My question is why have Bang & Olufsen effectively lost confidence in the Theatre’s surround performance. With the use of the virtual speakers you can obtain a 7.0.4 system from the sound bar without the need to add any extra physical speakers.
I am uncertain about your reference. B&O consistently promotes the Theatre with at least two rear speakers (28’s) in all their marketing materials, emphasizing the concept of “building your system.” While the Theatre on its own provides adequate sound, its virtual speakers lack the external speaker capability to enhance its performance. I experimented with using the soundbar alone for a day and noticed a noticeable lack of width, which was significantly improved when I added 18’s to the front and Beolab 3 rears.
Even with this setup, the Theatre transcends the limitations of a “center channel” speaker. It effectively creates a wide soundstage, and I repurposed the front wide speakers as subwoofers. The remaining speakers can also contribute to filling any wide voids in the sound.
Honestly, if the Theatre were solely a soundbar, I would not have been interested in it. The primary purpose of a soundbar is to provide a central audio experience, and the Theatre is more about the heart of your system. If you want just a soundbar get the Stage.
