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The JBL Bar 5.0 MultiBeam produces boomy bass, delivering immersive audio. It is a loud and feature-rich 5.0 soundbar that will appeal to movie buffs and music enthusiasts.
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Table of Contents
Product Snapshot
Overview
The JBL Bar 5.0 MultiBeam is a mid-range 5.0 channel surround soundbar released in 2021, with a wide soundstage and outstanding bass for living rooms and home theaters.
Like many of the best-rated speakers in the industry today, this JBL speaker has built-in Chromecast, Airplay, and Alexa. A handy bass adjustment feature and auto volume mode enable effortless customization.
The speaker supports Virtual Dolby Atmos and eARC, which along with JBL proprietary MultiBeam tech create an immersive experience This speaker has a collection of useful connectors, including a shared HDMI ARC+Out port, a full HDMI in, and single USB port.
Explore the specs of the JBL Bar 5.0 MultiBeam below, and be sure to check out the highest-ranked soundbars on the market today.
Consensus
our Verdict
Experts adore the range of connectivity options and virtual surround setup of the JBL Bar 5.0 MultiBeam speaker, and they recommend it for TV dialogue, movies, and music playback.
Editors at CNET love its bass-heavy sound profile, featuring a -1.07 frequency response slope. Tests revealed that the system supports Virtual Dolby Atmos, and experts at What Hi-Fi say that it has a decent side-firing setup, which provides a fairly immersive 3D listening experience.
And thanks to a range of connectivity options, the soundbar is quite versatile. Users who regularly entertain big groups will love this speaker’s loud design, which reaches 91.9 dB. With EQ presets, you can customize the audio profile as well.
However, it doesn’t have satellite speakers, so it won’t support true Dolby Atmos.
Plenty of connectivity options with outstanding latency
The JBL Bar 5.0 MultiBeam boasts multiple connectivity options with exceptionally low tested latency for seamless audio and visual syncing. It features an eARC (-19 ms), Optical (-7 ms), and Full HDMI In (27 ms) port for connecting to modern devices, and its latency is among the best tested. But a USB port for audio playback is only available in the soundbar’s USA models.
Good design
The soundbar’s premium plastic casing and metallic grille are strong enough to safeguard the internal drivers. Moreover, it sits snugly underneath a 55” TV stand without blocking the screen.
User interface
You can view the volume and current input selection with the handy four-character display on the soundbar’s right-hand side. It has two EQ presets, and the buttons on the top turn the bar on/off, tweak the volume, and enable switching inputs. And for greater functionality, there is a convenient no-frills remote.
Built-in Chromecast, Apple airplay, and Bluetooth
Near zero latency provides synchronized audio and video playback
Reason to Avoid
Slightly boxy sound quality
The Automatic MultiBeam Calibration room correction feature gives the soundbar a bit of a boxy sound profile, making sounds a bit resonant. It also delivers emphasized punchy sounds that may not appeal to everyone. Additionally, EDM and hip-hop listeners may find the underemphasized deep low bass to be a potential dealbreaker, but it has a bass adjustment feature and EQ presets for sound customization.
No smart features or voice assistant
Although you can integrate the bar with Google Home, it lacks exclusive app compatibility for hassle-free sound customization. Plus, the absence of a built-in voice assistant means no hands-free control, which takes away from the overall user experience.
JBL Bar 5.0 Multibeam Specs
Bluetooth Enabled
Yes
Depth
3.9"
Dialogue Enhancement Feature
na
Energy Star Certified
n/a
HDMI ARC
Yes
Height
2.3"
Number of Audio Channels
5
Subwoofer
Included
Surround Sound Supported
Dolby Atmos
Wall Mountable
na
Weight
6.7
Width
27.9
Wireless Connectivity
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Wireless
Wireless Subwoofer Connectivity
na
Works With
Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri
All Specs
Test Results
These are the most important criteria to test for Soundbars based on our comprehensive Testing Methodology.
Low End Roll Off (Hz)
63.496
High End Roll Off (Hz)
12,177.48
Max Volume Test (db)
91.95
Latency (ms)
-19
THD @ 80dB
0.32
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The JBL Bar 5.0 MultiBeam is a mid-range 5.0 channel surround soundbar released in 2021, with a wide soundstage and outstanding bass for living rooms…
The JBL Bar 5.0 MultiBeam is a mid-range 5.0 channel surround soundbar released in 2021, with a wide soundstage and outstanding bass for living rooms and home theaters.
Like many of the best-rated speakers in the industry today, this JBL speaker has built-in Chromecast, Airplay, and Alexa. A handy bass adjustment feature and auto volume mode enable effortless customization.
The speaker supports Virtual Dolby Atmos and eARC, which along with JBL proprietary MultiBeam tech create an immersive experience This speaker has a collection of useful connectors, including a shared HDMI ARC+Out port, a full HDMI in, and single USB port.
Explore the specs of the JBL Bar 5.0 MultiBeam below, and be sure to check out the highest-ranked soundbars on the market today.
Although both are 5.0-channel soundbars, the Sonos Beam Gen 2 boasts more immersive surround and stereo soundstage than the JBL Bar 5.0 MultiBeam. It also…
Although both are 5.0-channel soundbars, the Sonos Beam Gen 2 boasts more immersive surround and stereo soundstage than the JBL Bar 5.0 MultiBeam. It also has a mobile app for managing settings remotely, unlike the MultiBeam. However, the 5.0 MultiBeam features HDMI in and out ports and a USB port, unlike the Sonos, which only has HDMI ARC.
Equipped with a dedicated sub, the JBL Bar 9.1 produces deeper extended low-bass than the JBL Bar 5.0 MultiBeam, which doesn’t have a dedicated sub….
Equipped with a dedicated sub, the JBL Bar 9.1 produces deeper extended low-bass than the JBL Bar 5.0 MultiBeam, which doesn’t have a dedicated sub. Additionally, the 9.1 also produces more immersive surround sound, thanks to its discrete satellite speakers. However, the MultiBeam has a USB port, unlike the Bar 9.1. See our JBL Bar 9.1 review for details.
Featuring a 5.0-channel setup, the JBL 5.0 MultiBeam offers a more immersive audio experience the LG Eclair QP5, which had a 3.1.2 configuration. However, the…
Featuring a 5.0-channel setup, the JBL 5.0 MultiBeam offers a more immersive audio experience the LG Eclair QP5, which had a 3.1.2 configuration. However, the LG speaker has a dialogue enhancement feature, unlike the MultiBeam soundbar. To learn more about the Eclair, see our LG Eclair QP5 review today.
