Platin Milan 5.1.4 Soundbar review: Budget wireless spatial audio

Best Prices Today: Platin Milan 5.1.4 Soundbar

Want a soundbar that does WiSA? Soundbars employing the WiSA standard for wireless transmission of high-definition, low-latency audio to their satellite speakers typically come saddled with luxury price tags. Platin Audio’s first WiSA soundbar manages to qualify as a mid-priced option. 

The Platin Milan 5.1.4 Soundbar is the first soundbar to come equipped with newly developed WiSA DS technology, which enables a single transmitter to send 4.1 channels of uncompressed high-definition audio to the soundar’s rear speakers and subwoofer. 

But instead of costing $4,000 like, say, the Savant Smart Audio WiSA soundbar, the Platin Milan 5.1.4 Soundbar costs just $799—although even at that price, the Milan may still represent a hefty investment for many soundbar shoppers. 

So, is the WiSA DS-enabled Platin Milan 5.1.4 soundbar worth the price? Let’s dig in. 

Design and wireless connectivity 

The Platin Milan is relatively compact as far as soundbars go, measuring a narrow 35.5 x 4 x 2.75 inches (WxDxH) and weighing just 6.9 pounds. The front and top of the soundbar are covered with dark, thick fabric, leaving the bottom, rear, and flat sides exposed. Five touch-sensitive buttons (power, source, Bluetooth, and volume up/down) reside on the right-hand end of the unit.  

For all its cutting-edge tech, the Platin Milan 5.1.4 soundbar comes saddled with too many compromises given its $799 price point.  

Also compact are the two wireless surround speakers, which measure 6 x 4 x 4.5 inches (HxDxW) each, while the low-profile subwoofer (5.3 x 15 x 12.2 inches, HxDxW) could potentially fit under a sofa or another piece of furniture. 

This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best soundbars.

The Platin Milan is a 5.1.4-channel soundbar system, meaning it’s equipped with discrete drivers for the left, center, right, left and right surround, and a low-frequency effects channel. The “corner” channels each get a full-range driver, while the center channel is a two-way design. There are four height channels: left front, right front, left rear, and right rear). Those four height channels supply the height cues for Dolby Atmos soundtracks. There’s no support for DTS:X audio, a Dolby Atmos competitor that’s chiefly found on 4K Blu-ray discs from certain movie studios; namely, Universal. 

We don’t usually delve into the nuts and bolts of the wireless technology that connects a soundbar’s speakers together, but we’ll make an exception for the Platin Milan. That’s because the soundbar is one of the few to employ WiSA wireless technology, a proprietary 2.4GHz wireless network for transmitting uncompressed audio between components with very low latency. Specifically, the Milan is equipped with a WiSA DS (Discrete System) module, allowing the soundbar to transmit 4.1 channels of 16-bit/48kHz audio from the main unit to the rear speakers (which, together, comprise four audio channels) and the subwoofer (the “.1” channel) with an imperceptible latency of just 40 milliseconds.

There are also other types of WiSA transmitters: WiSA E modules, for example, can handle up to 8 channels of 24-bit/48kHz audio on the 5GHz band. That makes the new WiSA DS module look like a step-down version, which perhaps explains the appearance of WiSA tech in a relatively affordable soundbar like the Milan.

So, does WiSA technology make a big difference compared to the proprietary wireless tech employed by other soundbar manufactures? Well, that depends on the manufacturer, of course. Personally, I’ve never experienced any serious wireless connectivity problems with other soundbars (save for the occasional—and exceedingly rare—failed speaker pairing), and I didn’t find the WiSA connectivity used by the Platin Milan to be noticeably better or worse than on other recent soundbars I’ve tested. Audiophiles, on the other hand, might dismiss WiSA DS’s 16-bit/48kHz limitation, which means the 24-bit audio on Blu-ray discs with Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio tracks must be down-sampled before transmission to the satellite speakers. (If you consume most of your content via a streaming service, as opposed to Blu-ray discs, the latter point won’t matter.) 

From my perspective, the arrival of WiSA DS modules on the Platin Milan soundbar is—for the time being, at least—more notable from an industry perspective (given that soundbar manufacturers can now employ WiSA technology in lower-priced products) rather than from a consumer one. 

Setup and inputs 

Getting the Platin Milan 5.1.4 Soundbar up and running isn’t much different than it is for other soundbars. You can place the main soundbar unit in front of your TV, or you can use the supplied brackets to install it beneath your wall-mounted big screen. The rear speakers can also be mounted–on the wall or on stands–using the rear threaded mounting holes. The non-directional subwoofer can be placed most anywhere in the room, although you might want to perform the “subwoofer crawl” to find the best spot for smooth, deep (but not boomy) low-frequency reproduction. 

The main soundbar unit, rear speakers, and subwoofer each come with their own power cords (so no, they’re not completely wireless), and it’s worth noting that the cords are only about six feet in length. After years of complaining about too-short power cords (which could constrain your speaker placement options), I eventually invested in extension cords, and you should, too. 

With the speakers placed, you then power up the main soundbar, then power on the rear speakers and the subwoofer; once on, the speakers should automatically connect to one another via the aforementioned WiSA tech. During my own setup process, the subwoofer took an extra minute or so to make its connection, but otherwise I didn’t experience any problems. 

While the Milan keeps its speakers connected via wireless connections, it still needs at least one wire to connect to your TV. For most folks, a single HDMI cable connected to the respective HDMI-eARC connectors on your TV and the soundbar will do the trick. If you have an older set, or want to connect another audio component with analog outputs, there’s also an optical/Toslink input, along with RCA-style jacks (coaxial digital; plus, left and right aux inputs), and a 3.5mm audio input. A USB-A port is reserved for installing firmware updates. 

Smart features, app, and other controls 

While the Milan’s WiSA transmitters and receivers create their own wireless network for speaker connectivity, it’s worth noting that the soundbar as a whole does not offer Wi-Fi support for home routers. On the plus side, that means no messing around with connecting the Milan to Wi-Fi (a process that’s sometimes a chore for other soundbars), but it also means no casting support for Apple’s AirPlay 2, Chromecast, or Spotify Connect.

That leaves Bluetooth 5.0 in terms of casting audio to the Milan, although as a nice bonus, that includes support for Qualcomm’s aptX codec, allowing for high-resolution audio quality. As an alternative, you could always connect a third-party music-streaming box with AirPlay and/or Chromecast support (like this one) via the optical or analog inputs. 

Besides Wi-Fi, another missing feature is a remote (I initially thought it was hidden in the packaging until double-checking the list of includes). Instead, remote control for the Milan relies mainly on your TV’s wand, assuming you have a modern TV that supports HDMI-CEC (any set purchased in the past 15 years or so almost certainly supports the standard). The remote for my LG C9 OLED TV seamlessly took charge of the Milan, as did the Siri Remote on my Apple TV 4K. 

Another option for controlling the Milan is the Platin Soundbar app, which connects to the soundbar via Bluetooth. The app offers a fairly comprehensive set of controls, allowing you to trim the volume for each audio channel (I dialed back the subwoofer channel a tad), tweaking the bass, treble, and mid-range levels, switching audio modes (Movie, Music, Stereo, Night, Auto, and Party modes are available), and even adjusting the speaker crossover (best left alone unless you know what you’re doing). There’s no automatic room correction, but the app does let you enter the distances between the speakers and the primary listening position, helpful in terms of fine-tuning the channel volume levels. 

Performance 

The Platin Milan 5.1.4 Soundbar delivers a mixed bag when it comes to audio performance, serving up relatively clear mid-range sound while pushing the center channel and low-frequency effects, the latter issue potentially a product of the smaller, low-profile subwoofer trying to punch above its weight.

Spinning up my UHD Blu-ray of Star Wars: The Empire Stikes Back, the little sub worked overtime to compensate for its smaller stature; during the Battle of Hoth sequence, for example, the subwoofer emitted an almost continual rumble, before heading into boomy territory as the massive feet of the Imperial Walkers plunked into the snow. Moving the subwoofer across the room and dialing back its volume level a few steps helped ameliorate the problem, but even after more experimenting, I never quite got the low frequencies under control. 

Dialogue was loud and clear—perhaps too loud, leading me to back off the center channel level. At the same time, height cues were almost non-existent; I could barely hear any height effects during the moment when an Imperial Walker’s raised foot was about to crush a prone Luke. After more fiddling with the levels—juicing the height channels a tad while dialing back the fronts and rears—the height cues became more apparent. 

After enough trimming of the speaker levels, the Platin Milan did manage to put me in the vaunted Dolby Atmos “bubble,” with the sound of dislodged ice crystals from the crushed ceiling of the Rebel base hissing convincingly above my head. Similarly, the quiet hum of the police drone from the UHD of Blade Runner 2049 realistically floated from above. But the deadly fight between K and Sapper Morton failed to impress, with the subwoofer sounding too rumbly while also lacking punch. 

For music (I used Apple Music piped through an Apple TV 4K, with the sound mode switched from Movie to Music), the sparse sounds of “The Ghost of Tom Joad” sounded clear and clean, with The Boss’s rich baritone balanced nicely with the warm, rising synthesizer. But Taylor Swift’s “Style” from 1989 (Taylor’s Version) in Dolby Atmos was more problematic, with the Platin Milan dishing out too-aggressive bass (even with the subwoofer level turned down) while the vocals sounded a bit flat. 

Now, the good news about the Platin Milan 5.1.4 Soundbar is that the Platin app offers a wide range of sonic adjustments, and with careful tweaking and precise subwoofer placement, you may be able to wring out pleasing audio from the soundbar when using it in a small listening space. But the Milan is not a plug-and-play soundbar, and its diminutive subwoofer will begin to strain in larger rooms. 

OK, but what about the Platin Milan’s WiSA DS technology? Well, it… worked, I suppose? As I mentioned previously, the Milan’s WiSA connection to the rear speakers and subwoofer appeared to work as advertised, but as a listener (as opposed to an engineer), it didn’t impress me as obviously superior to the wireless tech employed by other soundbar manufacturers.

Should you buy the Platin Milan 5.1.4 Soundbar? 

For all its cutting-edge tech, the Platin Milan 5.1.4 soundbar comes saddled with too many compromises given its $799 price point.  

We’re impressed that the Milan uses WiSA DS modules to deliver uncompressed audio to its satellite speakers via its own wireless network; yet, the soundbar itself can’t connect to a home Wi-Fi network. We like all the adjustments available in the Platin app, but there’s no included remote control. We love the aptX Bluetooth codec support, but we’re bummed by the lack of AirPlay 2, Chromecast, or any non-Bluetooth method of audio casting. 

Finally, we’re concerned by the amount of effort it takes to tease acceptable sound out of the Milan soundbar. Granted, every listing environment presents its own acoustic challenges, and even the most capable subwoofers can’t be plunked down just anywhere. But I found that the Platin Mlian 5.1.4 demanded much more tweaking than competing soundbars I’ve tested, and even then, I wasn’t entirely pleased with the results. 

While patient users may be able make the Platin Milan 5.1.4 soundbar work for them, I believe there are other, better options in this price range. The 5.1.4-channel Vizio P-Series Elevate packs quick a punch for roughly $800, and it offers Wi-Fi support and built-in Chromecast to boot. If you can live with just two upfiring drivers, the 5.1.2-channel Vizio M-Series M512a-H6 is still a good deal, while the $450 Sonos Beam delivers great all-in-one sound for smaller spaces, complete with AirPlay 2 and Sonos Trueplay room calibration. 

Best Prices Today: Platin Milan 5.1.4 Soundbar