I tested JBL’s newest flagship soundbar — and it’s proof you don’t need to spend $2k on a full home theater setup

The JBL Bar 1300XMK2 has a lot to live up to. Its predecessor completely blew me away with its movie-theater-accurate sound and unbeatable ease of use. So is the MK2 enough to be one of the best soundbars?

If you couldn’t tell from the 4.5-star rating, yes. Yes it is. This is the easiest (and, arguably, the most affordable) way to achieve cinematic Dolby Atmos at home. Dialogue is crystal-clear, even in bombastic action scenes, and high-frequency detail sounds aren’t swallowed by bass. The sound is just unbeatable at this price.

At $1,699, this isn’t a cheap product by any means. But if you know anything about home theater, you’ll know that this actually isn’t too expensive for an 11.1.4 channel configuration — with 25 individual drivers. Want to find out more? Keep reading this JBL Bar 1300XMK2 review.

JBL Bar 1300XMK2 review: Specs

JBL Bar 1300XMK2 review: Price & availability

The JBL Bar 13000XMK2 is $1,699 from Amazon U.S. In the U.K., you’re looking at an MSRP of £1,299, but it’s currently “Coming Soon” on JBL’s site. Strangely, though, you can grab it from Amazon U.K. for around £1,160.

Although this four-digit MSRP looks expensive, I promise you, it’s worth every penny and is actually cheaper than similarly spec’d soundbars. The power in this speaker is almost unparalleled. Of all the soundbars I’ve tested, only the $900 Samsung QS750F has a better performance-per-penny ratio.

I’ve also tested the KEF XIO and the Yamaha True X Surround 90A ($3,499), both incredible soundbars in their own right, but both will set you back considerably more than the JBL — without a sub and rears, too.

JBL Bar 1300XMK2 review: Design

In a word, the JBL Bar 1300XMK2 is powerful. This soundbar was rattling my floorboards, vibrating my skeleton, shaking my walls. With a whopping 2470W of power, this is a killer sound system. Thankfully, the soundbar also knows where to put that power.

There are a whopping 23 drivers in this 11.1.4 channel setup. The subwoofer itself has two 8-inch drivers, on top of the 19 drivers in the soundbar itself. In real terms, this means the 1300XMK2 is a behemoth, with sound worthy of a movie theater.

In terms of looks, the 1300XMK2 is your average soundbar. It’s not particularly gorgeous or particularly revolting. The bar itself is 40 inches long, so I’d recommend using it only if you have a 65” TV and up, otherwise it might look strange.

The subwoofer is huge and a frankly massive 26 pounds, so, again, only get this if you have space.

Controls

You can control the JBL Bar 1300XMK2 via either the remote or your phone. The remote is long and lightweight, with pleasantly tactile buttons. It’s much bigger than Bose’s soundbar remote, but feels more plasticky than Samsung’s.

Unlike the KEF XIO, you can control the soundbar settings while watching TV. You can adjust subwoofer volume and surround volume directly from your phone. I found this responded instantly with zero stuttering.

The on-bar buttons are minimal: just volume up and down. I don’t miss the buttons on the bar — I only really ever use my phone and remote anyway.

Features

I’ll discuss the app features in detail just below, but the Bar 1300XMK2 has a huge range of features. There’s automatic room calibration, broadcast mode, EQ adjustment, night mode, PureVoice mode, and smart mode.

One feature is missing, though: 4K / 120Hz pass-through for gaming. The Bar 1300XMK2's pass-through HDMI port is limited to 60Hz, so if you wanted to run your console through the soundbar (if you’re short on HDMI ports), unfortunately, you won’t be able to play at a 120fps frame rate in 4K. Not great news for FPS or other fast-paced games.

In fairness, this feature isn't ubiquitous with soundbars, and it'll only be an issue if you have no HDMI 2.1 port free on your TV. But this was a complaint we had about the previous model, so it's disappointing to see no improvement here on the new one.

JBL Bar 1300XMK2 review: App

I’ll go through all the main features one by one: room calibration is exactly as it sounds. The soundbar sends out sonic pulses to the rears, which helps position the sound waves for 360° audio. This was the first thing I did when I unboxed the soundbar and it made my movies sound super immersive.

As you can see, the JBL One app is well-designed and visually appealing, and I experienced no connectivity issues.

Next: broadcast mode. This enables you to keep the surround speakers connected to the soundbar even when you’re in different rooms. So, in theory, you could listen to a movie playing in the living room while you’re in the bathtub. Not sure why you’d want to, but you can.

You can also connect your phone to the surrounds and use them as individual speakers, and they have Auracast. In theory, you can link them up to JBL speakers like the Xtreme 5.

Of course, night mode and EQ adjustments are exactly what you might think — night mode reduces bass for fewer subwoofer-related sleep interruptions, and EQ allows you to completely customize the soundbar’s output.

Smart mode is interesting — it’s effectively a “standard” “Music” and “Movie” mode you can toggle to come on automatically or manually. Smart mode adjusts the sound mode based on the input. For example, if it detects a DVD player, it will activate movie mode, and if you play via a music streaming service, it will activate music.

JBL Bar 1300XMK2 review: Sound quality

I test every soundbar with “Top Gun: Maverick” on 4K Blu-Ray, TV shows on Netflix, and music on Qobuz via AirPlay.

Movies

As always, I watched “Top Gun: Maverick”. The opening scene was bassy and powerful; the male vocals in “Danger Zone” led the soundscape, with the delicate metallic clinking and whooshing ropes present in the high-end.

Every flying scene was particularly outstanding. The first scene, with Maverick flying in hypersonic, rumbled through the subwoofer with immense energy and depth. Each siren blare and alarm was clear over the pounding bass. Equally, the Bar 1300XMK2 balanced high-frequency diegetic sounds like rustling papers and ticking clocks with similarly-diegetic dialogue perfectly.

Dolby Atmos performance was also phenomenal. In the first dogfighting scene, the planes raced overhead as if I were truly outside. The soundtrack was bombastic without overpowering the screeching jet engine sounds, and the radio dialogue was surprisingly clear. I wanted a touch more width in the rears, even when I increased the surrounds’ volume to max — but this is me being pedantic. The overall performance was astounding.

Next, I watched “The Wild Robot”, which has exemplary Dolby Atmos performance. During the swimming scenes, I could hear the main character goose splashing in the water as if the water was all around me.

After, I watched “No Time To Die”. The opening scene with the wind whistling over the snowy lake was fantastic; the crunching snow underfoot was delicately balanced over the tense, string-heavy OST. The shattering lake sounded piercing and, of course, the famous car chase scene sounded powerful and dramatic. I actually physically jumped when the grenade exploded. The subwoofer was putting in overtime; every bullet, engine rev, and collision made the entire room shake.

TV

To test the JBL Bar 1300XMK2, I watched several TV shows on Netflix, NOWTV (a U.K. streaming platform), and Disney+. NOWTV has full Dolby Atmos, so really brought the best out of the Bar 1300XMK2.

When I watched “Heated Rivalry”, the skating sound effects were clear over the synth-heavy electronic soundtrack. Softer diegetic sounds like clothes ruffling and clinking of cutlery in restaurant scenes were audible and separated from dialogue and soundtrack. This is one of the best surround-sound soundbars I’ve ever tested. dialogue felt like it was coming from around me, and scene texture effects were balanced and natural. No notes — this was a perfect experience.

I also watched “Euphoria”. The dialogue, soundtrack, and bullet sound effects were all clear. I never needed to rewind for missed dialogue even in loud scenes, nightclub scenes, or action scenes.

Music

This is kind of cheating, because it’s the theme song of “No Time To Die” (one of the movies I used to test the 1300XMK2), but it sounded utterly marvelous through this soundbar. Billie Eilish’s voice was melodic, textured, and I could hear her every breath, every layer of her vocal cords. The bass and percussion in the second verse were balanced and emotive.

On Qobuz, I played “Hexagons” by Muse, a track built over arpeggiated guitar notes and rolling synths. The vocals were clear and emotive, just like the previous track, and the percussion was clear. The bass wasn’t as well-rounded as you’d expect from some of the best speakers, but, of course, this is a soundbar.

JBL Bar 1300XMK2 review: Verdict

Overall, I have nothing bad to say about the JBL Bar 1300XMK2. Sure, the 4K pass-through is limited to 60Hz, but if you’re not a gamer, this might not be an issue. For me, and most other movie lovers, you’ll be oh so pleased with the Bar 13000XMK2.

I loved the previous version, and one of its two flaws has been fixed: audio doesn’t stutter after long pauses. While the second “flaw”, its lack of 4K pass-through at 120Hz, remains, I’m not overly concerned with this for movie lovers. Gamers might need to check out something like the Samsung Q990H ($1,1997).

If you value movie-theater-accurate sound, a wide soundstage, immersive Dolby Atmos, and great smart features (AirPlay, calibration), then the JBL Bar 1300XMK2 is the one for you. This is one of the easiest ways to get a full home theater experience at home.