JBL has today unveiled a new range of soundbars that it claims will deliver “detailed, rich, immersive sound for any home, fully compatible with any TV”.
All five models in the new JBL Bar Series provide copious amounts of power, expansive sound format support and high channel counts, with the three most premium models also shipping with detachable speakers that can be moved behind your seating position to deliver a full surround sound experience.
The Bar 1300MK2 is JBL’s new flagship soundbar, boasting 11.1.4 channels and more than 2000W of … More
All models will feature JBL parent company Harman’s unique MultiBeam 3.0 technology too, which bounces beams of sound off your walls to create a larger three-dimensional soundstage from the main soundbar component of each system, and all models will support either true or virtual Dolby Atmos and DTS:X playback, depending on their speaker and channel specification.
Let’s look at each new JBL soundbar in detail, starting with the flagship model and working our way down.
JBL Bar 1300MK2
The first-generation Bar 1300 released in 2023 was an excellent addition to the full surround soundbar world, combining powerful, detailed sound with an innovative design thanks to its detachable, battery-powered (and so truly wireless) rear speakers. These cable-free rears could also be used as a pair of standalone stereo wireless speakers. The Bar 1300MK2 builds on this same core formula, but adds to the party a new subwoofer design, bags more power and a new AI Sound Boost feature.
The new subwoofer carries two 8-inch drivers rather than one single driver, which should help it produce its low frequency sounds with better dispersion, more smoothness and less potential for distortion.
The new AI Sound Boost feature exclusively developed for the Bar 1300MK2, meanwhile, is intriguingly claimed to be capable of analysing the profile of the incoming sound so that it can intelligently manipulate the way the system’s energy is dispersed in order to continually get the optimum impact from every moment of a film soundtrack or musical source. So for instance, if the Audio Sound Boost system detects that a heavy bit of bass is about to be play, it can adjust the weight of the bass in the overall mix – while simultaneously taking care to ensure that this doesn’t lead to any distortions from the subwoofer.
It was suggested during a presentation on JBL’s new soundbars that the Bar 1300MK2’s Audio Sound Boost feature is always on, and can’t be turned off. Instinctively I hope this is not the case, as I suspect audio purists would rather just hear ‘native’ sound coming out of the Bar 1300MK2 rather than something that’s being remixed or manipulated by the soundbar. If it is permanently on, then I guess all we can do is hope that it is indeed as consistently effective and clever as JBL seems to think it is.
The Bar 1300MK2 as it might look in your living room.
A separate new SmartDetails feature, meanwhile, is designed to make subtle details in a sound mix – rain drops, buzzing insects, rustling leaves and so on – more prominent if something about your room set up or hearing is making such soundtrack minutiae hard to make out. This feature appears to be optional.
The full Bar 1300MK2 package provides the same mighty 11.1.4 channel count as its predecessor, delivered via a driver arrangement that includes no less than six up-firing drivers and a massively increased 2,470W maximum power output (much of this accounted for by the new subwoofer design). The detachable, battery-powered rear speakers support a Bluetooth function that lets you use them as standalone wireless stereo speakers. In fact, you can now also use them as multi-room speakers, even electing at the press of a single button to have all the sound from the soundbar sent to one or both detachable speakers so that you can easily take the soundbar’s sound into another room – or even two separate rooms given that each detachable speaker can be set up as a solo speaker.
When it comes to getting sound into the Bar 1300MK2, its physical connections include an HDMI loop through with two HDMI inputs and one output, with the output also able to take sound from a connected TV via HDMI’s eARC technology. At the time of writing, JBL was unable to confirm if the HDMI loop-through on the Bar 1300MK2 can support gaming-related features such as 4K/120Hz and variable refresh rates. All the other Bar Series soundbars will feature one HDMI in and one HDMI out – though the output will also be equipped in all cases with eARC functionality, so that sound can be passed back through it from a connected TV.
The Bar 1300MK2 additionally provides built-in support for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Amazon Music HD, Roon, Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect. In fact, JBL’s One Platform enables you to stream any content from any music service and device, including hi-res and spatial audio content, via both the JBL One App and popular subscription music apps.
Finally, the 1300MK2 also joins all the other new soundbars in JBL’s latest Bar Series in supporting a new PureVoice 2.0 system, which can add more emphasis to dialogue if you’re struggling to hear it in a particular mix.
The Bar 1300MK2 is coming out a few months later than the rest of the range, in October in the U.S. and September in the U.K. and Europe, and will retail with a recommended price of $1,699.95/£1,299.99/€1,499.99.
JBL Bar 1000MK2
The step-down Bar 1000MK2 provides a reduced but still substantial 7.1.4 channel count versus the 1300MK2, with maximum claimed power topping out at 960W. It still incorporates two detachable speakers that can become wireless rears when you want them to, though this time the detachable rears can’t also be used as standalone wireless Bluetooth speakers.
JBL’s step-down new soundbar still gets detachable rear speakers, true Dolby Atmos playback and an … More
The 1000MK2 doesn’t get the unique AI Sound Boost technology available on the 1300MK2, and its subwoofer reverts to a more conventional single-driver design. This single driver is a massive 10 inches across, though.
The Bar 1000MK2 retains playback of both true Dolby Atmos and DTS:X sound mixes, PureVoice 2.0 technology (as, actually, do all five soundbars in JBL’s new range), as well as support for all the same wireless content streaming options. It’s scheduled to launch this month (June 2025) for a price of $1,199/£899.99/€999.99.
JBL Bar 700MK2
The Bar 700MK2 loses all of the up-firing drivers delivered by the two more premium JBL Bar models, reducing its channel count to 7.1. Its power drops too, to a claimed maximum output of 780W, and as you would expect with no physical up-firing speakers in the system, the support for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X shifts to a Virtual set up, where processing creates the height effects rather than real speaker drivers. Note that the Virtual DTS support won’t be available at launch. It’s scheduled to be added via a firmware update later this year.
The 7.1 channels do still include two ‘real’ rear speakers, though, with the 700MK2 carrying the same pair of detachable wireless speakers that the 1000MK2 system gets. Its .1 bass channel is still delivered, too, by a dedicated external subwoofer, again featuring a single 10-inch driver, and there’s also still support for all the same wireless audio sources that the two step-up models enjoy.
The Bar 700MK2 is available this month with an RRP of $899/£799.99/€899.99.
JBL Bar 500MK2
The 500MK2 is the point in the new JBL Bar Series range where you no longer get detachable rear speakers. It’s no surprise, then, to find its channel count dropping to 5.1 – though the bass channel is still delivered by an external wireless subwoofer, again boasting a 10-inch driver, and it’s a pleasant surprise to find its claimed power handling holding up at 750W, only slightly down on that of the Bar 700MK2.
Virtual Dolby Atmos and, again following an update later this year, DTS Virtual:X is also still supported by the Bar 500MK2, and it can also still handle all the same wide array of wireless musical sources handled by JBL’s more premium new soundbar options.
The Bar 500MK2 is out this month priced at $649/£499.99/€599.99.
The entry level Bar 300MK2 soundbar in JBL’s new Bar Series still delivers 450W of power and a 5.0 … More
JBL Bar 300MK2
Even the baby of the new JBL Bar Series, the Bar 300MK2, boasts more power and channels than many of its peers. In fact, the only channel it loses from the 500MK2 is the .1 bass feed – a result of it being the only one of JBL’s new soundbars not to ship with an external subwoofer speaker. In other words, the Bar 300MK2 is the only single-component option in JBL’s new range.
It still manages to deliver 5.0 channels and 450W of power from its single bar, though, as well as again still supporting Virtual Dolby Atmos and DTS Virtual:X once the latter’s necessary firmware update has been rolled out. The PureVoice 2.0 and SmartDetails features are still available even on this entry-level new soundbar too, and it still carries an HDMI loop through and support for all the same wireless audio sources as the other soundbars except, strangely, Amazon Music (unless this one was accidentally missed off JBL’s information drop on its new soundbars).
The Bar 300MK2 will again be available this month, with a price tag of $449/£349.99/€399.99.
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