Two things I liked about JBL’s nifty soundbar package – and two things that let it down

In the past few months alone, we have seen a whole army of soundbars march into our test room to compete against the class leaders. The JBL Bar 300MK2, for instance, gave the Award-winning Sonos Beam Gen 2 a real run for its money with its room-filling, bassy audio performance.

So it was only fair that its senior sibling, the JBL Bar 1000MK2, got a turn. Launching at £1000 / $1200 / AU$1600, the Dolby Atmos package is directly up against another Sonos model, the Arc Ultra (£999 / $999 / AU$1799).

Where the Award-winning Sonos Arc Ultra is an all-in-one model, though, the JBL is made up of a main soundbar, two wireless detachable surrounds (more on those in a moment), and a subwoofer.

It boasts a 7.1.4 configuration and is driven by a total power output of 960W. But does the JBL Bar 1000MK2's extra kit mean it takes Sonos’s crown?

After my colleagues and I put the package through its paces, the JBL is held back from greatness by two issues – but it is still a worthy competitor to our Award-winner.

Versatile design

First off, the soundbar’s innovative build really stands out from the crowd. It features battery-powered speakers, which can be connected to the main soundbar via a magnetic port, or used wirelessly to perform as separate surrounds.

JBL also offers a Broadcasting feature, allowing you to put the surrounds into another room while the sound from your TV or Bluetooth device continues to play, transforming it into a neat wireless speaker. This works by selecting either a mono or stereo downmix via the accompanying app, then taking one or both of the speakers to a different room to deliver the mix you have chosen.

The speakers offer a claimed 10 hours of battery life, and can be charged either by plugging them into the mains or just connecting them back to the main soundbar.

That's all quite an stand-out proposition, with the JBL model offering a versatility that most soundbars simply cannot match.

Exciting yet detailed performance

But how does it perform beyond this versatile design? Well, the JBL Bar 1000MK2 manages to deliver an energetic, exciting sound that is a massive improvement over the vast majority of built-in TV speakers.

This is helped by the soundbar’s sense of movement and precision. When watching Blade Runner 2049, for instance, futuristic drones whizz past the viewer in a way that will have you double-checking you are not sat next to a Replicant.

Thanks to the soundbar’s up-firing speakers, there are decent height effects that add to the immersive viewing experience. With Spider-Man: Homecoming, we note: “As Tom Holland’s Spider-Man clings on for dear life to a cloaked plane, we hear its engine sounds move around with precision.”

The separate subwoofer also adds an extra oomph to movies, without being distractingly overpowering.

Subwoofer lacks finesse

That being said, the subwoofer does struggle to deliver bass with subtlety and detail. When we first take it out the box, the JBL low-level frequencies are strong but distract from the rest of the frequencies. That means we reach for the JBL One app to adjust the settings, from which you can access the EQ controls.

After fiddling with the settings, we settle on a less floor-shaking bass that feels better balanced – but it’s still not as detailed as class leaders such as the Sonos Arc Ultra.

The JBL delivers more a powerful bass than the Award-winner, but the Sonos counters with a punchier and precise overall sound that is particularly impressive when we switch to music.

We note in our review when listening to the main theme from Jurassic Park with Qobuz Connect: “The low-level dynamics are delivered with excellent subtlety and finesse that build with the swell of the whole orchestra effectively.”

Surrounds fail to shine

The separate detachable surrounds also don’t pack the punch we were hoping for with the JBL model.

Despite their practical design, they don’t create as much scale as those from rival systems, and they struggle to generate a truly immersive dome of sound above us even when cranked up to their maximum volume.

We also test the surrounds when they are connected to the main soundbar to compare, but this understandably makes the sound field less immersive. Using the soundbar with this layout means it loses the benefits of its clever design, however, so we can’t imagine many people listening like this unless they are charging the surrounds.

With the Sonos Arc Ultra, however, the all-in-one model manages to create a more convincing surround-sound experience that outdoes the JBL Bar 1000MK2 even without the separate speakers. Ultimately, the extra kit cannot compete with the Award-winner's more organised and cohesive audio performance, meaning its crown remains firmly in place.

MORE:

Here's our review of the JBL Bar 1000MK2

Check out our thoughts on the Sonos Arc Ultra

Two things stopped this plucky Dolby Atmos soundbar from beating Sonos’s reigning champ