I would agree with you, the visual aspect of the Panasonic machines I've seen was always excellent whereas compared to the likes of Pioneer they always trailed (far) behind. I choose to purchase a Cambridge DACMAGIC that I use to enhance considerably the sound from both the Loewe blueray AND the TV since Dacmagic has two sets of SPDIF or TOSLINK inputs (and a USB input, so it may even serve your computer as well).
There are other options, of course.