The JBL Bar 1000MK2 is the 2025 successor to the JBL Bar 1000. This updated 7.1.4 soundbar continues the original's novel design, allowing you to set it up like a conventional bar plus subwoofer. Alternatively, you can remove the completely wireless satellites that bookend the bar and place them in the room for a more immersive surround setup.
Our Verdict
The JBL Bar 1000MK2 is great for mixed usage. The soundbar supports all the most popular audio formats with an impressive suite of three HDMI In ports, eARC, Optical, and nearly every wireless format to maximize your media options. It boasts room correction, seven-band EQ, sound modes, and channel adjustments to modify the default full sound with plenty of low-end and warm treble. Its flexible design is a throughline with removable, truly wireless satellites. That said, the convenience of wireless satellites comes with the trade-off of needing to charge them either by docking them on the bar or with USB-C connections. If you're looking for HDMI 2.1 for video passthrough, it doesn't quite meet the requirements either. The bar also treats L/R channels and rear satellite channels as the same with Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus content.
Versatile and extensive wired and wireless connectivity.
Room correction and graphic EQ available.
Great dynamics performance.
Truly wireless satellites don't even require power cables.
Satellites exhibit latency compared to the soundbar and sub with Dolby Atmos.
Satellites need recharging, which could be a pain for marathon sessions.
Dolby Atmos can seem overly compressed and lacks obvious verticality.
The JBL Bar 1000MK2 is impressive for watching TV and consuming dialogue-heavy content. Its default frequency response suits all sorts of TV genres, adding extra bassy weight to suspenseful thrillers and rendering speech from period dramas with clarity. The bar supports all common audio formats found on streaming services, as well as your Blu-rays and old DVDs, with low latency delivered via eARC, HDMI In, or Optical. Useful sound modifications include room correction, EQ, sound modes like 'Pure Voice,' night modes, and channel level adjustments.
Versatile and extensive wired and wireless connectivity.
Room correction and graphic EQ available.
Great dynamics performance.
Truly wireless satellites don't even require power cables.
Satellites exhibit latency compared to the soundbar and sub with Dolby Atmos.
Satellites need recharging, which could be a pain for marathon sessions.
Dolby Atmos can seem overly compressed and lacks obvious verticality.
The JBL Bar 1000MK2 is very good for music. It supports plenty of wireless formats, including Spotify, Apple AirPlay 2, and Roon. Its stereo soundstage offers a natural stereo soundstage free of gaps. Its room correction and sound modes reproduce your music's deep bass oomph, and if you're willing to tinker, the app's EQ and level adjustments let you tailor the listening experience more. The tuning's mid-range is clear with a bit of presence, and the treble sounds warm. It has very little compression, preserving your audio's liveliness and dynamics. You can leave the satellites connected to the bar, or remove them for a more immersive surround experience by using them as rear speakers. You can even use the battery-powered satellites by themselves in 'Broadcast' mode as Atmos-equipped speakers in another room to listen to music. That said, Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus content, even in stereo, will play from the satellites, which some people might dislike.
Versatile and extensive wired and wireless connectivity.
Room correction and graphic EQ available.
Great dynamics performance.
Truly wireless satellites don't even require power cables.
Satellites exhibit latency compared to the soundbar and sub with Dolby Atmos.
Satellites need recharging, which could be a pain for marathon sessions.
Dolby Atmos can seem overly compressed and lacks obvious verticality.
The JBL Bar 1000MK2 is very good for watching movies. It's well-tuned, delivering blockbuster films with ample bass rumble and fairly balanced mids with a somewhat warm treble. The 7.1.4 bar supports every popular audio format with a competent companion app and remote packed with 'Night' and 'Pure Voice' modes and EQ to enhance your experience. Besides that, the connectivity is comprehensive, eARC, three HDMI Ins, and Optical. You can use the detachable satellites to create a more enveloping sound with Atmos drivers. One possible downside is that the bar processes Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus by sending left- or right-panned audio to the bar and the rear satellites, rather than treating the satellites as discrete channels. Although this means you get sound from all around you, it diminishes the movement of sound effects intended to move from one place to another. The battery-powered satellites also introduce their own latency, which can't be compensated for in the settings, but this won't necessarily bother everyone.
Versatile and extensive wired and wireless connectivity.
Room correction and graphic EQ available.
Great dynamics performance.
Truly wireless satellites don't even require power cables.
Satellites exhibit latency compared to the soundbar and sub with Dolby Atmos.
Satellites need recharging, which could be a pain for marathon sessions.
Dolby Atmos can seem overly compressed and lacks obvious verticality.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The JBL 1000MK2 comes in one color, 'Black.' You can view the label for the soundbar and one of the satellites. If you encounter another variant, please let us know in the comments, and we'll update our review.
Popular Soundbar Comparisons
It's quite unusual to see a semi-modular soundbar configuration like the JBL Bar 1000MK2, aside from the brand's own models, such as the JBL Bar 1000, the larger 11.1.4 JBL Bar 1300X, and its replacement, the 2025 JBL Bar 1300XMK2. Generally, the rest of the soundbar competition uses power cables for the satellites, rather than running off of internal batteries and docking on the bar to recharge or using a USB-C cable and power source, as with the Bar 1000MK2. While convenient in some ways, this design can introduce latency between the satellites and the bar and sub, something rarely encountered with conventional wireless surround speakers.
Soundbars like the LG S95TR and the Samsung HW-Q930D add two extra channels, making them 9.1.4 soundbars, compared to the 7.1.4 Bar 1000MK2. If you can find a place for power cables, you can set and forget the LG or Samsung satellites. However, as far as pure connectivity is concerned, the JBL includes three full HDMI In ports compared to the lone HDMI In available on the LG and Samsung models, making the JBL a more versatile entertainment hub.
If you're still debating what kind of bar you need, check out the best soundbars, the best Dolby Atmos soundbars, and the best soundbars for movies.
The Samsung HW-Q990F is a superior soundbar to the JBL Bar 1000MK2, although they each have distinct advantages. The Samsung offers a better default tuning, a higher-end build, greater Atmos verticality, and a higher spec'd 2.1 HDMI In. That said, the JBL has a unique design that allows you to use it as a bar with a sub, or remove the ends of the bar to use as satellites. It offers an impressive three HDMI In ports, though they have lower bandwidth than the Samsung's two. It also nearly matches the Samsung with regard to most tuning features like room correction and EQ. However, it's not as balanced-sounding out of the box, and it blends surround channels with any content panned to the L/R. Atmos content also plays from the satellites with a slight, but noticeable lag. Still, the JBL subwoofer doesn't chuff, even when the volume is pushed, as the Samsung's sub can under heavy bass loads.
Despite a three-year age gap, the JBL Bar 1000MK2 is better than the JBL Bar 1000, but not by a massive stretch. Both are 7.1.4 soundbars with removable satellites. The MK2 has longer-lasting internal batteries in the satellites. It also has better dynamics with less compression and improved surround sound performance. Atmos is more prevalent in the mix with the MK2, with a greater sense of height, but the satellites' Atmos audio is hindered by a latency compared to the rest of the soundbar's audio. The Bar 1000 doesn't seem to suffer from this latency in the satellites with Atmos content, but the Atmos implementation itself isn't as impressive otherwise. Still, it provides similar audio format support and connectivity with a well-tuned bar. Then again, its wired audio latency is higher.
When compared, the JBL Bar 1000MK2 and the JBL Bar 1300X have different strengths, but mostly they share similarities. The Bar 1000 MK2 is newer with a more balanced surround tuning and much better dynamics performance with a higher top output volume. The Atmos effect is more present in the mix. However, it's somewhat hindered by a bit of a lag in the Atmos-equipped satellites, which impacts the definition of 3D objects. The Bar 1300X doesn't have this same latency when handling Atmos, but it's much more subtle in the mix overall by default. Otherwise, it has two extra channels and a very similar tuning. Even so, its compression flattens out the liveliness of trebly sounds, and it doesn't get as loud at max volume. Still, both soundbars use the same app with features like room correction, EQ, voice enhancement, night mode, and channel level adjustments.
Depending on your home's configuration and viewing habits, you might prefer the Samsung HW-Q800F or JBL Bar 1000MK2. The Samsung has a conventional design of a bar and subwoofer. In contrast, the JBL can either be set up the same way, or you can remove the docked satellites that bookend the bar for a more immersive surround experience. One advantage of the Samsung is that it treats Dolby Digital audio exactly as mixed, and it's a bit more balanced out of the box. Meanwhile, the JBL blends the satellite channels with the respective left or right driver, which impacts tracking sound effects as they move around the stereo field with Dolby Digital audio. Comparing Atmos performance is a bit of a wash: the Samsung is more precise with tracking objects, but since the drivers are only in front of you, it's not as enveloping. Then again, the JBL's satellites deliver Atmos from all around you, but the satellites have a slight latency, which affects the definition of objects. The Samsung has tighter wired latencies, but if you own several gaming consoles, you might like the two extra HDMI In ports on the JBL.
Test Results
