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Reddit Reviews
I’m jbl bar 1000 mk1 user and I won’t change it to anything even if I’m offered money in top of it
I have a Jbl bar 1000 and I love it. Perhaps it’s not the best sound bar out there, but for the price, when it’s on sale, i believe it’s a decent buy. The bass outperforms almost all soundbars out there, and the true wireless rears can’t be beat.
I had the jbl bar 1000 and I enjoyed it. Switched that out for Sennheiser, didn’t like it, got the Sonos arc ultra sub 4 and rears, didn’t like it. Got the q990d and I freaking love it.
I have had the 1300xmk2 for a couple months now and it is fantastic. To try to answer some of your questions: Dialogue - excellent (much improved over my previous jbl 1000). At night when kids are asleep, I turn the bass down (normally at 3 or 4 depending on the content) to level 1 or 2. PureVoice is always on for me as I think it sounds better and clearer. You can do the "night mode" where the rear speakers get sound and the sub and main bar is off, but I don't ever use it, seems unnecessary for me. Turning the bass down on the sub works better for me. Easy to do on the app. Not sure on the 2.0 or 5.1 answer, but the bar lights up with different adjustments depending on the content played, and I have not been disappointed. I watch sports, streaming, 4K blurays, and some sound different than others depending on the format, but I'm always pleased. Some I'm blown away by. I haven't had a full 5.1 speaker setup, one day I'd maybe like to, but the ease of use and quality of 1300xmk2 I would absolutely recommend.
A Samsung would be better than a TCL, even the Q800F or D. Sony is nice, but not worth the price. I recently had a theatre bar 8 and sw5 sub for about 1700, not worth it for what I got. LG is pretty cost effective, but their bass has always been lack luster. So if bass is your main priority i would get a JBL, like the 700 or 1000
Picked up JBL 1000 recently from Amazon for 55k
I have jbl 1000. The thing that i really hate is that there is no easy way to disable audio enchantments and i have to disable them every time i turn the soundbar on. Really frustrating.
Apparently the Samsung Q990D is the gold standard. I don't have one, but I LOVE my JBL bar 1000.
I just got the JBL 1000. I've only had it a few days now but im blown away so far!
I have the JBL Bar1000 and absolutely love it! However I am aware that the Q990f is considered the gold standard.
seconded. the sony does have better bass than the 930F, but the 930F has a better bubble surround experience. The samsung would suck for stuff like rock though, the bass isn't good enough. It's decent for movies etc, not so much for music Have a listen to the 930F, the sony system 6 and the jbl 1000, you should be able to get that one for about 64k (slightly outside your budget) and see which sound profile you enjoy. The JBL is kinda decent for your needs (excellent bass decent surrounds), but the dialogues on that thing can feel a bit recessed. The sony is decent over all, no issues for me but for the single HDMI port. Samsung I have put down my thoughts on already. would suggest staying away from LG, their bars used to be quite excellent, but they have started messing up since the LGsp8a and such were launch. The sound doesn't feel full enough.
in what universe are you living that the 990F or D is costing 104000. Either way, your money to waste, LG does look nice on paper, but sounds worse, samsung can be had for 75 78k easy, but has a middling bass. The jbl 1000 has great bass but a little recessed dialog. All the best.
Rankings by Use Case
Top recommendations from others in the same boat
Best for Apartments

Top pick
Sonos - Arc Ultra
Best for Dialogue clarity

Top pick
Samsung - Q990F
Best for Large open-concept rooms

Top pick
Sonos - Arc Ultra
Best for Music-first listening

Top pick
Sonos - Playbar
Best for Standalone setups

Top pick
Sonos - Arc Ultra





