
To be clear, the award-winning Sonos Playbase is a soundbar mounted or placed under a TV. In praising the Playbase's performance, Tom's Guide reviewer Michael Gowan stated, "The bass adds resonance to dialogue when watching movies or TV shows—without a subwoofer." He added, "The Playbase's strengths in home theater also translate to music."
Sonos Five, released on 8 June 2020, is designed with the audiophile in mind. While it can be configured for home theaters, Sonos warns that "the line-in isn't designed for use with a TV and will result in some latency or lip sync issues while the audio is converted from analog to digital."
Note that when orienting Sonos Five horizontally, the speaker automatically separates the stereo channels. Should a listener pair two Five speakers, each automatically conforms to mono for more distinct stereo separation and an even greater expansive soundscape.
Loudness & Power
You'll have no issues with the loudness from either Sonos Five or Playbase. Max Mutter and Michelle Powell of GearLab report that "even in an 800 ft2 room with high ceilings, this speaker (can) get uncomfortably loud. Impressively, it (can) maintain all of its clarity and quality, even when pushing the volume to the maximum."
Likewise, Gowan found that the Sonos Playbase "filled (his) living room with sound, and (was) plenty loud for most viewing situations." Playbase also has a "Night Sound" option that reduces TV volume while retaining proper balance and range. "Night Sound" enhances quiet sounds and reduces the intensity of loud sounds.
Both Sonos Five and Playbase utilize an auto-switching 100-240 VAC, 50-60 Hz universal input power supply. Additionally, Playbase requires a lithium-ion polymer (LiPo) battery.
Features
Weighing 21.5 lbs (9.8 kg) and measuring 2.2 x 28.35 x 15 in (53 x 720 x 380 mm), Sonos Playbase features 10 Class-D digital amplifiers and 10 amplified speaker drivers—6 midrange, 3 tweeters and 1 woofer. It also has a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet port. Like all Sonos speakers, it uses an 802.11 b/g/n (2.4 GHz) WiFi network connection. Too, your TV must have an optical audio output. Also, the Sonos app is required to operate both speakers.
The "tale of the tape" for Sonos Five has the speaker weighing 14 lb (6.36 kg) and measuring 14.33 x 8 x 6 in (364 x 203 x 154 mm). Powered by 6 Class-D digital amplifiers, Five comes with 3 tweeters and 3 mid-woofers. It too has a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet port to connect with a router or a network-attached storage (NAS) device.
Here we should mention that while Playbase works with either the Sonos S1 or S2 app, Five must use the S2 app. That means if one wants to pair Five speaker(s) with the Playbase, then the S2 app is required for both. Merely delete the S1 app from your Playbase and download the S2 app, available at the App Store for iOS and Play Store for Android.
While we love both products, we decry the lack of an HDMI interface for either. There's no Bluetooth (BT or BLE) either though Sonos Five pairs with a mobile device using BLE for initial setup. However, while Playbase has an optical digital audio connection, Five offers an analog stereo 1.8 in (3.5 mm) audio port and a "join" button to connect during setup.
Looks
Both Sonos Five and Playbase are available in either white or black matte exposure, and Five comes with a graphite grille. As a rule, Sonos products have a minimalist aesthetic since controls are usually performed through the Sonos app. For example, the app adjusts EQ settings such as loudness, bass and treble.
However, each has touch controls for volume control and to play or pause music. On the Sonos Playbase, swipe between touch controls to move forward to the next selection or go back to hear the previous track. Both have status indicator lights that can be turned off using the app.
The Verdict
Both Sonos Five and Playbase deliver unsurpassed sound without distortion, even at high volumes. We prefer Sonos Five for our CDs, particularly in a multi-speaker setup, and Playbase for home theater—but you'll enjoy the sound from both in either application.
Lastly, here are some good individual video reviews of the two: