JBL BAR series is a whole new range of soundbars

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BAR is a four-strong range of soundbars with a customisable element for greater flexibility

JBL has unveiled its most comprehensive range of soundbars to date. Called BAR, they start from just £150.

That buys you BAR Studio, a 30-watt design with HDMI ARC connectivity as well as optical, USB and analogue inputs.

Double your money up to £300 and BAR 2.1 can be yours. This adds a 180-watt wireless subwoofer with a 16cm driver, for a total of 300 watts all-in.

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BAR 3.1 has, as the model name suggests, a dedicated centre-channel driver in its metre-long body. The HDMI input count is upped to three, and the subwoofer grows to a 25cm/300-watt device. Added to the soundbar's 150 watts, that's plenty of power. BAR 3.1 costs £400.

£650 buys you BAR 5.1 (pictured above). It features two detachable, battery-powered wireless rear speakers (battery life is a claimed 10 hours), one at each end of the soundbar. It comes with the same hefty wireless subwoofer as BAR 3.1, and its three HDMI inputs are all 4K/HDCP2.2 compatible.

BAR 2.1 goes on sale in September, with the other three models following in October.

Read all our soundbar reviews

Simon Lucas

Simon Lucas is a technology journalist, with a strong emphasis on the audio/video side of consumer electronics and home entertainment, and has been since 2003. He worked for more than 14 years at What Hi-Fi?, the last six of which were spent as the editor of the magazine and website. Since then he's written for Wired, The Guardian, TechRadar, Stuff, GQ and many more besides. 

In the course of his career he's developed a pretty deep understanding of the way both the publishing and the electronics industries function, as well as the sort of intimate knowledge of audio products (both specific and general) that can make people very wary of him at parties.