JBL Bar 5.0 is a compact, all-in-one soundbar designed for TV audio and music services via AirPlay 2, Chromecast or Bluetooth.

Virtual Dolby Atmos
JBL Bar 5.0 will compete with soundbars like Sonos Beam. It is not the company's most advanced or best TV sound but rather an all-in-one soundbar designed for buyers who seek a compact solution.

The soundbar is equipped with five units and MultiBeam speaker technology, which you may know from Harman's soundbars. Harman and JBL are both owned by Samsung.

- "Equipped with four passive radiators for deep and punchy bass, the Bar 5.0 produces clear, heightened and room filling JBL 3D Surround Sound, without the need for an additional subwoofer. Highlighted within the Bar 5.0 is Harman's MultiBeam technology that enables users to hear and feel surround sound without needing additional surround speakers, generating an immersive listening experience. In addition, Virtual Dolby Atmos allows the Bar 5.0 to reproduce the audio height dimensions from a movie or TV show, turning any living space into a 3D personal theater," the company said.



It can be connected to the TV via HDMI ARC/eARC or wirelessly to the Apple TV box with AirPlay 2, which also works for music. JBL Bar 5.0 supports Chromecast, Bluetooth, and Amazon Alexa multi-room too.

The soundbar is equipped with a single HDMI input with 4K Dolby Vision pass-through in case you prefer to connect a Blu-ray player or another source device directly to the soundbar.

JBL Bar 5.0 was unveiled at CES 2021 and will be available in black this spring for $400 / €400.

JBL Bar 5.0 - key features
- Virtual 5 channels
- Up to 250W of total power
- Dolby Atmos support
- Wi-Fi
- Works with Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri
- AirPlay 2, Chromecast, Multi-Room Music groups on Alexa devices, and Bluetooth
- HDMI input, optical, USB
- HDMI eARC 
- Includes wall mounting hardware
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