JBL Bar 1300 review with Dolby Atmos
We could already review the new soundbar JBL Bar 1300 with Dolby Atmos. It spoils with many functions and bass-strong subwoofer.
Directly to the individual sections of the test report
- This is what the flexible surround concept can do
- Streaming and connectivity options galore
- This is how the JBL Soundbar 1300 sounds in the listening test
- The JBL Bar 1300 can cinema
- Conclusion and alternatives to the JBL Soundbar
- Specifications JBL Bar 1300
With the new JBL Bar 1300, the US manufacturer known primarily for Bluetooth speakers like the Boombox 3 ventures into the field of high-end soundbars for the first time. And it really sets itself apart from the competition, like the one we recently tested: For 1500 Euros list price, you not only get a soundbar with channel-discrete Dolby Atmos. JBL even counts a staggering 11.1.4 channels – that means four indirectly radiating immersive channels alone. The JBL soundbar, made of high-quality metal, also comes with a wireless subwoofer and two battery-powered rear speakers.
You can set them up at the side or behind the listening position without cables, wherever it fits, during a movie night. After the home theater evening, they can then flange back to the left and right of the main soundbar and recharge. Very strong magnets hold them there securely. However, you then also need an impressive 1.37 meters of space under the TV. However, anyone who owns a 65-incher should be able to place the flat sound bar loosely in front of it on the corresponding base or hang it on the wall underneath.
This is what the flexible surround concept can do
However, the little wireless boxes are not only good for an enveloping surround experience: They also serve as stand-alone Bluetooth speakers. Very practical as a small music solution for the kitchen, bathroom and terrace, where they can also be recharged via USB without having to be docked to the soundbar. This reduces the width of the Bar 1300 by almost 40 centimeters. They last up to 12 hours, which is a very decent value considering the size.
It should be noted that both side speakers work as a standalone Bluetooth system, so you have two of them along with rudimentary controls. Or you can connect them together to form a wireless stereo system. We are impressed! The open ends of the remaining soundbar, which is still one meter wide, can be closed with magnetically fixed cover caps.
If you leave the rear speakers connected to the Bar 1300 in home theater mode, they themselves each take on the function of two channels: the surround effects and the immersive surround effects. For the former, a 2-way combination of oval woofer plus tweeter is installed, for the vertical effects a round full-range driver. In addition, there is a rectangular passive diaphragm for deeper bass during stand-alone operation.
Lots of speakers plus 1,170 watts
The main part of the soundbar is similarly equipped, but it uses four discrete up-firing full-range drivers that sit together in pairs, further enhancing the directional effect towards the ceiling. Towards the front, the electronics distribute the three main channels Left, Center and Right to an armada of oval “Racetrack” drivers plus three tweeters.
The tweeters responsible for the external signals and lateral effects are relatively angled on the outside of the soundbar. For the operation of the impressive collection of drivers, JBL uses a bunch of power amplifiers, whose power adds up to a total of 1,170 watts – an impressive value that the manufacturer throws into the ring here. The wireless subwoofer equipped with a 10-inch woofer (26 cm diameter) with 300 watts has a lion’s share in these performance values.
Streaming and connectivity options galore
Those who only feed signals via the home TV will probably use the HDMI-eARC port as a rule. Beyond that, however, the JBL Soundbar 1300 offers three more HDMI inputs for 4K sources with pass-through for Dolby Vision. This makes it the small control center of a home theater installation, for example when a Blu-ray player, receiver or video-capable server docks there.
Additional jacks are used for playback via optical cable (quite useful for CD players or older TVs) or via LAN cable. However, the HDMI-eARC input takes precedence over the optical S/PDIF-Toslink and prevents selecting the latter. So you have to disconnect the HDMI plug beforehand if you want to use the fiber optic input. Very practical: When we played music to the Bar 1300 via Airplay 2, it automatically switched from TV sound to this wireless source. In addition, there is a USB-A input on the back, which can be used to connect memory sticks for MP3 playback. However, according to JBL, this luxury is reserved for the US version of the Bar 1300. In other regions, the socket is only used for maintenance purposes, i.e. to install software updates. There are no analog inputs, however.
Instead, there are plenty of network protocols that leave little to be desired when streaming: Besides Bluetooth, the Bar 1300 also understands Airplay 2, Google Chromecast and Alexa Multi Room Music (MRM). Regardless of whether it is connected via LAN cable or integrated into the WLAN.
Visual Feedback from behind the speaker grille
The display of which source is playing is hidden a little behind the grille. Setting up and controlling the Bar 1300 is pretty straightforward with the JBL One app . You can also use it to access additional music services, personalize the sound via a 3-band equalizer, or adjust the subwoofer level. A Lipsync function to compensate for time lags between picture and sound is also available in the JBL One app.
The start of the automatic calibration function, initiated with a countdown, can be initiated conveniently with the remote control without an app. The JBL Bar 1300 offers full-featured calibration, for which it uses its own microphones embedded in the top of the soundbar. The procedure requires sitting down at the listening position and running through some test signals. The wireless rear speakers have to go through the calibration process once next to the listening position on the sofa and once at their actual position in the back of the listening room. This is important insofar as the four immersive channels naturally work indirectly via ceiling reflection and can thus be automatically adjusted to the room.
This is how the JBL Soundbar 1300 sounds in the listening test
In the listening test, which we conducted in cooperation with the online magazine LowBeats in the acoustically optimized editorial listening room at the colleague Raphael Vogt in Worms, it immediately became clear: With the JBL set consisting of soundbar, wireless rear speakers and wireless subwoofer, you get a full-fledged small home theater for 1,500 euros list price. Even more than the convincing spatiality, which can only be achieved in this stability and plasticity with proper rear speakers for the surround channels, the powerful, room-filling basses already stood out on the first sequences of the block-buster “Top Gun 2: Maverick” produced in Dolby Atmos. How good that there is both a night mode with curbed foam and the already mentioned 3-band equalizer. These elemental forces in the lower octaves want to be tamed.
Bass to the bone
However, the taming of the Shrew is a bit tricky with the JBL soundbar. Although the exercise is most convenient with the corresponding bass button on the remote control. But a look at the 3-band equalizer revealed: Of the five levels selectable via remote control, the fourth is below the linear zero axis, the fifth above it. If you want to make it completely perfect, you should use the equalizer in the JBL One app.
Regardless of whether we set the bass to level four, five or linear: Even in the large and acoustically damped home theater test room, the bass was so vehement and deep that it could possibly be a bit too much of a good thing for some apartments in apartment buildings. It might be a bit too much of a good thing for gentler minds when listening to music via the Bar 1300. Its subwoofer not only packs a punch, it also produces a rather soft, voluminous bass. If you like hip hop and have a home theater or party cellar to turn it up in, you’ll certainly appreciate this. Those who are very particular about precision and balance might not be quite as enthusiastic.
The JBL Bar 1300 can cinema
On the other hand, there are no two opinions when it comes to evaluating the home theater suitability of the JBL Bar 1300: In our big listening test round with the Bluesound Pulse+, Bose Smart Soundbar 600, Klipsch Cinema 600 and the Nubert nuPro XS 8500 RC, no one in this illustrious round was able to beat it, at least in terms of spatiality. Not even among the other Atmos soundbars (we will link the individual tests here as soon as they are published). The JBL was the only one of these that at least began to give a sense of down and up in the room with the integrated Height channels.
As far as the spatiality is concerned, it was a good thing that you can directly influence the level of the rear channels via a button on the infrared remote control: “High”. “, “Low”, “Mute”. The adjustment is even stepless via the app.
Just like in an action movie, the JBL has an opponent who can put the home theater hero in his place. While films like “Top Gun” or “Avatar” flaunt his strengths demonstratively, not to say monstrously, music is his kryptonite. This was the stuff that robbed Clark Kent of his superpowers and turned the Superman into a rather inept office worker. This kryptonite is composed of voice-dominated recordings like Johnny Cash or The Style Council on the JBL Bar 1300. Here, the JBL seemed a bit sober and clumsy, simply owed some flair, vocal volume and warmth.
Conclusion and alternatives to the JBL Soundbar
From the aforementioned features, the following conclusion emerges from our review: If you focus on home cinema and want to really let it rip with special effects, you will hardly find anything better than the JBL Bar 1300 at this price. And even in terms of immersive spatiality, there’s really no beating the three-dimensional sound of the JBL soundbar in this class. This makes it practically the born antagonist to Bluesound’s Pulse+: The Scandinavian soundbar has music in its genes and produces voices with a melting and flair that you would expect from very good hi-fi speakers, but it does not come close to the JBL in terms of boom and spatiality.
If you absolutely want an Atmos soundbar but focus on music playback, you will find an alternative in the Sonos Beam 2 in combination with the Sonos Sub Mini, which also convinces with its dry, precise bass. However, the duo doesn’t deliver convincing 3D sound effects for a long time and doesn’t make the floor shake when Hollywood ignites its special effects.
Specifications JBL Bar 1300
- Manufacturer’s suggested retail price: 1,500 euros
- Dimensions (W x H x D): 137 (with clip-on speakers, otherwise 100) x 6 x 14 cm
- Weight: 4.3 kg without rear speakers and subwoofer
- Features: HDMI(eARC), detachable wireless rearspeakers, subwoofer included.
- More at: jbl.com
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