JBL’s new soundbar lineup aims to reorganize your messy home theater
JBL hit the sweet spot of true surround sound with the launch of theBar 9.1in 2020, offering a completely wireless, battery-powered speaker setup. It gave you the ability to place wireless rears in your room without running cables to rear speakers, making the soundbar a more convenient device to set up in your living room. JBL’s latest soundbar,unveiled at CES 2023, builds on that momentum with a quintet of Atmos-capable soundbars.
Except for the Bar 300 and 500, the new soundbar series includes battery-powered portable speakers that you can snap off and place behind where you’re sitting for an immersive surround sound experience. With battery-powered wireless rear speakers, you can easily tidy up your otherwise messy home theater setup. You can also dock the speakers into the sides of the soundbars to juice them up when not binging on a Netflix show or playing Spotify songs.
The standout model is the JBL Bar 1300X, pictured above, featuring six up-firing drivers and the largest 12-inch wireless subwoofer in the lineup. It also includes an 11.1.4-channel speaker capable of handling 1,170W of power output and DTS:X 3D surround sound to complement the Atmos immersive audio experience.
Meanwhile, the other four models in the lineup ship with a 10-inch wireless subwoofer, except the Bar 300, which has a built-in version. The Bar 1000 includes four upward-firing drivers while the 700 only comes with two drivers. The latter also doesn’t support MultiBeam, which would otherwise beef up immersive audio, unlike the rest of the series.
Nonetheless, all models support Harman’s PureVoice tech for a clear voice even when sound effects amp up in the background. Another universal feature that’s available across the entire lineup is support for the JBL One app, which allows you to adjust EQ settings and, more importantly, search for songs and artists. You can also control any of the JBL Bar viaGoogle Assistant, Alexa, or Siri using your voice, so you never lose access to digital assistant commands. You’ve also got a choice of AirPlay 2, Alexa MRM, and Chromecast if you want to stream music to the soundbar.
The new Bar lineup will be available on February 19, with the cheapest model retailing for a base price of $400 while the top-tier Bar 1300X costs $1,700, which is way more expensive than thebest portable Bluetooth speakersmoney can buy today.
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