JBL Bar 11.1.4 ch Dolby Atmos Soundbar System

When it came time to upgrade the sound bar for the new big TV, I felt compelled to look at companies who have been producing high quality speakers for many years. I have heard reviews about the higher end LG and Samsung sound bars that are very good but still felt my money would be better spent with a speaker manufacturer like JBL, Klipsch, Polk Audio etc. I have a pretty extensive home theater system in another room in the house but wanted something more discreet in this room that would still produce top notch sound for movies, tv shows, and even music. I was leaning towards the Klipsch Flexus 200 system due to the fact that it was less money and seems to be about the only sound bar (that either provides a wireless subwoofer in the system or at least has one available to buy separately), that actually has an RCA subwoofer output on the sound bar, allowing you to add your own wired powered subwoofer to be used by itself or as a 2nd subwoofer. I was surprised that companies like JBL, Polk Audio, Yamaha etc. did not have this RCA subwoofer output (at least on sound bar systems that a wireless subwoofer was provided). Why would they not include this relatively very cheap part that gives consumers more flexibility and choices? All mentioned manufacturers also sell powered subwoofers. Why not build this inexpensive feature into your sound bars and market your companies wired powered subwoofers as an option to buyers of your sound bars who may have a very large room or just like heavier bass? Seems like a no brainer! Well kudos to Klipsch for including an RCA subwoofer output!! (I ended up buying the Klipsch Flexus system for my bedroom). Anyway, I ended up going with the JBL 1300x because the price dropped so much over Black Friday/cyber Monday time frame that it just made sense. Plus it came with a 12” wireless subwoofer and by reading the reviews, likely would be enough bass for my taste…..but I still wish JBL would have incorporated an RCA subwoofer output anyway. I also did love how the surround speakers detach from the main sound bar and are completely wireless since they have a built in battery. This definitely was a selling feature for me. After getting the JBL and setting it up, I will say it is very impressive for a sound bar. The sound is great….it does not reach the level or sound quality of my extensive HT system in the other room, but, it does the job and is much more aesthetically pleasing, easy to set up and use (with JBL app), and has impressive surround sound effects with the detachable fully wireless surround speakers with Dolby Atmos technology. It is nice to see many speaker manufacturers responding to the market and producing these high quality sound bars for people who want something simpler and less expensive than a full blown HT system. UPDATE to previous review: Well, maybe I spoke to soon. About a day after I submitted this glowing review, the right surround speaker started making this horrible clicking sound. It was so loud and obnoxious I could not even hear any of my content at all. I had to turn the surround speaker off. I had hoped by turning it off and on several times, it may reset and the clicking would go away. It did not. Sounds like I need some help replacing the surround speaker or entire system. I first go to Amazon to see how they will handle it. I figure they can’t just replace the surround speaker but could easily replace the whole sound bar. Well, Amazon is not making this easy as usual. They told me I could return it…..for a refund. I could then re purchase it. The problem is the price has gone up. They could not re sell it to me at the same price I paid unless the price just happens to drop again. I asked why cannot you just send me a replacement and I will send back the broken unit? This would be how most stores would handle it. If I had bought it at a place like Best Buy, they would have immediately replaced it and now I would have a fully working sound bar. So, I pushed back. The agent told me they would escalate the issue to a manager or specialist…. And I would here back from them in 48 hours. Well its been 4 days now and no one has reached out to me from Amazon. Why does Amazon make this so difficult for the customer? It’s been about 3 weeks since I bought it. Just replace it with a new working unit! My bad… I should have just gone to my local Best Buy and bought it there. I think Amazon has just become to huge of a company and now they really don’t care about giving good customer service anymore. That is too bad as my future electronics purchases will likely NOT be done on Amazon moving forward. I will not reach out to JBL to see if they can help me. Stay tuned for another update as I navigate how Amazon and/or JBL will help me with this problem. See uploaded video of the faulty JBL surround speaker and the clicking sound it is making.