Pairing Sonos Playbase with Sonos One SL

[Edd70]

I’ve never purchased a Sonos product but I plan to next week and want to make sure I understand how it works.

I plan to buy a Playbase to use for my Sony TV (connected to an Apple TV, natch). I’ll also purchase a Sonos One SL for a bedroom to use with the Playbase specifically when listening to music only. When I’m watching TV, I’ll be using the Playbase only.

I have no interest in voice control (Alexa) which is why I’m not buying the Beam or other built in Alexa speakers. I just need the sound and want the speakers to work together. Simple setup.

Also, an optical audio connection from the TV is all I need. Don’t need HDMI Arc or Atmos.

Anything else I should know? I just want to make sure I can use the Playbase as a “hub” of sorts and that the SL will work with it when playing tunes. Also, will the SL work on it’s own if I’m watching TV with the Playbase in the living room and my wife wants to listen to music in the bedroom?

Additional question: Can the Apple TV remote be paired with the Playbase to control volume?

 

[Madmic23]

I have Sonos throughout my house and it's great. I have the Playbar instead of the Playbase, but they work the same.

Yes, you only need the optical connection from the TV to the Playbase for sound. If you have other devices hooked up to your TV, they will also play through the Playbase. Make sure you have an optical out on your TV, as some don't.

Yes, your Apple TV can control the volume on the Playbase. You have to set that up in the Apple TV settings so it changes the volume on the Playbase instead of your TV.

Yes, your wife can listen to something completely different on the SL in one room while you're watching TV.

In the Sonos App, you can group the two of them together to play the same music throughout your house, perfectly in sync. This gets more fun as you buy more speakers.

Since they both have AirPlay 2, you can ask Siri to play music in the bedroom, and it will start streaming from Apple Music on your phone to the bedroom speaker.

In the future, you can buy two more Sonos One SL's and pair them with your Playbase as surrond speakers. I just did that with my Playbar and they really add to the sound.

Hope that helps, let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[Edd70]

Thanks for the info, very helpful. I’ll post an update after I get it set up.

I’d go for the Beam or Playbar but my setup here fits better with a pedestal type speaker under the TV, which does have optical output. I use it currently for a Sony sound pedestal (HT-XT1) which I’ve really liked but it’s 6 years old and doesn’t have the Sonos multi-speaker capabilities. The Playbase isn’t a new design but it’s a few years newer than what I’m using.

If I like how it all works I may well do what you did with two surrounding speakers. A bit tricky with my living room arrangement but sounds fun.

 

[Madmic23]

The Playbase has AirPlay 2, so it's a step up over the Playbar.

Adding the surround speakers is really easy, you just need to have a power outlet nearby. I'd add the sub, but it seems little overpriced to me and it would be overkill for my room.

 

[Edd70]

Hope that helps, let me know if you have any other questions.

Boy do I. I set up the SL One in the bedroom a week ago with no issues.

Today, I set up the Playbase with the TV, also without issue.

But, I can’t figure out how to use the app to turn on the bedroom speaker to play what the Playbase is currently playing (music from the Apple TV.

This seems like the most obvious thing to be able to do. I’m on hold with Support right now. The poor guy I’m talking to doesn’t know anything it seems. He couldn’t wrap his head around playing music from the Apple TV. This is a painful customer service experience I’m in the midst of. He’s got me on hold now.

 

[Edd70]

Boy do I. I set up the SL One in the bedroom a week ago with no issues.

Today, I set up the Playbase with the TV, also without issue.

But, I can’t figure out how to use the app to turn on the bedroom speaker to play what the Playbase is currently playing (music from the Apple TV.

This seems like the most obvious thing to be able to do. I’m on hold with Support right now. The poor guy I’m talking to doesn’t know anything it seems. He couldn’t wrap his head around playing music from the Apple TV. This is a painful customer service experience I’m in the midst of. He’s got me on hold now.

Edit: Got it, finally. I was asking the most basic functional question and that took over an hour on the phone. I’m liking this though.

 

[Madmic23]

Edit: Got it, finally. I was asking the most basic functional question and that took over an hour on the phone. I’m liking this though.

Good to hear you got it figured out! Basically, go to the rooms tab in the app, tap “group” and then select the speakers you want to group.

The Sonos app can be confusing to use at first. I’ve used it with Apple Music, Google Play Music, and Spotify, and they all have pros and cons.

With Apple Music, you can just Airplay to the Sonos if you don’t want to use the Sonos app.

With Spotify, you can use Spotify Connect to play on the Sonos direct from the Spotify app, also avoiding the Sonos app.

 

[Edd70]

With the Sonos app, it was simply a matter of me not pressing the square/with triangle icon on the right. You could press on the icon for “bedroom”, for example, the icon responded by turning grey, but it didn’t actually present options or do anything.

Don’t know if that makes sense, but I agree that the app could be a bit more intuitive. Everything else is pretty good. The Playbase is officially a step up from the Sony sound base it replaced. It’s a crisper sound, with the different elements separated. Hard to explain, because I’m not an audiophile, but I’m quite pleased.