Review: JBL Bar 1300X

You’ve got to hand it to JBL. When it comes to design innovation, the storied audio brand really goes for it. Nowhere is that more obvious than in its pricey new flagship soundbar, the shapeshifting Bar 1300X. The system includes 11.1.4 channels of burly Dolby Atmos sound, as well as discrete surround speakers that magnetically connect and detach from the main bar like Star Trek shuttlecraft. Unique to JBL soundbars, the intriguing design allows for multiple sound configurations, as well as fully wireless surrounds—no outlets required.

The upshot is a cleaner surround setup than rivals from Samsung, Sonos, and pretty much anyone else, all of which require power cables for their “wireless” surround speakers. But you’re still trading wires for batteries; the speakers must return to the mother ship every 12 hours to juice up. So unless you’ve got a fully open floor plan, I’m not sure the Bar 1300X really answers the question of whether going fully wireless confers a distinct advantage over buying a low-profile extension cord.

One thing that’s not in question is just how fantastic this system is at bombarding your room with thrilling Dolby Atmos sound. In the dozens of soundbars I’ve auditioned, only a small few can compete with the Bar 1300X in this department. The system is expensive and won’t be for everyone, but if you’re looking for a different way to load up serious cinematic immersion, JBL’s Bar 1300X could be your ticket.

The Bar 1300X’s setup and controls are a little tricky at first, partly due to its whacky design and partly because it doesn’t come with a full owner’s manual. After we reached out to JBL, the company added the latter to the website for download, which should help with some of the more complicated particulars.

Once you’ve fished the massive sub and bar from the Tetris-shaped box, it’s simple enough to connect to your TV over HDMI ARC/eARC with the included cable, and there’s an ample suite of inputs, including three spare HDMI ports. But the near-wordless quickstart guide does its best impression of instructions for a Kullen or Hemnes or other Ikea dresser, which can lead to some confusion. It took me some time to realize that you need to remove the inconspicuous end caps (which aren’t always pictured) before attaching the breakaway speakers.

The JBL One app walks you through basics like Wi-Fi connection and the two-step calibration process that locks in sound. This is key because, unlike any number of competitors, the Bar 1300X offers zero sound modes or presets. There’s also no way to adjust the center channel, choose between stereo or surround virtualization, or adjust the right/left surrounds independently.

You do get a couple of EQ options and the ability to raise and lower the volume of the height channels. You can also adjust the surrounds, but there are only three levels of control there. Given all that, the Bar 1300X does a remarkable job of adjusting to your room for immersive, relatively well-balanced sound. After braving the setup, less-experienced users may find the mostly plug-and-play controls easier than those of more traditional home theater fare.

There are a few other ways to tinker, like adding streaming services in the app to go along with options like Spotify Connect, AirPlay 2, and Chromecast. You can also connect the system to other JBL products and access a few smart features via Google Assistant and Alexa with the help of a secondary smart speaker.

Photograph: JBL

Like most bars at this price, the Bar 1300X is positively loaded with speakers—including six racetrack drivers and five tweeters in the bar alone—to bounce sound forward and to the sides. But JBL also adds two secret weapons that help the system submerge your listening room in a sound tornado.

The first is an extra pair of up-firing drivers. While most systems max out at four, the Bar 1300X provides six; four in the bar itself, two more in the detachable surrounds to bounce sound off your ceiling and down to the listening position. It’s this potent hemispheric dome that, along with the front- and side-firing drivers, helps create the kind of realistic sonic immersion so many cheaper Dolby Atmos soundbars lack. Think of it like a solar eclipse; it’s cool to get a glimpse of it at the edge, but there’s nothing like being in the path of totality.

The second, much-less-secret weapon is the 1300X’s mini-fridge of a subwoofer, which sports a 12-inch woofer that matches or exceeds every other competitor. You’re just not going to get this kind of authoritative sound displacement with smaller drivers, and you will absolutely feel the ground-shaking, shelf-rattling difference. The sub is also fast and musical enough to keep up with rhythmic effects, matching well with its soundbar counterpart.

From the moment I inserted my Dolby Atmos demo Blu-ray, I could hear and feel the 1300X’s power. When I fired up the “Amaze” demo via Dolby TrueHD, the system blasted the cacophony of jungle buzzes throughout the room, followed by a crack of thunder that shook my floor (the system claims to reach a low of 33 Hz), and a realistic shower of rain overhead. That last effect really separates this system from the pack, as it’s very difficult to reproduce believable overhead effects without dedicated ceiling speakers.

Moving on to films and TV, the Bar 1300X further proved its mettle. The size-shifting effects in Ant-Man are always a great test, and the system once again passed with flying colors. From Scott Lang’s first test drive of the suit in the bathtub engulfed by a wall of water to the whirring thump of the ant-copter wings and the final battle with Yellow Jacket, it’s a feast for your auditory senses.

One of my favorite moments, the briefcase scene in which the two micro titans grapple in zero gravity, is also one of the toughest to pull off convincingly. The Bar 1300X fully engulfed me in the moment, with laser shots strafing past my ears and an almost eerily present globe of sound as Yellow Jacket accidentally blasts the space with The Cure’s Disintegration. These are the moments for which Atmos was created, and only a few rivals, like Samsung’s HW-Q990B (8/10, WIRED Recommends) and Klipsch’s Bar 1200, can keep up.

Photograph: JBL

Thanks to support for DTS:X, you can expect similarly gripping immersion from your DTS Blu-ray discs. The Bar 1300X also does well with basic surround sound, either with the satellite speakers in their surround position or attached to the bar for charging. When I pulled up Skyfall on Netflix, the dialog was clear and crisp, and I was impressed by how much immersion the side-firing drivers created, even with the extra speakers reconnected.

Oddly, I can’t say the same for music. The system sounds good for most tunes with the surround speakers on their separate stands, offering plenty of clarity and balance between registers. But when I reattached the speakers, I was surprised to find that the stereo tracks were being kicked out mainly from the satellites at the left and right, leaving the center speakers basically dormant. It still sounded solid, but it’s a step down.

Detach the speakers and the full bar comes back alive. This seems like a bad call on the 1300X’s automatic sound settings, and I found myself wishing I could adjust it manually to utilize all speakers equally with stereo music while the surrounds are attached. JBL says there is a software update to correct the issue when you first connect to Wi-Fi, but so far I’ve been unable to verify it with the latest software.

Some content, like sitcoms and other lesser recordings, were occasionally on the shouty side in either configuration. This is one of the few times that the bar’s 2.4-inch tall frame feels tight and overprocessed. Feeding it better content, like prestige dramas, provides much better results, with excellent definition and an almost creamy touch to dialog and subtle effects.

As thrilling as the Bar 1300X is, I can’t help feeling that I’d rather keep the surround speakers as, er, surround speakers. It’s the best configuration for pretty much any content, and plugging and unplugging the surprisingly strong magnetic terminals can be arduous. Thankfully, while the speakers don’t come with charging cables, each has a USB-C input for stand-alone charging as a backup plan.

There are some reasons to go detachable: as a compromise for those who don’t appreciate gear clutter or to eliminate trip wires for an open floor plan. The surround speakers can even be used as makeshift Bluetooth speakers, though I’d still point most folks toward more convenient waterproof options, like JBL’s Flip or Pulse speakers.

If you don’t need breakaway speakers, you’ll probably prefer Samsung’s HW-Q990B or the new Q990C (whichever is on sale), both of which provide more tuning options and a warmer overall sound signature. But if you do want a shapeshifting soundbar, the Bar 1300X is not only the best there is, it’s one of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars, period.