It has been a while since a Matsushita brand has released a noteworthy product in the home theater receiver category (anyone remember Technics?), but that's about to change with the introduction of Panasonic's SA-BX500 AV Control Receiver. It's their first receiver to offer High Bit Rate (HBR) decoding of the newest surround sound formats from Dolby and DTS, and it features a unique bi-amplification option for purist audiophiles to wring the highest performance out of their speakers.
At a press event in New York yesterday, Panasonic reps demonstrated the new receiver along with their SB-TP1000 Home Theater Speaker System, with a variety of sources including stereo CD, 5.1 channel Dolby TrueHD (Blu-ray) and 7.1-channel DTS-HD Master Audio (Blu-ray). The system sounded surprisingly good, particularly in pure stereo mode, creating a stable solid soundstage with real depth and breadth and excellent dynamic range.
The trick, at least for stereo sources, is in Panasonic's proprietary Bi-Amp mode. If your speakers support direct connections to both the high frequency and low frequency drivers, the SA-BX500 will automatically detect stereo (2-channel) source material, and will reroute the unused rear channel amplification to the front speakers, allowing you to drive the low and high frequencies independently, each with 130 Watts/Channel. This can really open up the soundstage, providing greater depth and transparency in the sound.
For multi-channel sources, the BX500 offers HDMI 1.3a-compatible HDMI audio decoding, with support for PCM, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD, DTS, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and DTS-HD Master Audio. If you're limited by your listening environment to only five speakers, but you still want to reap the benefits of 7.1-channel surround, the BX500 can create virtual rear channel or virtual side channel speakers using proprietary 7.1ch Virtual Surround technology. Of course, the receiver also features support for true 7.1-channel mode, with all seven channels driven at 130 Watts/Channel An optional wireless kit (SH-FX67) allows you to add wireless speakers, either to the surround speakers or to a separate room
In the video department, the receiver supports HDMI 1.3a features such as DeepColor and x.v.color via its three HDMI inputs. HDMI video support is pass-through only - there is no transcoding of analog signals to digital nor upconverting from standard definition to high definition. So you'll want to use this with a display that has its own high quality upconversion capabilities or an external video processor.
The SA-BX500 will be available in October for a suggested list price of $799.95.
More information: www.panasonic.com
