B&W Panorama 3 Dolby Atmos spatial audio soundbar
The Panorama 3 – named, like its two predecessors, in tribute to two iconic film technologies from the golden age of cinema (Panavision and Cinerama) stands 65mm high, 140mm deep and 1,210mm wide – its low profile designed to make it easy to install, setup and live with. It features 13 individual drive units arranged in a 3.1.2 configuration and is the first B&W soundbar to feature true Dolby Atmos upwards-firing drive units. Specifically engineered by the company to deal with spatial audio soundtracks and angled at the top to deliver optimal immersion, the 50mm drive units are accompanied by a Dolby Atmos decoder and processor to deliver spatial audio soundtracks on music, TV, film and game streams. The decoder also handles Dolby Digital and Dolby TrueHD audio streams.
The twin Atmos upwards-firing drive units complement the Panorama 3’s forward-firing array of drive units, arranged in a left, centre, right (LCR) configuration, each with twin 50mm midrange drivers partnered by fully decoupled 19mm titanium-dome tweeters. Finally, there are twin 100mm subwoofers mounted in a substantial acoustic volume that forms the majority portion of the enclosure with the aim of ensuring deep, extended bass without need for an external subwoofer. It boasts a total of 400W of output: 40W to each tweeter, 40W to each pair of midrange drive units, 40W to each subwoofer and 40W to each Dolby Atmos Elevation drive unit.
A metal wall bracket is included for if you prefer to mount your soundbar on the wall rather than in front of the TV, while an ARC/eARC HDMI connection links the Panorama 3 to your TV and shares the sound from any other sources you may also have, such as a set-top box or games console. Once connected via HDMI, you can use your TV or satellite/cable box remote to control the Panorama 3’s volume and power functions. An optical digital input is also provided for older TVs.
Panorama 3 also includes capacitive-touch ‘hidden until lit’ buttons on its top surface for instant control and features built-in Alexa, allowing voice control over your listening.
Available to buy now for £900, you can find out more about the B&W Panorama 3 here.
Inside this month's issue:
Pro-Ject Debut EVO 2 turntable, Advance Paris sub-£500 X-i50 BT integrated amp, DALI's stunning Rubikore standmount loudspeakers, Triangle Capella wireless active speakers, EAT's Fortissimo turntable with F-Note tonearm, our headphone Group Test and much, much more... |