PERFORMANCE

In a head-to-head comparison, which system leaves us happiest?

It won’t evoke the big screen with those Hans Zimmer soundtracks

acursory glance would suggest that the Panasonic SC-All05 is a modest all-purpose active speaker, but it performs well and can be considered exceptional given both its price and waterfowl functionality. Sure, it may be a tad monophonic, but with 20W on board it makes a surprisingly big noise. There are two 6.5cm drivers, paired to matching passive radiators; DSP-enhanced mid-bass serves rock and dance tracks particularly well; and it has great vocal integrity for such a small box. Sadly, when running off its battery, power output drops to just 8W, which is noticeable.

The SC-All9 is the kingpin in the Panasonic All Connected range, and with an integrated 40W sub, dual 8cm woofers, plus a pair of 2x20W 2.5cm tweeters, it packs quite a punch. The stereo soundstage is a bit constrained, so it’s not really going to evoke the big screen with those Hans Zimmer soundtracks, but pop, rock and grime sound jolly enough. As an all-in-one sound system, it does a decent job.

Denon doesn’t publish specs for its HEOS speakers, but the big HEOS 7 doesn’t suffer from a lack of volume; it’s perfectly at home in larger rooms. But this deep reach is balanced by a rich, melodious mid-range. The HEOS 1 has a custom tweeter and woofer, driven by an efficient digital amp module. Curiously, the Bluetooth implementation on both HEOS HS2 models isn’t aptX, so you’re not getting the best-quality wireless BT available.

Significantly, both speakers sound fabulous with high-res audio, and DSD in particular, finding nuance and detail.

Yamaha’s MCR-N470D may look like the heavy-metal option here, but in terms of grunt it’s in line with the SC-All9 and the HEOS 7. Those bookshelf speakers don’t drop deep, but they have a workmanlike mid-range that fits the bill with most genres. Multiroom playback between our Yamaha zones was in sync, although the micro-system did sporadically drop its wireless connection when rooms were linked and music streaming.