JBL - JBL Bar 1300

Samsung, the JBL is more bass heavy out of the box. But the overall tone and soundstage the Samsung provides is clearer and more full. Just adjust the settings to your liking and the Samsung takes the cake.

I demoed both jbl and sony. I choose jbl over sony. Sony made my head ache and felt very claustrophobic in sound idk how else to explain, it wasn't the most pleasent sound i have heard in a while even my old DAV hme theatre was more pleasing to me. As for jbl it might lack vocal clarity and surround volume, i am optimistic for the Mark 2 to fix all that and provide an even more movie theatre experience

But With 1200w power? It might be a huge upgrade if you love bass. I will get a home demo done before i make any decisions if i were you. As for clarity i found 1300 enough in my home demo, samsung on the other hands lacks punch and was very shrill

I demoed three soundbars today, attaching indian prices: JBL 1300 - 1200 usd Samsung Q990F - 1000 usd LG S90TR (closest demo available, but I’d be buying the S95TR or AR) - 700 usd My impressions: JBL 1300 → Amazing bass, punchy and cinematic, literally vibrates the space. Feels like a movie theatre. Vocals are a bit muddy at higher bass levels, but lowering the bass to 2–3 makes it more balanced and listenable. Max is just too much for dialogue. Samsung Q990F → Clearest, most vocal-driven sound with great separation and detail. Fantastic for music. But… bass was underwhelming, even when maxed out. Felt like it lacked low-end impact compared to the others. LG (S90TR) → Feels right in the middle — Cinema mode sounded excellent with good layering, more punch than Samsung, less overwhelming than JBL. Immersive, but vocals weren’t as clear as Samsung and it cracked a bit at times. For music, Samsung was the best. For bass-heavy content, LG and JBL win. Worth noting — this was in a huge, loud store, so not a real-world home listening scenario. Only JBL is offering me a free home demo, so I’ll try that first to see if it’s clear enough for news/vocals for my family. If not, I might end up with the Samsung for clarity’s sake. My question to you: If you own any of these — are you happy with the bass on the Q990F? Do you feel LG or JBL strikes the best balance for movies and clear dialogue in a living room?

Yeah the surrounds for JBL were a weak spot and so is the vocal clarity at times. And for samsung the bass is very poorly done. Samsung was also very sharp and hurt my ears sometimes. I would pick jbl because i only watch tv for movies while my dad uses it for news and he doesn't care which soundbar we buy. Waiting for MK2 to finally upgrade from a dying DAV

Just got the jbl too, and the bass is insane, loving the easy detachable surround as well

I have the JBL Bar 1300, a great deal, but nowhere near the depth on the sonos sub and arc my dad have. I still think it’s waaay to much to spend for watching movies, where Samsung and JBL is better for cinema for half the price. And sonos is the best for music and only great for cinema experience. And with Mette Frederiksen messing up everyones economy here in Denmark🇩🇰🥲🤣 I would personally go with the smaller Samsung model tbh - unless you have a REALLY big living room and you need the extra watts. Think about how much you actually need to play on max volume…

No, the 1300s only gimmick is the detachable speakers, but they're mediocre at best. The bass and music performance is great (probably better than the 990F), but it is definitely not $400 better. Especially considering everything else that the 990F does better. You'll be more than satisfied with the bass reproduction on the Samsung. Turn sub up to +2/3, and you'll be happy. Then, there's bass boost and an EQ as well to tune it even further to your liking.

I grabbed the JBL BAR 1300 but I'm in Australia and it's really between that and the Samsung. Sony far too expensive here. Love the concept of JBL'S fully wireless rears and how versatile they are as standalone speakers, too. Also, I demoed both in store and to my ears the JBL's bass was significantly superior to Samsung. I'm over 40 and one thing people forget is you stop hearing most of the fidelity at higher frequencies as you age. Any additional clarity in the Samsung was lost on me - it just sounded like a less bass-y version of the JBL with rears that need their own power source. That being said, both are amazing if it's your first foray into surround sound. Enjoy!

Weather it's worth the $400 to you, only you can be the judge of that. Everything else you say is correct, and seems like you have made up your mind that the 1300 is the bar for you, but would rather be convinced otherwise. The sub/ bass on the 990F comes nowhere close to that of the 1300, night and day difference, however the rears of the 1300 aren't as good as the 990F, but you did say surround effects aren't as important to you. For average to midilling bass, go for the 990F (could look into the sony system 6), else just get the jbl 1300

To answer your question, I had similar thoughts as you tbh after I had the chance to listen to all of them but for LG, and sadly there isn't a perfect fits all balanced bar out there that ticks all the boxes. JBL surround isn't that great, but is decent over all for movies music, and if price isn't an issue, I'd probably go for it, but doesn't feel quite right even so considering the price difference 87k to 105000. The 990F would have been my instant pick, but for the bass, which is really underwhelming, but everything else is really great. it's good for movies and shows, but for music you'd be better off putting it on on different speakers. Maybe try the 990D and buy that instead? the 990F tried to fix an issue which I hadn't even heard of before the F came around, that of the 990D's sub distorting or being boomy. The 990D's bass felt quite a bit better to me, but it's been a while and I could be just making it up, after my disappointment with the 990F Believe it or not, LG used to make the greatest sounding soundbars, but their recent stuff has taken quite a big hit, had a chance to listen to the s65QR? or whatever it is called, and it was an instant yuck. Compare that to the lg SC9S which sounds decent, and if you can get at the rears is a decent system over all. Can you actually put the prices down in INR? and where did you get to demo the LG if you don't mind me asking?

I own jbl bar1300 currently, with base you will not regret and very good with music, but movies not so good,surround sound immersion is abit lucking.

Jbl's 10" subwoofer which is on bar1000 have never been disappointment, think the problem is with soundbar's tunning for movies to be like samsung q990F, currently rocking jbl bar1300

Surround sound and immersion for jbl bar1300 for movies isn't good, owned jbl bar 9.1 enjoyed everything i watched, movies used to feel in centre of what was being played on tv.

I thought so, and upgraded but totally disappointed wish had remained with 9.1,if you've tested bar 9.1 's sweetness don't go to bar1300 it sounds totally different, no immersion even on rtings.com 9.1 scores more than bar1300.

Have jbl bar1300, hates it every day, surround sound immersion and effects is too bad .owned jbl bar 9.1 was way too good. Samsung q990F think it's better.

Hey bro. Don’t listen to him. He just another delulu hater. Sonos absolutely will not crash and jbl 1300 center are fine.

I just got the JBL Bar 1300 and it knocks my socks off. The magnetic wireless rears are a game changer because I can just pop them back on the sound bar when I don’t need the full atmos experience.

Only had it for a few weeks. Watched a few atmos movies and that new Star Wars show and was blown away. To be fair I was using a stereo pair of OG HomePods before so it can’t really compare.

I use a similar soundbar although it's the jbl bar 1300. What's your audio output set to when gaming? Is it linear pcm or dolby audio/atmos? I've set mine to dolby audio and can hear surround sound but I'm wondering if the other options utilize my channels better

I use a similar soundbar although it's the jbl bar 1300. What's your audio output set to when gaming? Is it linear pcm or dolby audio/atmos? I've set mine to dolby audio and can hear surround sound but I'm wondering if the other options utilize my channels better

I'd still recommend jbl 1300 if anything its better than jbl 9.1. I had jbl9.1 and it was mind blowing watching any dolby atmos movies especially DUNE. I love jbl cuz its super mobile, i dont need to have the satellites fixed up for power outlets. I did install the hooks behind the couch and just attach it there when i watch movies.

I have a not expensive JBL Bar 300 and love it. However you should avoid their bar 1300 which jas an issue with the center voice.

Indeed JBL is a good option. We have 2 at home and are very happy with it. Incredibly better than our previous Sonos setup we got rid off because of the app issues which are still not solved despite what influencers are telling everywhere. Be aware that the JBL Bar 1300 (the first one not the Mark II) has a center channel issue, making the voices not very clear. This model seems to be avoided. That’s whe we got the Bar 1000 instead.

That’s cause u don’t have rear speakers. 1000 and 1300 side speakers come off… urs don’t have those right? I have the 1000 and when I unplug the side speakers and place behind me it’s a very nice atmos coverage. I’m in an apartment.

I have the Jbl bar 1000. 1300 is same price as Q990D and it’s better in my opinion. Edit: unless the tv is Samsung. If the tv is Samsung, then I would go for the Samsung q990D. Because with the Q-symphony added it becomes a lot better.

Jbl bar 1300 is room shaking 🫨

The vocal clarity on the JBL is perfectly fine to me.

Jbl 1300 was more punchy but voice clarity was bad, atleast in my test.so kept the q990f

Just bought jbl bar 1300, and i love it so much

Q990F is probably better for clarity and immersion. The Subwoofer will have a tighter audiophile type of bass, but it's still strong. The JBL will be awesome but a small step down in clarity and the bass may appear stronger to the untrained ear but what's really happening is the bass is boomier, which some may prefer and nothing is wrong with that, it's still quite the experience, it's just "technically" a lower quality bass. Audiophile levels of audio sometimes sound weird to certain people but it creates a very hyper clear sound. The JBL will still be truly awesome but could result in slightly more muddiness in bass and mids, but we're talking about both very high end devices. It depends on how trained your ears are for audio. Samsung is technically trying to do the right thing in terms of raw quality, but certain customers may not be used to it or understand what's happening. Tight bass has an instant on and off which results in more of hearing the bass, bass that is more loose will turn on and off but when the bass note ends the vibration may still smear or continue for a few milliseconds resulting in more of a rumble.

We also got the jbl bar 1300. Its a great soundbar.

Jbl bar 1300 with rears attached.

If you care more about fuller bass and that “room-filling” feel, the JBL Bar 1300/MK2 is going to lean into that strength, especially with the detachable rears giving you true surround. If you want something more polished, consistent, and with cleaner dialogue clarity out of the box, the Samsung Q990F is the safer pick. From what you described—liking the bassier sound when you demoed them—the JBL seems more in line with your preference, while the Samsung is more about balance and refinement.

If you could afford an extra 300€, I would recommend JBL 1300. I got mine from Amazon during the Black Friday sale for 900€ and have had no problems so far. It’s early days, I have only had it for few weeks and I am loving it madly! Love the detachable rear speakers and the JBL one app. It’s easy to use and it works well with the sound bar!!!

I'm currently digging the JBL 1300

I tested them both almost a week ago and found the Q990F lacking in bass. This was a strong enough reason for me to choose the JBL 1300 Pro, loving it ever since.

Jbl Bar Pro 1000-1300 very phenomenal

The JBL Bars with detachable wireless speakers and subwoofer are sick.