Customer Ratings & Reviews

The JBL - Authentics 500 Smart Home Speaker is an amazing sounding speaker that is very well built and has a beautiful design. To get the speaker set up you will need to download the JBL One app on your mobile device. It will run you through the connection process and will also install a firmware update for the speaker. I didn't have any issues with the app and it was very seamless. Within the app you can setup the smart speaker functions, check for software updates and adjust the sound equalizer. I recommend that if you are streaming from a mobile device to check your sound quality settings. I use an iPhone and Apple music. When I checked the sound quality setting on my phone it was set to a lower setting. Something to keep in mind. The JBL Authentics 500 is an amazing sounding speaker. You get solid, deep bass and overall very good sound quality. I have always loved JBL's sound signature and this speaker does not disappoint. It also gets very loud and will easily fill a large room. I really like how you get the bass and treble knobs right on the speaker itself for easy adjustability. This speaker stays plugged in and is always ready to receive a signal whether through Bluetooth or Wi-fi. No battery or waterproofing. Just great sound. It looks amazing on the shelf and is very aesthetically pleasing. If you are looking for an amazing sounding speaker that looks great and is easy to use, definitely consider this JBL speaker.

Normally I would do a review on a Speaker beginning w Specs, not this time. This time we begin w aesthetics. This speaker is Retro, ands blends beautifully with numerous furniture designs. I found it to be beautiful in appearance. It just looks better than my other speakers due to the beautiful burnished wood colors. and provides smooth clear highs, mid tones that reproduce sounds accurately, and with serious woofers w plenty of bass. Size can be a feature, a neutral, or a negative. In sizing, senninghausser made the correct decisions. This speaker is superbly sized. Its length is standout. You may place the speaker on top of most any nightstand, lamp table, end table or entertainment center. It will fit without wording about overhead. The sole requirement to concern is a power outlet. Notable features are an app that is installed in 1 minute, and providing outstanding connectivity via Hey Googol, and Alexa.so that almost any music providing platform works flawlessly w the speaker,.

I ordered this because I'm a huge fan of JBL - always have been - and was looking for an additional smart speaker for our bonus room. I really liked the way the Authentics line looked, with the retro styling, and the simple-sounding controls and features. When the box showed up I was surprised by how big it was and thought, "Oh, well, it probably has a lot of protective packing." Yes, it did, but still - this thing is big. Now, it's a large bonus room so it won't be a big deal to us, but pay attention to how big this thing is and really visualize it if you have a small space. All that said, the sound is superb - in true JBL fashion. The app control is straight-forward, Alexa works well with it, bluetooth paired up easily. It has auxiliary and USB-C inputs as well for external device and/or computer use. The one minor thing is the lack of EQ flexibility. It has a treble and bass control on the top but they're touchy. You can adjust them via the app as well, and the app adds a midrange adjustment. But it's only the three-band EQ and the frequency points are fixed. I would like to see at least a five-band EQ or (even better) a parametric EQ option via the app. Bottom line - I would highly recommend the Authentics 500 if you have a large space to fill. Just be aware that it would overwhelm a small space.

not a quality sound system. poor actually. good looking though

First thing I thought when the package arrived was “Wow, this box is heavy!” LOL. What a beautifully built device! Downloaded the JBL One app, plugged in the speaker, and connected it to my phone. Family was here when I first powered it up, we were all blown away by the sound quality. It’s truly amazing! And with 270 watts, it was rattling the dishes in the cabinet I set it on. I’ll need to move it. Designed with a retro nod to JBL’s iconic designs of the past with a leather look case and gold trim, I expect this will blend in with most any decor. With a size of 17.6”x9.45”x10.07” (WxHxD) and a weight of 17.2 lbs, it does make a statement in the room. The heart icon button on top allows you to set a “moment”. You can select from a short list of services and choose a station, set a volume level, and if you want, you can set an auto off time also. I did not see a way to add services to the list, though. I was able to find my favorite local radio station on a different free service that was on the list so I set it to that so no big deal. There’s three large knobs on top, largest one controls the volume by turning it, you can tap the center of it to pause or start playback. The other two knobs adjust the bass and treble. The knobs have a ring that illuminates when you turn them to show you the level. In the app, a three band EQ is available also. On the back of the speaker, there’s an ethernet port, a 3.5mm aux jack, a switch to turn off the mic for voice control, and a usb-c port. The usb-c port will charge your phone also. In the app, you can connect a second identical speaker for an enhanced stereo sound or you can connect multiple compatible wifi enabled speakers using Airplay2 for multi-room audio. I understand it works with Alexa and Google Assistant but even though we have several Alexa enabled devices in the house I find I really don’t use that feature.

I cant find much to complain about with this massive JBL smart speaker. It is heavy, feels well built, and personally I like the retro aesthetic as well as the black and gold color scheme. Setting this speaker up was pretty much as easy as plug it in and go. As soon as I opened the JBL app it was looking for a new device and found this smart speaker within seconds. Within the app you can make some basic EQ adjustments. Essentially bass, mid, treble each have their own slider you can adjust up or down an arbitrary amount to your liking. You can also skip forward/back or play/pause music within the app, but only certain providers are supported. Spotify is not supported within the JBL app but this speaker works perfectly fine using the Spotify app or google/alexa to tell it what to play. Sound quality is good out of the box in my opinion and will have no issues filling almost any space with whatever you decide to play on it, and Dolby Atmos is supported. Multiple tweeters and mids as well as a large ported downward firing subwoofer that really gives this speaker some depth. Provides good combination of lows/mids/highs and doesn't sound weak in any sector. Sound quality remains free of distortion even as you approach max sound level. Max sound level to be used with caution in most environments, this speaker will pull nearly 300watts of total power. Supports both alexa and google assistant, during initial setup in the app it allows you to set up both or just an individual provider. I use Google assistant and getting it set-up and added to a room in my home was very easy. If you opt to purchase multiple of these JBL speakers you can set them up in either the google home or alexa app to function as a multi-room system but there is no direct support for this in the JBL app. Also the functionality of multi-room systems in google home has recently changed so be mindful of that. Overall a really nice quality speaker from JBL that is extremely easy to set-up and provides a great experience.

The sound is incredible. It captures the highs, medium and lows very well for its size. It was extremely easy to connect to my WiFi and to all my devices. It also features great options for online music streaming through the JBL One app. There is no power button which is the only odd thing I have noticed. It does not seem to matter and possibly allows for a quicker connection when you want to listen to it. I believe it simply goes on standby mode when it’s not in use. It also does not come with a remote control, but it really does not need one since the phone acts as a remote, and it is always essentially “on so there is no need for a remote control to turn the speaker on or off. The equalizer is fully adjustable for all preferences. I tested it with various songs with deep bass, vocals, instrumental, etc. and it absolutely sounded amazing for all genres. Overall, I am very happy with this speaker and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a loud, high quality speaker with a retro design.

What I like about this speaker is retro looks it brings to my room combine with decent sound quality and ability to use both google and amazon vioce assists. Currently for me I have replaced my nest audio speaker with the jbl authenics 300 just for the extra laudness and bass this new speaker brings does all the same things as my nest audio just a bit better. The nest audio now lives in the living room. If you are interested in buying it I would definitely go check it out at your local bestbuy

Regarding the sound quality. It is very crisp and clear. It does lack a little base but that is to be expected from a speaker that has smaller drivers and no subwoofer. The sound quality is still excellent. It is supposed to include Dolby Atmos, but I couldn’t hear that at all. That may be because I was just listening to music. The app is basic and allows you to change sound settings, set up the speaker including assistants and change some settings. I found the app to do its job although it was a little cluttered and not laid out that well. The various features of the app should be better separated into pages and less cluttered. The features of the app all work as intended. There are bass and treble controls on the top of the unit that have nice LED indicators to show where the current setting is. There are equivalent settings in the app. There is no EQ in the app and only the ability to set base, mid, and treble. An EQ in the app would be useful. There is a single button on the top that controls, play, pause, forward, and reverse depending on how many times you press the button. This works as intended and is easy to use. The speaker does include Alexa and Google assist features. I was only able to test the Alexa assistant. It was a little tricky to set up in the app, but it does work great once set up. There were no problems hearing my voice and responding correctly or playing music asked for. There is a switch on the back to enable or disable the voice assistant. There is, however, a bigger issue with the speaker. You need to turn on the switch for the voice assist to use the speaker as an Alexa device. What this means is that if you already have an Echo in the room, you can’t use it to listen to music on the speaker. When turning off the assistant with the switch on the back, you should still be able to listen to music on it using an existing Echo in the room. One last thing is that the speaker is huge and heavy. Don’t let the photo in the listing fool you. I guess the size is needed in order to provide the best sound, but you need to have the space for it. A very good speaker with excellent sound quality but the app needs rework and there needs to be the ability to listen to music on it with an external voice assistant.

Ultimately, this is an aesthetic purchase, if you make it. PROs: The audio quality is FANTASTIC. In a time that manufacturers are making everything to be portable and smaller, this is a full-size home speaker with amazing sound. The use as a smart-speaker is also quite nice. I've never used a home-hub style device in the past, but it is very convenient to be able to say "set the temperature to X" rather than having to walk over to the thermostat. NEUTRALs: The appearance is a matter of taste. They went with a very 70s appearance which makes this device stand out from the crowd, but is ultimately up to you if it fits with your decor. The size is a factor as well. If you live in a small one-bedroom, you likely don't have anywhere to put something of this size. CONs: The price - for what you're paying, you can get far more versatile devices. Connections - This speaker has an ethernet port which is good, because the initial WiFi set-up was a nightmare. I tried numerous times to get it to work, restarting the phone, trying different networks, reinstalling the app, and eventually it did work, but this took several days and required reaching out to the company for help (and I'm a very tech-inclined person). There is also just a 1/8" headphone jack on the back if you want to run a line-in. This means that while this is targeted at audiophiles, you cannot connect most audio equipment to it without adapters. You would expect at least an RCA-style red/white wire combo. Further, at this price, you are looking in the same range as high-end soundbars and other systems which can also connect by Bluetooth to your phone. No HDMI to use with a TV, no audio connectors to use with a broader sound system. Just a highly stylized and powerful Bluetooth speaker. Finally, without having a screen it can be difficult to interact with. When you have a smart device with a screen, you can have it play music and interact with the music easily. You can see what's playing if there's a screen. With this device, it will start playing music and provide no information on the song, playlist, anything. ULTIMATELY - The only reason to buy this speaker is if you really like the aesthetics. If you have most any other modern electronics, this will look out of place and you can find excellent products that will look more modern with the same utility.