Panasonic SC-BTT590

Key Features

5.1 speakers
Dual HDMI inputs
Optical audio in
Compatible with wireless rear speakers

Panasonic SC-BTT590 - Design and Speakers

On the face of it, the company’s new flagship all-in-one system looks a fairly straightforward 5.1 affair, comprising four tabletop speakers, a centre and a passive subwoofer. But lurking under the bonnet is a host of new audio technology and "premium audio parts" designed to improve on the performance of previous generations.





The design is classic Panasonic. The main unit is a slim, all-black affair with a drop-down panel on the front. On the back you’ll find an ARC-compatible HDMI output and two inputs, allowing you to channel other devices through the BTT590 to a single input on your TV, even when the system is in standby – as well as analogue and optical digital audio inputs. Interestingly, the system is ready for wireless rear speakers with Panasonic’s optional hardware.

The boxy satellites sport a matching gloss black finish and sit on forward-sloping stands. They’re aesthetically similar to the satellites accompanying last year’s SC-BTT262, rather than the curvier design of the SC-BTT370.



But it’s what’s inside the speakers that counts. The satellites feature a two-way design using an 8cm long stroke woofer and a tweeter – as opposed to the single full range driver employed by most all-in-one system sats – with cones crafted from "Bamboo Charcoal", the properties of which are claimed to deliver a ‘clear and natural’ sound. These cones also use an anti-distortion structure, where the rear surface has an uneven thickness, which reduces resonance.



Elsewhere, they use a Film Capacitor to cut low frequencies from the tweeter to optimise high-frequency reproduction, while a High-Force Magnet can reproduce sound with only a weak input signal.