The JBL Bar 5.0 MultiBeam comes out in 2021 and is a small 5.0 setup. It comes with JBL MultiBeam Technology, which is said to help create a wider soundstage by bouncing sound off your walls. With the room correction feature, it has a boxy sound profile that gives your mixes more punch and boom, but it has trouble reproducing a deep low bass. Also, it supports Virtual Dolby Atmos, which means that it can only play Atmos content by downmixing it to surround content, which isn’t as immersive.
Even though the Bar 5.0 MultiBeam is small, it makes a big sound. JBL has packed five drivers (three in the front and two on top for height channels) and four passive radiators into its 27.9 x 3.9 x 2.3-inch frame. It’s an all-in-one Atmos machine, so it doesn’t have separate surrounds or a wireless subwoofer.
[content-egg-block template=offers_logo hide=price]Specifications
- Channels: 5
- Drivers: 4 x racetrack drivers, 2 x up-firing full-range drivers
- Total system power: 550W
- Frequency response: 75Hz – 20kHz
- Sound enhancement technology: JBL Multibeam, Virtual Dolby Atmos, Harman Display Surround Sound
- Audio inputs: 1 x HDMI eARC, 2 x HDMI 2.0a, 1 x Optical, 1 x USB
Where to get JBL BAR5.0 5-Channel Multibeam Soundbar?
The Stakes 5.0 The controls for MultiBeam are also simple. On top of the soundbar are buttons for turning it on and off, turning the volume up and down, and choosing an input. All done. On the right side of the front is an LED display that lights up when you make a change.
If you change the volume, the level shows up on the screen. If you change the input, the input shows up on the screen. This is how the front displays on a soundbar should work. Displays that stay on all the time take your attention away from what’s on the TV, especially when there’s not much going on.
The remote is almost as easy to use as the unit itself. It has separate buttons for the TV input, HDMI in, and Bluetooth, as well as buttons for power and volume. The Atmos button turns on virtual Atmos when the signal is not in an Atmos format. This gives any audio signal more height, which is another nice touch.
This is where the simplicity of the Bar 5.0 MultiBeam can hurt it. Using an HDMI cable or an optical digital cable to connect it to your TV is easy, but the next steps require you to read the manual. Since there is neither an app nor an on-screen menu, you have to combine the few buttons that are there.