The Sonos Playbar is cleverly designed and does great fake surround, but it's better suited to current Sonos customers than newcomers.

The Sonos Playbar integrates the company's best-in-class digital music software into a thoughtfully designed sound bar; It's dead simple to set up and works seamlessly with other Sonos products, and can even be expanded to a true wireless 5.1 system by adding the Sonos Sub and two Play:3 speakers.

The Playbar's heavily processed sound won't please purists; It's also expensive and there are considerably better-sounding alternatives in its price range; Many buyers would be fine with cheaper AirPlay or Bluetooth alternatives.

The Sonos Playbar is a lounge-unifying device that will let you dump your remote controls and your old hi-fi in the bin. For everything but the most crashing of movie soundtracks the Sonos Playbar sounds great too, with excellent clarity and an expansive soundstage. If you want to get Atmos into your Sonos system, the Arc is better suited.

Fantastic design and build quality; High-detail, wide and engaging sound; Easy streaming from Spotify and suchlike; No HDMI;

Creating a 5.1 system is expensive;

Sonos perfected multiroom digital music for the home. It wasn't the first company to take on the task, but Sonos' system is so easy to use and undeniably superior that it's easy to recommend, even at a premium price.

The Sonos Playbar is cleverly designed and does great fake surround, but it's better suited to current Sonos customers than newcomers.

The Sonos Playbar integrates the company's best-in-class digital music software into a thoughtfully designed sound bar; It's dead simple to set up and works seamlessly with other Sonos products, and can even be expanded to a true wireless 5.1 system by adding the Sonos Sub and two Play:3 speakers; The Playbar itself also does an excellent job with virtual surround effects, making it sound like you have more speakers than you actually do.

The Playbar's heavily processed sound won't please purists; It's also expensive and there are considerably better-sounding alternatives in its price range; Many buyers would be fine with cheaper AirPlay or Bluetooth alternatives.

Sonos, perhaps the most established and recognizable name in wireless home audio, has unveiled its first soundbar speaker—and it's a solid performer. The Sonos Playbar ($699 direct) delivers powerful digital surround sound with its included optical cable, and "wirelessly streams all the music on earth," as the company puts it, using a free companion mobile app. It's more complicated than that, as it turns out, and the system's highly processed audio, while good for movies, isn't for purists. If those caveats are fine with you, the Playbar is a sweet addition to any compact home theater setup, but even then, its high price may give you pause. Design, Setup, and ConnectivityMeasuring 3.35 by 35.43 by 5.51 inches (HWD), the Playbar($748.00 at Amazon) weighs 11.9 pounds. It's made entirely of plastic, but it's finely crafted, with a smooth cloth grille that wraps around the rolled edges, and dark gray plastic accents along the bottom, back panel, and sides. The left side houses a pai...

The Sonos Playbar delivers impressive volume levels and its companion mobile app is very well designed, but this slick soundbar comes with some compromises.

Smooth overall sound quality; Surprisingly effective low-end response given the lack of a subwoofer; Flexible wireless streaming; Doesn't distort on deep bass at high volumes

Requires wired Ethernet unless you already have a Sonos Bridge; No hardware remote control; Highly processed sound isn't for purists

This is a speaker that produces absolutely wonderful sound! Top shelf performance!

Best product and brand an amazing ambiance of sound surround in the house.

Very good impressed

Very good sound for a single unit, works well with the great TV that i perched from you. The service from the staff was very helpful,even when I had a coupleof problems.

Throbs with Sonos quality; Massive music selection; Superior to built-in TV speakers;

Optical connection, not HDMI; Expanding the system is pricey;