Upgrading the TV with a JBL 2.1 Sound Bar!

I'm a super tech and gadget nerd... however, my wife (and my own conscience) generally holds my impulses at bay. Some things slip through when she isn't watching and I have a moment of weakness, but most of the time I behave myself! When we first moved to this house, my wife wasn't really a fan of buying a TV. However, I did manage to convince her that a last-generation flatscreen would be great for the living room and watching movies together!

As it turns out, she and the kids are now the primary users of the screen for Netflix and the Switch... whilst I'm more happy on the gaming laptop or rig. Still, it is perfect for family gaming sessions with the Switch or for family (or couple) movie nights on the weekends!

Sadly, it is a pretty entry level TV from about 5 years ago... and like most TVs, the sound on it is pretty ordinary. I've been wanting to upgrade it with a soundbar for quite some time, but have held off as we tend to not be extravagant spenders. We only really buy things when we really need them or will really value them... no point in just spending for the sake of spending!

So, a soundbar never really was on the top of list of family priorities... but I would sneak a look every now and then to see where the prices and technology was at.

... and the other week, my wife was complaining about a musical that we were watching on the TV, and how terrible the sound was (especially in the bass). I said I could try and hook up a Bluetooth speaker or something... but in the end, it didn't work due to the limited audio out connections that a cheap Samsung TV has!

So, it was a great time to drop the idea of an entry level Soundbar... well, slightly more than entry level. When I'm shopping for electronics, I really like to hit that sweet spot of quality and price! So, here is a little first impressions and unboxing of the JBL 2.1 Soundbar... I will have a fuller review after I've had some time to toy around with it!

The soundbar and subwoofer are nice sleek looking pieces of equipment. Nicely constructed and designed, they look great on the coffee table! However, I was firmly told that they couldn't stay there... I could use the table as a workspace for connecting it up, but it wouldn't be the permanent home of for the speakers!

First things first... I had to make sure that there were enough power connections (two) on the powerboards behind the TV. It did mean that I had to disconnect the SNES micro... but the girls weren't using it anyway, they much prefer the newer Switch in comparison to the retro graphics and gameplay of the SNES... I don't blame them either, you need some serious rose tinted goggles to enjoy them!

... of course, as soon as I disconnected it, they wanted to play SNES games.

So, I mentioned that there were incredibly limited audio out connections on the specific Samsung model that we have... well, it turns out... that is limited to ONE optical out. Nothing else... not even an HDMI ARC or anything! All the other audio connections were in only!

Of course, being a nerd, I knew that I had an optical audio cable somewhere in my boxes... however, past self is a complete bastard... and I couldn't figure out where past self had thought to hide it. So, the family was going to be disappointed until an order came in from an online shop.

... I'm not sure who was more excited about it coming, me or the girls (definitely not my wife...). Every day after school, we would all run to the letterbox to see if it had arrived yet! 2... long... days...

... but it finally arrived and the final set up was a simple plug and play.

There was one little annoyance with the remote though. I did mention that the whole design of the speakers was pretty smooth and sleek... and that design language also was reflected in the remote. Unfortunately, that meant that it was impossible to get a firm grip on the back of the remote to slide it off to insert the batteries! Most remotes have grooves to aid with that... not this one! Still, nothing that a handy iFixit spudger can't help jimmy open... although, I was hoping I wasn't sticking it into a critical wire or anything, as the the only place to get the blade in was near the IR housing.

So... the final setup... actually, the penultimate set up! Just after this photo was taken, my wife suggested that the heavy subwoofer be moved to where the terrarium was. So, our first experience of the BIG sound was with a test run of PAW PATROL! Lets just say that I have some pretty good first impressions of the sound, at least in comparison to the anemic TV sound... definitely, the bass is much stronger and the rest of the spectrum is clearer.

Interestingly, it also has a Bluetooth connection... which means my wife has been playing jazz on it whilst sitting on the couch... and the whole house gets to listen!

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