Movie and TV audio for music lovers: that's how Sonos describes its new PLAYBAR, the first product from the whole-home audio company to tackle sound that comes with moving pictures, rather than audio for its own sake.

Can be integrated into a Sonos whole-home audio system; very good sound with both movies and music; versatile setup options; just two wires: TOSlink and power

Can be integrated into a Sonos whole-home audio system; very good sound with both movies and music; versatile setup options; just two wires: TOSlink and power

Not a surround-sound system; lacks in-your-face bass response; doesn't support Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio

Sound bars don't immediately benefit from Wi-Fi connectivity the way music systems do, because you usually use them with your TV, and your TV isn't something you need to put in your pocket and walk around with.

Sonos has never been that easy to explain to newcomers, even as the company has tried to simplify its message. A distributed audio setup that streams to any room in your house? A wireless streaming system that plugs into everything from Pandora to iTunes on your home computer? Wireless Hi-Fi?

Ease of setup and use; Offers true wireless 5.1; Fantastic sound for movies and TV

No 3.5mm input; Apps feel clunky; Over-reliant on optical audio; Not ideal for music listening

The Playbar has its charms. It's well-designed and innovative, with great virtual surround effects that you can't get elsewhere without spending more. Sonos also has delivered on truly painless set-up for both the sound bar and its digital music software, which is no small feat.

Integrates best-in-class digital music software into a well designed sound bar; Simple to set up; Works seamlessly with other Sonos products; Can even be expanded to a wireless 5.1 system

The Playbar's heavily processed sound won't please purists; Expensive

The Sonos multi-room audio system had been limited to audio until now. You could play music from your NAS, computer, radio and online streaming services. The user-friendly nature and the good sound quality have made Sonos a popular brand, and with the introduction of the Playbar Sonos is now...

This isn't a soundbar, this is a Sonos soundbar, and it's really rather awesome

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

Optical connection; not HDMI; Expanding the system is pricey

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

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

Today's TVs have benefited from huge advances in engineering and manufacture, and they look amazing. But they only look amazing; in most cases, the sound they produce is as flat and as thin as the panel itself.

As sound bars go there have been a lot of attempts by vendors to deliver a knockout product that hooks up to a big screen TV in an effort to improve audio output, but no one has delivered a wireless soundbar as impressive as the new Sonos Playbar.

Excellent sound; modular system; looks fantastic; easy install

No HDMI out; solely optical