Customer Ratings & Reviews

10/10 big upgrade from my old Vizio system. Paired it with a new Sony 85” 90L

Absolutely an amazing product with amazing sound and boom in my living room.

JBL 1300 sound bar I will recommend this is amazing sound quality

Sounds great although I feel the sun can definitely put out a little more bass for it’s size but a good setup for a home theater

The sound is decent, it could be better my old system sounds better

I have been looking for a new surround sound system for my large Master bedroom and wanted something with Dolby Atmos that sounded amazing with my 65” TV with Dolby Vision. I had seen recently these JBL’s with their unique chargeable, wireless, Bluetooth speakers that seemed intriguing and different from other systems out there. Well, here I am today with the newest JBL Bar 1300X 11.1.4-channel soundbar. Set up couldn’t have been any easier. Took me less than 15 minutes. I also downloaded the JBLOne app for easy control. After walking through a pretty simple calibration process and software update, I was able to put it to the test. After watching a few DolbyVison movies, I was looking for two things: Clarity of voices or dialogue being spoken through all the surrounding sounds and the fullness of sound coming from both the soundbar, detachable speakers, and the base. First off I would say there is a lot of power here. The dialogue throughout the movies was clear and could hear every word being spoken. I felt like I was immersed in the sound coming from the speakers in all directions. There is plenty of base as well, which by the way is adjustable to your liking. I felt the calibration for my 14 x 16 master bedroom layout was perfect and didn’t feel I had to tweak anything. One cool feature is that the detachable Bluetooth speakers has an option to also charge with a USB C cable if you don’t want to reattach them to he soundbar to charge. By the way, the charge should last about 10 hours. It would have been nice to have those USB C cables included. Only cost me about $7 on Amazon for two-three footers. I realize there are a lot of options out there when it comes to sound, but I highly recommend giving JBL a shot. You will not be disappointed!

After transitioning from the JBL Bar 9.1 to the JBL Bar 1300, I've found myself profoundly dissatisfied with the performance of the newer model. One of the most striking differences is the inferiority of the bass response in the 1300X compared to the 9.1, which offered a more profound, lucid bass. This is actually my second attempt with the 1300X model, as my initial unit was returned due to an internal issue identified by JBL support. However, the replacement unit I received was plagued by the same issue. Despite conducting multiple position trials for the subwoofer and having multiple independent listeners compare the two models in a controlled setting, the results were invariably consistent. The bass from the 1300X was universally deemed as shallow and muddled, significantly underperforming when contrasted with the JBL Bar 9.1. I was advised that adjusting the phase on the subwoofer might be the solution. Unfortunately, the JBL 1300X model does not provide the capability to adjust the phase control. JBL support provided a sequence of steps to be entered via the remote control, but none resulted in any perceptible improvements. I even went to the extent of sending two separate videos to JBL support, demonstrating the disparity between the 9.1 and 1300X models by playing the same track. However, their response was rather discouraging, as they claimed to not be able to discern the difference that I, and others, found so apparent. Their suggestion was that I liaise with the retailer, Best Buy, directly. The overall experience with JBL support was rather disappointing, especially given the regard in which I held the company. The response to my concerns felt dismissive, and the quality of their product was underwhelming compared to previous models. My expectations, based on prior experience, were unfortunately not met. I will no longer buy or recommend JBL products after this experience.

Remember the 90s? TV’s were big, speakers were big, and surround was a pipedream of the rich. Early 00’s speakers got smaller, and subwoofers became a thing. Surround sound became possible on a budget and simple soundbars became a thing. They were a curiosity, and a compromise for husbands trying to make their wives happy in the family room. Soundbars have come a long way in the past 20 years though, and the 1300X is an impressive, flexible, and powerful example of multi-channeled 3D surround sound, far from compromise. Can you really achieve a fully Dolby Atmos 11.1.4 setup that rivals separates though? The JBL 1300X soundbar comes in a sturdy, and oddly shaped cardboard box. It is adorned with information about the soundbar, including its features and specifications boasting about multi-channel capabilities. Inside the box, you'll find the soundbar itself, subwoofer, surrounds, a remote control, an HDMI cable (highspeed 48gb) and quickstart guide. The soundbar is well-protected by foam inserts in the box. Overall, the packaging for the JBL 1300X soundbar is high-quality and does a good job of protecting the product during shipping and arrived to me unharmed. Setting up the soundbar wasn’t difficult. The quickstart guide shows you how to get the surrounds charging on the soundbar itself. They connect magnetically to either side of the soundbar, making its overall length 54”. The main soundbar is 39/40” (magnetic caps that help the presentation add just a tiny bit of length). The soundbar is deep too, at 5.7”, as housing all those directional elements necessary for the 11.1.4 Atmos requires real estate. The included HDMI cable is great for the eARC setup - which I learned the hard way. Technically this is the only cable (other than power of course, which is a standard AC power cord) that’s necessary to hook up. Out back on the soundbar, you might be surprised by the plethora of HDMI inputs as well. Despite many soundbars only having one HDMI to pass through their ARC ports, the JBL 1300X sports 3 HDMI inputs along with the HDMI eARC output, helping you expand your setup. There is also a USB port for solely software updates, LAN port for wired network, and an optical cable input. Speakers have included hardware for wall mounting, and allow the rear surrounds quick disconnects for charging. The included remote is basic (no backlight or anything), but functional. Frankly with eARC you won’t really need it around past the initial setup. In my setup, I opted to replace my existing soundbar and reused cables. I quickly learned that eARC really wants you to use HDMI ultra-high speed 48Gb cables. My former HDMI cable was not up to the demands of eARC giving me essentially ARC compatible Dolby Surround instead of Atmos. It took me a surprising amount of time to troubleshoot this, so just use their cable ok people? Anyways, once I got past that I connected to my eARC port on my TV and realized leaving my TV on auto was the best outcome, as selecting bitstream was not passing Atmos streams, but instead LPCM 7.1 channels. While this was still excellent, it wasn’t Atmos. I believe this was 100% my Hisense TV’s implementation issue, but sometimes just keeping the plug in play on this non-AVR equipment is probably the right solution. In my setup I have a PS5, Apple TV 4K, and Nintendo Switch. The PS5 and Apple TV 4K passed through Atmos signals from my TV through the eARC with no issue. The Switch I connected to HDMI 1 on the soundbar bar and successfully passed Dolby surround through. Download the JBL One app (which I had to search explicitly for, as JBL has apparently too many apps on the Apple AppStore) to perform initial setup. My soundbar was found quickly and connected to WiFi. Immediately it demanded to do a software update that took about 20-30 minutes and kept my phone screen on the whole time warning me to not leave their app. I was surprised at this and found it clunky for a 2023 device. That said, once past that, the soundbar declared itself up to date and ready to proceed with setup. Calibrate was a standard beacon whoop sounds you’d recognize if you ever heard Atmos calibration. The App directs you to place the speakers a couple times and then makes recommendations on turning/placement. Once in the app, you get a 3 band equalizer (disappointing considering the pedigree), and remote capabilities. There’s a feature called Moment, but I didn’t have a service it supported. There is also AirPlay, Google Chromecast, Bluetooth, and Spotify Connect as options for getting things to play on the soundbar, rounding out a pretty modern setup. There is also Alexa voice assistance setup - which make it a speaker available to my echo’s to output to… it also annoyingly would switch inputs from the movie I was watching with no warning to announce my daily weather report at 7pm. Sorry I have enough Alexa’s - I think I’ll disable that feature. The wireless surrounds and subwoofer connected with no issue. In my family room they’re about 10ft from the soundbar and were solidly and instantly connected every day. The wireless surrounds are a very interesting feature of this soundbar as they have their own batteries. Charging them according to JBL takes about 4 hours, and they last for a decent amount of time. As mentioned earlier, they charge by connecting to the ends of the soundbar, but I ended up connecting USB-C cables with power to keep them charged as I would probably miss the low battery indicators. One really interesting feature is the ability to use the rear speakers as a dedicated set of stereo bluetooth speakers. This is a nice addition when you’re not using the soundbar’s surround capabilities as you can abscond with a speaker to another room and enjoy surprisingly full audio from one of the surround speakers. The subwoofer is a 12” with a large box. This box is 19” tall by 14.5” square with a generous port out the rear. It’s loud. Sound wise, the 1300X offered excellent spatial audio and definitely fills the needs of a movie watcher. You’ll be surprised by the capabilities of the wireless surrounds and frankly the entire system. I have dedicated separates for an 11.2.4 Atmos setup in my movie room, and the JBL gives that system a run for its money on spatial audio experience (in a smaller room to be fair). Power wise the JBL gets loud and its dedicated 12” subwoofer can easily vibrate your sofa. This isn’t a system for a small room. The subwoofer and surrounds can be tweaked in volume in case your room needs some compromises. I have a corner my subwoofer is in, and it definitely can get boomy. Movies were sublime once I had my calibration dialed in. Calibration is necessary to avoid any echoey sound. Explosions were fun with the subwoofer, and dialogue clarity was much better than my old soundbar. There aren’t a lot of settings - just Dolby low/medium/high, with 5 levels for the subwoofer and low/medium/high for surrounds. I found lvl 2 for the subwoofer was more than enough to avoid any overly boomy when listening to music or movie both. Music wise I found the JBL to be a pretty narrow soundstage - almost like listening to over the ear headphones. Spatial audio was an interesting experience, and I got full Atmos music via Apple Music to test. Clarity was good, and highs were not uncomfortable. The 3 band equalizer (bass, mid, high) offered little in the way of tweaking the sound, so the slightly exaggerated mids were hard to calm down without losing presence and some bass. That said, it was more forgivable when listening to a movie which is definitely what this soundbar is designed for. Overall for the price, I found the JBL featureful, capable, and excellent sounding. eARC support with Atmos surround 11.1.4 capabilities is impressive. The 1300X filled the room and provided a diverse listening experience. The capabilities of the surrounds to double as bluetooth speakers was a nice touch, as was making them battery powered for flexible placement. There are few compromises here in audio, but mostly dial down to software features like lack of tweaks in the app. There are no Dolby eq’s, no music enhancement, etc. There are integrations with streaming services, which is good, and the streaming capabilities (via AirPlay and Chromcast) work well and are appreciated though. If you’re looking for a large family room sound bar, this is a great candidate and I’d recommend it.

Over time you tend to see more and more of the same thing with soundbars that make it feel not notable to get something new for your home speaker setup. Then the new JBL Bar 1300x came along and truly blew me away! Tech like this it what will continue to push for greater innovation in the consumer market. UNBOXING & SETUP: - First impressions are that this is a beautiful soundbar! It has a nice low profile design while also being a really good size considering the high quality of this soundbar and the speakers in it. - The detachable speakers are immediately the coolest thing to me! They are the same low profile but high end design but in a portable design. As I tried to show in the pictures, the ends of the soundbar come with a "cap" that can be used to magnetically cover the ends when you do not have the detachable rear speakers on them, which also connect via magnets. - The wireless subwoofer is massive, it's easily the biggest subwoofer I have ever seen with a soundbar setup. that being said I do like its design and simplicity to it! - Setup itself was straight forward and easy! It comes with wall mounts for both the rear speakers and the soundbar if you want to mount them, and has the necessary power chords. The JBL One app makes things even smoother! It is definitely a must use app since that is how you will setup internet and all of the smart features it has like Google, Alexa, Apple Airplay. PROS: - As I said above, I really do love the design of this soundbar. Specifically, the detachable rear speakers are a hit. It just really adds a new level of versatility in the sense that you can use them when you need them or put them back on the main soundbar for great forward affect. On top of that, both rear speakers can be used as bluetooth speakers either as a set or individually. And of course, both rear speakers are Dolby Atmos as well! - Also with the detachable speakers, they have up to 10 hours of speaker battery life before you need to charge them which can be done by just attaching them to the soundbar. Really easy charging process! - Overall the sound quality is amazing!! Tons of forward firing speakers, 4 upward firing speakers, and 4 side firing speakers for full Dolby Atmos speaker experience! You can truly "feel" the sound moving around you and just creates a top of the line immersive experience. And the subwoofer providers a lot of power too! It really delivers that next level bass! - The smart aspects of this speaker are great too! Really easy to cast music to it, use Apple Airplay, or any wifi based features you may need! - Another thing I was impressed with is the connections you have! It has 3 HDMI inputs and 1 HDMI eARC output to the TV. So of course you can connect all your devices directly to the soundbar for passthrough Dolby Atmos, or of course just use eARC via your TV as well. The ethernet port was also a nice addition! CONS: - The soundbar itself does not have HDMI 2.1 ports. So you will have to plug your devices directly into your TV with HDMI 2.1 to get those next gen features. - As I said above, the subwoofer is really big. I mean it packs a punch but would have been nicer in a smaller package. - The detachable speakers can be charged via USB-C while they are detached and being used as rear speakers, but this does not come with those charging cables. So although they have 10 hours of battery life, if you wanted them to be detached all the time with constant power then you will need to get your own USB-C cables. BOTTOM LINE: - Having a high end audio setup is just as important as having a high end way to watch your favorite movies and shows. The JBL Bar 1300x offers so much it is hard to pass up! It has unreal sound powered by loads of quality speakers, offers true Dolby Atmos with upward and side firing speakers, the detachable rear speakers are an absolute homerun, and it is loaded with smart internet based features and a great companion app. The versatility of the wireless subwoofer and the truly wireless detachable rear speakers are a game changer, especially for those living room spaces that you might need that versatility in. I think JBL has put out an excellent product and will be a staple in anyones home theater setup!

CRAP sales people at the Valparaiso and Merrillville locations in Indiana but there were 2 gentlemen that made stuff right with me but overall I don't recommend going here and the passed few years I've spent 7 to 10k with these clowns And they're supposed to be scheduled to come install my TV and came here twice and still didn't do nothing cuz they had the wrong bracket

I didn’t think a soundbar could replace a full surround system, but this one proved me wrong. The JBL BAR 1300X packs serious punch. The detachable surround speakers are the real MVPs;just pull them off, set them behind you, and suddenly the whole room comes alive. No wires, no drilling, no awkward speaker stands. Bass is powerful right out of the box, but what really impressed me was the control. There’s a night mode that dials things down so late-night movies don’t feel like a war zone. I also adjusted the bass through the app so it doesn't shake the place when I'm watching something more chill. Still sounds amazing just less wall-rattling. Setup was surprisingly quick. Everything connected smoothly through HDMI eARC and was up and running in about 15 minutes. Even regular TV and YouTube videos sound better now. Big win for gaming too—gunfire and footsteps are way more immersive. Looks great under the TV, blends right in. Definitely not cheap, but feels like it’s worth every dollar. Highlights: Detachable wireless rear speakers that actually work Customizable EQ and bass levels Night mode for quiet hours Excellent soundstage and Atmos effects Simple setup, clean design Honestly, this is the most fun I’ve had upgrading my living room. Movie nights feel like events now.

Pros Plenty of bass Clear dialog Satellites dock cleanly when not needed Satellites can be used independently Satellites have long battery life Wireless for satellites and sub very stable Adjustable EQ Fast startup Plenty of inputs Includes ethernet connectivity for best stability Cons Limited EQ adjustments Limited sound range of satellites Satellites don’t include power adapter HDMI inputs are 2.0b so no VRR and nothing over 4K60 HDMI ports face directly back limiting placement close to wall Design and Features The JBL Bar 1300X is the top of the line in the series by JBL and the upgraded version of the original 1300. The overall design is understated in black plastic and a metal grill. The subwoofer feels to be made entirely of plastic. The satellites and subwoofer connect to the soundbar wirelessly. Included in the box are wall mounting brackets for the soundbar and satellites, an HDMI cable, power cables for the soundbar and sub. No power adapters are included for the satellites. They charge off the soundbar but can be powered independently via USB-C power adapter. The satellites attach to the soundbar magnetically. When the satellites are removed from the soundbar there are endcaps that can be attached to the soundbar to cover the ends. The back of the soundbar has plenty of connections with 3 passthrough HDMI ports and an optical connection. You can also hardwire it with a built in ethernet connection. One thing to note is the ports all face directly back so placing the bar close to a wall may require right angle cables. If you are thinking of connecting your gaming console or gaming PC through the soundbar you may want to think twice. The HDMI input ports are HDMI 2.0b so nothing over 4K60 and no VRR. Setup and Performance Basic setup is straightforward. If you are just connecting it to your TV then all you need to do is plug it into your TV using the HDMI eArc port and you are good to go. The satellites and subwoofer are paired from the factory. You can keep the satellites connected to the soundbar and still get some surround sound effect. If you undock them and put them behind, you they recommend you perform a calibration. This also applies if you move them. While it isn’t a huge deal it would have been nice if they could continuously adjust automatically like most modern soundbars. There also is no height adjustment for the effect after calibration. The satellites may be rated at up to 12 hours, but the overall time is highly dependent on volume. So far, the satellites have lasted two nights with the TV on at low volume for 8 hours and they still have battery life left. Of course, if you connect them to power this wouldn’t even be an issue. It is somewhat strange that USB-C power adapters weren’t included in the box if you want the satellites continuously powered. If you want to use the streaming services, you will want to set up the soundbar in the app. The app also allows you to adjust the EQ with adjustments for bass, mid, and treble. Regardless of the settings the highs will still sound very present, and the lows are still very strong. Startup is probably the fastest of any smart soundbar our family has tried. From the moment you cast music until the soundbar is on and playing music is usually less than 5 seconds. This is also casting wirelessly which is typically slower. When connected to the TV instead of turning on the TV and waiting a few seconds before you start hearing the audio the audio starts nearly at the same time as the TV is ready. Still not quite as fast as the built in speaker but close and of course with much better sound quality. For music, the overall sound quality sounds a bit bright, but not uncomfortably so. It makes vocal tracks feel livelier but the way in which it is tuned not for everyone. Personally, our family enjoys the factory EQ settings for music. Adjusting the EQ doesn’t do much to reduce this effect. The bass comes in strong and generally anything over level 3 out of 7 becomes excessive and overpowering. It would be nice of the subwoofer offered more than 7 levels of adjustments because level 2 seems too low and 3 seems slightly too high. Overall, bass is smooth and can fill the room but on occasion can have a tone that can be best described as a rattle. It doesn’t actually rattle but something about the cabinet just occasionally resonates in such a way where the bass doesn’t sound as clean as it could. Thankfully this doesn’t happen often and is usually brief and subtle. There is also another aspect of music listening that can be divisive. It seems JBL is attempting to make music feel more immersive with the extra speakers. It tries to make the feel like the music is coming from all around you. Sometimes it works but other times it gives the music a hollow feeling. If you are the type of person who prefers music as neutral as possible this technique might be off-putting. For videos JBL seems to be trying to tackle a common complaint with movies, problems understanding dialog. They call the solution PureVoice Dialog Enhancement Technology. At first it seems like it is simply boosting some of the mid and highs, but after further use it seems to mainly effect voices. At lower volumes speech is easier to understand and when the volume is turned up in action scenes speech still seems much easier to understand. It is nice because when watching videos late at night you don’t need to crank the volume up to understand what people are saying. Also during loud movies you don’t have to worry as much about the action scenes overpowering what is being said. In most cases it works great. However, occasionally when watching a movie, you can have the volume just where you like it and an action scene comes up and voices become raised. All of the sudden those voices that were comfortable volume become extremely loud. Of course, regular soundbars have a similar issue. The main difference is with PureVoice this happens less often. While on paper the subwoofer might not go as low as some, in usage it doesn’t feel like you are missing out. It can easily pressurize a 350 square foot room and add impact to action scenes in movies. Things like explosions can be felt as much as heard. Occasionally it does feel a bit overbearing but most of the time it seems balance at level 3. Watching movies with Dolby Atmos movies you start to notice why it is listed as an 11.1.4 system. When you are sitting in the listening area of the speakers you can distinctly hear sounds coming from all directions regardless of if there is a speaker there. The one aspect we have had less success with is hearing sounds at specific heights. It might be that the effect is very subtle. Regardless of what is going on, movies feel very immersive. It’s also worth noting that there doesn’t seem to be a height adjustment. Our other Atmos system can adjust the Atmos effect up or down to match the seating position. The Bar 1300X doesn’t seem to have an Atmos height adjustment. Regardless, the overall effect is in most cases you just hear the movie from the speakers but from around you. Final Thoughts The Bar 1300X is overall a nice soundbar package. Most people would be very happy with it out of the box as it addresses a lot of the gripes most people have with soundbars without any tweaking required. For those who like to tweak things more you will find that, at least with the current firmware, adjustments are limited. If you are the type of person who wants a soundbar that makes dialog easier to understand, enjoys a system which has ample bass to suit most music and movie preferences, and someone who doesn’t care to make lots of adjustments the JBL Bar 1300X is worth considering.

First impressions…wow…just wow! Had to get that out of the way before diving into the full review of the new JBL BAR 1300X 11.1.4-channel soundbar with detachable surround speakers and subwoofer. I’ve had several soundbars over the years, but the 1300X is head and shoulders above the others in terms of sound quality, design and features. What’s in the box: The box is big and a bit unruly weighing close to 50 lbs. with the subwoofer making up most of that weight. There is the soundbar, 2 x detachable rear channel speakers, subwoofer, power cords, HDMI cable, remote control, mounting hardware for the bar and rears and documentation including a quick start guide. First Impressions: Did I mention this thing is BIG, the sub is by far the largest unit included with a surround/sound bar system. Luckily this system is going in our main bedroom that is 14’ x 18’ with vaulted ceilings. Many systems have tried in vain to fill this space successfully. Once unboxed, the BAR set up is very straightforward and took all of 15-20 minutes before I was watching a movie and making some adjustments. The BAR includes 3 x HDMI 2.0 inputs, 1 x HDMI eARC output, for the TV 1 x optical, 1 x USB and 1 x Ethernet port. I used the eARC option for connecting the bar to the TV and the sub and rear channels connect automatically through Bluetooth. The quick start guide provides guidance for speaker placement. Once physical setup was complete, I downloaded the JBL One app and proceeded to calibrate the system for its designated space. This took approx. 2-3 minutes to complete. Performance: The JBL BAR 1300X does not disappoint whether watching movies, playing games or listening to music through Bluetooth. The sound is so rich and clean yet still punches when the scene calls for it. The once feature that is really important to me is being able to hear the dialogue cleanly and the 1300X did not disappoint. Dialogue is crisp and clear and easy to follow even if there is background effects, etc. taking place. Kudos to the JBL PureVoice technology. The 12” sub is impressive yet not overwhelming based on size/power. There is an equalizer option on the JBL One app if you really want to crank the bass. With all the front, upward and side firing speakers, the BAR 1300X easily fills our space with immersive sound. The rear channels complete the package being set up on nightstands as rear channels. Features: At first the detachable rear channel speakers were a bit confusing until they were put to use. Now, I’m sold on the concept. They are easily attached with magnets and when detached, JBL included perfect covers that install on the ends of the BAR. They charge via USB-C (charger cables not included) but that’s an easy fix. The JBL One app is user friendly and provides some decent functions like calibration, equalizer, remote controls for the system, an In-App Music feature to add your favorite music streaming providers. There was also a system update that took place once the JBL One app was installed and connected to the BAR. Overall, once calibration was done, I have not used the app all that much, but it’s good to have. The Built-In WiFi feature supports Airplay, Alexa, Google Home, Chromecast, etc. Additional connectivity via Bluetooth for streaming your favorite music is also included. Pros: - Overall build quality and sound of this system is like no other soundbar used recently - Easy to set up and adjust system to perfectly fit your space - Immersive 3D sound with True Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and MultiBeam surround - Wifi enabled for casting, Airplay support, etc. - Detachable rear channel speakers are my new favorite - PureVoice technology for crisp and clear dialogue Cons: - The sub unit is a bit on the large size so you’ll need a larger space for setup - USB-C cables to power the detachable rear speakers not included. Overall, the JBL BAR 1300X is the best surround system I have owned to date and would recommend it to anyone looking to fill a mid to large space with truly immersive surround sound.

I recently moved and could not bring my large surround sound system with me. So I was looking for a suitable alternative that sounds good, but does not take up as much space as a receiver and bulky surround sound speakers. After using the The JBL 1300X for a few days, I can say without reservation that it rivals the performance of a dedicated component system. I have experienced soundbars before, but I was completely shocked by how good this system sounds! The system arrived in the L shaped box that is typical for soundbar systems with a subwoofer. The components in the box were secured well and fully protected by styrofoam and a synthetic wrap. Included accessories are a high speed HDMI cable, a remote, and mounting brackets for the soundbar and surround speakers. I appreciate the brackets being included for no extra charge. Setup is as easy as can be. Download the JBL One App and it will walk you through the setup steps. I had no problem connecting the App to the system and configuring the components. Setup was wireless, seamless, and easy. A firmware update was required that took about 20 minutes. A sound calibration function uses test tones to customize the sound to the room acoustics. I highly recommend running the calibration with the surround speakers because it really dials in the sound and distance of the surrounds. The JBL App and remote allows the sound to be customized to a certain extent. For example bass and the surround sound effects can be set to low, medium, or high. There is a 3 band equalizer (bass, mid, treble) available in the App as well. All of the functions can be controlled by the App, so I put the physical remote away. JBL designed this system with simplicity of setup in mind so that the average person can easily turn it on and enjoy great sound. Sound quality is off the charts good! The bass response is powerful, and yet defined. Bass response is so strong that I have it set to low or medium, depending on what I am listening to. The main sound bar sounds great as well. Voice clarity is excellent. JBL really outdid themselves in the voice clarity department with this soundbar. If you regularly have trouble hearing dialogue, then you are going to love this soundbar. It really enhances the dialogue intelligibility without distorting the other sound frequencies. When watching a movie that is encoded in Dolby or Dolby Atmos, the immersion is truly outstanding. The system creates a bubble of surround around and above you, that must be experienced to be believed. JBL does not exactly specify the breakdown of the 11 channels, but as far as I can tell it means that in the main soundbar there is left, right, center, left front surround, right front surround, left width, right width. For the rears it appears to be left, right, left width, right width. If the surrounds are connected to the soundbar then all 11 channels are folded into the front soundstage. There are a total of 4 up-firing Atmos compatible channels , two in the main soundbar and one in each of the surrounds. The soundbar has a small LCD that is large enough to be easily read, without being distracting. The display turns off a few seconds after the command is received. The screen or the App does not indicate the type of audio signal being received, as far as I could tell. I hope JBL can address this in a future update. I want to give a dedicated section of my review to the excellent surround sound speakers. Having dedicated surround speakers really makes a difference. I love that they are battery operated and thus completely wireless. This simplifies placement immensely. I only use the surrounds for movies or shows that will benefit from surround sound, so I appreciate being able to have them neatly put away until I need them. The surrounds can be charged by connecting them to the main soundbar, or by using a USB-C cable. However, the surrounds can only receive a firmware update when docked to the soundbar. There are a total of 4 HDMI ports, 3 inputs and 1 eARC. The inputs are compatible with up to 4K at 60Hz, and HDR10 and Dolby Vision pass through. The inputs are not HDMi 2.1, so if you need 120Hz, then you must connect directly to your 120Hz compatible TV. This only applies to high speed gaming because, at the time of this writing, gaming systems are the only devices capable of outputting a 120Hz signal. I highly recommend the JBL Bar 1300X. It not only sounds fabulous, but is amazingly versatile due to the nearly wireless design. It creates a Dolby and Dolby Atmos soundstage that is comparable to a dedicated component system, without the large footprint of separate components

The JBL Bar 1300X is a high-end soundbar that delivers an immersive and exhilarating audio experience. It features 11.1.4 channels of sound, with 1170W of output power, a 12" wireless subwoofer, and True Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support. The detachable surround speakers provide a truly wireless surround sound experience, and the built-in Wi-Fi with AirPlay, Alexa Multi-Room Music, and Chromecast built-in make it easy to stream music from your favorite devices. I was particularly impressed with the sound quality of the JBL Bar 1300X. The soundbar produces a wide range of frequencies, with clear and crisp highs, deep and powerful bass, and well-balanced mids. The detachable surround speakers add an extra layer of immersion, and the overall soundstage is very wide and spacious. I watched several movies with the JBL Bar 1300X, and I was blown away by how immersive the experience was. The soundbar did a great job of creating a sense of atmosphere, and the sound effects were incredibly realistic. I could really feel the impact of explosions and gunfire, and the dialogue was always clear and easy to understand. The JBL Bar 1300X is also very easy to set up and use. The soundbar comes with a remote control and a companion app that make it easy to control the sound settings and adjust the EQ. The soundbar also has a built-in sound calibration feature that helps to optimize the sound for your specific room. Overall, I was very impressed with the JBL Bar 1300X. It's a high-quality soundbar that delivers an immersive and exhilarating audio experience. If you're looking for a soundbar that will make your movies and TV shows come to life, then the JBL Bar 1300X is a great option. Here are some of the pros and cons of the JBL Bar 1300X: Pros: Incredible sound quality Immersive surround sound experience Wide and spacious soundstage Detachable surround speakers Built-in Wi-Fi with AirPlay, Alexa Multi-Room Music, and Chromecast built-in Voice assistant-enabled (Alexa, Siri, or Google Assistant Easy sound calibration Customize EQ Uses Wi-Fi to push Automatic Software Updates Cons: Expensive Detachable surround speakers require regular charging Overall, the JBL Bar 1300X is a great choice for anyone who wants an immersive and exhilarating audio experience. It's a high-quality soundbar with excellent sound quality, and it's packed with features that make it easy to use and customize. If you're looking for a soundbar that will make your movies and TV shows come to life, then the JBL Bar 1300X is a great option.

The system comes packed in a big box that looks like the state of Oklahoma. It comes with a mounting bracket kit for the bar into a wall, two power cables (one for the bar and the other for the subwoofer), and a remote control. I chose to have it under my TV and will not use the mounting bracket. Two detachable surround speakers attach/detach from the soundbar, which is also used to charge the two speakers since they are wireless with built-in batteries. These two speakers have a USB-Type C charging port, three buttons, and a mounting slot. The subwoofer box is big and a bit heavy. The setup was fast and easy since the speakers connect wirelessly using BlueTooth. When celebrating the system, it is important the correct the placement of the detachable speakers to experience the best possible surround sound. The JBL One app guides step-by-step instructions for placing the rear speakers and does the entire calibration in a few minutes. The methods of connecting the TV to the soundbar are optical cables or HDMI-ARC. For the best experience, I connect the soundbar to the TV using the HDMI-eARC (enhanced audio return channel). If your TV does not have an HDMI-ARC, you can easily convert a regular HDMI port to an HDMI-ARC using your TV’s settings. The ports are all in the back of the soundbar and have various options. An HDMI-eARC both receives audio from the TV and also passes a long video to the TV; this feature allows you to connect game consoles, DVD players, and other HDMI devices onto the soundbar’s HDMI 1, 2,&3 ports instead of connecting the device directly into the TV. If you connect your TV to the soundbar via the digital optical option, the three extra HDMI ports on the soundbar will not work. So if you want to use these additional HDMI ports on the soundbar, you must use the HDMI-eARC. If your TV does not have eARC, just ARC, it will also not work. To use the system with mobile devices and to update the system software, you must connect it to your home’s Wi-Fi using the JBL One app. It is relatively easy to connect and update the software, which takes about 10 minutes. The app allows for five-level settings for Bass, Mid, and Treble. The app/system has Chromecast built-in availability and the ability to add (integrate) the following music service: (1) Amazon Music, (2) Calm Radio, (3) iHeartRadio, (4) Napster, (5) QoBuz, (6) Tidal, and (7) TuneIn. This type of music stream means that the music is directly streamed into the bar instead of streaming to your mobile device and then to the bar. The benefit of direct streaming is that it gives the system access to higher streaming than Airplay, Bluetooth, or Chromecast. In addition to better music streaming, it frees up your phone audio while the music continues to play. The remote is thin and narrow, with just a few buttons for the most useful things: HDMI (#1, #2, & #3), Dolby (Low, mid & height), Five levels of bass, rear (mute, low, middle & high), TV, Bluetooth, Power, Mute, Volume Up/Down, Calibration, Play, and Heart. The sound is impressive and well-balanced. The pure voice dialogue enhancement technology does enhance the clarity, depth, and richness of voices and ensures every word gets delivered with stunning precision and accuracy.

Needing an upgrade from my old Sony soundbar, I decided to give this JBL - BAR 1300X a try. When the box arrives you will think you were just delivered a new chair for your living room. The box is enormous but that's because the Subwoofer is like a giant ottoman. The bar itself is very long if you add the detachable rear speakers. It's about as wide as my 65" TV. Setup is very easy especially if you download the JBL One app. This will help you connect to your WIFI, download any updates, and calibrate the surround rear speakers for best sound. Hooking up the JBL - BAR 1300X to your TV is also very simple. Hopefully you have a TV that supports eArc. Just connect your HDMI cable from eArc on the soundbar to the eArc on your TV. Now you will be able to immerse yourself in Dolby Atmos surround sound. Of course you must detach the rear speakers from the "docking station" on the bar to get this sound. There are 3 other HDMI ports to connect your gaming systems or video players and get great 4K video quality. All the speakers working together produce an exceptional watching experience. The wireless Sub as stated before is a huge square plain box with a plug. Looking at it you might wonder where the bass is coming from. Well, flip that bad boy over and you will find a 12" woofer that packs a lot of punch and makes explosions, crashes and booming music rumble in your chest. The 11.1.4 means there are 11 channels coming from from front and rear, 1 low frequency sub and 4 upward facing speakers to get that sound that something is coming from or hovering over you. It's like a great symphony working together to produce wonderful sounds. The placement of the wireless rears is very important on many levels. First off, make sure to look just above the charging port on the back of each rear speaker and look for a "R" or "L" (right/left) and place them accordingly. Also be sure to give them plenty of space in between so the sound is not crashing into each other. The biggest thing about location is you might want to place them near an outlet because if you are like me you will forget to dock them to the soundbar for charging. With a plug near, you can connect (not supplied) USB-C charging cords and blocks to the rears to never have to remember to charge on the bar. Remember to use the included end covers to hide the docking area or the bar looks kind of funky. Another great function of the removeable portable rear speakers is that they can connect to Bluetooth and moved around your house or to the backyard as portable stereo speakers. The remote is somewhat basic and has a replica on the app with all the same functions. Also in the app you will find a 3 band equalizer to adjust bass, mid and treble. You will also be able to adjust the rear sound level so when you start a movie and want that full surround sound blasting at you, it can be cranked up to full volume. Wireless playback is another cool feature where you can send music straight over WIFI to the soundbar without have to go through the Bluetooth on your phone. If you are looking for a mid to high priced soundbar with wireless surround that produces incredible sound, this is for you. I love it and would recommend it.

I order these speakers as open box in excellent condition and it was delivered missing the sub.

Soundbars are not the same as they were a few years ago. The Bar 1300x from JBL is absolutely massive - both in terms of sound and audio format compatibility. Any high-end audio from your favorite movies or TV shows will really start to shine when you use premium audio products. Here's what I'm a fan of - the audio quality when utilizing Dolby Atmos compatible media is astonishing. I never expected to have such a good audio experience outside of a theater, yet here we are. The quality of surround sound that you get from the Bar + 2 removable Bluetooth speakers will make you wonder how Bluetooth can support such rich sound. I've thoroughly enjoyed having them placed behind me during movies, and when you couple this with the MASSIVE subwoofer, you'll be impressed. The bass is deep and rumbly, and since it's so robust, I keep the bass set to level 1 or 2 for most content I watch. Vocal clarity is there, although it's easy for it to get muddied if you don't take the time to calibrate your soundbar before use. Please remember to calibrate and position your soundbar folks, it makes a big difference! I'm really thankful that JBL included a full suite of creature comforts, such as Ethernet, 3 HDMI 2.0 connectors, plus eARC/ARC compatibility. I've chosen to run this product using ARC because I prefer to have the Dolby Atmos passthrough for all of my HDMI sources - so all of my HDMI inputs are connected to this device. Since this device has network connectivity, remember to setup your Airplay, Alexa, or Google Home to work with this soundbar! It's really nice to be able to stream audio to the Bar at any time, especially since it doesn't require Bluetooth. You can connect to your network via WiFi if you don't have a hardwired connection available. Now, for the list of things I didn't enjoy - HDMI 2.0 doesn't support high refresh-rate displays, so if you have a fancy 120Hz 4K HDR TV - please remember that you can't get that high refresh rate of 120Hz from the HDMI inputs on the Bar 1300x. Low-end audio, such as webcam audio from a YouTube video, will not sound very nice on this soundbar. I realize that can be disappointing for some people, but it's difficult to take low-end audio and make it sound amazing on high-end hardware. If you plan to keep the detachable Bluetooth speakers detached 24/7, you will need to pick up 2 USB C charging cables and bricks to keep the speakers fully powered. This isn't a huge deal - but when you purchase a high-end audio setup like this, you'd usually expect to have everything you need in the box. Just food for thought. Would I recommend this unit? Absolutely. Just remember that low quality audio doesn't sound amazing and the Bar 1300x is not equipped with HDMI 2.1 ports. If you're someone who streams a lot of quality content or owns a nice collection of Blu-Ray movies/shows, you'll really enjoy this product.

The only part of this soundbar I don’t like is the packaging! It’s a pain to unpack, but the reward is great when you do get everything out of the oddly shaped box. The form factor is genius: a soundbar with detachable surround speakers that can act as part of the whole of the 11.1 channels, as a pair of stereo Bluetooth speakers, or as single BT speakers completely independent. And all these functions are handled flawlessly. I replaced a smaller unit with this one. The JBL is much more substantial, heavier, longer, more solid build. But the size is still in keeping with a sleek sound bar form. Mounting brackets, hardware, and template are included and well explained. I chose to leave the unit on the console below the TV, but kept the hardware and template in case we rearrange at some point in the future. There’s minimal setup out of the box. The surround speakers attach magnetically with a satisfying click. (Also included are two attractive magnetic caps in case you decide to permanently position the surround units apart from the main bar.) Each surround has its own power button for when they are disconnected from the sound bar. They charge when attached. The subwoofer is HEAVY and BIG. But purpose is served by its size. The sound is full, undistorted and definitely room-filling. There is a very useful and simple (thank you, JBL) remote that includes a calibrate button. Pressing the button will calibrate the sound to the current configuration. Brilliant. The sound in all configurations is delightful. We recently had a party outside and tried the stereo setup of the two surround units. They sounded great, even out on the patio where sound dissipates nearly immediately. But using the sound bar and satellites as intended is where the unit really shines. Our sofa has no table behind it, so the sats sit on the kitchen island behind the sofa. You can see why I love this feature of having temporary surround speakers when in use, and having them seamlessly attach back to the main bar for every day. I HIGHLY recommend this system for audio quality (atmos is amazing), versatility, quality, and ease of use.