JBL’s Bar 5.0 Multibeam is an all-in-one soundbar with Virtual Dolby Atmos

JBL’s Bar 5.0 Multibeam is an all-in-one soundbar with Virtual Dolby Atmos

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JBL’s Bar 5.0 Multibeam is a new soundbar that offers the first Virtual Dolby Atmos thanks to the Multibeam technology. It will be available from this spring for $ 399.95 (£ 349.99).

The announcement of the JBL Bar 5.0 comes a year after the company announced its first Dolby Atmos soundbar, the JBL Bar 9.1. The previous Atmos soundbar used drivers who shot upwards to bounce sound off the ceiling to give the impression that it was coming from above. In contrast, the new JBL Bar 5.0, which costs less than half the price of its predecessor, uses virtualization to achieve a similar effect that JBL claims. It probably does not sound very convincing, but the result is a much more affordable soundbar.

The soundbar contains five drivers and four passive radiators.
Image: JBL

The JBL Bar 5.0 uses five drivers (three forward and two sideways), and four passive radiators to create the sound. It supports streaming via Bluetooth, Alexa (including multiroom audio), Apple AirPlay 2, and Chromecast support built-in.

The JBL Bar 5.0 is not the only new device the company is announcing today. There’s also the JBL Charge 5, a new Bluetooth speaker that costs $ 179.95 (£ 159.99), available from March. It offers 20 hours of playback and contains a 7,500 mAh battery that can be used to charge external devices.

The JBL Charge 5 has a 7,500 mAh battery and can charge external devices.
Image: JBL

Finally, JBL also has a collection of headphones to announce. There’s the $ 129.95 (£ 119.99) JBL Live 460NC noise-canceling ear-to-ear headphones that have up to 50 hours of battery life and are available from March. The JBL Reflect Mini NC wireless earbuds are also released in the US, where it costs $ 149.95. The JBL Live Pro Plus sound-suppressing, wireless earbuds cost $ 179.95 (£ 169.99) and go on sale in April.

The JBL Live 460NC.
Image: JBL

The JBL Live Pro Plus.
Image: JBL

Next up is the earring-ear JBL Live 660NC noise-canceling headphones that have up to 50 hours of battery life and will cost $ 199.95 (£ 159.99) when offered for sale in March. The JBL Tour Pro Plus noise-canceling, true wireless earbuds also cost $ 199.95 (or £ 179.99 in the UK) and will be released in May. JBL also announced US awards and a March 14 release date for four headphones in its Tune range.

The JBL Live 660NC.
Image: JBL

The JBL Tour One.
Image: JBL

Finally, the most expensive new headphone announced today is the $ 299.95 (£ 279.99) JBL Tour One sound-suppressing over-the-ear headphone with up to 50 hours of playback. They will be offered for sale from May.

Updated January 7 at 11:09 AM ET: Updated with additional headphones announced today by JBL.

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