JBL Bar 5.0 Soundbar Review & Comments

The lack of DTS support will kill its appeal for many, especially if their current TVs do not support eARC. The lack of a sub-out port, or the ability to connect a sub is also disappointing. A ‘close, but no cigar’ for me.
 
I got this a few weeks ago from RS for £250. Fantastic soundbar which delivers a big, to filling sound on a child friendly package (solid front, no sub and nothing for little fingers to poke holes in 😂)

For me, the bass is more than ample. Living in a new build with what feels like paper thing walls, room shaking bass would make me very unpopular with the neighbours, but this thing still packs enough of a punch that watching movies is significantly enhanced over the TVs internal speakers (which are better than most). The multibeam function fills the room, something I was initially concerned about due to the location of my TV (off the the left side of the room). The simple set up feature fired sound to measure the rooms acoustics and set itself up accordingly. There's definitely a sense of surround sound.

I've had no issues with connectivity. The soundbar is connected to my TV via HDMI 2.0 ARC and all devices are then connected to the other HDMI ports. I also use a 5 port switch which has a PS5, 2 Shields, PC and Nintendo Switch connected. Dolby Atmos passes through on my Shields. No lip sync issues either.

Very impressive bit of kit for £249. Looked at a couple of other options including the Sonos Beam G2 and felt the price difference wasn't justified.

I feel 8/9 out of 10 is warranted given the entire package.
 
No DTS? Perhaps it's just another small hint of the end of physical media? These Company's aren't daft and if they think the vast majority of potential customers are those that only stream then they're not going to pay the licencing fees. Plus they probably reason if you have a big collection of Blu's then you almost certainly have a sound system - or the minority that don't aren't numerous enough to warrant the cost?
But, yes, if I was in the market for a soundbar then no DTS would kill it for me too.
 
I'd be more open to it if I had an eARC capable TV. The lack of DTS support is lazy, but yes, we're all being forced to stream stuff whether we like it or not, and Dolby has cornered the market there. Pity, because I've always found that DTS sounds better than Dolby overall, more natural, less processed.
 
I'd be more open to it if I had an eARC capable TV. The lack of DTS support is lazy, but yes, we're all being forced to stream stuff whether we like it or not, and Dolby has cornered the market there. Pity, because I've always found that DTS sounds better than Dolby overall, more natural, less processed.

As a non audiophile type user, what am I missing without DTS? I have around 300 Blu-ray's and about 110 of them are UHD. They have both Dolby and DTS formats as well as PCM.

Is it one of those personal choice type deals? Or is it the better option over Dolby, Dolby HD and Atmos?

Edit - and what about PCM. I've always wondered what that was. As I understand it is lossless so what do you lose by DTS based audio being output as PCM (if that's how it works, again, I'm just a normal consumer).
 
A lot of my BRs and DVDs only have DTS audio tracks, so until I replace my TV with something that has eARC capability, any replacement for my sound bar, which is 12+ years old now, will need DTS support.

PCM is 2 channel, whilst LPCM is multi-channel.
 
I picked this up late last year for use in the bedroom with a 2017 49” Sony. In the price range it was the neatest (no separate sub), most compact offering with pseudo-surround (again, for neatness in a small bedroom). Even though i don’t have eArc and so miss out on some features, the performance for this setup is superb. I am very happy with the result, although it’s not without its hiccups.

I couldn’t get the soundbar to connect using the supplied cable, but this was rectified with a certified HDMI 2.1 cable. I know others have not faced this, so could be peculiar to my TV.

The soundbar occasionally flashes up that it is “Chromcast ready‘‘ suggesting it lost wireless connection and reconnected. It is intermittent and can go for days/weeks without me seeing it. An annoyance in a dark bedroom, and it may be an issue with my WiFi (not having issues with any other devices), but be aware you may experience similar.

Overall, agree with the review and very happy with the purchase. Recommended!
 
A lot of my BRs and DVDs only have DTS audio tracks, so until I replace my TV with something that has eARC capability, any replacement for my sound bar, which is 12+ years old now, will need DTS support.

PCM is 2 channel, whilst LPCM is multi-channel.
What about canton 10 smart soundbar generation2?
 
Yes, deffo on my radar but I can’t find any UK sellers. Those 10s that I have seen for sale are the original model.
 
I just got this. If I skip to another scene while playing a blu-ray, the bar audio goes and the bar has gone back to tv input.
Have I setup wrong? HDMI out to tv earc, bluray player, hdmi out to tv hdmi.

If I press HDMI on the bar remote it comes back on.
 
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Do you think this would be a better choice than the Bose Solo 5 for a desktop PC? I am currently borrowing a Solo 5 which I must return at some point and I am looking for a soundbar as I have no room for desktop speakers. I must admit I am not overly impressed with the Solo 5 so far.
 
Hi guys, I have some questions that might be a bit dumb, but this soundbar is apparently very good other than the lack of DTS and some complaints that the bass could be better. So what's wrong with the Bar 5.1? I'm not sure if it's the same model bundled with a subwoofer (it looks different however) but it also supports DTS and presumably the subwoofer resolves the bass issue?

Or, since the Bar 5.1 is nearly 500 euro, would the Sony HT-G700 be a decent and much cheaper alternative (335) or is it better to spend the money on say the Polk React w/subwoofer (415 or so), even though the Sony has some issues and the Polk is only 2.1?
 
Hi guys, I have some questions that might be a bit dumb, but this soundbar is apparently very good other than the lack of DTS and some complaints that the bass could be better. So what's wrong with the Bar 5.1? I'm not sure if it's the same model bundled with a subwoofer (it looks different however) but it also supports DTS and presumably the subwoofer resolves the bass issue?

Or, since the Bar 5.1 is nearly 500 euro, would the Sony HT-G700 be a decent and much cheaper alternative (335) or is it better to spend the money on say the Polk React w/subwoofer (415 or so), even though the Sony has some issues and the Polk is only 2.1?
The bar 5.1 isn't the same soundbar (confusingly). Side by side here: JBL Bar 5.1 Surround vs JBL Bar 5.0 MultiBeam Side-by-Side Soundbar Comparison

Can't comment on your other considerations.
 
Thanks for that. I'm not sure the lack of Atmos would be a major issue (when the Bar 5.0 isn't fantastic in that regard anyway, supposedly), but the 5.1 doesn't in fact support DTS either according to that link. It may be an alternative but doesn't seem to be a solution.
 
Thanks for that. I'm not sure the lack of Atmos would be a major issue (when the Bar 5.0 isn't fantastic in that regard anyway, supposedly), but the 5.1 doesn't in fact support DTS either according to that link. It may be an alternative but doesn't seem to be a solution.
It would seem that DTS is getting in general now. With regards to Atmos...unless the soundbar has upfiring speakers then it's all processing trickery anyway. I'm impressed with how the Multibeam does it though as it does add a lot to the soundstage.
 

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