Customer reviews from jbl.com
JBL - Link 500 Wireless Speaker with Google Assistant
Average customer rating
4.4
(38 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 38 reviews
5 Stars
24
4 Stars
8
3 Stars
3
2 Stars
2
1 Star
1
88%of customers recommend this product.
(
30 out of
34)
Customer Reviews for JBL - Link 500 Wireless Speaker with Google Assistant
Customer Rating
3
Nice, but heavy
on April 23, 2018
Posted by: Shika
from Chicago, IL, USA
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I love JBL products! Nice, clean quality sound! The product does have a little weight to it, which I'm not a big fan of. I like light-weight products. It also doesn't have any built in grips for easy-movment. So it prevents me from being able to carry it easily. Have to hold it with both hands at all time! I also haven't been able to use the Google assistance as well as I'd like. Each time I wanted it to play a sound. It would say "playing sound now", but ends up saying "Unable to play, please try again". Maybe my internet wasn't strong enough, but I'm not sure.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Response from jbl.comBy Steve S, Customer Service, April 23, 2018
Thank you for your review, our sincerest apology for the inconvenience. Your feedback will be communicated to the proper department to improve our current and future product line. We would like to work with you directly, please submit a case request at www.jbl.com/support-contact.html and the Customer Service team will be more than happy to further assist you.
Written by a customer while visiting jbl.com
Customer Rating
5
Wow!!! Incredible sound
on April 13, 2019
Posted by: JBL junky
from Corona, CA
I bought this 3 weeks ago an I am so impressed. Great sound.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting jbl.com
Customer Rating
5
Wow!
on April 24, 2018
Posted by: Happy Ears
from PA
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Was a little worried when we got the Link 500 and there were virtually no instructions. I am no spring chicken (as can be noted by using that phrase), but was able to download the Google home app and have music playing within 5 minutes of opening the box! Yes, it is that easy.
You can do everything from get the weather report to hear what you have scheduled on your calendar for the day, and much more!
Was able to connect my TV via Bluetooth easily.
I am truly amazed at the sound quality from something so small! Great bass, treble and mid range. Also, it is loud enough for any party with no distortion.
You can do everything from get the weather report to hear what you have scheduled on your calendar for the day, and much more!
Was able to connect my TV via Bluetooth easily.
I am truly amazed at the sound quality from something so small! Great bass, treble and mid range. Also, it is loud enough for any party with no distortion.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting jbl.com
Customer Rating
5
Fantastic sound, easy set up
on April 24, 2018
Posted by: Yaz1975
from Mesa, AZ, United States
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] First and foremost, like the title says, the sound of this unit is fantastic and LOUD. Serious bass response, nice wide stereo sound, you can easily use this as your primary audio device in the main room of your house.
I'm a Google Pixel2 user so set up with the Google assistant was a breeze. I didn't even have to enter the wifi password, it synced and utilized the password already on my phone. Total set up time was MAYBE 5 minutes. Using Google Play music, just hit the Chromecast button on your device and it syncs and plays seamlessly. You can also use the bluetooth to play audio as well.
The Google assistant also worked straight away. Only glitch I find with things all synced up is that when I ask for a playlist, it doesn't pull a previously saved playlist from my library, it creates a new one. Maybe it's me but I'm going to mess with it some more.
Overall, this is a spectacular home audio device that more than has the power to fill a room with solid sound. Highly recommend this unit.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting jbl.com
Customer Rating
4
Really good listening!
on April 29, 2018
Posted by: sliberty
from East Brunswick, NJ, United States
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] JBL Link 500 Review
The JBL Link 500 is a home use bluetooth speaker system with built in Google Home intelligence. The packaging was well done to protect the unit without making it hard to open. Documentation included the usual warnings, legal notices and terms, and a quick guide to the various buttons and external features of the Link 500. But no instructions were included for how to setup the device on Wifi, Bluetooth, etc. This was disconcerting at first, but when I started touching buttons on the top of the unit, the friendly Google Assistant told me to install Google Home on my phone. When I did that, Google Home stepped me through the setup. This worked out fine, BUT its bad form to include no instructions at all (or none that were readily obvious). There is some room for improvement here.
Using the Google Home app, I was able to setup a connection to my Spotify account easily, and was telling the Google assistant what I wanted to listen to minutes later. I could also ask the weather, time, to tell me a (bad) joke, and more. I don’t really know how much I will use the Google Assistant besides telling it what music to play, but its still nice to know its there to answer questions, etc.
I was also able to connect my iPhone to the Link 500 via Bluetooth, and can now use it as a more traditional Bluetooth speaker as well. The Link 500 can play whatever my iPhone is able to send via Bluetooth.
The sound quality of this unit is wonderful. It generates big powerful bass, clear highs, and it gets loud without distortion or listener fatigue. I currently have it sitting in front of a window in my home office, and when the big bass driver on the back reflects it’s sound off of the glass – wow! This things sounds really great!
Overall, I’d give the Link 500 very high marks. While it would have been nice if it had a rechargeable battery, allowing it to be taken out in the yard more easily, JBL doesn’t position this speaker for portability, and they offer other units for that purpose. Buy with confidence.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting jbl.com
Customer Rating
4
Convenience + Quality = Dream Speaker
on May 1, 2018
Posted by: MattM49
from Bishop, CA, United States
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] The JBL Link 500 is by far the best sounding speaker that I've ever listened to. It might sound like I'm being over reactive but I genuinely get excited to come home from a long day of work or school and be able to get lost in the music I listen to. I love how well it can capture voice commands from me even over the loud music. If you were ever on the fence about which Virtual Assistant is better, just know that JBL went with the right choice. I ABSOLUTELY love using Google Assistant over other AI's. There's only really 2 down sides to having this speaker. First off is that since it's a speaker made by JBL and not Google, the newest software updates don't arrive until later. The second down side is that JBL has a reputation for making speakers that when maxed out at full volume can blow out. I've owned many speakers by JBL and although I absolutely love the sound quality they provide, I can never turn the volume above 90% without worrying about blowing out the speaker. The JBL Link 500 can get very loud but I don't turn the volume above 70% because the passive radiator (what most people believe to be the subwoofer) can start making a weird noise like it's hitting something.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting jbl.com
Customer Rating
4
Nice sounding voice-activated speaker
on May 6, 2018
Posted by: brian163
from NJ, United States
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] This is my first experience with the Google Assistant built into a speaker. The voice activation works well and responds promptly. Even when the music is playing (I tested up to about 2/3 volume) it can detect the activation phrase and the temporarily reduce the volume to complete a command. The bass speaker is exposed in the back and as an admirable "punch" for a speaker of it's size.The speaker provides verbal instructions for intiial setup and works well with Google Chromecast or Bluetooth devices. (As I only have one speaker I did not test the link functionality.) I was able to cast from the desktop (using a 3rd party Google Play app instead of the browser which I find awkward) and iPhone using the Google Play app. I also had no issue connecting my iPhone directly via Bluetooth. As an iDevice user I personally find Chromecast a little more awkward than Airplay or Sonos but if your not invested in those platforms then the JBL Link 500 certainly delivers a compelling alternative.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting jbl.com
Customer Rating
3
Solid Product
on June 4, 2018
Posted by: Vmusic
from Columbus, OH
This is a great home speaker that receives the audio signal wirelessly. The setup - I used my Android Phone, was much easier than I thought. Linking or connecting the Google Assistant to my Spotify account was easy.
I've only had it a week. The only downside I can see is no real EQ. As another reviewer stated, it's heavy on the bass, and the music I most listen to doesn't need that much bass.
I would love to see an outdoors /patio link product.
Response from jbl.comBy Karl Vincent, Customer Support, June 6, 2018
Yes, you are correct there is no equalizer built in to the speaker itself but you can use the equalizer of the application that you are using to play music (e.g. Spotify) It has built in equalizer in the settings.
If you need further assistance, you can create a case in our website www.jbl.com/support-contact.html and the Customer Service team will be more than happy to further assist you.
If you need further assistance, you can create a case in our website www.jbl.com/support-contact.html and the Customer Service team will be more than happy to further assist you.
Written by a customer while visiting jbl.com