After more listening, with and without the sub, I think the Panasonic does seem more "analytical" than the HK. That is a good way to describe it. This is more true as the volume goes up, but at normal levels they compare well. As I said before the HK does have a slightly warmer sound so if you prefer that, you'd probably enjoy the HK more. With inefficient 4 ohm floorstanders the HK probably would stand out even more, it does have a bit more power to work with. I'm still amazed the Panny sounds as good as it does, I wasn't expecting to have to listen very much to make a preference. It was a cheap standby while the HK was in the shop.