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$1299.95

The JBL Bar 1300X is a highly regarded soundbar that offers impressive sound quality, connectivity options, compatibility with various devices and str... more

$702.50

The Sonos Arc is a high-end soundbar that delivers excellent sound quality with impressive bass performance and an expansive soundstage. It is ideal f... more

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Experts recommend JBL Bar 1300X more than Sonos Arc

As of 8 Jan 2025, experts prefer JBL Bar 1300X over Sonos Arc, but both Sound Bars have solid expert endorsements.

As per this month's meta ranking, JBL Bar 1300X received 3 recommendations: from TechRadar (24 Dec 2024), PCMag (25 Nov 2024) and WIRED (2 Jan 2025). By contrast, Sonos Arc received only 2 recommendations from What Hi-Fi (5 Dec 2024) and World Wide Stereo (10 Sep 2024).

Rank	Change	Price	Sound Bar	Rtings.com	TechRadar	Tom's Guide	PCMag	What Hi-Fi	TechHive	World Wide Stereo	WIRED	SoundGuys	Digital Trends
8	+1	$1300	JBL Bar 1300X The JBL Bar 1300X is a highly regarded soundbar that offers impressive sound quality, connectivity options, compatibility with various devices and streaming services, a sleek design, and a range of features, making it suitable for creating an immersive audio experience in various use cases.	-	11	-	3	-	-	-	11	-	-
18	+1	$702	Sonos Arc The Sonos Arc is a high-end soundbar with impressive sound quality, expansive soundstage, and modern design, ideal for those seeking an immersive surround sound experience for movies and music.	-	-	-	-	5	-	11	-	-	-

Curious to see this month's entire Sound Bars ranking? It's here

About our ranking methodology

Endorsement summary:

On 24 Dec 2024 TechRadar ranked JBL Bar 1300X as #11

Rank Sound Bar Comment

... ... ...

#11 out of 11 JBL Bar 1300X
The best soundbar for flexibility

Source: www.techradar.com
On 25 Nov 2024 PCMag ranked JBL Bar 1300X as #3

Rank Sound Bar Comment

... ... ...

#3 out of 9 JBL Bar 1300X
Best for Spatial Audio / Editors' Choice

... ... ...

Source: www.pcmag.com
On 2 Jan 2025 WIRED ranked JBL Bar 1300X as #11

Rank Sound Bar Comment

... ... ...

#11 out of 14 JBL Bar 1300X
For Those Who Hate Wires

... ... ...

Source: www.wired.com
On 5 Dec 2024 What Hi-Fi ranked Sonos Arc as #5

Rank Sound Bar Comment

... ... ...

#5 out of 8 Sonos Arc
Still one of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars for TV that we've heard

... ... ...

Source: www.whathifi.com
On 10 Sep 2024 World Wide Stereo ranked Sonos Arc as #11

Rank Sound Bar Comment

... ... ...

#11 out of 12 Sonos Arc
The Best All-in-One Soundbar

... ... ...

Source: www.worldwidestereo.com

After counting and adding up the 93 expert endorsements of the January rankings, JBL Bar 1300X outranks Sonos Arc. This is not to say that Sonos Arc is a bad option. Like JBL Bar 1300X, it is recommended by experts, but less.

MetaRanking Common points from expert reviews summarized.

As can be seen below, JBL Bar 1300X outranks Sonos Arc by 10 positions. This indicates that, as of 8 Jan 2025, JBL Bar 1300X is more critically acclaimed than Sonos Arc.

Rank	Change	Price	Sound Bar	Rtings.com	TechRadar	Tom's Guide	PCMag	What Hi-Fi	TechHive	World Wide Stereo	WIRED	SoundGuys	Digital Trends
1	-	Check price	Sonos Arc Ultra	-	3	1	1	1	-	-	8	-	2
2	-	$483	Sonos Beam Gen 2 The Sonos Beam Gen 2 is a compact and stylish soundbar that delivers excellent audio quality for both music and movies, with versatile connectivity options and compatibility with Dolby Atmos, making it a recommended choice for Sonos fans and those seeking high-quality audio enjoyment.	6	-	-	7	4	4	10	-	2	-
3	-	$1298	Samsung HW-Q990C The Samsung HW-Q990C soundbar is highly praised for its exceptional sound quality, immersive experience, and extensive connectivity options, making it a top choice for enhancing TV audio and creating a cinematic home theater experience.	-	-	-	6	-	5	-	6	-	1
4	-	$1498	Samsung HW-Q990D	1	4	-	-	7	-	-	-	-	-
5	-	$227	Polk Audio React The Polk Audio React soundbar is a versatile and budget-friendly device that offers big, detailed, and immersive sound for movies, music, and TV shows, with four audio modes and a variety of connectivity options.	-	-	-	-	-	1	3	-	-	-
6	-	Check price	Polk Audio MagniFi Mini The Polk Audio MagniFi Mini is a compact soundbar with various connectivity options, wireless subwoofer, and Google Cast compatibility, delivering clear and powerful sound suitable for small to medium-sized rooms.	-	-	-	5	-	-	1	-	-	-
7	-	Check price	Vizio M-Series 5.1 The Vizio M-Series 5.1 Soundbar is a versatile and affordable audio system that offers excellent sound quality, making it suitable for a variety of audio content, including music and movies, and is compatible with most TVs on the market.	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	7	-	8
8	+1	$1300	JBL Bar 1300X The JBL Bar 1300X is a highly regarded soundbar that offers impressive sound quality, connectivity options, compatibility with various devices and streaming services, a sleek design, and a range of features, making it suitable for creating an immersive audio experience in various use cases.	-	11	-	3	-	-	-	11	-	-
9	-1	Check price	Bose Smart Soundbar 600 The Bose Smart Soundbar 600 is a versatile and highly compatible soundbar with exceptional sound quality, a sleek design, and a range of connectivity options.	-	10	-	-	-	-	-	5	-	6
10	-	Check price	Sony HT-A7000 The Sony HT-A7000 is a high-end soundbar with a neutral sound profile, wide and immersive soundstage, comprehensive connectivity options, and advanced features such as Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, making it a great choice for enhancing the listening experience.	-	7	6	-	-	-	-	12	-	-
11	-	$298	Sony HT-S2000 The Sony HT-S2000 soundbar is highly praised for its sound quality, clarity, and dialogue reproduction, making it suitable for both music and movie playback in larger rooms with high ceilings.	-	2	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-
15	-	$350	Klipsch Flexus Core 200	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	9
16	+1	$2199	Devialet Dione The Devialet Dione soundbar is a high-end, innovative speaker that offers exceptional sound quality, powerful bass, and a sleek design, making it suitable for both music and movie playback.	-	-	4	-	-	-	6	-	-	-
17	+1	$1000	Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Plus The Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Plus is a versatile and high-end soundbar that offers impressive sound quality, advanced features, and customization options for an immersive audio experience.	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	-	-	7
18	+1	$702	Sonos Arc The Sonos Arc is a high-end soundbar with impressive sound quality, expansive soundstage, and modern design, ideal for those seeking an immersive surround sound experience for movies and music.	-	-	-	-	5	-	11	-	-	-
19	+1	$1400	Nakamichi Shockwafe Ultra 9.2	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	13	-	-
20	-4	$210	ZVOX AccuVoice AV157 The ZVOX AccuVoice AV157 soundbar is a great option for those who struggle to hear TV dialogue, with its proprietary AccuVoice and SuperVoice technologies improving the intelligibility of spoken words and its dedicated center channel aiding in dialogue clarity.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	-	10
21	+1	Check price	Sony Bravia Theater Quad	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	-	13
22	-1	$199	Sonos Ray The Sonos Ray soundbar is a high-quality and affordable option with excellent clarity and crispness in sound, Wi-Fi connectivity, multi-room setup capabilities, and compatibility with most TVs and wireless streaming devices.	-	-	-	-	-	-	12	-	-	11
Show all rows

Expert Reviews There are people on the Internet whose job is to review products. Below are their opinions.

Expert reviews [12]

90

Total expert reviews: 12

with a score: 7
without a score: 5

Highest score by TechRadar	100
Average score based on 12 reviews	90
Lowest score by TechHive	80

Score distribution:

80-100
60-80
40-60
20-40
0-20

Expert reviews [35]

86

Total expert reviews: 35

with a score: 21
without a score: 14

Highest score by TechRadar	100
Average score based on 35 reviews	86
Lowest score by ProductReview.com.au	68

Score distribution:

80-100
60-80
40-60
20-40
0-20

From Seller:

True Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and MultiBeam Surround Sound: Immerse yourself in theater-quality 3D sound. With four up-firing drivers in the main bar and two more in the detachable speakers, the JBL Bar 1300 delivers true Dolby Atmos and DTS:X together with MultiBeam for an enhanced 3D surround sound experience.
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From Seller: