Summary
Turns out, Memorial Day is a great time to stop settling for badTVaudio. JBL’s Bar 5.0 MultiBeam soundbar is down to $200 from its original $400 price (a nice 50% off), and it’s easily one of the most practical upgrades you can make to your home setup right now. It’s a single, compact unit. No extra subs or rear speakers to deal with, but it still delivers Dolby Atmos support, wide sound projection, and solid low-end performance, all without cluttering your space.
At $200, it undercuts a lot of competitors that still rely on bulky setups or half-baked features. And with the Best Buy deal ending on May 26, now’s the right time to move if you’ve been holding out for the right mix of performance and price. Let’s take a quick peek at what’s going on with it.
JBL 5.0 Soundbar - Under The Hood
Starting with the meat and potatoes, we’re looking at a 5.0 channel setup pushing 250W total power through five dedicated 50W amplifiers. The driver configuration is quite interesting, too. There are five racetrack drivers (48mm x 80mm each) to handle the main audio duties, while four passive radiators work overtime to give you bass without needing a separate subwoofer.
The frequency response spans 50Hz to 20kHz, which translates to pretty decent coverage for most content. You’re not going to get those floor-shaking sub-bass frequencies that make your neighbors question their life choices, but for dialogue, effects, and general entertainment, it covers the bases well. The max output hits 92 dBA, which is plenty loud for most rooms without crossing into “the dog is hiding under the bed” territory.
At 71cm wide and weighing just 2.8kg, this thing won’t dominate your entertainment setup. The build quality feels solid without being over-engineered. We’ve got metal grilles, sturdy plastic construction, and a four-character LED display to disburse useful information.
JBL’s MultiBeam technology is what makes it worth it. Instead of just firing sound straight at you like most soundbars, it uses digital signal processing to bounce audio around your room, creating a wider soundstage. The automatic calibration feature listens to your room’s acoustics and adjusts accordingly, which is a great touch.
The Virtual Dolby Atmos implementation works better than you’d expect from a single-bar setup. It’s not going to fool you into thinking there are actual speakers mounted in your ceiling, but itdoescreate a more immersive experience than standard stereo soundbars. For streaming content from Netflix, Disney+, or your gaming sessions, the difference is noticeable.
The connection options hit all the important marks without going overboard. You’ve got HDMI eARC for the main TV connection, optical input for older setups, and a USB port for direct playback. The wireless side covers Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi, Chromecast built-in, AirPlay 2, and Alexa Multi-Room Music support. Basically, however you want to get audio to this thing, there’s probably a way to make it happen.
The HDMI eARC connection handles 4K passthrough with Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support, so you’re not sacrificing video quality for better audio. The soundbar plays nice with most TV remotes too, which means you won’t need to juggle multiple controllers just to adjust the volume.
At the original $400 price point, the Bar 5.0 MultiBeam competed in a crowded field with options like the Sonos Beam and Samsung’s mid-range offerings. It held its own, but the competition was tight. At $200? This becomes a no-brainer for most people looking to upgrade their TV audio without breaking the bank or dealing with multiple speakers.
If you’ve been putting off upgrading your TV’s audio because soundbar prices seemed disconnected from reality, this Memorial Day deal might be your jam. Also turns out this is alreadyone of the top-selling soundbarson Best Buy, and now with the deal in the mix, I seriously doubt it’s going to stay in stock for long. ensure you head over and grab one of these puppies before time.
