I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it to anyone who will listen – a soundbar is about the best investment you can make alongside a new TV or in fact to make any age TV give you a whole new experience. At $549 the JBL Bar 2.1 Deep Bass is a fantastic example of just that.
The 2.1 offers a simple two channel plus subwoofer approach to your sound and while that doesn’t have the excitement of the five-channel Dolby Atmos you get with a far bigger and more expensive system, it will blow away the sound you’re getting from your standalone TV.
A good soundbar like this uses either the Optical output of your TV or the HDMI ARC channel of the TV. Easy to setup, really easy to configure you basically do this plug and play.
Once connected, find the best action movie you can and sit back to enjoy.
It’s bliss. Far louder sound than you have with tiny rear-firing TV speakers, and importantly because of the included sub-woofer the Bass here is impressive. The remote offers you the chance to set the Bass level higher or lower to suit your own taste, and the Subwoofer is wireless so only needs to be placed near a power point to work.
The design of the JBL Bar 2.1 is simple and somewhat classic, curved ends and a glossy top
I really love the design and how it fits in with pretty much any TV design, it’s kinda neutral like that, and when you are using a modern TV with the HDMI ARC connection, your TV remote is going to happily control the volume from the soundbar.
Don’t be fooled into thinking you need to have a soundbar the same brand as your TV – it’s just not true.
JBL offer a great quality sound, easy use and this thing has Bluetooth on board too so it can be your lounge room sound system for enjoying music when you’re not watching TV.
The volume level on this thing is huge, I’m yet to pump it to the maximum – just far too loud for me to want to do that – and that’s saying something.
Sure, a 5.1 or 7.1 Channel would be amazing, and offer a different – more immersive experience, but for those with a sub-$1000 budget this one is hard to go past.
Find the JBL Bar 2.1 at JB Hi-Fi or online at JBL
Trev is a Technology Commentator, Dad, Speaker and Rev Head.
He produces and hosts two popular podcasts, EFTM and Two Blokes Talking Tech. He also appears on over 50 radio stations across Australia weekly, and is the resident Tech Expert on Channel 9’s Today Show each day and appears regularly on A Current Affair.
Father of three, he is often found down in his Man Cave.
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