It doesn’t come much better. Put it that way. JBL’s range of soundbars has always offered an instant step up from whatever TV sound you have, but when you listen to the best they have to offer you appreciate what perhaps you’ve always been missing out on – then there’s the JBL Bar 1300MK2.
Exclusive to Harvey Norman at the moment, the JBL Bar 1300MK2 is – as the name suggests – the second generation of this premium soundbar from JBL which steps it up with a higher output but also a new and innovative wireless connection box for wall mounted TV installations.
JBL’s love for taking a soundbar and making the ends snap off to become actual rear-speakers is a winner in my mind. They didn’t invent this, I remember this on a Philips soundbar some 12 years ago, but they have taken it to the most remarkable level.
I’ll leave it to others in the audiophile community to dig deep in the nitty gritty, but let’s just break this beast apart.
From this image I can make out almost 30 individual speakers. Think about that for a moment. 30 speakers? This goes to the Bar 1300MK2’s ability to direct sound to where it’s meant to be.
Forgetting TV viewing for a moment, get this beast on your WiFi network using the JBL One App which is just so easy to use in it of itself, and the Bar 1300MK2 becomes an option for your smartphone to stream your favourite playlist.
I was pumping out some tunes this morning from Spotify and the richness of the sound was simply sensational. Push the volume right to the top and you’ll scare yourself to the point of bringing it down again.
Counter that with Night Mode listening to tune the device and bring down that Subwoofer so you can enjoy, but not upset the family.
The JBL Bar 1300MK2 offers a win at every end of the sound and volume spectrum.
As with many, if not all JBL products the customisability via an app is outstanding. Tune the sound to your personal profile – as it should be.
Getting back to those removable rear speakers, they are battery powered, but can be powered by USB-C if you’re looking to keep them at the rear of the room permanently, and there are end caps for the speakers and soundbar when you do remove them. I’d rarely bother with that for just a movie, but if you’re keeping them off – throw on the end-caps for sure.
What I found most impressive was the calibration, all done during App setup, this ensures that the rears are not overpowering you if you choose to have them closer than normal. It sets them perfectly in relation to the soundbar.
That said, I found myself forgetting to remove them a few times because frankly, the all-in-one soundbar format is still outstanding in every way.
The JBL Bar 1300MK2 is a big beast at 112.4cm wide, sits 5.8cm tall and 13.6cm deep. And it’s not cheap. $2,299.95 is the RRP, Harvey’s have it for $1594.
Aside from a bump up in overall sound from the original Bar 1300, a big new innovation with the JBL Bar 1300MK2 is the “One Commander Box” – which is perfect for large format wall mounted TV installations.
This little puck can get power from your TV USB, and allows you to have Optical or HDMI Audio connection at the back of the TV, transmitted to your soundbar wirelessly.
I couldn’t get it going in my limited-time review, but I’m putting that down to this being a several generation hand me down review – it’s been setup by several reviewers before me, I have no doubt it will work out of the box.
The Subwoofer with the JBL Bar 1300MK2 is unique, it took me a few moments to work out how it sits! Fortunately there’s some rubber pads on what should be the bottom:). But it’s cylindrical shape is unique, despite the sub normally being hidden away in a corner
There’s also a unique software feature of the JBL Bar 1300MK2 soundbar called PureVoice – enable it within the app and you just get a little boost for the voices on screen – almost like a dedicated lane of sound right to your ears. A purist of the movies might say this is cheating the desired and pure mix – but let’s all be honest, sometimes you wish you could hear the dialogue better. Sometimes you throw the captions on to follow what’s happening 🙂
It’s subtle, but works.
Lots of people might consider a soundbar around $500 – and those are great, but when you look at what comes when you step up the range and to the top of the range like this you really start to get blown away by how impressive the sound is, but also the experience is utterly exceptional.
Deep strong bass, controllable via the remote across five levels – sometimes you want the most it has, other times, I found even level 2 was perfectly adequate.
You’ll rarely challenge the top of the volume scale on the Bar 1300MK2. The remote pushes to 31 then MAX, I’m watching the Today show at 12, and I enjoyed the F1 Movie at around 19, the sound really is booming!
I think the best sign that this is really the top of the pops when it comes to soundbars is the comparison to the Sonos Arc Ultra. It’s a stunner. I’ve got one. But to get surround sound you need to buy extra speakers – the $1799 Arc is just the main soundbar. Oh, and the Subwoofer too is extra.
You’ve got Bluetooth pairing for simple music from your phone, plus connect to WiFi and you’ve got simple AirPlay and Chromecast, even multi-speaker audio with AirPlay, all so easy to use.
In simple terms, the JBL Bar 1300MK2 is an all-in-one package and at the special price of under $1,600 it’s hard to do anything but suggest you run, not walk to get one.
Outstanding sound, great innovation with the One Commander box, and great flexibility with the removable rears.
Web: JBL / Harvey Norman
Trev is a Technology Commentator, Dad, Speaker and Rev Head.
He produces and hosts several popular podcasts, EFTM, Two Blokes Talking Tech, Two Blokes Talking Electric Cars, The Best Movies You’ve Never Seen, and the Private Feed. He is the resident tech expert for Triple M on radio across Australia, and is the resident Tech Expert on Channel 9’s Today Show and appears regularly on 9 News, A Current Affair and Sky News Early Edition.
Father of three, he is often found in his Man Cave.
