Create 5.1 surround sound with the Sonos Home Cinema
At Smart Home Sounds, the Sonos TV speakers are our favourite Sonos wireless speakers.
Not only are they fantastic standalone wireless smart speakers, but they also provide epic sound for your movies, TV shows and video games.
With the addition of the Sonos Beam to the family, there are now a total of 3 options for your TV set up.
No space for a Sonos Playbar but still want legendary sound for your movies? Go for the Beam.
Want the widest soundstage possible with the option to wall mount? Go for the Playbar. All of these products are also your first step in creating your own Sonos wireless home theatre system.
With the Playbar, Playbase or Beam in place, you can wirelessly add a Sub and surround speakers at your own pace to bring the cinema experience to your very own living room.
The common problem...
My TV sound does not live up to my TV’s picture quality!
The latest TVs offer jaw-dropping picture quality, and with Sky Q now offering 4K content, the picture quality is being taken to a new level of detail. Not only do the current TVs offer a stunning picture, but their design is also improving, becoming thinner and sleeker with every model refresh.
The downside to these thinner TV models is that the audio is becoming compromised. It’s physically impossible to fit a full range speaker into these sleek, thin designs. So, while picture quality and design are moving forward, the sound quality is unfortunately suffering. This is another reason why soundbars are seeing massive growth in the market.
I’m looking to improve my TV audio but also want a fantastic music player that connects to other speakers in my home
The Sonos Playbar is a fantastic standalone smart speaker. Its nine integrated speakers are spread over the Playbar’s 900mm length. This ultimately provides the listener with a dynamic, wide soundstage.
Six midrange speakers and three tweeters keep the audio crystal clear with plenty of controlled bass when required. The Playbar also has an automatic equalisation system that self-adjusts for a rich, seamless result.
Read our full review of the Playbar
VIEW SONOS PLAYBAR (£699)
The Sonos Playbase is the second option for TV audio.
If space is at a premium and you do not intend to wall-mount a Soundbar, the Playbase is a very neat option. Stand your TV on top of it or slide the Playbase underneath for a very aesthetically-pleasing finish.
It packs ten speakers inside its slim shape, while still maintaining the same award-winning high sound quality of the Playbar. However, the Playbar is thought to offer a slightly wider soundstage due to its wider dimensions.
VIEW SONOS PLAYBASE (£699)
Sonos Beam - the latest, smartest soundbar in the sonos range
The Sonos Beam offers customers a slightly cheaper alternative to the Playbar or Playbase.
Being a more compact unit, it can fit into smaller TV set ups but can also be wall mounted. Don't be fooled by its smaller size as it packs an incredible punch and fills the room with all-round immersive audio thanks to its outwardly facing speakers at the edge of the unit.
In contrast to the Playbar or Playbase, the Beam has 2 voice assistants built-in, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, meaning you can voice control your TV, an excellent solution to modern remote controls.
VIEW Sonos Beam (£399)
What music can I play on the Sonos PLAYBAR, Playbase or Beam?
The Sonos tagline is “All the music on Earth”, and you are certainly spoilt for choice when it comes to playing music on the Sonos Playbar or Playbase.
You can choose to play your local radio stations or any station in the world with the built-in TuneIn service.
If you subscribe or are interested in music services, the list of music streaming services on Sonos keeps growing. Some big names you’ll recognise right away: Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music etc. Others may be less familiar, but still worth exploring.
It’s also possible to play from your personal collection of music downloads from a NAS drive (Network-attached Storage).
Home Cinema Sound In 3 Simple Steps
Step 1. Set up & start with a sonos tv speaker
The Sonos Beam, Playbar and Playbase are all straightforward to set up. A single optical cable connects from your TV to the soundbar or in the Beam's case an HDMI-ARC. Once connected, download the free Sonos app and follow the step-by-step instructions.
Soundstage achieved - 3.0
Hear the full range of sound effects and music from the left and right channels and crisp, clear dialogue from the centre.
VIEW Sonos TV Speakers
Step 2. Add Sonos SUB (wirelessly)
Nothing completes movie watching or audio listening than powerful, detailed bass. Hear every explosion, crash and rumble exactly as the director intended.
The Sonos Sub is added to any Sonos TV speaker and is incredibly easy to set up from the Sonos app. Simply click “Add Speaker” in the Sonos app settings and follow the simple steps.
Install tip - During Sub set up, it is possible to choose a bass level that suits your environment and listening preference.
Soundstage achieved - 3.1
Front left, right & centre channels are achieved from the front TV speaker with the .1 achieved from the Sonos Sub.
Is the Sonos Sub truly worth it?
VIEW SONOS SUB (£699)
Step 3. Add 2 x Sonos One or One SLs as surround speakers (Wirelessly)
Adding two rear surround speakers completes the total immersive surround sound system. Either add a pair of Sonos Ones, One SLs or PLAY:5s to your Playbar / Playbase / Beam and Sub – and suddenly you’re right in the centre of the action with vivid, dynamic sound coming from every direction.
Install tip - During the rear speaker set up, it is possible to choose the level of volume the surround sound channels will produce.
Soundstage achieved - 5.1
Front left, right & centre channels achieved from the Playbar, Playbase or Beam with the .1 achieved from the Sonos Sub. Finally, the rear left and right surround channels complete the 5.1 channel surround sound.
VIEW Sonos One BUNDLE (£398)
Finally…
Following the above three steps will give your home a fantastic sounding wireless home theatre experience for movies, music and video games, but don’t just take our word for it...
"The sound and music are 50% of the entertainment in a movie."
George Lucas
VIEW Sonos Home Cinema Bundles
Additional SONOS TV SPEAKER Features
Night Sound
For late night viewing, ‘Night Sound’ dynamically compresses the audio to avoid any bangs and crashes that could wake the family, while making quieter sounds more audible & clear.
Speech Enhancement
Boost the frequency range of the human voice, so you never miss those essential moments of dialogue.
TV Autoplay
This is a great function that will switch your TV Speaker input to TV sound automatically when it senses audio from your TV. With auto-sensing switched on, as soon as the TV is powered up, the Sonos system will switch automatically from its previous music mode to TV mode in the background.
IR Control
When setting up your Sonos TV speaker, you will be asked if you want to use an existing remote to control your device volume. This is something that you should implement, as it can be very annoying if you have to get your iPhone or iPad out every time you just want to adjust the TV volume.
When following the Sonos setup, it will ask you to point your desired remote at the device and press volume up and down - this enables it to learn the IR code. Most people use their TV or Sky/Virgin remote as their main option. It also controls music volume as well as TV.
By Jonathan,
Sonos specialist
Learn More
Sonos Beam vs Playbar vs Playbase >>
A Complete Beginners Guide to Sonos Speakers >>
ABOUT SMART HOME SOUNDS
Smart Home Sounds is a UK Sonos specialist dedicated to filling homes with the joy of music, one room at a time!
We provide expert advice on the full Sonos range, from the voice controlled Sonos One to a Sonos wireless home cinema system with PLAYBAR, SUB, and 2 x Ones all with free next day delivery and a 6 year extended warranty.
