A love of music is a love of music, no matter what the delivery system. The remote control is a bit of a disappointment. Anyone casually walking into the room and hearing the Panorama 2 would be impressed at its clarity, volume, and dynamics; it's clearly a cut above soundbars with a three-digit price tag. From the throaty revs of the mighty V8 engines to exploding glass, the Panorama 2 rendered it all brilliantly and without hesitation. My Dish Network DVR ran into the Co-Star and then the Co-Star into the Panorama 2, as that is how GoogleTV works, so technically I had an HDMI connection left open for, say, a gaming console or other source component if need be. Customers also viewed these products. Recently, Jamie ran the consumer electronics and mobile teams at PCMag, and before that, he was the Editor-in-Chief of Smart Device Central, PCMag's dedicated smartphone site, for its entire three-year run from 2006 to 2009. Ben1122. Few soundbars feature HDMI connectivity and few offer the type of robust, dare I say true, audiophile sound the Panorama 2 provides. No, the company is bringing decades of knowledge and research in ways few others can and the results more than speak for themselves. Lastly, the battery cover on the back of the remote is garbage and is prone to falling out of place, which is something I've noted on all Bowers & Wilkins products that use this same remote design. Whether or not you wholly agree, the fact remains that when the competition wants to see how their products compare to other real-world solutions, they often compare themselves to Bowers & Wilkins. It's not that the GUI is flashy or even particularly sexy, but it gets the job done and showcases the Panorama 2's ultimate flexibility. Worse, it's tough to tell if it's upside down when you pick it up without looking, unless you feel around for the little indentation on the back; I tried muting the sound once and accidentally turned the Panorama 2 off. All of the cables were from Monoprice, though they varied in length from one to three meters. But the Panorama 2 is aimed at the listener who wants the best sound possible in a single, beautiful box, and doesn't have the room (or the aesthetic tolerance) for separate components. If you click an affiliate link and buy a product or service, we may be paid a fee by that merchant. The sound was large and room-filling, easily breaking free of the speaker and at times the room's physical boundaries, again, in PLII mode. Explore more reviews in our HDTV Review section. With music, the Panorama 2 was also a mixed bag. Sometimes, dialog from the movie sounded smooth and natural, with excellent dispersion. Again, dialog was clear and focused. Sound United Acquires Classé Audio from B&W, Epson Home Cinema 2045 LCD Projector Reviewed, How to Pick the Right Amp for Your Speakers (or Vice Versa), Bowers & Wilkins Panorama Soundbar Speaker Reviewed, Bowers & Wilkins (Mini Theater) MT-50 System. It also houses two three-inch midrange drivers, as well as four three-inch surround sound drivers or "channels" mated to a single center-mounted one-inch metal dome tweeter. Unfortunately, there's no support for AirPlay or Bluetooth wireless streaming, so you can't use the soundbar as a straight wireless stereo system for your iPhone or Android smartphone, at least without plugging in a wire. Ben1122. It is motion-activated and touch-sensitive, granting you control over input, volume, power, etc. Sound is "filtered" through a sophisticated DSP which, along with surround sound-like performance from a single speaker (the Panorama 2), is responsible for decoding Dolby Digital, Dolby PLII, DTS and stereo soundtracks. Highs: Sophisticated, potent sound; jaw-dropping build quality and design; three HDMI inputs Lows: No wireless music streaming or USB; expensive; HD audio decoding not built-in; no dedicated subwoofer. Read about the performance of the B&W Panorama 2 on Page 2. But there's also an overly prominent midrange, with too much low-mid emphasis that makes a mess of electric guitars, sending them too far forward in Rage Against the Machine's "Fistful of Steel." And it's quite a bit wider and deeper, too, by at least several inches. See all our soundbar reviews Follow whathifi.com on Twitter Bowers & Wilkins packages two sets of four screw-on feet in the box; the sets are of different heights, and help you get just the right placement. While the Panorama 2 may be the luxury king among soundbars, it has rightfully earned that reputation and not just because it costs (arguably) the most. Your subscription has been confirmed. Putting the Panorama 2 in stereo mode helps considerably, of course, but the midrange emphasis is still there. As with an AV receiver, you have to tell the Panorama 2 what it's working with, beginning with your distance from it and the makeup of your room, as well as whether or not it is wall- or table-mounted, as all of these factors play a huge role in how the Panorama 2 will ultimately sound. Design, Connectivity, and RemoteThe Panorama 2 is beautifully crafted, with a gently curved outer enclosure that has no seams. Is the Popularity of Soundbars Good or Bad for the Audio Industry? Performance and ConclusionsThe Panorama 2 supports Dolby Digital and DTS surround encoding, and also features an all-new array of tweeters, midrange, and low-frequency drivers. The display doesn't help all that much, though; while it features touch capacitive buttons for Volume, Surround Mode, and Mute, and features a hardware Power button below, there's no visible volume indicator. I began my evaluation of the Panorama 2 with some two-channel music by way of Ed Sheeran's "The A Team" off his album + (Atlantic). Not only did the Panorama 2 get the orchestral moments right, it impressed me even more with the subtle, ambient environmental cues like the snow blowing across the surface of the ice.