LATEST ADDITIONS

PRICE $999

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Audiophile sound for music and movies
Atmos height effects
Good bass
Integrated high-res music streaming
Minus
No expandability for surrounds or sub
No voice-boost or height-channel adjustments

THE VERDICT
B&W's Atmos-enabled Panorama 3 delivers audiophile-quality music and excellent movie sound without a subwoofer or surround speakers.

Bowers & Wilkins has developed a solid name in the soundbar category for premium products that reflect the brand's longstanding philosophy of putting respect for the music above all else. This doesn't mean their soundbars don't make sonic compromises, only that those compromises tend to be more careful and measured than we see elsewhere. As B&W's first soundbar to offer Dolby Atmos playback and its least expensive soundbar to date at $999, the Panorama 3 is a perfect example of this philosophy.

Rush’s February 1981 masterpiece Moving Pictures ushered in a previously uncharted era that brought prog rock closer to the heart of the masses. And now, 41 years later, this landmark album gets its further due, thanks to a truly comprehensive multidisc box set and a fully immersive Dolby Atmos mix.

In The Matrix: Resurrections, Neo (Keanu Reeves) is a developer responsible for the most popular game trilogy, one that ponders what would happen if AI took over the world and we didn't realize it. In his everyday life, listless and disconnected, Neo is seeing a therapist called the Analyst (Neil Patrick Harris) who has been prescribing him blue pills so he can get his head right. Turns out that Neo is back in the Matrix and he doesn't know it, but he can feel it. Thankfully, people are trying to rescue him. They also stumble across something new in the Matrix, called "modals," where incidents from Neo's past are being replayed over and over, but the outcomes are slightly different each time.

PRICE $2,320

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Screen fully retracts when not in use
IR and RF remote controls
Very good value
Minus
Slight slackness at screen’s bottom edges when extended

THE VERDICT
The Elite Screens Kestrel is a well-made, reasonably-priced, and easy-to-set-up option for those who want their projection screen to disappear when it’s not in use.

Plenty of custom solutions have been developed to house ultra-short throw (UST) projectors, a category designed to beam bright, living-room friendly images from a position just a few inches away from the bottom edge of the projection screen. The main ones are furniture-grade cabinets with an interior compartment for stowing away the projector so it remains out of sight both in use and when powered off.