Speaker company JBL this week announced the upcoming launch of the JBL Bar 9.1, a new soundbar that offers AirPlay 2 and a unique detachable speaker setup.

The JBL Bar 9.1 offers wireless surround sound thanks to the included soundbar base and two detachable battery powered rear speakers that can be removed and placed anywhere in a room for optimal sound.

jblspeaker
There's a base soundbar with four upward-facing Dolby Atmos drivers that are designed to bounce audio around the room from all angles, a 10-inch wireless subwoofer for "pulse-pounding" bass, and the two detachable speakers that are meant to shoot sound off of the ceiling and back down.

The speakers feature 10 hour battery life and can be returned to the soundbar for recharging purposes when the battery drains. 10 hours is enough to get through a night of entertainment, recharging the batteries during the day or overnight.

Along with Dolby Atmos, the Bar 9.1 supports Dolby Vision and it also has support for ‌AirPlay‌ 2, so it can interface with other ‌AirPlay‌ 2 devices and playing audio to the soundbar from a Mac, iPad, an iPhone takes just a tap or two. Bluetooth and Chromecast are also supported.

JBL plans to begin offering the JBL Bar 9.1 on the JBL website in the spring of 2020. It will be priced at $999.95.

Tag: CES 2020

Top Rated Comments

aaronhead14 Avatar
aaronhead14
19 months ago
This sounds awesome. And the detachable surround sound speakers are perfect for people who don’t have the space to dedicate for permanent rear speakers. We can place them behind us while we’re watching stuff, but then they can be tucked away during the day. Awesome!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kabeyun Avatar
Kabeyun
19 months ago
This screams gimmick. If you plan on putting up surround speakers, you don’t need detachable ones. If you don’t want surround speakers, you don’t need detachable ones.

Also, the name ,”9.1,” is also unscrupulously misleading imo.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nutmac Avatar
nutmac
19 months ago

This screams gimmick. If you plan on putting up surround speakers, you don’t need detachable ones. If you don’t want surround speakers, you don’t need detachable ones.

Also, the name ,”9.1,” is also unscrupulously misleading imo.
9.1 is one of the supported Dolby Atmos speaker setup ('https://www.dolby.com/us/en/speaker-setup-guides/index.html'). Of course, you are right to be skeptical that 3 speakers can effectively output 9 channels. Early reports suggest JBL Bar 9.1 has extremely limited sweet spot.

Also, I am not sure whether I want to charge two rear speakers every 10 hours.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Relentless Power Avatar
Relentless Power
19 months ago
First let me start by saying, I have two amazing JBL set ups in my house and I’ve been very happy with the sound/quality of what it delivers. I think a detachable speakers is fairly unique and essentially eliminates any ‘running wires’. The only thing I would question, would be how the sound quality is pending where the speakers are located with the transfer of the signal itself.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
x-evil-x Avatar
x-evil-x
19 months ago

For that kind of money you can buy a proper atmos receiver and a reasonable set of atmos speakers. You also get half a dozen or so hdmi inputs on the receiver with DV 4K pass through.
but people don't want to do anything like that. They don't want to run wires and do things the right way. They want soundbars because its almost as easy as just using the tv speakers. Most people anyway.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
laydownlarry Avatar
laydownlarry
19 months ago

Also, I am not sure whether I want to charge two rear speakers every 10 hours.
Then clearly you are not the target market for this.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments

Top Stories

16 inch macbook pro m2 render

When Can We Expect the Redesigned MacBook Pros Now?

Wednesday June 16, 2021 7:11 am PDT by
With no sign of redesigned MacBook Pro models at this year's WWDC, when can customers expect the much-anticipated new models to launch? A number of reports, including investor notes from Morgan Stanley and Wedbush analysts, claimed that new MacBook Pro models would be coming during this year's WWDC. This did not happen, much to the disappointment of MacBook Pro fans, who have been...
Read Full Article • 231 comments
YouTube Picture in Picture Feature

YouTube Says iOS Picture-in-Picture Coming to All US Users

Friday June 18, 2021 9:41 am PDT by
After a long wait, YouTube for iOS is officially gaining picture-in-picture support, allowing all users, non-premium and premium subscribers, to close the YouTube app and continue watching their video in a small pop-up window. In a statement to MacRumors, YouTube says that picture-in-picture is currently rolling out to all premium subscribers on iOS and that a larger rollout to all US iOS...
Read Full Article • 163 comments
2021 back t0 school

Apple Launches 2021 Back to School Promotion: Free AirPods With Eligible Mac or iPad Purchase

Thursday June 17, 2021 4:56 am PDT by
Apple today launched its seasonal back-to-school sale for the upcoming school year in the United States and Canada, offering students free AirPods alongside purchases of select Macs and iPad models. Similar to last year's promotion, this year's offer includes free AirPods alongside the purchase of a MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, the new 24-inch iMac, the Mac Pro, Mac mini, and the new M1-powered ...
Read Full Article • 92 comments
applecare lower prices

Apple Lowers Prices of AppleCare+ Plans for M1 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro

Thursday June 17, 2021 7:33 am PDT by
Apple today lowered the prices of AppleCare+ plans for MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro models equipped with the M1 chip. Coverage offered by the plans, as well as accidental damage fees, appear to remain unchanged. In the United States, AppleCare+ for the MacBook Air now costs $199, down from $249. The new price applies to both M1 and Intel-based MacBook Air models, although Apple no...
Read Full Article • 147 comments
maxresdefault

Video: 20 Annoyances Apple Fixed in iOS 15 and macOS Monterey

Friday June 18, 2021 11:36 am PDT by
With iOS 15 and macOS Monterey, Apple is adding several quality of life improvements, which are designed to address some of the complaints that people have had with these operating systems for years now. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. In our latest YouTube video, we're highlighting some of our favorite "fix" features that address long-running problems in iOS and...
Read Full Article • 119 comments
Top Stories 63 Feature

Top Stories: Beats Studio Buds Announced, Apple Watch Series 7 Rumors, and More

Saturday June 19, 2021 6:00 am PDT by
The Apple news cycle started to move beyond WWDC this week, but that doesn't mean there still wasn't a lot to talk about, led by the official debut of the much-leaked Beats Studio Buds that might give us a hint of what to expect for the second-generation AirPods Pro. With no hardware announcements at WWDC, we also took a look at when we might finally see the long-rumored redesigned MacBook...
Read Full Article • 7 comments
m1 v intel thumb

Intel Processor Market Share May Fall to New Low Next Year Due to Apple Silicon

Friday June 18, 2021 2:06 am PDT by
Intel may see its market share fall to a new low next year, in large part thanks to Apple's decision to move away from using Intel processors in its Mac computers and instead use Apple silicon. Apple announced last year that it would embark on a two-year-long journey to transition all of its Mac computers, both desktops, and laptops, to use its own in-house processors. Apple is expected to...
Read Full Article • 160 comments
space gray magic accessories trio

Apple Stops Selling Magic Accessories in Space Gray

Friday June 18, 2021 9:16 am PDT by
Apple this week stopped selling its Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad, Magic Mouse 2, and Magic Trackpad 2 accessories for the Mac in a Space Gray color, around three months after discontinuing the iMac Pro, which also came in Space Gray. Last month, Apple listed the Space Gray accessories as available while supplies last, and the company has now removed the product pages from its website...
Read Full Article • 116 comments
maxresdefault

Apple CEO Tim Cook: Sideloading Apps Would 'Destroy the Security' of the iPhone

Wednesday June 16, 2021 10:49 am PDT by
Apple CEO Tim Cook this morning participated in a virtual interview at the VivaTech conference, which is described as Europe's biggest startup and tech event. Cook was interviewed by Guillaume Lacroix, CEO and founder of Brut, a media company that creates short-form video content. Much of the discussion centered on privacy, as it often does in interviews that Cook participates in. He...
Read Full Article • 332 comments
3nm apple silicon feature

Apple Supplier TSMC Readies 3nm Chip Production for Second Half of 2022

Friday June 18, 2021 6:59 am PDT by
Apple supplier TSMC is preparing to produce 3nm chips in the second half of 2022, and in the coming months, the supplier will begin production of 4nm chips, according to a new report from DigiTimes. Apple had previously booked the initial capacity of TSMC's 4nm chip production for future Macs and more recently ordered TSMC to begin production of the A15 chip for the upcoming iPhone 13,...
Read Full Article • 139 comments