The JBL Bar 1300 is a 15-channel Dolby Atmos soundbar

JBL has announced a new addition to its soundbar roster, with the JBL Bar 1300 – a 15-channel Dolby Atmos and DTS:X-capable soundbar with detachable wireless surround speakers.

It sits as the flagship offering in its now five-strong line-up, and joins the JBL Bar 300, 500, 800 and 1000 that were announced in August last year.

The 11.1.4 JBL Bar 1300 packs in six up-firing drivers and uses Harman’s MultiBeam beam-forming technology to help it deliver a 3D sound experience that works with both Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks.

This is bolstered by its two detachable wireless surround sound speakers, which can be placed anywhere in the room, and a 10-inch wireless subwoofer also included, for bringing the bass when it’s needed. All in all you can expect this impressive package to serve up a total power output of 1170W.

However, even with all this power, the JBL Bar 1300 doesn’t forget the importance of dialogue and voice clarity. In fact, it uses Harman’s new PureVoice technology, which promises to optimise it – even when the loud sound effects are jostling for prime position in the mix.

As far as connectivity goes, you can expect to connect the soundbar to online music services via Wi-Fi, with support for AirPlay 2 and Chromecast for better-than-Bluetooth sound quality. 

You can also link the Bar 1300 with a voice assistant-enabled device to ask Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri to stream to the soundbar, and use the JBL One app to browse a number of integrated music platforms in one place. Here, you can also tweak the Bar 1300’s EQ settings and personalise your listening experience to better suit your tastes.

The JBL Bar 1300 will be available for $1699.95/£1299.99/€1400 from mid-February 2023. The rest of the Bar series is available now.