Regular What Hi-Fi? readers know, we’re fairly big fans of the Panasonic's two latest flagship OLED TVs.
Why? Because they both offer fantastic picture quality and have an overt focus on delivering “as the director intended” home cinema experiences, rather than blow your socks off Michael Bay spectacles.
We said as much in our reviews of the 2024 Panasonic Z95A and older 2023 Panasonic MZ2000, two key sets I had the pleasure of helping test over the past two years.
In case you missed them, here’s what we said about the Z95A:
“Thanks to Panasonic’s continued focus on delivering an authentic, controlled and balanced picture, the set uses the added brightness in a way that truly improves rather than distracts from what’s happening on screen. If you want a balanced 'as the director intended' movie-watching experience, we’d strongly recommend the Z95A.”
And the older MZ2000:
“Panasonic has managed to give its superb OLED flagship an MLA-powered brightness boost without diminishing its accuracy or authenticity.”
See a pattern forming?
But, while we loved the picture, I, and a number of other members of the What Hi-Fi? home cinema reviews team, have one common gripe with both sets. Specifically, the inclusion of a cumbersome, bolted-on “Technics-tuned” sound system.
There are two reasons for this. First, because the bolted on speaker bar at the bottom and chunky side- and upward firing speaker set-up make both sets incredibly bulky and make it difficult to neatly place a centre channel, or soundbar, underneath them.
Why would you need separate surround-sound speakers or a soundbar if it’s already got a proper “Technics-tuned”, “Atomos-ready” inbuilt system, you ask?
Because, while the sound systems on both TVs are above average performers, they don’t match the performance you will get with a moderately priced Dolby Atmos soundbar, let alone surround-sound speaker package. This is why if you check the audio section of either review, we continue to recommend investing in a separate speaker package or soundbar for the best results possible.
Second, because the built-in speaker system is a key reason both TVs cost a premium over other flagship OLED TVs in the same weight class. That’s why I’ve made no secret of my desire for a variant of Panasonic’s flagship OLEDs with no inbuilt audio system that costs less and lets me enjoy the benefits of Panasonic's stellar picture quality, paired with my audio set-up of choice.
While the latter hasn’t been fixed, I can’t help but be excited to see Panasonic attempt to sort the primary problem with its latest Panasonic Z95B OLED.
Specifically Panasonic has reduced the footprint of the speaker bar on the TV’s bottom and redesigned the side- and up-firing drivers, re-positioning them to sit in the chassis. This means the awkward box-out seen on older models has been removed and the TV now has a uniform thickness, with smaller bezels and a generally less bulky look – a move that in theory should make it easier to neatly stow external speakers next to it without the whole set-up looking like a complete mess.
If Panasonic’s claims that the changes will also improve holistic audio quality, and the Z95B does indeed offer a more "expansive" and "dynamic" soundstage with more powerful low-end effects, there’s also a chance it could be the white whale we’ve been looking for – and you won’t need to add a separate system. But given our decades of experience waiting for this, we’ll remain cautious and not get our hopes up on the latter until we get the Z95B into our test rooms and properly review it.
MORE:
These are the best OLED TVs we’ve reviewed
We rate the best Dolby Atmos soundbars
Our picks of the best surround sound systems
