Panasonic SC-HTB900EBK Premium Soundbar with Dolby Atmos & Chromecast - Tuned by Technics

My original soundbase developed a distortion so had to remove and revert to standard TV sound until a replacement soundbar was found. Until then we became used to the basic, unclear, flat and limited sound range of the TV. Eventually we chose the Panasonic HTB600 and we are very pleased with the choice. From first switching on the soundbar, the improvement over the TV sound is huge.I used the HDMI ARC connection that allows the TV to switch on the soundbar and control the volume. After setting up we do not use the supplied remote control, which is small but for me that is a good thing because it can be easily stored or hidden away because we do not need to use it.The wireless sub-woofer is situated behind our sofa and just comes out of standby when the TV is switched on. The bass level can be adjusted to suit your ears, ours is on maximum !Now the sound, my original sound base was boomy. The standard TV sound was flat. This Panasonic HTB600 is incredible. Watching a programe with just dialogue, the sound is quite tame although voices are considerably clearer and you wonder if the sub-woofer is working. Watch a TV drama or movie with suspensful music or sound effects and the beast of the sub-woofer comes alive adding an extra dimension to the soundtrack filling the room with low-level bass that appears to come from the TV. The bass is subtle but it is amazing the difference it makes to the viewing experience. It is used with the basic dolby sound, not interested in any of the hi-tech sound sources. Works okay as a bluetooth music speaker although with it set-up for TV sound and the extra bass it is just okay. I can't be bothered to alter the settings by reducing the bass to improve music, I'll continue with my existing hi-fi system for music.Really pleased with this sound-bar.

Bought this as our old soundbar died. It was very easy to set up. The sound is quite good and does the job for our lounge. No real distortion. The soundbar turns itself off after a while, just need to try and change this when we can be bothered as it's a bit annoying. The remote is fiddly and very small, and we lost it down the sofa a few times, but now put the sound on the sky remote! For the price it does a good job.

Positives: Build quality is up to the usual high standard you would expect from Panasonic. Sound quality is absolutely stunning!! It’s not 5.1 or 7.1 surround but it does a cracking job at hugely beefing up your viewing experience with good separation and deep grumbling bass. Coupled with my Atmos compatible Pana TV and watching Netflix atmos content it really sounds superb. Subwoofer just connects via wireless Bluetooth automatically so very simple and then a couple of HDMI cables from SkyQ HDR and then into my HDMI Arc socket on the TV (I upgraded to 2.1 compatible cables as well) to get up and running. Guess it helps that my TV is a Panasonic as well so they ‘talk’ to each other easily. Take time to read the manual to get the sound you personally like (it’ll be worth it). The dot matrix display through the soundbar can be turned on or off if you don’t like it glaring at you. The manual tells you to lay the subwoofer on its side horizontally however I found that behind the TV stood vertically and pointed into the corner (about 8” away from the corner) gives a cracking bass response and far better than laid down.Negatives: The remote control is the small card style and ok at best and you have to point it at exactly the right place (dead central) to get it to work - however as my TV is a Pana I now use my TV remote to control the soundbar (after making my personal sound adjustments on the original remote it is in a drawer out of the way now) - come on Pana you can do better than this with the remote! It would also have been nice to have an on-screen display which would have offset the disappointment of the supplied remote.Overall a cracking Dolby Atmos soundbar that has taken our viewing experience to a different level! If you are considering this item and hesitating... just go for it you won’t be disappointed!!

The clarity from this bar is excellent, with very clear vocals on movies - even when people are whispering, you can hear them with no issues.The subwoofer is very powerful, even on the lower settings you can feel it vibrating the room. I can't imagine the neighbours will be pleased.However, I do feel this bar is overpriced. Ultimately it's a 2.1 configuration, just three speakers. The virtual Amos support is OK, and there is a light surround effect, but not really something that justifies the price bump over the HTB490EBK.In retrospect, the cheaper model would've been fine for me.Don't buy this bar if you want a strong surround effect. Better to spend more and get something with separate satellite speakers that can be placed to the side or behind. Even better if they have upwards firing speaker components for better virtual 3d effect.I'll keep this as the sound quality is good (and I'm too lazy to repack it all and send it back!).

Easy to put together and install. Pre-setup to work straight out of the box including wireless linked to subwoofer. Setup adjustments clear to follow. Once done whole thing works from TV handset. Sound quality very good and surround effect clear. Model 600 matched TV 600 perfectly. Was discounted so very very good value for money.