JBL Bar 5.1 - Channel 4K Ultra HD Soundbar with True Wireless Surround Speakers

Pros:1. Easy to set up2. Truly wireless3. Amazing subwoofer - shakes the couch/houseCons:1. Nothing reallySummary:We have a large open living room that's open to the kitchen, almost 900 sqft. With a space this large, the built in speakers on the TV are about adequate for listening to the news, and not really good for much else, especially watching movies. Ideally we should have a receiver and multi speaker setup, and maybe one day I'll do that, but I just don't want to spend the money and time running and hiding wires and trying to find surround speakers that I can hide so it's not so obtrusive and obvious. The wife agrees that she wants the surround sound experience, but isn't interested in having speakers all over the living room. We've tried various 2.1 systems that simulate surround sound, but those aren't all that great. And anyways, it's hard to find a soundbar system that can fill this space. We've tried some others, but they've been OK at best.I found this JBL system accidentally and after reading the reviews, I thought I'd give it a shot. The thing that sold me was the wireless battery powered surround speakers. Since we would only use it during movies, for the most part it wouldn't be cluttering up the living room area. We have other JBL wireless speakers that we use via bluetooth when we're outside that work quite well, so I figured these speakers would also perform well. Especially in an indoor setting.I will tell you that if you're on the fence about this system, to give it a shot as you will be pleasantly surprised. The sound quality is absolutely amazing. it's loud and clear and fills our giant living room very well. Some of the other soundbars that I've tried get loud, but the sound gets muddy and distorted. The detachable surround speakers work well, also have great sound, and simply works. They connect automatically without a problem to the main unit, the speaker levels are adjustable on the fly, and you can place them wherever you want. This soundbar system also comes with a calibration speaker, which takes just a minute to balance the sound levels for the exact spot that you'll be sitting. Most impressive is the 10 in subwoofer. It's well designed and does a good job trying to hide into the background with its monolithic simplistic design. However, the sound that comes out of it is nothing short of amazing. We have the volume set at 2/3 of max, and it will shake the couch we're sitting on and rattle the walls.The soundbar also has a night mode, which helps reduce the subwoofer setting and bump up the midrange so I can hear the dialogue and i'm not waking the kids when watching something with lots of explosions and booms.I'm quite happy with the sound quality and loudness, wife is happy that the surround speakers are not permanently sitting around and can be put back on the soundbar, and my bank account is happy that this system only cost $500.

After drooling over the Sonos 5.1 (Beam) system at Best Buy, and trying/returning a couple other sound bars not worth mentioning, I was really hoping not to love JBL 5.1 so much- but for almost 1/3 of the price of Sonos (found a great Amazon warehouse deal), how can I not keep this!The biggest shocker is how great music sounds through the bar with the satellite speakers attached (not so much in surround mode but who cares). You can play around with different sound modes and find a setting to suit your taste. The music mode is a bit thin for me, but standard and movie modes sound thick and rich which brings me to my next point...The subwoofer is sick in an overkill kind of way like a drunk bass player who won’t turn his amp down. You really have to reign it in to keep from overpowering the mix. Thankfully, there’s a bass button on the remote to adjustments on the fly depending on content.The remote could be better. Backlighting and treble controls would be great additions, and it feels a little light and cheap in the hand. Functionally, it’s great. I also appreciate the surround speaker volume controls. I’ve found lowering the surround level to 4 out of 6, keeping the sub under control, and boosting the bar volume provides for a well-balanced sonically pleasing experience. For me to get to point where I can get lost in the all enveloping soundscape without thinking about what needs to be tweaked is a major feat the JBL has accomplished.For the best results, you need to calibrate which is super simple and takes all of 30 seconds. It’s fun to play around with different placements to get the best effect. Out of the box, all the components auto sync and get along swimmingly. Reconnecting for recharge is breeze, and we fast-settled into a nightly routine where we put the little satellite speakers in their discreet places just behind and to the right and left of us, then plug them back in the morning to recharge. The bar in 2.1 mode is great for regular tv and any kind Bluetooth streamed content you can throw at it.Compared to most other bar systems out there, the amount of HDMI inputs on this thing is opulent- 3 plus an ARC HDMI out which is the “input” from an ARC compatible TV. We have the the cable box and Blu-ray player going into the Samsung then out to the ARC port to the JBL. It’s great to have volume control through the tv remote for times you just want to turn on the TV and not mess with other remotes and settings.In summary, don’t let the “lack of midrange” reviews scare you away. The dialogue comes through crystal clear and all styles of music shine through. Is the Sonos better? Probably, but I can’t say for certain because I haven’t lived with it and put it through the paces. For us, the JBL system more than meets our needs and expectations, and I appreciate the fine tuning capabilities of the remote which is lacking with Sonos where you have to program your tv remote to function with it along with using the app.I wholeheartedly recommend this system to those who want something that’s a dream to set up, easy to adjust to your liking, and truly delivers to even the most discerning audio freaks out there.