Let's face it: if you've bought one of the best OLED TVs you're someone who doesn't mind paying a little bit more to get the best possible experience. And that means you're probably willing to do the same when it comes to the best soundbars. So we can take it as a given that B&W's latest soundbar, the B&W Panorama 3, is quite expensive, but if you can afford it the spec suggests it'll be worth every penny of its £899 price.
As B&W puts it, this wireless Dolby Atmos soundbar is a "Dolby Atmos-enabled, Amazon Alexa-compatible, home theatre powerhouse". And the specs show that that isn't an empty marketing claim.
More drivers than the M25 at rush hour
Where most soundbars settle for a handful of drivers, the Panorama 3 has 13 individual drivers in a 3.1.2 setup with 400W of amplification backing them up. They're positioned to deliver an extraordinarily wide sound, and because they've been made for Dolby Atmos they deliver a tall soundstage too by bouncing audio off your ceiling. I've got Dolby Atmos kit at home and I'm still surprised by how good it is: when a show or movie is mixed with Atmos in mind it's an incredibly immersive experience that often makes me laugh in delight.
Connectivity here is really impressive: Bluetooth aptX Adaptive and AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, Alexa and Dolby True HD are all supported, and there's an HDMI eARC, TOSLink digital in and Ethernet; there's also a USB-C port but that's purely for service connections. At just 2.5 inches high it looks a lot smaller than it is.
I'm not going to pretend that I can afford this, or an OLED TV, just yet. But I've heard enough B&W kit to know that if I were in the market for a top-line OLED TV and soundbar setup, this would be very high on my list: as someone for whom music is as important as movie soundtracks, B&W's audio pedigree is a huge selling point for this soundbar.
Fancy an OLED TV upgrade to partner with the B&W Panorama 3? The LG C1 OLED is a 5-star set and today's best prices on it can be viewed below.
