JBL Bar 1300 11.1.4-channel surround sound

Product Information

Now the range topping Bar 1300 has been announced at CES 2023 and sees the 15-channel soundbar (in an 11.1.4 configuration) use 6 up-firing drivers, two detachable battery-powered wireless speakers and a wireless 10-inch subwoofer to deliver 1,170W of power. With Harman’s Multibeam technology helping to create an immersive audio experience with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X content, the surround sound experience will enhance movies, TV shows and games. As far as connectivity goes, you can expect to connect the soundbar to online music services via Wi-Fi, with support for AirPlay 2 and Chromecast for better-than-Bluetooth sound quality.

With a 12-inch driver powered by 650 watts, the JBL system's subwoofer is a true bass beast. (Image credit: Future) JBL Bar 1300X soundbar review: Design All HDMI ports support HDCP 2.3 and can pass-through 4K, HDR10 and Dolby Vision signals. The output comes with eARC capabilities which means it can support Dolby Atmos not only from Dolby Digital Plus but also Dolby TrueHD. Overall, the frequency response of these channels is quite balanced, albeit with some extra rumble in the bass, so you feel the boom of a helicopter flying overhead, for example. You can also use the ATMOS and REAR buttons on the remote to adjust the height and rear levels, respectively, for a more immersive sound. In that time, she has covered the highs and lows across the breadth of consumer tech, and tested everything from smartphones and stereo speakers to robot lawnmowers and electric cars. She has a particular interest in audio and TV, however, which means she has spent a lot of time watching movies and listening to music and passing it off as work. For a flagship soundbar the Bar 1300X is relatively compact. Especially if you compare it to some other flagships like the Samsung HW-Q990B. Size wise the Bar 1300X measures 1000 x 60 x 139 mm / 39.4” x 2.4” x 5.5” without the surround speakers attached to it. These measure 202 x 60 x 139 mm / 8” x 2.4” x 5.5” so in essence with them attached the soundbar can reach 54.2″ (1376 mm) in width.With multichannel music, movies or TV shows, the side-firing speakers create extra width, while the centre channel keeps the dialogue clear and focused on the screen. The wireless rear speakers are free of delays or dropouts, delivering multichannel audio with genuine surround presence. Initial setup is very straightforward, as all JBL units are. Once more we opted to use the pass-through capabilities of the unit. So we connected our Panasonic UHD player to the soundbar itself and used the HDMI output to connect our test TV. LG would obviously prefer that those adding a soundbar did so using one of its own models, and to that end has created the new SC9 model, which is designed to be the perfect aesthetic and sonic partner for the C2 and new C3. The front stage was really active. The soundbar may not be the most wide we have seen but nevertheless its sound expansion was. With dual side firing channels and its MultiBeam technology at play there was a lot going on at the front of us. The second, much-less-secret weapon is the 1300X’s mini-fridge of a subwoofer, which sports a 12-inch woofer that matches or exceeds every other competitor. You’re just not going to get this kind of authoritative sound displacement with smaller drivers, and you will absolutely feel the ground-shaking, shelf-rattling difference. The sub is also fast and musical enough to keep up with rhythmic effects, matching well with its soundbar counterpart.

Listening to too-aggressive Atmos sound mix—like the one accompanying Apollo 10½ on Netflix—the JBL tamed some of the distracting overkill of it all without diminishing in any way the immersiveness of the sound experience. Sound still spread from wall to wall and floor to ceiling, but there was just a bit more connective tissue between the front and rear soundstages and the overhead effects, weaving it all into a more cohesive listening experience.That said, Samsung also offers a flagship 11.1.4-channel soundbar in the form of the HW-Q990C that bests the JBL Bar 1300X in practically every way. Its sound is more neutral out of the box, it’s more dynamic, it’s every bit as immersive, and its sound customization features do more without making you memorize gangly button-press combinations that make no sense. When the rear speakers are detached from the main soundbar, magnetic covers can be clipped onto the main bar’s ends to make it look like a finished product again rather than like a bar that’s, well, had its ends lopped off.

The JBL Bar 1300 soundbar also features WiFi and Bluetooth wireless connectivity. WiFi opens the doors to wireless audio streaming via AirPlay, Alexa Multiroom Music (MRM) and Chromecast protocols from any compatible audio source. Jednoducho prepojte JBL Bar 1300 s vaším zariadením s podporou hlasového asistenta a môžete okamžite požiadať službu Alexa, Google Assistant alebo Siri o streamovanie všetkej vašej obľúbenej hudby do soundbaru. HDMI eARC s 4K Dolby Vision pass-through Firstly there is a bass adjustment control. This comes with five different levels to choose from depending on how punchy the low end you want it to be. You can also adjust the Dolby Atmos/DTS:X effect, with three levels available. And lastly adjust the rear speakers level with four levels available. Sound Modes I tested the JBL Bar 1300X soundbar in a 12 x 16 x 9-foot room using a 4K Blu-ray player, Apple TV 4K, and music streamed from Apple Music and Tidal as sources.While the Bar 9.1 also sported detachable rears, the Bar 1300 goes further by allowing you to pair one of them with Bluetooth devices as a standalone speaker, or even pair both for a stereo setup. When fully charged, the detachable rears have a claimed maximum play time of 12 hours. Four HDMI ports are provided, including one with eARC. (Image credit: Future) JBL Bar 1300X soundbar review: Usability and setup