JBL Bar 5.1 Surround Soundbar Review

In this video, we give you a closer look at the JBL BAR 5.1 Surround soundbar. This model replaces the BAR 5.1 we saw last year and loses the detachable speakers from the sides. It now uses Multi-beam technology to create the surround effects and has tweeters built into the sides of the bar. Power has been upgraded to 550 watts as well. JBL continues to make one of the best soundbars out there at this price point.

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Dimensions:
Soundbar - 2.28" High x 40" Wide x 3.94" Deep
Subwoofer - 17.3" High x 12" Wide x 12" Deep

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[nikxox]

Makes me wonder why people need 20 mins, when you are able to tell the story in under 4.

[grahamjackmacpherson]

Just got this baby today. Let's cut to the chase, the bass is thumping when set to level 3, 4 or 5. You will not be disappointed with that. Voices are clear. You can feel the sound moving from left to right and vice versa via the 5 drivers and side tweeters when watching dolby digital audio. At times it stretches further than the width of the soundbar with effects bouncing off walls. All great so far. But you will not get surround. At no time have I heard sounds from behind. It's all coming from the front and sides. The sound it delivers is very good. It gets loud and the floor will shake if you want it to. Recommended if your expectations are in check. 4/5

[_Ohhslife]

Easy to setup n bumps really good bass is deep highs are clear I really enjoy this sound bar n woofer it’s awesome always connects no issues 2 years running now 👏🏻

[frankfrankenstein]

I love this JBL 5.1 sound bar system! It’s easy to set up and sounds amazing for its size! Thanks for the great review!

[russelaitkenhead]

Ditched my Yamaha amplifier with Mission 5.1 surround sound speaker system (which I’ve owned for about 10 years) to this soundbar and I’m not disappointed at all. I wanted to simplify my setup and was over having all those wires and a million buttons and settings etc of which I barely used a 10% of. The sound of the JBL system honestly sounds better and the bass is unmatched, no crazy distortion even at near max volume. Best Buy

[ericyoung]

I really like how the JBL Bar 5.1 surround soundbar is capable of turning your living room into a theatre! really valuable gadget to add if you're into good sound systems, the integrated mediatek platform does offer a reliable durability

[bellaboop]

Excellent sound with no listening fatigue. I own and recommend!

[thunderjenkins]

I just bought the 5.1 and I love it . The sub woofer is banging .

[verycarey]

I recently bought this exact speaker after comparing it to others at Best Buy, it’s got by far the most bass for its price range and has enough bass to shake the house.

[dally]

How does it sound compared to the old Jbl 5.1 with removable speakers?

[Learnerme]

I think JBL took a step down by doing away with the detachable speakers. Very few soundbars offered such wireless detachable speakers and was definitely the real USP of the previous version. It may also be the case that there were some serious issues with the previous set up that JBL didn’t want to disclose and just discontinued it. I didn’t own the previous model but demoed it in a store and I was quite impressed. Also why reducing the number of HDMI inputs ? Takes away the flexibility to switch multiple sources.

[robertvurno]

I have the JBL 3.1 bar with ten inch sub and it sounds great if you like deep bass you can’t beat the big JBL sub those tv brand sound-bars Sony Samsung are good but the bigger JBL sub shakes the house much more then the smaller sub sound bars

[evgeny]

One word - THANKS for a great review!!!

[rigovasquez]

New model doesn’t have sound shift. Can’t switch to Music, Movie, Sports modes. It is louder but stuck in one mode. JBL 5.1 with detachable speakers and JBL 3.1 is much better. Returning this one. Had it less than 24 hours

[musamnguni]

I think the biggest downfall is the removal of the 2 extra HDMI ports that’s a huge blow in why the units won’t sell. Part of the reason why I suck to getting the JBL 3.1 soundbar is that I was afraid that the detachable speakers had a higher chance of failure outside of the warranty and would not serve me well in the long run when trying to service them. Other than that the old 5.1 is still kinda better here are two or three reasons why

1. you can fine tune how much Bass you want in your mix as supposed to the three step Bass mix button you get in the new 5.1 soundbar.

2. The lack of the two other HDMI ports is a huge blow to the sale point of the new gen 5.1 soundbar I know that they are trying to cater for the future and assume everyone is running a TV that supports ARC but not everyone owns a smart TV or a TV that can run ARC.

I know these are only two issues I have. But they are so important to me. It’s like how they took away the cross over knob from the SB400 day’s that was detrimental and that soundbar sounded king in its time. The whole ability to set up your Bass cross over and phase was all taking away for simplicity which is the reason why that soundbar for me sounded 100 X better than the current and slightly older gen soundbars from JBL

[vnatormaboko]

I bought JBL bar 5.1 today after watching ds review 🔥🔥🔥 De Bass s fire🔥🔥🔥

[imnotstupidjustslow]

I had the previous version with detachable speakers. It sound great but the system interfered with my WiFI. Dropped my internet speed from 150 mbps to 2 mbps when the surround speakers are on. I'm going to give this newer version a try and hopefully, it doesn't interfere with my WiFi signal.

[tomsisson]

Have one of these. Mine pumps out 550 watts of power, and somehow mine sounds better in person, maybe twice or three times better than yours does in the video. So if you like it it in the video, it is a must buy!

Tom Sisson

[kin]

Because of this guy my speakers full potential unlocks

[Bmoney]

I dont care what no one says this soudbar and woofer is amazing