Sonos makes some super expensive speakers. The name is the first that comes to mind when thinking about connected speakers, so much so that it's the first brand of speakers any company tries to support when it's entering some adjacent market in the smart home, connected home, or audio software/hardware space. While I doubt that I'd personally buy a Sonos speaker even if I had the money to spend on it, I know that a lot of people swear by their Sonos and would purchase more if they could. For those people, there's a new candidate in town vying for their wallet's wad of cash: the PLAYBASE.

It's Sonos' second take on a soundbar, except it's more of a whole base than a thin bar. Sonos says that 70% of TVs are being placed on furniture and not wall-mounted, so using that space right below the TV was the inspiration behind this new speaker. The company is emphasizing the design and thought that went into the PLAYBASE, from the slim profile to the inclusion of a horizontally-mounted subwoofer with a new S-shaped port to push air out of the sub, and the varying width of the speaker holes on the front and sides.

The PLAYBASE can hold TVs up to 77lb (35Kg) in weight and has 3 ports on the back for power, Ethernet, and an optical line for your TV. It obviously supports multi-room listening and Trueplay speaker tuning to synchronize Sonos speakers in the same room for a home theater-like effect. And like all Sonos speakers, it works with the Sonos Android app and will be supported with software updates.

The PLAYBASE comes in both black and white colors and will cost you $699 when it ships on April 4th.

Source: Sonos Blog, Sonos PLAYBASE