Arcam and B&W's latest high-power home theaters

Philip Wong | May 29, 2009

B&W XT8.
(Credit: Bowers and Wilkins)

Are you still looking for an articulated home theater system with refined musicality and the dexterity to resolve high-resolution Blu-ray soundtracks? The Bowers and Wilkins (B&W) XT8-series loudspeakers and Arcam AVR600 A/V receiver may be the talented UK duet up for the job. Despite its slim silhouette, the B&W XT8 is a cut above most floorstanders, offering a three-way design with an extended 34Hz to 50kHz frequency response. This performance is delivered via a dedicated tweeter complemented by midrange and dual bass drivers. And it's all housed in a solid one-piece aluminum cabinet for extra rigidity and minimal sound coloration.

To ensure there's sufficient reserve power to faithfully reproduce CD, DVD and Blu-ray material, the Arcam AVR600 features a quality toroidal transformer and a rare class G amplifier. The latter is renowned for higher efficiency and low sound distortion. For optimal compatibility, this 840W A/V receiver will decode all the latest surround sound formats ranging from Dolby TrueHD to DTS-HD Master Audio. Connectivity-wise, the AVR600 offers over 100 assorted audio, video and control jacks to cater for the most elaborate home theater setup. These include five HDMI inputs and two outputs for twin displays, complete with Deep Color-compliancy.

Arcam AVR600.
(Credit: Arcam)

Those who're more interested in a simple one-box solution can check out the B&W Panorama virtual surround sound bar. The Panorama packs an integrated 175W amplifier and a total of nine drivers into a compact 1,090 x 186 x 130mm package. These include an identical aluminum dome tweeter employed in the XT8, six midrange drivers and dual subwoofers. To hook up your A/V decks, there are up to two digital optical and a coaxial audio inputs to process Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks, as well as two additional analog ports for equipment such as CD players. The only major omission is provision for HDMI support.

The Arcam AVR600, B&W XT8 and B&W Panorama are now available in Singapore for S$6,500 (US$4,710.49), S$6,000 (US$4,348.14) and S$3,200 (US$2,319.01), respectively. We've not received any launch details for the rest of Asia.

Filed under: Home AV
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