You’re never going to have to pay full price for the Playbar again. Last week, Sonos announced its next-gen soundbar, Arc, and that it was going to EOL (“end of life”) the Playbar. It’s still going to support the Playbar, of course, so there’s still reason to buy one — especially now that Sonos has officially dropped the price of the soundbar by $100. It’s now selling new Playbars for $599 a pop, as well as refurbished models for $499. Right now, eBay is selling a refurbished Playbar for $399, which is the cheapest we’ve ever seen.
As for the reasons to still buy a Playbar, there are a few. First is obviously cost. It’s never been cheaper to buy the Playbar. Second, the Playbar is still going to work well with other Sonos speakers, so it’s going to be a great fit for somebody already invested in a Sonos speaker system. And finally, the Playbar is still an excellent-sounding soundbar (even if it doesn’t support Dolby Atmos, like Arc) that is going to work with Sonos S2, the company’s big hi-fi upgrade rolling out this June.
The two-year-old Beam is another soundbar option from Sonos. It’s ideal for people who want a newer smaller soundbar that can also be used as a smart speaker (Beam can be integrated with either Alexa or Google Assistant). That said, the Playbar has a lot more firepower than Beam (nine drivers versus four) and is the superior-sounding soundbar. At $399 for the Beam, $599 for the Playbar, and $799 for Arc, there’s never been more options for people looking for a Sonos soundbar.
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