JBL Bar 5.1 - Soundbar with Built-in Virtual Surround, 4K and 10" Wireless Subwoofer (JBL2GBAR51IMBLKAM), Black

Firstly this sound bar is a killer soundbar at the price point (usually around $349 on sale in Amazon). It’s hard to find a good 5.1 soundbar with good subwoofer at this price.I got this on prime early access deal (2nd prime day) for $288, and it was a no brainer at this price! Without prime sale, it’s usually around 299-349, still a great price.Now let’s talk sound quality:I watched Andrew Robinson’s review about this sound bar (please watch it, it’s the only good technical review available from a proven audiophile YouTuber). He praised it well and recommended it and called it the budget sound bar king, even better than the klipsch 600.I was waiting for prime day sale to buy it…Once I got it in, set up was simple. For all iOS users, download the “JBL Bar set up” app, to add the sound bar to Wi-Fi. It’s very simple that way!Subwoofer was pre paired (it should be from factory, don’t know why some people are saying it was not paired!! But it’s easy to pair).Connected the tv input (Sony x900f for me) and it was up and running.Next make sure to do the calibration, it steps up the sound quality considerably. I made sure “smart mode” was “on”, this mode applies JBL sound processing and smartly and effectively turns any stereo input to 5.1I was surprised! The smart mode actually sounds very good, it widens the sound stage, and you actually feel the surround sound effect. For my room, I actually get the bouncing effect from the side firing tweeters pretty well, nevertheless, sound stage is pretty wide, and you won’t feel like listening to a 2.1 channel sound.Bass was adequate, I tried between 3 and 4, ended up at 3 since it’s pretty balanced there.The sound bar has 5 front firing full range drivers, no tweeter pairs, but I was surprised: there was good and clear treble in the sound and midrange was also very manageable (clear). Dialogues are nice and clear and clearly seems like it comes from the center driver (mimicking the center channel), even at Smart mode ON.People complain that there are no adjustment options, to be honest you don’t need any! Bass can be adjusted from 1-5, and that’s all you need. The eq settings are nicely tuned from factory and to be very honest, I don’t feel like I have to make any changes.I do own a full Sonos Arc set up (5.2.2) and feel like this JBL bar is pretty good at what it does: providing simple 5.1 sound at a reasonable price without offering gimmick features.I also heard people complaining about longevity, so I also got the 3 year plan from Amazon for $33, totally worth it! Peace of mind. Recommend everyone getting it cause you never know when electronics fail. $33 is a bargain.I ordered the soundbar 600 before, returned it cause it clearly sounded a 2.1 sound bar even with surround option “on” and loudness was not adequate. This JBL, which is cheaper, sounds day and night better and I love it! It’s nice and loud, sound stage is wide, and everything is perfectly pre tuned from factory.To sum up, don’t read the negatives, no one can guarantee you anything when it comes to electronics. The sound bar is actually very good, and you won’t be disappointed. But do recommend the 3 year plan ($33), for peace of mind. Even with the added pan, total price is very good and lower than other gimmick sound bars… great job JBL, and thanks Andrew Robinson for an honest video! Check his review out, you will get the real picture…

At $400, or less if you get it on sale, this sound bar will not disappoint anyone but the most extreme of audio enthusiasts. If you want a plug-and-play solution that sounds better than any TV speaker out there, this will do the trick.Virtual Dolby Atmos significantly adds to the viewing experience, especially with the addition of the virtual vertical channel. It's not as good as true Dolby Atmos, but at this price point it's great - especially for people coming from stock TV speakers.JBL sound quality is excellent as usual. The ONLY real flaw this sound bar has is that the central channel is a little weak compared to the side speakers and bass, and there's no equalizer/sound profiles, so if you find that commentary is too quiet, there's nothing you can really do. With that being said - the average consumer will find this perfectly acceptable - only people expecting home theater-quality sound from a $400 all-in-one product will be materially upset by this.Can't recommend enough - this product has totally changed my TV experience.

Not bad for the price. I had the older gen sonos playbar and sub. The playbar stopped working, which turned the sub into a $700 paperweight.Sonos has no repair program, and I"m not about to drop 1k for their newest sound bar. So i got this.How does it compare? Well... it kind of doesn't to be honest, but for the price its pretty freaking good!Pros:- You get a sound bar and a sub for $300!- It has bluetooth! (Sonos didn't). It also works with airplay through iPhone or Android.- Has a smart audio adjustment to tailor it to your room, which works great. Separation between voices and background music is pretty good, allowing you hear speech over explosions or music when watching movies.- 5 levels of bass- Doesn't need WiFi to work! (looking at you sonos)Cons:- Sound EQ could be better, the smart thing works okay but you have no control over it. But again, I had a working Sonos system right before this one so its not a fair comparison at all.If you are on a budget, you cannot do much better than this JBL for the price. Its seriously that good.

Alright…I did an insane amount of research before pulling the trigger on this. I looked at the Sonos arc, Samsung atmos systems, Vizio , you name it. I landed on these at $350, and I’m glad I did. I live in NYC and wanted something reasonably compact, with a center channel for dialogue, and solid bass. Coming from an older Vizio 2.1 sound bar, this is miles better.Pros:- Sub pounds and digs down to 34 hz, which for a sound bar package is solid. I keep the bass at 3, which is perfect- Center channel is amazing. Previous sound bar was a 2.1 and I had a hard time hearing dialogue during scenes with background noise. This makes a huge difference.- Side firing tweeters: I had low expectations for these and figured they would widen the soundstage a bit, but I’m super impressed. Watching 1st ep of Drive To Survive I could actually hear the sound coming from 10 ft away. If you have parallel walls I’d imagine the effect would be dramatic. I have one wall to the left of tv, other side is open concept)- Aesthetically pleasing, looks great and is a metal design. Much better than cloth coveringCons:- Not much tuning available for EQ, but this was expected . It’s plug and play and sounds great out of the box