Customer reviews from jbl.com
JBL - 5.1-Channel Soundbar System with 10" Wireless Subwoofer and 4K & HDR Support
Average customer rating
4
(264 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 264 reviews
5 Stars
152
4 Stars
42
3 Stars
21
2 Stars
18
1 Star
31
80%of customers recommend this product.
(
160 out of
201)
Customer Reviews for JBL - 5.1-Channel Soundbar System with 10" Wireless Subwoofer and 4K & HDR Support
Customer Rating
5
on January 19, 2018
Posted by: Ismer 2002
from Las vegas
The sound is beautiful with a lot of power and bass
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting jbl.com
Customer Rating
5
Awesome!
on December 21, 2018
Posted by: TJohn
What else can I say but WT...!! In my 460 sq ft den this replaces my bulky 5.1 set up with sweet bassy sound. Best part is you can arrange the wireless satellites to accommodate your situation. This will not compete with a full big speaker system but very close for my room. A+
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting jbl.com
Customer Rating
4
Fits a nice niche but has some downsides
on April 26, 2019
Posted by: Just Dave
from Tennessee
I have had surround sound for years. I always found a way to run wires to the rear speakers through a crawl space, drop ceiling, attic or under baseboards and carpet. This time around though, our new house has a space where nothing I ever used in the past would work. So, still wanting true surround sound, I started looking at alternatives and found this bar. I would simply say that I believe this is the future of home audio and surround for sure- having completely wire free surround speakers puts it into a category by itself. It looks good, sounds good, has great bass compared to almost every soundbar I have ever heard and is fairly easy to set up aside from having to set your TV and devices up properly to work with it. That being said, there are some downsides that make me give this a 4 star instead of a 5 star review. First, and I would assume to hit a specific price point, it doesn't support Atmos or DTS-X. In a 5.1 system, it may not need to but at this point I believe anything connected to it is scaled automatically down to standard Dolby Digital or DTS (or PCM). Right now, I am not sure which is scaled to what and there is no documentation about it. Next, there is no strict audio passthrough mode. This means that everything is processed somehow- not necessarily good or bad, but it does mean that even 2 channel music is processed to add rear surround information. What it does do sounds good, but especially for music through bluetooth would have been better served to just come out of the main stereo speakers in the sound bar. Last, the wireless speakers cause some interesting conundrums in that you calibrate the system with them in the rear position, but they also always work (and cannot be shut off) when they are charging by being in the bar itself. This means the bar will sound a but weird when you use it while charging the rears. They really should have had two calibrations- one for the speakers removed from the bar and one for the speakers plugged into the bar.
Additionally, please don't read the Q&A section hoping to get good information. For expamle, this sound bar is 45" long WITH the speakers plugged into the bar. Looks like a lot of the questions were answered by folks who don't even own the soundbar.
Additionally, please don't read the Q&A section hoping to get good information. For expamle, this sound bar is 45" long WITH the speakers plugged into the bar. Looks like a lot of the questions were answered by folks who don't even own the soundbar.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting jbl.com
Customer Rating
3
All about that bass, and no mids
on November 10, 2019
Posted by: Acoustic Avocado
from Wisconsin
Various components of our home theatre system started to go, including our receiver, so with a toddler roaming the house we opted to transition from floor standing speakers to a sound bar. And my wife was never a fan of large boxes scattered around the room. She was super excited about the sleek setup of the Bar 5.1 and the versatility of the system.
The JBL Bar 5.1 came with good reviews, even from Consumer Reports. I know from previous home audio research, that tiny speaker systems and a sub just don’t match up to floor standing speakers. However, I wasn’t prepared for just how much of the mid-range was missing when I finally got the system hooked up. I’ve given the system about a week to see if I would adapt to the new acoustic signature, but I just can’t quite come around.
My wife, who is not a fan of the look of large speakers, even asked if we could return the system so we could go the route of floor speakers again. I found this quite telling, as she has complained about the look of the floor standing speakers for years. Yet she finds the sound of a more than decade old, similarly priced floor standing 5.1 system to be better than the Bar 5.1 (Price for old system included receiver and speakers).
Bottom line: If you are used to small portable speakers or your TV speakers, the Bar 5.1 will likely be an upgrade and sound decent to you. However, if you have become accustomed to floor standing speakers, you will likely notice the lack of the mid range when listening to your music. We will be returning this system and exploring new floor standers. We will still be considering the JBL brand for our floor standers, we just have found that the acoustical limitations of a sound bar are not for us (read: no mid range).
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Response from jbl.comBy Pearly, Customer Service, November 13, 2019
Thanks for posting a review. We appreciate you sharing your experience with your JBL Bar 5.1 with us. We're always looking for ways to improve, and we'll make sure your feedback gets to the right team.
Written by a customer while visiting jbl.com
Customer Rating
3
Poor sound
on March 25, 2020
Posted by: hkokoti
from Nicosia, Cyprus
Good concept. Bad sound quality for music. Bass to fake, high frequencies too high and has a tin sound. No warmth
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Response from jbl.comBy Mario at Customer Service, Customer Support, March 25, 2020
We appreciate the feedback you've provided to us. We understand that our JBL Bar 5.1 did not meet your expectations. We're always looking for ways to improve so we'll make sure to submit your feedback to the right department.
Written by a customer while visiting jbl.com
Customer Rating
2
Lots of crackling noises
on May 18, 2020
Posted by: Azeitona
from San Fransisco
My wireless subwoofers are making lots of crackling noises when no audio is coming which is unbearable. Regardless if it's connected, if the source is opt or hdmi, the crackling is there. The only way to make it go way is to reduce the volume to the lowest level. That's a shame.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Response from jbl.comBy JBL, Customer Support, August 28, 2020
Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback. We understand that our JBL Bar 5.1 didn't meet your expectations. Since the subwoofer is wireless, it susceptible to interference. To isolate this issue, you could try to relocate your subwoofer or make sure that there are no wireless devices within 5 meters. If it's connected to a power strip, you could also try to plug it directly to a wall outlet to see if that fixes the noise issue.
Written by a customer while visiting jbl.com
Customer Rating
5
Amazing
on May 22, 2020
Posted by: SP02
from Duluth, Georgia
I bought this a few weeks ago and it feels like I’m at the movie theater with this set up
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting jbl.com
Customer Rating
4
Clear sound, Great bass
on December 30, 2020
Posted by: FrmVA
from Shelby, NC
Alot of people say the sound is terrible and I thought the same until I used the calibration microphone after placing the surround speakers in the position I wanted them to be. After the calibration the system became louder and more vibrant. The voices came through like I was sitting right next to whoever was talking. The surround speakers came to life letting me hear everything I couldn't on my previous system when I watched some movies again. One word for the sub. BASS!!!! Those of you not happy with the sound I don't know what to tell you. If you haven't calibrated it then you need to. Great sound and overall great system.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting jbl.com