B&W
First B&W Atmos Soundbar
B
owers & Wilkins’ new stateof-the-art soundbar, the Panorama 3, is the first B&W soundbar to feature true Dolby Atmos upwards-firing drive units, driven by a sophisticated Dolby Atmos decoder and processor to deliver great sound from the spatial audio soundtracks on TV, film, game and music streams. The decoder will also handle Dolby Digital and Dolby TrueHD audio streams. The Panorama 3 builds on the heritage of its two forebears — the original Panorama from 2013 and also from the newer Panorama 2, which added HDMI and improved speaker technologies. Despite its size (65mm high, 140mm deep and 1210mm wide) the Panorama 3 has 13 individual drive units arranged in a 3.1.2 configuration, resulting in a rich and powerful sound no one-box rival can match that delivers powerful, room-filling sound with films, TV and games from just one elegant, ultra-low-profile and easyto-use component. “The new Panorama 3 delivers the latest in immersive spatial audio and is an all-in-one solution offering outstanding, room-filling sound with films, TV shows, games and your favourite music via Bluetooth, Apple AirPlay2 or HDMI,” says John Martin of B&W Australia.
The twin 50mm Atmos upwards-firing drive units complement the Panorama 3’s forward-firing drive units, which are arranged in a classic left, centre, right (LCR) configuration, each with twin 50mm midrange drivers partnered by fully decoupled 19mm titanium-dome tweeters. Twin 100mm bass drivers are provided to ensure, says B&W, “such deep, extended bass that there is no need for an external subwoofer.” Total amplifier power is 400-watts, which B&W says makes it one of the most powerful soundbars in its class. Installation and set-up is easy with the B&W Panorama 3 thanks to its low profile; that it comes standard with a metal wall bracket and the fact that just one ARC/eARC HDMI connection is all you need to link it to your TV and to share the sound from any other sources you may also have, such as a set-top-box or a games console. AirPlay 2 and aptX Adaptive Bluetooth means iOS and Android users are easily able to stream their favourite music to the Panorama 3 from their mobile devices and Spotify fans can enjoy the convenience of Spotify Connect. The Panorama 3 also supports Bowers & Wilkins’ Music App, giving listeners instant access to streaming
services including Deezer, Last.fm, Qobuz, Soundcloud, Tidal and TuneIn. The Panorama 3 has ‘hidden until lit’ capacitive-touch buttons on its top surface for instant control should you not have your phone immediately to hand plus Alexa is also built in to enable voice control (but can be disabled if you prefer). Although it currently does not have a multi-room capability, B&W says it plans to offer this facility via a software update sometime in the near future. It will then be compatible both with other Panoramas and other Zeppelins in a multi-room environment as well as products from Bowers & Wilkins’ Formation Series. “The new Panorama 3, our first Dolby Atmos soundbar, combines all the performance and pedigree of a Bowers & Wilkins product with the best in elegant design and effortless usability,” says Stephanie Willems, of B&W. “Sleek, smart, easy to install and thrilling to listen to, I am sure our fans will love its classleading combination of room-filling sound and comprehensive features so they can finally experience all the movies, TV shows and music they love as they were meant to be heard.” The Panorama 3 will be available in Australia in May. Price: $1,599
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