JBL Shows Foldable Soundbar And Fall Audio Lineup At Tokyo Event
JBL is pushing a foldable soundbar design and a SurroundPlay feature that turns its portable Bluetooth speakers into real rear channels, a bid to sell more hardware to buyers who already own JBL speakers.
Reporting from 1 source: ASCII.jp.
Harman International held a private Tokyo event on October 7 to introduce new JBL audio products, along with Mark Levinson and Harman Kardon, and outline future brand strategy. The JBL Cinema SB500 MkII series drew attention: the SB510 MkII is a 200W one-bar model with a built-in subwoofer and HDMI ARC, while the SB580 MkII adds a separate 440W wireless subwoofer with Dolby Atmos.
The JBL Cinema SB500 MkII series is built around three stated priorities: sound quality, expandability, and transport efficiency. Both models use a 3.1ch configuration with a center speaker, part of what JBL calls Cinema Sound, its know-how from movie theater acoustics aimed at making dialogue easier to hear.
The SB510 MkII packs a full-range unit and a side-mounted subwoofer into a single bar. The SB580 MkII adds a 2-way setup with tweeters and racetrack woofers plus a 165mm downward-facing wireless subwoofer. A new SurroundPlay function pairs the bar with two JBL Flip 7 units for real rear surround when watching movies.
- JBL Cinema SB510 MkII: One-bar type with built-in subwoofer, 200W, HDMI ARC, sold exclusively on Amazon.co.jp
- JBL Cinema SB580 MkII: Separate wireless subwoofer, 440W, HDMI ARC and Dolby Atmos, sold through online-exclusive channels including the JBL online store, Rakuten Ichiba, Yahoo! Shopping, and the JBL official store on Amazon
- SurroundPlay: Newly developed function that adds real rear surround using two JBL Flip 7 portable speakers
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.