Panasonic’s Final Fantasy-themed soundbar could be the perfect PS5 companion

Panasonic'south Concluding Fantasy-themed soundbar could be the perfect PS5 companion

(Image credit: Panasonic)

Gaming benefits from a good soundbar but every bit much as movies and TV, so if you're looking for a soundbar to upgrade your PS5 or Xbox Serial 10 setup, Panasonic might have only the matter at CES 2021: a new, Final Fantasy XIV-themed version of its SoundSlayer soundbar.

Created alongside Square Enix, including the game's sound team, the SoundSlayer doesn't just come with some Final Fantasy XIV decals: information technology supports Dolby Atmos and includes three playback modes designed specifically for gaming.

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The showtime, Role-Playing Game mode, optimizes the audio output for RPGs and Terminal Fantasy XIV specifically. And then there's Get-go-Person Shooter style, which highlights telltale sound cues like enemy footsteps. Last just not least, Voice manner brings dialogue to the forefront. Panasonic recommends this for adventure games but it could be ideal for spoken communication-heavy RPGs as well.

The soundbar itself is an all-in-ane, 2.1 system with a built-in subwoofer. In that location are no upward-firing speakers typical of Dolby Atmos soundbars, but with DTS: Virtual 10 back up likewise, the SoundSlayer is capable of approximating a surround sound effect digitally.

That should hopefully be enough to get more out of the growing range of games that support Atmos, such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Phone call of Duty: Warzone.

Measuring simply 17 x 2 x five.3 inches, the SoundSlayer is also incredibly small — non as compact as the LG QP5 Éclair, merely shut — so it could exist at dwelling underneath a desktop monitor or fifty-fifty sat behind a gaming laptop. HDMI, HDMI-ARC and optical connection ports also give a little flexibility in how you connect, whether y'all're using a gaming PC or a console like the PS5.

Just don't expect the same levels of volume and impact that a bigger, wider soundbar might have. Likewise the down-firing subwoofer, the SoundSlayer only has one full-range driver and one tweeter, with no dedicated middle aqueduct, so it's probably best used in smaller rooms.

That said, the SoundSlayer'due south compact blueprint might exist preferable to some, and it's nice to meet a soundbar with such a tight focus on gaming functioning. Panasonic hasn't announced pricing or available for the Final Fantasy 14 version, but you can buy a plain blackness version of for $294 from Amazon. This apparently has the aforementioned three gaming modes every bit the special edition, only without the decals.

James is currently Hardware Editor at Rock Paper Shotgun, but before that was Audio Editor at Tom'south Guide, where he covered headphones, speakers, soundbars and annihilation else that intentionally makes racket. A PC enthusiast, he besides wrote calculating and gaming news for TG, usually relating to how hard it is to find graphics card stock.