Panasonic TX-L65WT600 review

While the TX-L65WT600 offers premium league video, it's audio performance is less noteworthy.

The screen features a rear-firing woofer and 'invisible' downward stereo drivers. The audio system is actually quiet adept, reaching up from 50Hz. However, it has absolutely no volume.

The stereo speakers are rated at 2x4w, with 10w thrown to the woofer. And making matters worse, no speaker is pointed at the viewer. It's like listening to a mouse with laryngitis. There's a bass boost option but it just adds a gloopy sonic thickness which isn't appealing.

A selection of user and DSP modes (Standard, Music, Ambience and user, with Stadium, Hall, Natural) don't improve matters. Indeed, they're best left alone. More useful is the Automatic Gain Control which can at least be used to iron out volume differences between channels.

So the upshot of this is that you'll need to pair this TV with a separate sound system.

Usability

Living with this set is a joy. Panasonic's current user interface is wonderfully intuitive. We've admired Panasonic's My Home Screen GUI on a variety of screen sizes, and it's no less valued here.

The ability to create a launch page featuring preferred apps and services is boon. The option of then offering other users their own Home Page iteration is a classy refinement.

Value

Of course, with nascent tech like 4K Ultra HD, there's always a concern that early adopters will ultimately be shortchanged as technology rapidly evolves. That's not going to be the case with this set.

As the world's first HDMI 2.0 display, Panasonic offers a guarantee that other brands are now scrambling to match.

The addition of DisplayPort (in truth, somewhat flaky) is another forward thinking addition to the spec which could be transformative for PC gamers, as well as those seeking to view online Ultra HD content from YouTube's 4K channel. These facts alone conspire to make the £5,499 price point appear solid value.