Crazy story yesterday. We went to Best Buy yesterday. Mind u never heard of the jbl bar. We were getting ceiling speakers with a amp. While we was there we heard this loud noise. Long story short.. we walk out the store withe jbl 500. Right now wife is playing it while setting up Xmas decorations. She’s happy I’m happy. Great sound bar
Yes! The JBL soundbars are sleeper pick for best value soundbars especially on sale. Compared to the LG and Samsung at the same price, the sound is more full and the bass is richer imo.
It is way more than I bargained for! Before this I had the JBL SB450. Solid 2.1 soundbar still. But this is one though: It goes beyond the expected. The one HDMI input didn't work for me, even with a switcher. So I have multiple devices plugged directly into the TV, and I connect sound through a standard optical cable. I used to want an Atmos system until now. This system defies the odds in my opinion. I have an eMatic Android TV box, which gives me sound options like, Dolby Atmos with DD+, Dolby Digital, DD+, DTS, DTS-HD, and Dolby True HD. I played with the sound to find what works best. My TV is set to PCM because I want a lossless experience. (sounds better than it did on auto) I could really hear the difference after switching. Not only will this system process 2 channel into 5.1 channel audio, it also processes Dolby True HD. I tried all of the sound features offered from my TV Box. Some produced no sound at all. But Dolby Atmos in DD+ produced sound. DTS and DTS-HD produced sound also. But the best sound came from Dolby True HD. I'm hearing sounds all around me more than before. I'm hearing a great amount of overhead, ceiling-like sounds. I'm hearing rear surrounds more clearly. In other words, I'm getting a virtual Atmos 5.1 surround expeerience without paying extra for speakers, wires, a real expensive soundbar, or all that's required for a Dobly Atmos surround sound system. Helicopters, incoming missiles, and explosions are heard as if it's directly above my head, as well as the immersive sounds from all the channels combined. Don't believe me? Watch the Transformers Movies from 2009 and 2011, You'll see!
Only goes up to 31 volume. Around 12 you hear it a little.. but 25 to 31 the bass is super and the sound is really good. Sounds better when hook to a cd 💿 DVD 📀
Thanks for the review man. I had the Sonos Playbar and it died on me, Sonos has no options for repair, they just offered a discount for a new one, which does not inspire confidence on repairability of the new ones. Instead I went with this one, yeah it is a downgrade, but it has bluetooth, I got it on sale, and it sounds great!
@@TheFrenchGlow Update, I've been using it for a couple of days and it really does sound great! For small to medium living room, the sub is just as good as the Sonos. As for the soundbar itself, I do feel the older Sonos playbar had a better mix, but maybe I just got used to it since I had it for over 6 years. But by no means is the JBL bar bad, it sounds great and the auto calibration really did wonders! In my case I did the calibration twice and noticed an improvement over doing it just once. Add to this, I can play music directly from my android and apple devices with no setup and no special app. Overall I highly recommend it, and for the price it really blew my mind how good it sounds.
That's the downside of new companies . They're just expensive and no backups. Bose on the other hand and Sony they can just replace the unit for free or for $100 whole set.
The lows are too low(quiet) when watching a movie at night when people in the house are sleeping. Then if I turn the sound bar up and a loud scene comes on it’s WAAAAAAYYYYY too loud I tried a lot of settings in my tv if not every setting to do with sound, I’m using EARC, on a hisense u7g TV. but currently I’m watching a movie with the TV speakers mode as I’m able to hear the (quiets)/talking and the “loud” scenes aren’t too loud. It’s not the bass that’s too loud as I can easily control that via the remote, but just the main dialogue is far too quiet to enjoy a movie. I’ve owned the sound bar for close to a year and the only solution I can think of is maybe to update my tv and sound bar but I think they are both up to date. So that leaves me with thinking I should switch from eARC to Bluetooth or AUX or Optical cable, and possibly try to run both my TV speakers and my sound bar simultaneously. I like the sound quality of my tv speakers but I would also like to have the bass of the sound bars subwoofer which is mainly the reason I bought it. Any ideas or advice would be greatly appreciated… 😅
Great video, have you ever tested the jbl 3.1 sound bar and subwoofer what is your thoughts compared to this one, I have the 3.1 and want a cheap upgrade but I here this model only has low medium and high for subwoofer, mine on the 3.1 can adjust from 0-30 volume and can fine a better sweet spot for bas vs other sounds, with do you think about low medium and high for bass, is it under powered on low and does it match up well at different volume levels? I know it’s a little out of date but makes it cheaper now, been very happy with the 3.1 just worried about getting bass at the perfect level only having low medium and high, thanks bud .
Hi! Thank you! The Samsung q700b is superior (newer technology with wide range up firing tweeters) but retails for $550-600. The JBL you can find around $350 on sale. My honest opinion, I would save the money and go with the JBL. The Samsung might perform better with atmos but you could take the JBL, add on a govee/phillips mood light kit, and buy a apple tv/fire cube for the same money. Then you have a better upscaling streaming device, ambient reactive lighting and powerful bass.
Im thinking about pairing this with a projector and a fire stick. If I plug the fire stick (or even a laptop) into the soundbar using HDMI in and then use the HDMI out to the projector will it work??
Hey, can I ask your opinion of getting an upgrade to beam (gen1). I'm considering jbl 500 vs jbl 5.1 🙄 or Samsung Q800B or C vs Q930B. Using it in the 30m² living room. Really struggling to make a decision, maybe some advice? Thanks!
@@TheFrenchGlow hi, thanks for your response, appreciate it! I have LG OLED tv, but the Beam made me wanna have a subwoofer. Now I have chosen those 4 models, since they're about the same price point. But I don't know whether to go for an older 5.1 (sales person said it's actually better than newer 500 model. Thanks to detachable speakers). But still hesitating that maybe Samsung's even better? 🙄 Thank you so much!
It is still a current offered model and since the 500 and 800 was released, the price is even better than before. I will do a video comparing to the 800 but the 800 is more than double the price
Where are you finding these so called new JBL Sound Bars? If you type in JBL 800, that is the quantam 800/810 gaming headset. Has the JBL 5.1 been discontinued?
@@TheFrenchGlow Than you for the extensive review on the 5.1, I was actually looking to go buy one after seeing this review - but it looks like its only with 3rd party sellers? Has this sound bar been discontinued? What is the replacement?
You mistakenly displayed the subwoofer at 200 watts..it's actually 300 watts for a total of 550 ( your displayed spec diagram added up to 450 watts.) It's a no go for me as other reviews mention there is no EQ adjustment for treble/base..but nice review.
yes its 250 for the Speaker and 300W for the sub. Will add a text into the video. The key for the JBL is the value because in my opinion, JBL software is still catching up to Bose, Sony, etc. You see this in their earbuds/headphones. Great sound but no EQ while Bose, Sony, Samsung all have it. As a TV speaker, these are great though for the $$.
Nice review! How does this compare to the Samsung hw-B650? I'm torn between these two for my new bar with more kick but not too much (I live in a condo).
I have the Samsung 650. The 650 is wider so the center channel sound is more pronounced and is better for dialogue imo but the jbl automatic calibration sets it apart as it is more natural surround sound than the 650..Subwoofer the jbl blows away the Samsung. I would prefer to watch a movie on the jbl over the Samsung.
Hi! That is close. The JBL will have superior bass and a larger soundstage than the s4 so the explosions will sound better. But the Polk has clearer dialogue.
