Why You Can Trust CNET Panasonic SA-BX500 review: Panasonic SA-BX500
The Panasonic SA-BX500 sounds OK but is too hard to recommend because of too many limitations for its asking price. The wireless surround pack works well, but just adds expense to an under-featured receiver.
Panasonic's renowned for its microwave ovens and Viera plasma TVs, but it's probably not the first brand name that springs to mind when you think AV receivers. Sure, Panasonic's long been in the AV and home theatre electronics scene, but it's true to say it's never really been a player with stand-alone surround sound receivers.
Panasonic SA-BX500
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
So when we learnt of a new "wireless-ready" receiver from the company, our interest was roused. This is it, the AU$1,099 7.1-channel SA-BX500, which together with the optional extra wireless rear expansion pack, the AU$219 SH-FX67, provides 2.4GHz wireless communication and amplification for a pair of rear surround speakers.
Design and features
Taking it out of the box the BX500's construction is lightweight, to say the least — its meagre 5kg weight hardly instils confidence. All the typical AV receiver features are present but not exactly in abundance. There are just three HDMI inputs and one out, plus six other AV inputs comprising composite, S-Video and component video. The on-board digital amplification is optimistically rated at 150 Watts per each of the seven channels and if you opt for the rear expansion pack it's rated at 125 Watts per channel. The pack works in the usual way with a transmitter card that slots in the back of the BX500 while the SH-FX67 receiver box picks up the signal and amplifies it, driving the rear surround speakers.
On-board decoding extends to the usual garden varieties including Dolby Digital and DTS, while the latest formats are represented by Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD and — nice to see on-board — DTS HD-Master Audio. On the video side there's no analog to HDMI video upconversion (nor will the BX500 deinterlace or upscale) which you'd expect at this level and only three HDMI inputs isn't really enough these days, once again, not at this price point.
Unlike some so-called "wireless" solutions, this Panasonic combination is easy to set up and install, plus the spaghetti cable mess is minimised. The expansion pack needs a mains connection, but if running normal speaker cables to the rear surrounds is going to be a hassle, then this is a straightforward and relatively neat solution. Setting it up is an automatic affair — just plug in the supplied calibration mic and let it do its stuff; taking care of the basic settings like speaker size, distance, polarity, levels and low-pass frequency crossover to the subwoofer. There's no on-screen menu though, which seems an odd exclusion and one that's certainly missed.
Performance
Let's start with its strong point — the wireless component works well. During our time with the Panasonic, no external electrical interference was experienced from fluorescent lights, cordless phones etc and it worked a treat driving a pair of dipole wall-mounted surround speakers. The BX500 itself has its limitations though and although a competent surround sound performer, given the price and what it's up against, it doesn't really have what it takes. Partnering speakers need to be easy to drive and although the Panasonic will play reasonably loud and runs cool, don't expect the sort of dynamic sound levels that'll undermine your house foundations. This is most obvious with big action sequences, but as the on-screen action subsides the Panasonic seems happier. Speech and dialogue are clearly delivered and locked centrally; there wasn't any noticeable lip sync problem either. We liked how the Panasonic resolved finer detail in movie mixes, such as the first time we meet The Joker in The Dark Knight — you're able to hear the most subtle of sounds, be it dialogue or crafty surround effects. The BX500 does a good job of steering these effects around the room, and keeps the listener enveloped within the movie surround mix — and this was the case with or without the wireless expansion pack running the rears.
We were a bit suspect of the auto calibration too and a quick measure with a sound pressure meter confirmed that it wasn't accurately setting things up. Readjusting the levels was something that had to be done by ear as the lack of on-screen display was really missed when it came to setting the Panasonic up correctly.
With music, the Panasonic put in a passable performance — it's hardly an "audiophile" stereo amplifier but doesn't pretend to be either. There are some sound processing modes included and music sounds perfect to listen to using processing such as Dolby Pro Logic IIx or DTS NEO:6. A nice touch too is the fact that you can use the main front A/B speaker connections to bi-amp your front speakers, so long as they have a bi-wireable connection.
Given its limited video deinterlacing, upscaling and HDMI connectivity, the BX500 can hardly be described as a visual hub; however, pass-through 1080p was handled OK without any noticeable signal degradation or processing artefacts.
Conclusion
In a tough market, Panasonic's left the SA-BX500 wanting, omitting what should be standard features such as analog video upconversion and further HDMI connectivity. The lack of any on-screen display also leaves the user in the dark somewhat. The receiver ticks the basic boxes, and the wireless component is a breeze to set up and works really well, but this isn't enough to warrant strong recommendation for this AV receiver. If wires to your rear speakers are simply not an option and you don't need all the bells and whistles from your AV receiver, then the SA-BX500 is worth a look, but it really just doesn't cut it for a AU$1,100 AV receiver.