Sonos is the first to admit it made a mistake. The PLAYBAR, its home entertainment-focused soundbar speaker, was an audio marvel back in 2013 when it was first announced, but the ergonomics didn't live up to the sound.

Big sound in a small package; Beautiful build quality; Easy setup; Sounds just as good with music as TV audio

Expensive; especially for a surround system; Won't work with non-IR remotes; No DTS or Dolby Atmos support

This is yet another great effort from Sonos, but the Playbase isn't the right home theater speaker for everyone.

Sounds fantastic with music; Extremely low profile; yet it can support up to a 75-pound TV; Can be expanded to a bona fide 5.1-channel surround-sound...

You'll need to add the $699 subwoofer to get chest-thumping bass in movie soundtracks; Supports Dolby Digital only; not DTS or any of the...

Update: Need a last-minute Valentine's Day gift for your favorite audiophile? Don't miss out on the Sonos Playbase - a great audio solution for folks looking to step up their audio game.

Excellent sound quality; Apartment-shaking bass; Works flawlessly with other Sonos products; Easy to set up and use

Optical-only connection; Virtual surround sounds artificial; TruePlay calibration for iOS only; Expensive

The Sonos Playbase is a pricey but powerful one-piece sound system. It stands well on its own, offering better bass response than single soundbars can generally produce, even if it lacks much power in the ultra-low frequencies.

Excellent overall audio performance; Large sound field with very good directional imaging for movies; Lots of streaming media options through the Sonos app; Can be expanded to a true 5.1-channel surround system

Lacks ultra-low frequency, subwoofer-like presence; Can only use other Sonos speakers for 5.1 setup; No Bluetooth

Just like the Playbar, it's an easy-but-expensive recommendation for people who want better sound than what their TV can do on its own. Just like the Playbar, the Playbase can instantly become part of your existing Sonos multi-room music setup.

Easy setup; Excellent; balanced sound; Makes a great music speaker; too

Expensive; Lacks DTS and HDMI connectivity; No mics for our voice assistant future

Had an older Bose system that we thought was great, let me say this along with the Sub Woofer is an amazing upgrade! Center channel is super clear and base is dramatic. Recently added rear speakers to complete the 5.1 surround sound and we couldn't be amazing

Musically the PlayBase is also a highly accomplished performer. Hi-Fi quality streaming from Tidal is dynamic, lustrous and tonally balanced. The drums during Jacko's Billie Jean are punchier than a series of jabs from Tyson Fury, whilst the trumpets during the Raiders of the Lost are sparkly and...

Great build quality; sound performance and is easy to set up

Lack of HDMI and no DTS decoding

Sonos gets 5 stars all over the place but it is a joke when it comes to 5.1. Neither the Base nor the Bar can handle DTS so if you want to watch a blu-ray you have purchased recently or even a few years ago, you get stereo only from most sources e.g.

Sonos Playbase : The big soundbase that delivers earth-shattering bass

Overall sound quality; Multi-room functionality

Price; Limited connectivity and no physical remote; Physical size

There are caveats of course. The Sonos ecosystem still cocks a snoot at Hi-Res Audio – 16 bit/44.1kHz is as good as it gets. It also takes a tough line when it comes to connectivity.