[shawntp]

I used to geek out on my Hi-Fi system and constantly couldnt decide if I wanted a HiFi stereo or theater in my living room. I started from a so-so set of Bose L/R smallish speakers just for the TV to several different options over the years and this Panorama is the first thing that really interested me in terms of a true all-in-one.

I am a minimalist (I live in a condo in a midrise, do not have lots of space or belongings) and generally just admire simpler solutions so I understand this type of thing isn't for everyone. I think this is why I have always found headphones intriguing.

I currently have several B&W M1's in a 5.1 setup with a cheap B&W sub through a marantz receiver. Its sufficient but not the greatest - its not great in terms of dynamic range, imaging, or size if sound but its clear/tight home theater sound. The surround gets lost as most of the living area is on big great room that is the kitchen/den/dining/and living area.

I auditioned the Panorama this week and it really sounded amazing. Its large sounding, tight, and focused. I can not say if it really recreates surround but it did recreate a wonderful theatrical feel and experience. When the guy flipped it on at the store that had lots of high end gear several people walked over and were amazed. I did not have any material to try it out for music but this is the only sound bar I have ever heard that just blew me away and had amazing tight bass and width.

The down side is its really expensive at $2300 which I think is the only reason it received a couple luke-warm reviews but the cost is relative to your bank account and needs. My condo is wired up for 5.1 (in wall albeit in what I feel are poor location choices) so I have felt somewhat tethered. I am really thinking about dumping it all and just going the Panorama to provide a living room experience that I do not get from my cans for my critical listening.

Anyone else try this out/own it/or have experiences to share?

 

[hockeyb213]

It is a extremely appealing device if you are tight on space or don't wanna stuff a room with a hifi speaker setup. But having b&w's top loudspeakers I have never taken the time to demo a panorama for myself

.

 

[tim3320070]

The bigger Yamaha bar has gotten very good reviews and is much less money. It has 22 drivers or something.

 

[sahwnfras]

The Panorama is the best surround bar on the market. Full rich sound, and real bass from a bar. You could easily have this in a bedroom or something with no sub, and still have great sound.

As for the Yamaha, i have heard it and was not that impressed. I would rather have one real driver than 10 tiny ones. It may do the surround part a bit better than the B&W, but its a surround bar so what do you really expect.

 

[koven]

i heard the b&w soundbar and it does sound really great

 

[shawntp]

I think I am going to pick one up after the new year and give it a try. I will have to shop around and see if I can get a little bit of a discount. I had read reviews/opinions prior to auditioning and the only thing I can see that people might not like is that it is very expensive for a soundbar and it doesnt really create surround sound. It does create a very wide and very large theatrical sound experience though which is enough for me. I am hoping its a great music system too - I will probably have to audition it again with some of my own CD's.

 

[shawntp]

I went ahead and ordered as a replacement "living room" system in my 1200 sq/ft condo.

My place came pre-wired for surround and I currently had the B&W M-1's installed. I really have grown to detest the 5.1 system though, the speakers sounded small and narrow doe to poor placement of the pre-wired access points. The L/R's are up high on the front wall and the surrounds are right overtop of the couch. It comes of as just sounding like a bunch of randomly placed articulate speakers creating an undersized and narrow sound image. Its sad the the wiring was professionally installed but I guess in a condo (that has a common area for living/dining/den/galley) its hard to really have a set vision of ideal living room layout.

Anyways - I auditioned the panorama against the M1's and the panorama is just a huge wall of sound. Its tight, wide, and has the perfect amount of bass for me. I am covering the 5.1 wire points with outlet wall plates and retiring surround for the next owner at some point.

The panorama is a minimalists dream. I find surround to be more and more of a gimmick. Like 3d movies - its cool for a scene or two where you really notice it but I quickly forget about it and could care less if its there or not. Just give me a big theatrical experience and I am happy.

I will update once it arrives and is installed.

 

[Bibicel]

I received it 2 month ago. My choice was due to the same space-sparing demands. I listen to music much more often since! Punchy and impacting sound, but very deep bass needs an added woofer (a Yamaha one in my case). Personally I dislike the stereo and stereo-wide options, which give me the impression that music is somewhere far away and powerless, with the singer behind a wooden wall. Maybe is just because of the obvious contrast with the surround mode, which is way better. I do not miss a 5.1 system, as I am increasingly considering them confusing from the music listener's point of view. We have just 2 ears, not 5, isn't it. Movies sound very good also, when you do not need to be startled by sudden noises from behind.
These said, I do not pretend to have an audiophile and highly educated pair of ears, looks and quality minimalist design have weighted a lot in my choice.
I am using it with a Philips Aurea LCD, Philips BDP9100 Blue Ray player and Yamaha sub.