The new JBL soundbars are intended to be affordable, mainstream consumer electronics products that will improve upon the experience that most family have at home when watching content from streaming platforms, all of which can now deliver surround or even immersive sound formats. To make a convincing case from these affordable systems, Harman has opted to create well-designed soundbars, which include detachable rear-surround speakers (battery operated for total convenience) and a separate subwoofer to add the required extra-dimension and dynamics that compacts systems like soundbars require.
The JBL Bar 1000, with its detachable wireless surround speakers and 10" wireless subwoofer, becomes the most convincing of the range, capable of simply improving TV sound at any moment, and suddenly becoming a full-featured immersive system for movies, games and even music. Users can place the two detachable battery-powered surround speakers in the back of the room, or right behind them to create the immersive environment, free from wires or extra power connections. In addition, Harman's own MultiBeam technology in combination with the four up-firing drivers on the JBL Bar 1000 create realistic, accurate height effects for the Dolby Atmos and DTS:X 3D channels and object-based immersive content.
Harman's MultiBeam technology appeared originally in the first Harman Kardon soundbars, and explore a combination of driver design, positioning and room reflexions, in combination with dedicated DSP. An angled speaker array is used with an immersive digital signal processing (DSP) algorithm to form a sharp directivity and "beam" the primary sound on to side walls. MultiBeam technology strengthens the sideward directivity while limiting the forward directivity.
The key to create a spacious effect and surround experience is forming such a sharp directivity pattern in a wideband frequency range. By generating an accurate sidewall reflection, the sound mirrors to the listening location, creating spacious sound. For any movie that features 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound, MultiBeam can reproduce the surround sound effect, while for stereo content like music or broadcast television, a multi-channel upmixer changes the 2-channel content into a 5.1 or 7.1 mix for MultiBeam processing.
All four of the new soundbars also feature PureVoice technology, using an algorithm to optimize voice clarity so users can clearly understand the dialogue, even when the surround effects are at their peak.
For those looking for a smaller setup without compromising on sound, the JBL Bar 800 is an alternative. Like the JBL Bar 1000, the JBL Bar 800 has detachable wireless surround speakers, using two up-firing drivers to create real height for Dolby Atmos 3D surround sound and a separate 10" subwoofer. The system creates an immersive cinematic experience that can be personalized to suit any movie, game or playlist through the JBL One app.
The JBL Bar 500 is still able to bring movies to life with MultiBeam and Dolby Atmos decoding, without the detachable surround speakers, but with the same bass power from the wireless 10" subwoofer, while the JBL Bar 300 is a compact, all-in-one MultiBeam and Dolby Atmos powered solution for TV sound.
The JBL One app lets users setup these systems with ease and browse integrated music platforms, adding fully customizable EQ settings. Users can also link any system of the new JBL Bar range with a voice assistant-enabled device and ask Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri to stream content to the soundbar. Each of the new soundbars also support AirPlay 2, Alexa MRM and Chromecast built-in.
All new additions to the Bar Series will be available from September 2022 with prices ranging from approximately $1149 USD for the Bar 1000 systems, and $399 USD for the compact JBL Bar 300.
www.jbl.com | www.harman.com
