The only other controls on the unit itself are a touch-sensitive play/pause button and two little touch-sensitive panels for volume control that flank it on the front of the top panel. You might actually find you’ll never touch these controls, because you can control everything from Sonos’ simple, exhaustive app. If you can find them, the Playbar should still be considered by those with very large rooms, and the Playbase remains the right choice in specific set-ups, but for most people and most rooms, the Beam is the best Sonos soundbar solution in terms of value for money. And what about the sound? Much bigger than you’d expect with a sound that’s wide and tall, and a performance that’s balanced across the frequency range, giving films, TV and music plenty or energy as well as describing them with a good amount of subtlety too. When you do get listening you’re going to be immediately impressed by the width and three-dimensionality of the sonic presentation, particularly if you’ve previously been listening to your telly’s own speakers.

Whichever Sonos TV speaker you choose, they are fantastic devices that will transform your TV’s sound and open your eyes and ears to better living room audio.

The Playbase’s mid-range frequencies are forward-sounding and listening to music on it is a pleasure. On the joyous 24K Magic: Bruno Mars album, songs burst with life and Bruno’s voice really shines through the six dedicated mid-range drivers. There is a wide range of BERG PlayBase accessories to choose from – though you can only use three at a time on the frame, you can buy as many as you like and keep the other parts in storage when they aren’t in use. At first, the collection only featured twelve pieces, but now there is a selection of eighteen different accessories, and BERG may release more in the future. Between the Playbar and the Playbase, Sonos says you should choose based purely on placement and that the sound is largely the same. But with the greatest respect, that’s not really the case. Sure, there are lots of similarities: both do a brilliant job of creating a wide, spacious sound stage that will easily fill most rooms and transform the audio experience for anyone who’s used to their flatscreen’s own speakers.

I want to ask that if I can use this cable for reverse use like taking HDMI ARC input at one end of this “Sonos Optical Audio Adapter” and plugging other end to SONOS play base.But don’t discount the other two soundbars. The Playbase and Playbar both sound even better than Beam, and are just as easy to integrate into your home cinema system. Now, you should note that the Playbase only supports the 2.4GHz band so don’t be worried if you can’t find your 5GHz network. Sonos did this deliberately for a more reliable connection with better range. The Beam is much more suitable for the job of sitting on a shelf, because its audio drivers face forward for a more direct sound. Also, it fits much more flush against the wall than the Playbar if you do decide to wall-mount in future.

It’s not vital that the TV outputs Dolby Digital as a bitstream as the PlayBase can handle the default PCM signal, but the results are noticeably better when Dolby Digital is used. Another option is to use a third-party HDMI-to-optical converter such as this Flexson.All four models are worth considering but if you're after the most complete surround-sound experience the Dolby Atmos-capable Arc is the obvious choice. Only the Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbaris better in this regard, and that costs significantly more. Verdict Provide an inclusive service of good quality educational resources through an affordable membership fee structure

Protect the power cable from being walked on or pinched, particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point where they exit from the apparatus. The Playbase is an example of that oddest of AV products – the soundbase. In effect, it’s a soundbar upon which you place your television that acts as a speaker. Sonos Playbase review: What you need to know The only significant gap in the Sonos arsenal is high-res music, which the company resolutely doesn’t support. The argument is that hi-res stuff is still too variable in sound quality, which is a good point, but with MQA finally gaining some traction it would be good to one day see it supported.only network configurations are not supported—you can either change the router settings to 802.11b/g/n or connect a Sonos product to your router.