JBL is offering a truckload of features at a reasonable price, but how does this bar sound?
We have reviewed our fair share of AV amplifiers, speakers and earbuds from JBL recently, but it has been a while since we have reviewed a soundbar from the American audio brand. The plainly named Bar 300 is a simple proposition: for a fairly modest wad of cash, you can get a feature-rich soundbar complete with Dolby Atmos support and a strong set of streaming options.
The Bar 300 retails for £330, which places it at the more affordable end of the Dolby Atmos soundbar scale. Very few soundbars that support the spatial audio format hit a price tag this low.
While the JBL doesn’t boast the flashiest look or highest quality build, it is solid and features a suave grille that wraps seamlessly around the front edge of the unit. It’s a fairly understated design aside from the top fascia, which features an embossed cutout that divides the controls from the rest of the body. There are just three chunky buttons, for volume up, down and input, which look unique and make operation easy. There are no dedicated upward-firing speakers, which tells us a lot about how the soundbar handles Dolby Atmos.
Unlike the Sony, which features awkwardly angled connectors that cause havoc for stiff HDMI cables, the JBL opts for a more straightforward approach. This soundbar measures 5.6 x 82 x 10 cm (hwd), which isn’t far off the competing Sony HT-S2000 soundbar. It sits neatly below the TV we are using to test this bar without obstructing the screen, and it’s narrow enough that it takes up only one of our media racks. However, it’s a fair bit longer than the Sonos Beam Gen 2, so if you want a properly petite soundbar, the JBL might not be for you.
The JBL Bar 300’s feature set makes it more interesting than it first appears. While its Sony counterpart goes for a plug-and-play no-frills approach, JBL has squeezed in a fair few more features.
Starting with the set-up process, the JBL is quick, easy and hassle-free. The JBL One app is optional, but it has a quick sign-up process, and connecting to the soundbar requires only the press of a single button. From here you can connect the soundbar to the internet to unlock the streaming features. The automatic calibration system – something the Sony doesn’t offer – is quick and easy: with a click of the button on the remote, the soundbar emits a tone that the onboard microphone measures; and
