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 5.1 I 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…

Great sound

Just purchased this a few days ago, but so far I really like it. The sound is nicely balanced, but I was expecting to have to turn the bass down and that is not the case. I have it set on three (High) and it's got a good thump, without thundering. I haven't heard any "Surround" effects yet, but have only been watching a little network TV so far. Pros: Feels heavy and well made. Sounds and looks very good. Fairly compact - Replaces a big stereo unit and a bunch of speakers that made my wife crazy. Cons: Setup is pretty confusing, especially if you try the "quick start" guide with its one line descriptions and all it's different languages. Read the actual owners manual. There are no on-screen menus to guide you, it's all "hold this button for three seconds to do this, hold that one for three seconds to do that..." One important thing I had to figure out by myself was the HDMI-ARC connection to my TV so it can communicate with the soundbar. Like some reviews I saw on other JBL soundbars, I could not get the soundbar to recognize the HDMI-ARC connection and play the TV sound. Tried other cables, tried connecting directly to the cable box to verify the unit did play the sounds (it did), and other ideas from JBL Technical Support, but...no ARC connection. They were at the point of having me connect an optical cable (which I did not want to do because of the decreased benefits of that cable) or actually returning the unit for a replacement one, when I decided on my own to try resetting my TV to it's factory settings in case it was a TV problem to see what that would do. Bingo. By resetting my VIsio TV, it went through the factory start-up menu and I could stipulate the HDMI-ARC plug for a sound device connection instead of a video input connection. The bar fired-up instantly and all appears to be well now. The wife likes it too, as the sound and especially voices come straight at you, so that's a big plus in my book. I will update this review as time goes by if anything changes. It's not gonna blow your doors and windows out, but it has plenty of power for normal folks and I would recommend it.

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.

I made the mistake I have a Sharp HDMI 65 inch Aquas TV 11 years old so I saw HDMI figured that was the connector we needed and it came with one. Well if your TV doesn't have and HDMI ARC port you probably need an optical connector. I learned the hard way tried frustrated for over 3 hours to figure out how to connect it and support had closed as it was a Sunday. I googled, I U-tubed, I tried it all. I finally gave up and tried connecting to my 32 inch newer Kitchen Viesio TV hmm 5 minutes were were done...... It had a clear HDMI ARC port so easy connect. I was like wow do I have to BUY a NEW TV ??? I don't need a sound bar in my kitchen. I called support the following day and a very nice fellow Paul tried for 90 minutes everything he could think of and nothing worked. Then he asked if I could locate an optical port, yes I did. So no optical connector though so I needed to get one. Paul shipped me one free and said once it arrives he will help connect it and be sure it was working. My conformation said 4- 7 business day on the free cord. I am not a patient woman.I went on Amazon had one next day for 10.00. Connected it myself in 3 minutes and we are Good to go. You just need the right stuff just know your TV and check before you buy what you need to be compatible. Lesson learned. Great sound Bar very pleased and most awesome JBL customer service on the planet. I will have an extra optical cord and I truly appreciated the gesture as well as the support. I definitely recommend this sound bar. Truly is a 10 minute out of the box if you know what connector you need. Enjoying so many movies with a whole different experience and love playing music now on Saturday cleaning day!

Best purchase ever.

Medium-priced soundbar with a lot of clairity! Pros 1) minimalistic design 2) clear, powerful, crips sound for a medium-sized room 3) easy set up 4) works well 5) Nice subwoofer which seamlessly connects wirelessly to bar Cons 1) Is this the pinnacle of audiophile home theater? Nope, but it works great for most everything else. If you want the pinnacle, then JBL and others have those at the proper cost ;) 2) Could have some more features to tune sound I bought this while on a deal and am very satisfied with this purchase!

My first soundbar was the Polk Signa S1 it was a decent entry level product, quite good at music, but not so much at home theater. I 'upgraded' to a Klipsch Bar 40..it wasn't much of an upgrade..it wasn't capable of higher volume output without distortion..lower volumes it easily trumped the Polk. I pulled the trigger on this brand new entry from JBL, it offered very easy setup, just plug and play. The EQ settings are preset to the source, some may dislike this as there really is no option to manually tune it aside from bass. I can say straight out of the box it sounds phenomenal to my ears. You want monster bass? It has it. Surround (virtual) it has it, works pretty well too at throwing sounds behind you. I am pleased with the simple operation approach that JBL has taken here, the settings are spot on for me. Bass levels essentially affect the sound fields overall, low is good for night time still sounds great and full, mid is optimal for most sources, high is for big thump and impact. The sub is mini fridge sized..literally..you will need a spot for it. Great product JBL. 02/20/21 UPDATE: lowering my rating as the sub/amp has died suddenly. The bar itself works but sounds very flat without the sub, pulled my old Polk signa s1 out of storage and it works without issues, and wow it sounds better just bar to bar without the sub. JBL product wasn't meant to last.

Estoy muy contento con la compra, y por el precio, fue una buena adquisición. Para empezar la barra es de bastante buen tamaño, ya que tiene 5 rango medios al frente y dos “trompetas” de alta frecuencia a los laterales. Por lo que el tamaño, desde el punto de vista acústico, está bastante justificado. Estas dos “trompetas” que tiene a los lado fungen como satélites virtuales; esto es que como tal no tiene dos satélites físicos que puedes poner en los laterales, pero funcionan como tal, quede bastante sorprendido por su “multibeam”. Además, el subwoofer es una locura; un driver de 10 pulgadas con puerto para unos bajos bastante definidos y potentes. Ahora, considerando que es un sistema JBL uno podría pensar que los bajos son excesivos o muy tosco, y si, pero no pierden tanta definición y fidelidad (considerando que es un subwoofer inalámbrico). La verdad uno puede vivir la experiencia de un teatro en casa sin salirse de presupuesto con este sistema.

I was in the market for sound bar with Dolby Atmos feature. After listening to a bunch of systems In Best Buy I concluded a system with good Atmos function costs $2k plus. For that kind of money you can get a proper home theatre but due to not available enough space I didn’t want to get one of those so I gave up the Atmos feature. I came across this system in Amazon during a promotion and ordered assuming just trying and returning as the price was very appealing ($499). The system arrived and I plugged it in and streamed a Dolby content from youtune and guess what! We loved it! It’s amazing. This JBL sounds better than all the SONYs and Samsungs that I had tried before. There is good clarity and base at all levels which separates it from the others. It delivers ok job when used for music but it really shines when watching movie and series. The base is deep and reach at all volumes and it shakes our house! Also vocals are clear irrespective to the content. The sound is very cinema like (90% of the theatre’s sounds systems are JBL). We have been using this unit for 3 months now and we are really enjoying it and I am very happy with purchase. 100% recommended. It’s worth every penny.

I recently purchased the JBL Bar 5.1 Surround 550-Watt 5.1 Channel Soundbar with 10" Wireless Subwoofer, and let me tell you, it delivers an unbelievable audio experience with a lot of boom boom bass! The sound quality produced by this soundbar is simply outstanding. The clarity and crispness of the audio immerse you in a cinematic experience right in the comfort of your own home. The highs and mids are crystal clear, but the real star of the show is the subwoofer. It packs a punch with its deep, rumbling bass that adds a whole new dimension to your favorite movies, music, and games. Setting up the soundbar was a breeze, and the wireless subwoofer adds convenience by eliminating the need for extra cables. The wireless connection is reliable and seamless, ensuring that you can place the subwoofer anywhere in the room to achieve the optimal bass effect. The JBL Bar 5.1 Surround also offers true surround sound, thanks to its 5.1 channel configuration. The rear speakers provide an immersive audio experience, making you feel like you're right in the middle of the action. It's perfect for movie nights or gaming sessions, where you want to feel fully immersed in the audio. One feature that truly impressed me is the ease of control. The soundbar comes with a handy remote that allows you to adjust the settings, including the bass level, to suit your preferences. You can fine-tune the boom boom bass to your liking, whether you want it to be thunderous or more subtle. In conclusion, if you're looking for a soundbar that delivers mind-blowing audio with a lot of boom boom bass, the JBL Bar 5.1 Surround is an absolute winner. Its exceptional sound quality, wireless subwoofer, and true surround sound capabilities make it a must-have for any audio enthusiast. Get ready to be blown away by the immersive experience this soundbar provides! Disclosure: I received no incentive or compensation for writing this review. I purchased the JBL Bar 5.1 Surround at full price and genuinely wanted to share my positive experience with other customers.

Se escucha muy bien y nítido, los bajos son muy buenos. Lo tenía a mitad de volumen y vibraban mis vidrios con las películas. El vídeo no le hace justicia al sonido. Gran barra !!

Es una excelente compra. Se calienta un poco la barra del lado de apagado. Pero aún así la calidad de sonido es excelente, sonido muy profesional. Nunca se distorsiona, aunque le pongas una canción con súper bajos, lo reproduce sin distorsión. Encantado con mi compra.