JBL’s new flagship soundbar has quite a bit to shout about. Not solely does the Bar 1300 (generally known as the Bar 1300X is a few areas) handle to match the large 11.1.4 channel depend of Samsung’s excellent HW-Q990C, however it additionally claims an virtually absurdly big whole energy output of 1170W – to not point out an included subwoofer that boasts a class-leadingly massive 10-inch driver.
It is also one in every of a uncommon soundbar breed that conveniently options battery-powered wi-fi rear audio system you could truly connect to the ends of the bundle’s fundamental bar when you don’t need them cluttering the again of your room – or it’s essential recharge them.
The Bar 1300 definitely talks an excellent discuss – particularly for a bundle which, at $1,300/£1,300, nestles in properly towards key full encompass rivals from the likes of Samsung and LG. However does it have the efficiency to again up the hype? This is my full assessment.
JBL Bar 1300
Editor’s Selection
With a intelligent type issue and an almighty accompanying subwoofer, the JBL Bar 1300 is able to filling even the most important rooms with detailed, cinematic sound, and delivers probably the most immersive Dolby Atmos and DTS:X performances the soundbar world has ever seen.
- Fantastically immersive Dolby Atmos
- Baggage of energy and element
- Actually wi-fi rear audio system
- Not fairly nearly as good with music as films
- No 4K/120Hz or VRR cross by
- No HDR10+ passthrough
Design and construct
- Soundbar dimensions:
- Whole soundbar (with removable rears connected): 1376(h) x 60(h) x 139(d)mm
- Principal bar with removable rears indifferent: 1000(w) x 60(h) x 139(d)mm
- Removable surrounds: 202(w) x 60(h) x 139(d)mm; subwoofer: 305(w) x 440.4(h) x 305(d)mm
- Principal bar weight: 4.3kg; Encompass audio system weight (every): 1.25kg; Subwoofer weight: 10kg/
- Solely obtainable in black
The principle bar element of the Bar 1300 is not notably hanging to take a look at. It’s only a lengthy grey-black rectangle, actually, with angular edges, rounded corners, and a tough plastic grilled end over a lot of its edges and high. There’s additionally a quite awkward-looking, flat, non-grilled plate within the backside proper nook of its high panel, wherein some management buttons have been positioned.
Its solely actually distinguishing aesthetic traits are that it is fairly a bit deeper than most rivals (practically 14cm – so be certain your TV stand can discover room for it in addition to your TV) and that its ends can come off.
Sure, you learn that proper. Its two finish sections can detach to turn into the system’s utterly wi-fi (since they’ll run off an inner battery) rear audio system. JBL is not the primary model to take this novel rear speaker method on a soundbar, to be clear – however as you may see within the options part, JBL has taken the removable rear audio system thought to a different stage by giving them impartial Bluetooth playback functionality.
When the rear audio system are indifferent from the primary soundbar, magnetic covers may be clipped onto the primary bar’s ends to make it appear to be a completed product once more, quite than like a bar that is, properly, had its ends lopped off.
The principle bar appears to be like a lot smaller and weighs a lot much less with the rear speaker ends eliminated that it makes you query its potential energy in contrast with, say, the a lot larger, a lot heavier fundamental bar you get with the Samsung Q990C soundbar bundle. However then it does nonetheless handle to slot in six 46x90mm racetrack drivers, 5 19mm tweeters and 4 70mm up-firing drivers – and eats up a superb chunk of the system’s big 1170W of claimed energy.
The rear audio system when indifferent undertake an unusually horizontal stance when sat or wall hung behind you, however once more, nonetheless cram in a 46x90mm race observe driver, a 19mm tweeter, a 70mm up-firing full-range driver, and two rounded rectangle passive radiators per speaker.
The subwoofer, lastly, is a critically substantial affair. The most important I can recall seeing as a part of a soundbar bundle, in actual fact. It wears its bulk fairly attractively, although, with its calmly textured end and rounded corners, and its big 10-inch down- quite than side-firing driver provides you loads of room place flexibility. It additionally feels extra reassuringly heavy and properly constructed than the marginally light-weight fundamental bar.
Connections and management
- Three HDMI inputs, one HDMI output
- Controllable through JBL One app, included distant or on-bar controls
- Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/Airplay 2/Spotify Join/Chromecast/Alexa Multiroom assist
- Alexa, Siri or Google Assistant voice management (through exterior listening units)
- Auto calibration system
The JBL Bar 1300 will get off to an awesome begin by offering at least three HDMI inputs alongside the HDMI output for passing video on to your TV. The overwhelming majority of soundbars solely present two, however typically one and even no HDMI inputs – nevertheless, the type of family severe sufficient about house leisure to spend money on a premium soundbar just like the Bar 1300 will doubtless have not less than three sources they want to connect to it.
Having three HDMI inputs means you actually can use the Bar 1300 as a system switching field like you possibly can an AV receiver. Although for good measure the Bar 1300’’ output HDMI port is provided with eARC performance, in order that the soundbar can obtain lossless Dolby Atmos tracks handed on to it through your TV (assuming your TV is able to doing so).
Soundbars that don’t trouble with HDMI loopthrough, together with the Sonos Arc, will use the Bar 1300’s eARC compatibility to query the purpose of together with three HDMI inputs. However not everybody’s TV helps eARC and Dolby Atmos passthrough, and even the place they do, I’ve seen loads of proof through the years of eARC typically inflicting audio syncing points with sure equipment combos. Establishing eARC accurately can typically be fairly a faff, too.
The Bar 1300’s HDMIs handily assist passthrough of Dolby Vision HDR indicators – although as traditional there is not any assist for passthrough of 4K/120Hz and variable refresh fee gaming indicators, or the HDR10+ format created by Samsung as a rival to Dolby Imaginative and prescient.
Players with the newest consoles and premium graphics playing cards can at all times, after all, connect their gaming units on to their TVs and ship audio on to the soundbar utilizing HDMI’s eARC function. However there can sometimes be points with this method, as famous earlier.
Different connections comprise a digital optical audio enter, a 5V USB port for service use or powering HDMI video sticks, and an ethernet port if you wish to hardwire the soundbar to your router quite than relying on Wi-Fi.
The Bar 1300 offers at least 4 other ways of controlling it. The obvious is its distant management – an unusually fashionable and properly laid out however quite plasticky affair, with an initially complicated however finally easy-to-learn button structure. JBL additionally provides the JBL One app for iOS and Android that connects simply to the soundbar, makes it a lot simpler to get the soundbar in your Wi-Fi community, and provides a neat graphical management interface.
You can too concern verbal directions to the Bar 1300 for those who hyperlink it as much as an exterior Alexa, Siri or Google Assistant system, and eventually there is a primary set of touch-sensitive buttons on the primary soundbar’s high edge.
One ultimate bit of fine information is that the Bar 1300 incorporates a very easy-to-read LED show on its entrance edge that will help you observe such key data as chosen enter, quantity ranges, and supply codecs.
Options
- 11.1.4 channel depend
- Dolby Atmos and DTS:X playback
- Removable and absolutely wi-fi rear audio system
- Included subwoofer with 10-inch driver
- 1170W of quoted output energy
In case you’re considering $1,300/£1,300 seems like rather a lot to pay for a soundbar, you are about to study that the JBL Bar 1300 is not any bizarre soundbar.
For starters it includes 4 elements: the primary soundbar, a subwoofer, and two wi-fi rear audio system. So it’a one in every of a nonetheless comparatively uncommon breed of soundbar that delivers full encompass sound and a devoted bass element proper out of the field. In truth, on this case it delivers a full Dolby Atmos and DTS:X expertise, full with up-firing audio system to cater to these premium audio codecs’ overhead results.
The Bar 1300 is the primary non-Samsung soundbar I’ve examined, too, that delivers its encompass sound thrills utilizing a whopping 16 channels of sound, in an 11.1.4 arrange. Multibeam know-how is used to rebound the sound for some channels off aspect partitions and ceilings to make them appear as if they’re coming from the proper place in a encompass combine.
These channels are backed by some severe energy, too – particularly 650W for the primary bar, 2 x 110W to the rears, and 300W to the subwoofer.
The 300W going to the subwoofer is fed, too, let’s not overlook, right into a down-firing 10-inch driver – the largest I’ve seen in any soundbar bundle so far.
The completely wi-fi rear audio system are rated as able to operating for as much as 12 hours on a full cost (although their actual battery life will rely, after all, on how loudly you run them), and impressively you possibly can truly use one or each of them independently of the primary soundbar as separate or stereo transportable Bluetooth audio system. In addition they carry USB cost factors for those who don’t need to trouble attaching them to the primary bar to recharge, however no USB cost plugs are included.
Whereas the Bar 1300’s distant management helpfully provides direct quantity management buttons for every of its fundamental bar, subwoofer and rear speaker elements, the soundbar additionally, as you’ll anticipate of such a premium mannequin, offers an auto-calibration system that takes a couple of minute to run and works so properly – even in fairly awkward room configurations – that I would advocate you run it every time you place the rear audio system again in place after they have been re-attached to the primary soundbar.
The Bar 1300’s supply compatibility is fairly complete. In addition to the bodily connections talked about earlier, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth choices are additionally in play, full with Chromecast and AirPlay 2 assist (in addition to assist for the Alexa Multi-Room speaker system). The Chromecast and AirPlay 2 assist basically delivers wi-fi entry to greater than 300 on-line music providers, so you will not go wanting.
Efficiency
It solely takes a number of moments of getting your hair blown again, your ground violently wobbled and your backbone completely tingled by simply how a lot you are feeling embroiled within the coronary heart of no matter film world you are watching to understand that the JBL Bar 1300 is a critically nice soundbar. Uniquely so, in some methods.
Its single biggest expertise is it skill to steer and place results in even probably the most difficult, dense and large-scale Dolby Atmos or DTS:X mixes with uncanny precision. Not even the subtlest impact a sound mixer has taken the difficulty to incorporate passes the Bar 1300’s ultra-sensitive drivers by; a lot in order that with virtually each 4K Blu-ray I performed by it, I genuinely seen some ambient results and particular background or object placement particulars that I would by no means heard earlier than. And that is having heard these discs lots of of instances earlier than on some very spectacular soundbars.
The accuracy of the results placement extends, brilliantly, to overhead sounds, which seem with as a lot presence, definition and sheer verticality as I’ve heard from any soundbar. When a movie rains on the Bar 1300, as an illustration, you’ll be completely satisfied that it is also raining in your front room.
Perhaps even higher than the startling accuracy of the Bar 1300’s impact placement, is the integrity of the three-dimensional soundstage it creates for these results to ‘dwell in’. Offered you’ve got run the total two-step auto calibration routine, you may end up sat inside a seemingly excellent bubble of sound that extends throughout and above you with seemingly no gaps or holes by which its immersive qualities may escape.
Samsung’s Q990C is the one different soundbar I’ve heard that is able to delivering such a superbly realised hemisphere of sound for the object-based Dolby Atmos and DTS:X codecs to strut their stuff in. And whereas there are a few areas the place the Q990C outguns the Bar 1300 barely, JBL’s bar truly manages to realize extra impact readability in that sound hemisphere than even Samsung does.
A few of this readability and sound stage constructing prowess is down, I think, to the superb steering capabilities of the multibeam sound design. A few of it’s right down to the outstanding stability in energy and dynamic vary the system achieves between the drivers in its wi-fi rears and people in the primary soundbar, and a few of it’s down – I believe – to the large quantity of energy the Bar 1300 has at its disposal. With out this, it is onerous to think about so many particulars and results being carried so exactly, cohesively and convincingly to all 4 corners of your room.
The mountain of energy can also be put to nice use in a extra customary approach by enabling the Bar 1300 to hit huge quantity ranges with out – for probably the most half – succumbing to distortion, muddiness or brittleness. It is remarkably agile with its quantity too, managing to escalate from murmurs to explosive, bass-laden influence sounds and rating ‘outbursts’ immediately. You have not skilled one in every of It (Chapter One’s) soar scares till you’ve got had it hit you want a truck from the JBL 1300.
In truth, the soundbar manages to push big-sound escalations out with a lot aggression that you do not simply hear but in addition really feel the soundwave drive throughout your room.
The subwoofer, as you may hope given how huge it and its driver are, underpins the already huge sound from the primary bar and rears with big quantities of bass. The dynamic vary achieved by the primary bar and wi-fi rears is itself outstanding, however the subwoofer provides a complete additional dimension of heft and scale to proceedings. In truth, it seems to hit frequency depths with out sounding compressed or boxed in that reach past these of another soundbar I’ve heard.
JBL
Every so often the subwoofer’s monster depths can truly begin to sound a bit heavy and ‘flappy’. That’s to not say the sub lacks nimbleness; in actual fact it sometimes adapts properly, particularly relating to the quantity of its interjections, to the shifting calls for of a film soundtrack. However at its very deepest, its output can turn into simply barely distracting.
Now I’ve hit on a minor adverse concerning the Bar 1300, I will add a number of extra. Beginning with a barely harsh presentation of very shrill and aggressive sound results. There are uncommon moments, too, the place male dialogue can sound a contact ‘digital’ and muffled, whereas shrill little one or feminine voices can sound a contact too brilliant.
Lastly, the soundbar must be run at fairly excessive volumes; it loses numerous projection, heft and element at something lower than ‘loud’. However I would a lot quite a severe soundbar like this was unapologetic about loving loudness than the opposite approach spherical.
Let none of those niggles depart you in any doubt, in any case, that whereas a bit totally different in its strengths and weak point to its fundamental rival, Samsung’s Q990C, the JBL Bar 1300 stays a really stellar film performer.
Apart from sometimes letting a vocal mix a bit an excessive amount of into the combination, it is also a incredible performer with Dolby Atmos music mixes. The identical colossal dynamic vary, consideration to element and exact impact placement delivers simply the type of epic and immersive or, relying on the observe, intimate and spartan environment solely a superb Atmos music observe can present.
The Bar 1300 is, although, much less assured with stereo music. With the rears muted and the Atmos impact set to Low to get near a local stereo expertise, there is a slight tendency for the sound – particularly notably daring lead vocals – to really feel as if it is ebbing out and in, quite than presenting completely constant staging. The size of the left and proper separation is predictably spectacular, although, and detailing continues to be spectacular with out changing into scientific. The subwoofer additionally contributes remarkably subtly to proceedings contemplating how big it’s, and the sheer volumes the system can hit with out breaking right into a sweat stay prodigious. The choice for remixing stereo into all of the obtainable channels works fairly properly too – albeit no rival for a real Dolby Atmos combine.
Verdict
JBL’s return to the soundbar fray sounds unimaginable on paper – and really sounds fairly unimaginable in motion, too.
Its colossal energy is used to ship colossal dynamics and a big and exceptionally exact, detailed soundstage, quite than simply getting used to ship huge volumes (although it does that too).
Its eye-catchingly chunky subwoofer proves surprisingly nimble for one thing able to hitting the deepest low frequency depths within the soundbar world. And people probably gimmicky, completely wi-fi rears truly do nearly as good a job as we’ve ever heard of each mixing in tonally with the primary bar and finishing a flawless hemisphere of sound – particularly throughout Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks.
In truth, I would go as far to say that the Bar 1300 delivers probably the most immersive Dolby Atmos and DTS:X performances the soundbar world has ever seen.
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