Comments on: JBL – BAR 1300X 11.1.4-channel soundbar with detachable surround speakers – Black

By: Kotor

Kotor — Sat, 12 Aug 2023 01:13:57 +0000

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

By: mstanleynh

mstanleynh — Fri, 11 Aug 2023 07:30:55 +0000

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.

By: CraigB

CraigB — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 02:41:48 +0000

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.

By: aarondr

aarondr — Sun, 16 Jul 2023 13:25:37 +0000

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.

By: JeffS

JeffS — Thu, 22 Jun 2023 18:34:22 +0000

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.