This is my first post, so please go easy on me. Please let me know if I have missed anything. Happy to correct.
Looking for a good sound bar. Have researched a bit and came to know this is better than the new JBL bar 5.1, though this is an old model. If you are after Dolby Atmos, then this is not for you.
Of course there are pros and cons.
This is the link to JBL site.
https://www.jbl.com.au/JBL+Bar+5.1.html
Any advice as to buy this or not, please let me know, Appreciate…
Just angle the bar upwards and you have atmos
bahaha
Would be a good price if it only had atmos support. Its not wise to buy a soundbar without atmos in 2023 as most of the new movies and shows in all streaming platforms comes with atmos.
No Atmos is the only reason holding me…
Me too. I like the idea of detachable speakers.
Atmos is nice to have, but I wouldn't call it a deal-breaker not to have. Maybe I haven't positioned it optimally, but there's nothing earth-shattering when I play an Atmos movie on my Q990 compared to regular 5.1/7.1.
I have an arc and still think atmos is a gimmick.
Then again im stupid with sounds
I had the arc. I think u need to buy the 2 rear speakers to get proper sorround. Otherwise it was a good soundbar. I think this is a better value for movies as will produce better sorround with the 2 detachable speakers
Ive got rear surrounds and sub
If you only have the arc then thats understandable, you need those rear speakers to really make it pop, atmos is pretty wicked but it cant defy the laws of physics, it still needs rear speakers.
Its one of the reasons i went with the 930B over the arc, because the 930B comes with rear speakers included, Sonos wants some throw-up-worthy money for the complete kit.
Ive got the whole kit.
But this is my first sound bar so i have nothing to compare it with hahaha
@Junnyjun: I suggest you do some more research on how to set it up properly then, atmos isn’t just a gimmick so I’m convinced you’re doing something wrong.
If you don’t have the rears, then you haven’t set yourself up for the proper experience. Adding the rears changes everything, it’s amazing.
Maybe why its 50% off? Im not sure :-)
I got a 3.1 Sony with Atomos but its not really Atomos.
Some companies are just better at engineering landfill. This is why a company like Sony can design a soundbar solution valued at triple this price but still use less materials to manufacture it.
I would whole heartedly recommend this. Got this for $640 or so around 3 years ago from HN as well. If you are unable to provide electrical connection to the rears, this is perhaps your only (and a very solid option). Yes, it does not have ATMOS but you could go for thier 9.1 model if you need it.
I have compared it with some of my friends other sound bars and for the performance it delivers for the price, it is phenomenal.
That said, while it is spectcular for movies, its biggest drawback is music reproduction. General hip-hop and new age music is perfect, but if you are looking for good reproduction of vocals, it lags significantly. Too many words !
Same here, got it around same time from HN, with a free dozen of wine, for around same price. Best deal ever :)
Thats a good price for when it was released 3 years ago, but nowadays I would say that $600 price tag is a more suitable RRP rather than a bargain. $1000 RRP is a joke.
I had this and returned it because of an odd problem where the soundbar would just refuse to turn on unless I pulled the plug for at least an hour or so, before re-inserting. I also found interference with the rear speakers sometimes.
You need to be very lucky to be able to return an item to Harvey Norman.
Absolutely. It took at least two visits, from memory, and they certainly don't make it a smooth experience. There was one staff member who mentioned he had the same problem with his Sonos, and could never figure out why, so that made the senior guy a little more receptive. I usually go to JB for the post-sales service ease, but I suspect they didn't have it in stock and HN had a big discount on it.
Another issue I ran into with these was that pulling out the rear speakers every time you wanted to watch something with surround got old real quick. If they were magnetically attached, it might not be so bad, but there's enough force required to pull them out of the slots that it's a bit of a turn off.
Mine has literally sat there for 2 year not being used cause of this same problem, was not able to return nor could they fix…
It's a bewildering problem - could find jack all online about it, and it was extremely hard to replicate in store as it was somewhat intermittent in how long you had to leave it unplugged before it would start working again.
I would recommend Samsung 930b or 950a recent deals ( approx $200 more )
These were released in 2020, I strongly suggest waiting for a deal on the 930B from Samsung to come around again - I paid about 850 from memory(JB price matched a powerland advert). This sound bar not having dolby atmos is the least of its worries, but if you want true atmos you need those rear speakers. Doesn't matter how good the soundbar is, it will never come close to having actual drivers sitting behind you.
$600 should honestly be its 2023 updated RRP, to suggest this is a $1000 soundbar is laughable to say the least.
You can rarely see real deals from Gary.
Can't believe in this day and age they're making 5.1 systems with no Atmos support.
Almost a great deal.