Bar 1300XMK2

Overview

The Bar 1300XMK2 is the largest second-generation JBL Bar system on JBL's US site, where it first appears in 2026, the model year this site uses. A 12-inch wireless subwoofer and two detachable, battery-powered surround speakers are in the box. The bar is 1030 mm wide, 58 mm high and 136 mm deep (1404 mm wide with the surround speakers docked), comes in black and can be wall-mounted with the kit in the box.

JBL lists eight racetrack drivers, seven 1-inch tweeters and four 3-inch up-firing drivers in the bar; each surround speaker has two racetrack drivers, a 2-inch full-range driver and a 3-inch up-firing driver. Output is 950 W for the bar, 2 x 160 W for the surrounds and 300 W for the subwoofer, 1570 W maximum in total. The surround speakers run up to 10 hours on their batteries and recharge when docked. The TV connects over HDMI eARC or optical, and three HDMI inputs take consoles and players. Over dual-band Wi-Fi the bar supports AirPlay, Google Cast, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect and Roon Ready; Bluetooth, Ethernet and a USB port (MP3 playback on US units) are also built in. The JBL One app adds settings, but JBL says the bar can be used without it. It has no built-in voice assistant.

What the specs mean

• 11.1.4 channels: eleven channels from the bar and surround speakers plus the subwoofer, with height from the up-firing drivers, widened by JBL's MultiBeam 3.0 processing. The system is complete out of the box.
• Dolby Atmos and DTS:X: both object-based 3D formats are decoded, plus Dolby Digital.
• Night listening: the surround speakers go in front of you and the bar and subwoofer mute, so you can listen late without disturbing others.
• HDMI eARC: the enhanced Audio Return Channel sends the TV's sound to the soundbar over one HDMI cable, with enough bandwidth for Dolby Atmos.
• 4K passthrough (HDR10+, Dolby Vision, HDCP 2.3): sources on the three HDMI inputs pass their 4K HDR picture on to the TV.
• PureVoice 2.0: JBL's dialogue enhancement raises the dialogue based on the scene and the volume.
• Room correction: the sound calibration adapts the surround effect to how sound reflects off the room.
• TV remote: over HDMI-CEC the TV remote controls the bar, and it can also learn IR commands from a TV remote.