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If you are looking for an audio system to complement your LCD or Plasma TV and are not sure if you want a sound bar or a multi-speaker setup, the SC-HTB770 from Panasonic doesn't require to decide before you buy. The SC-HTB770 is essentially a "kit" that provides everything you need to either assemble a system consisting of a main amplifier/switching unit, a sound bar, and wireless subwoofer, or a system that features the main unit in combination with dedicated left, center, and right channel speakers with a wireless subwoofer.
For more details, keep reading this review.
SC-HTB770 Product Overview
Features of the SC-HTB770 Main Unit:
1. Power Output: 25 WPC x 3 (measured from 120hz to 20kHz, 6 ohms, 1% THD)
2. Inputs: 3 HDMI and 2 Digital Optical. The SC-HTB770 also features wireless input capability for accessing audio from Bluetooth-enabled devices, such as some smartphones, digital audio players, and PCs.
3. Audio Decoding:PCM, and Dolby Digital, DTS
4. Audio Processing:Dolby Prologic II, Dolby Virtual Speaker, Panasonic 3D Sound, Clear Mode Dialog.
5.Audio Return Channel, HDMI-CEC/HDAVI/Viera Link, and HDMI Standby Pass-through compatibility is provided. HDMI Standby Pass-through allows audio and video signals from source devices that are connected to the TV via the SC-HTB770 to be accessed even if the system is off.
6. Wireless Transmission:Bluetooth 2.4 GHz Band
7. Dimensions (WHD in inches): 12-3/16 x 1-12/16 x 7-6/16.
8. Weight: 2.54 lbs.
Features of the SC-HTB770's sound bar or speaker system include:
1. Drivers:Bass Reflex design with one 2 1/4-inch midrange/woofer driver, one 1-inch tweeter, and one Piezo Type super tweeter each for left and right channels.
One 2 1.4-inch midrange/woofer and one Piezo Super Tweeter for the center channel.
2. Frequency Response: Approximately 120Hz to 20kHz.
3. Speaker Dimensions (sound bar configuration - WHD in inches - without stands): 48-7/16 x 2-11/16 x 1-10/16
4. Speaker Dimensions (separated with stand configuration - WHD in inches): Left and Right modules - 5-13/16 x 21-12/16 x 5-13/16, Center Module 7 x 2-3/4 x 1-12/16.
5. Weight: Sound Bar Configuration - 4.37 pounds (wall mounted), 4.50 pounds (stand mounted). Separated Configuration (wall mounted) - 1.72 pounds (left/right speakers), .82 pounds (center speaker). Separated Configuration (stand mounted) - 1.96 pounds (left/right speakers), .82 pounds (center speaker).
Features of the Wireless Subwoofer unit of the Panasonic SC-HTB770 include:
1. Driver: Bass-reflex design with 6-1/2 inch down firing driver supplemented by downfiring port.
2. Power Output: 40 watts (8ohms, 1% THD)
3. Frequency Response: 60-120Hz
4. Wireless Transmission Frequency: Bluetooth 2.4GHz.
5. Wireless Range: 30 feet - line of sight.
6. Subwoofer Dimensions (WHD in inches): 7-3/32 x 16-1/16 x 12-1/16.
7. Subwoofer Weight: 10.5 lbs.
Additional components used in this review:
Blu-ray Disc Player:OPPO BDP-103.
DVD Player:OPPO DV-980H.
TV and Monitor:Samsung UN46F8000 (on review loan and Westinghouse LVM-37w3.
Blu-ray Discs, DVDs, and CDs Used In This Review
Blu-ray Discs: Battleship, Ben Hur, Brave, Cowboys and Aliens, The Hunger Games, Jaws, Jurassic Park Trilogy, Megamind, Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol, Oz The Great and Powerful (2D), Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, The Dark Knight Rises.
Standard DVDs: The Cave, House of the Flying Daggers, Kill Bill - Vol 1/2, Kingdom of Heaven (Director's Cut), Lord of Rings Trilogy, Master and Commander, Outlander, U571, and V For Vendetta.
CDs: Al Stewart - A Beach Full of Shells, Beatles - LOVE, Blue Man Group - The Complex, Joshua Bell - Bernstein - West Side Story Suite, Eric Kunzel - 1812 Overture, HEART - Dreamboat Annie, Nora Jones - Come Away With Me, Sade - Soldier of Love.
System Set Up
When opening the box containing the Panasonic SC-HTB770 system, there is definitely a lot to unpack. First, there are three key sections: the main unit, three speaker sections, and the wireless subwoofer. The other items in the box are also important, such the speaker wire, detachable AC power cords, remote control, and hardware for the various mounting choices.
So, depending how you set the system up, you may not need all the additional items included in the box, but definitely don't toss anything out - if you don't want to hang on to the box - put any unused accessories in a bag for possible use later, should you decide to take advantage of the several physical setup options. See photo and explanation of included accessories
If you decide to use the sound bar configuration, just attach the three speaker sections together using the provided bracket to create the sound bar. You can then place the sound bar above or below the TV either on a shelf or table, or attached to the well using the provided hardware.
If you decide not to combine the three speaker sections into a sound bar configuration, you just place left, center, and right sections a few inches (or more) on either side of (with the center section above or below) your TV and either mount them on the wall or place them on a table or shelf using the provided speaker attachable speaker stands. See photo examples of speaker setup options (1),(2).
After you decide the speaker placement, then position the subwoofer on the floor, preferably to the left or right of the TV/sound bar location, but you can experiment with other locations within the room, as there are no wire length constraints (other than having to be near an AC power outlet), as the subwoofer receives audio signals from the main unit wirelessly.
Now, find a spot for the main control/connection/processing unit and connect the speakers (or sound bar) and your source components to that unit.
Connection Note: If your TV is Audio Return Channel-enabled, you can simply connect the HDMI output of the SC-HTB770 to the HDMI-ARC input on your TV and gain the ability to send audio originating from the TV to the audio system without the need to make an additional connection between the two. However, if your TV does not have HDMI-ARC compatibility, you need to additionally connect a digital optical cable (the SC-HTB770 does not provide an analog audio connection option) from the TV to the audio system to access audio originating from the TV. If your TV does not have a digital optical output, you will not be able to access audio originating from your TV on the SC-HTB770.
Once you have your source devices correctly connected to the main unit and your TV, then connect and turn on the power for the main unit.
For the subwoofer, all you have to is turn it, and the main unit, on and the main unit and they will both synch up via Bluetooth.
To check to see if the subwoofer/main unit link is working, turn on a source device and play a CD or DVD that has lots of bass and see if the wireless subwoofer responds. If it does, you are all set - If it doesn't, first check the subwoofer volume control on the remote and, if needed - consult the troubleshooting section of the user manual for the alternative subwoofer/main unit pairing procedure.
Once you have confirmed that your speaker(s) and subwoofer are producing sound, you can then use the remote control to make any additional adjustments to suit your listening preferences. However, the remote control operation can be confusing if you do not take the time to read the user guide. For instance, the Mute button also serves to access other audio processing functions. Although the main unit has LED indicators, it does not have an actual alphanumeric status display to give you visual status information when accessing some of the audio processing functions.
Performance
The first thing that I noticed when listening to SC-HTB770 is that dialog and vocals are prominent and can be brought forward independently. A dedicated Dialog (center channel) volume control is provided. This can assist for those DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, and TV programs that have overly loud sound effects.
In the sound bar configuration, the sound field is wide, mainly due to it 48-inch width. Sound is also projected beyond the sound bar's physical borders across a wide sound stage in front of the room, but is not projected far along the sides or towards the rear of the room, as it would in a system with dedicated surround speakers.
On the other hand, when splitting the sound bar into a three-speaker setup, the sound stage can be widened further, depending on how far apart the speakers are set, resulting in an improved surround effect that projects somewhat to the sides, but still not as immersive as a having dedicated surround speakers.
In terms of sound quality, mid-range frequencies (where dialog and vocals reside) sounded more full bodied than I would have expected, but there is a lack of brightness on higher frequencies. As a result, some of the finer details present in a movie sound track (such as breaking glass, splintering wood, as well as subtle transient sounds), or fine percussive parts of musical instruments, such as plucking strings, drum cymbals and piano passages sound somewhat dull.
On the low frequency end, the subwoofer delivers usable low frequencies down to 40Hz (which is lower than the stated 60Hz low point stated by Panasonic), but there is a big volume drop off between 40Hz and 35Hz, and I could not detect any audible frequencies below 35Hz. This was confirmed by the audio tests provided on the Digital Video Essential Test Disc - Blu-ray Edition.
Also, there is a slight boominess in the mid-bass frequencies (80 to 90Hz), but it does transition well with the sound bar at about the 120Hz point - so no audio dips between the subwoofer and sound bar (or speakers) were noticeable.
Final Take
The SC-HTB770 doesn't deliver the same type of immersive surround sound listening experience that you would get from a traditional home theater speaker audio system, but definitely provides an improved listening experience for both movies and music over the speaker system that comes in a TV. It has a powerful enough sound output for use in a small or medium-size room, and is definitely on par with other systems in its price range.
SC-HTB770 also provides a lot of setup options. The system package comes with a set of "multi-positional" speakers that can be combined into a single sound bar that is about 48-inches wide (a great complement for TVs 46-inches and larger) or as three separate speakers (left, center, and right) that can be placed farther apart. Also, in either configuration, the sound bar or speakers can be table or wall mounted - all the needed stands and mounting hardware is included. Also of convenience is the provided wireless subwoofer, which frees you from the long cable that would normally be needed to connect the subwoofer to the rest of the system.
In terms of connectivity, although it provides several options, there are no analog audio connections. These means that to get audio from your source devices, they need to have either HDMI or Digital Optical audio outputs. If not, and if your TV has a set of analog audio inputs, you can connect an analog audio source to your TV directly and then send the audio from the TV to the SC-HTB770 via either the TV's digital optical audio output or a via the TV's HDMI-ARC input (if the TV is Audio Return Channel-enabled).
Taking all into consideration, if you are looking for an inexpensive audio solution that can enhance your TV viewing experience and provides flexible setup options, the SC-HTB770 is one way to do it.
For a further look at the Panasonic SC-HTB770, check out my supplementary Photo Profile which includes more details on both the speaker setup options, the subwoofer, and connections, as well as how to operate the remote control.
The suggested price is $399.99.
Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.
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