Drawing upon a long history of soundbars in the consumer space, the JBL Pro SoundBar is an active soundbar designed specifically for commercial applications. Featuring 19mm (0.75”) soft dome tweeters for the high-frequencies and 51mm (2") woofers for the lows, and an internal Class D amplifier supplying 20W per channel, the soundbar is essentially an all-in-one design that provides full-range sound without the need for a separate subwoofer, minimizing sound transfer to neighboring rooms. It uses only front-facing speakers for improved clarity over internal television speakers, and no cloth is used on the speaker grill, making the product easier to clean and maintain and less prone to damage.
The JBL Pro SoundBar supports both fixed and variable source volume, providing compatibility with both fixed applications (where the volume is controlled at the soundbar) and variable applications (where gain is controlled at the television). In fixed volume scenarios, the Pro SoundBar offers an IR Learning capability. This allows the Pro SoundBar to “learn” the IR pulse of a TV remote’s volume controls, meaning any remote can be used—programmable or not.
"Typical consumer-grade soundbars offer features that are great for the home but add unnecessary cost and complexity for commercial applications such as a hotel guest room,” explains Bradley Drummond, Director, Hospitality Solutions and Marketing at HARMAN Professional Solutions. “With an optimized feature set designed with these applications in mind, we’re able to provide our customers with the audio clarity and experience they want at a very attractive price point—and with application-specific features such as volume limiting, cloth-free materials and a security lockout plate you wouldn’t find on consumer soundbars.”
To control sound transference into neighboring rooms, the Pro SoundBar includes a four-position volume limiting switch that allows integrators to control the maximum output of the soundbar. Controls for the volume switch and source volume selection can be covered by a lockout plate to prevent tampering by anyone other than the support staff. The soundbar also includes a vibration isolation wall-mounting kit and uses full-range speakers rather than a separate subwoofer, two features which also limit sound transference that would otherwise bother people in neighboring rooms.
Specifications are extremely basic, with the JBL Pro SoundBar PSB-1 able to reproduce frequencies from 42Hz to 20kHz (-10dB), reaching a maximum peak SPL of 94dB with both channels driven. Input connectors are RCA only and the enclosure is a black injection-molded ABS, weighting just 1.8kg (4.0lbs).
“The Pro SoundBar is the perfect soundbar for commercial applications such as hotel rooms,” says Drummond. “With commercial-grade features and excellent clarity even at low levels, the JBL Pro SoundBar pairs perfectly with Samsung 690 Series hospitality TVs to create a holistic, cost-effective guest room entertainment solution."
www.jblpro.com/prosoundbar
