JBL has just announced a dizzying range of AV receivers and home theater speakers including 4K and 8K AVRs, plus a flagship receiver with 9.2 channels, 140W output, Dolby Audio, DTS, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X – and they're all priced rather aggressively, too.
There are five AV receivers and eight sets of speakers and subwoofers, with the receivers ranging in price from £499 (around $650 / AU$960) to £1,899 (about $2,465 / AU$3,660) and the speakers from £329 (around $430 / AU$635) to £1,198 (about $620 / AU$2,310) per pair. We're currently awaiting pricing for other territories.
The speakers consist of the new 260F and 280F floorstanders, the 240B and 250B bookshelf speakers (with optional stands), a 245C center channel speaker and the 240H Dolby Atmos-enabled height module. There are also two subwoofers, the 200P and 220P.
The 260F and 280F feature dual polycellulose ribbed-cone woofers, next generation HDI horns, one-inch anodized aluminum tweeters and dedicated five-way Atmos binding posts.
The bookshelf speakers, meanwhile, are similar but smaller, dropping the number of woofers to one. The center speaker has four ribbed-cone woofers and the same tweeter, while the subwoofers have ten or twelve inch low-frequency drivers.
JBL Modern Audio AV receivers: the key specs
The five Modern Audio AV receivers all feature Class D amplification, Dolby and DTS decoding and 192kHz/24-bit DACs, room optimization via the EZ Set EQ feature in their companion app and, in the flagship MA7100HP and MA9100HP models, Dirac Live Ready room correction.
The entry-level here is the MA310, which has 5.2 channels, 60W of amplification and 4K. That's £499 (around $650 / AU$960). The MA510 ups the power to 75W and the resolution to 8K for £699 (about $910 / AU$1,350), and the MA710 offers 7.2 channels, 110W of power and 8K for £999 (around $1,300 / AU$1,930).
The top two AV models are labelled HP for high performance. The MA7100HP has 7.2 channels, 125W and 8K for £1,399 (roughly $1,815 / AU$2,700), and the MA9100HP has 9.2 channels. 140W and 4K for £1,899 (around $2,465 / AU$3,660).
Depending on the model you go for you have four or six HDMI and one or two HDMI outs plus eARC, and all of the models support Bluetooth streaming, Spotify Connect and network streaming via AirPlay 2 and Chromecast.
All of the Stage 2 loudspeakers and Modern Audio AV receivers will be available this month, July 2024.
