From the photographs, I prefer the straight-edge aesthetics to NOTO’s design: this looks bulbous by comparison to the almost-seamless integration in the Contour. ย I had hoped their decision to rotate the lamellas vertical would lead to the “wings” for larger screens being slide-on lamella “tube-ends” fitting against the vertical seams in the aluminum bottom. ย Alas wings are only the flat panels, and the soundbar bulge stays the same width. ย The empty slot space between the bottom of the screen and the top of the speaker bar is unavoidable because of the LG IR receiver “tongue” (and various future-proofed compatible TV screens’ similar appendages), but again contrast the Contour (especially black fabric version where the screen’s IR receiver all but disappears). ย The empty space stands out more with gold anodization and a screen with aluminum trim, i.e. LG 2022 versus ’20&’21. ย (P.S. Did it bother anybody else that the lamellas are rounded on the bottoms and chamfered on the tops? [Edit: B&O mini-video shows this, but P-P’s video samples are chopped on both top & bottom.])
Neat how the rotating wall bracket adds the extra structure at the bottom of the bar rather than trying to use bolts into the rear of something which itself is supporting quite a bit of extra weight — but needs to be manufactured economically. ย Contrast BV 10&11 where there had to be plenty of metal inside the edge moldings to accomodate the hinge attachments. ย (Aww, no 77″ version?!?! ย Just imagine what that would look/feel like in the room as this slab swings out to knock over your bird cage, sweep the desk, topple nearby floor lamps, create HVAC eddies… just kidding, but no 77″ wall bracket is no surprise.)
Looking forward to the Technical Sound Guide for this one… after the mysterious “four” patent filings get approved, I guess. ย Let us pray for the firmware, because there’s so much room for slop when doing proprietary up/down mixing, vs. how is it “supposed” to sound with this movie or that, in this or that encoding from which streaming service, etc. etc, etc. ( Cf. Sennheiser Ambeo and the string of Sonos Arc updates, trying to fix complaints versus happy-campers.)
Related to previous comments, the tear sheet says “OR” for the various wing sizes, not “AND”. ย As regards 8 PowerLink outputs, again the tear sheet is not clear enough: are 8 wireless AND 8 wired external speakers all supported? [Edit: P-P’s video answers: Yes. 16 external speakers allowed.] (Also the decision of what the superfluous internal drivers be doing? ย Cf. Sonos Five tweeters in horizontal vs. vertical orientation. ย Technical Sound Guide, here we come!)
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