JBL Cinema SB200 Sound Bar: Tech Review

As an audio lover who watches TV almost exclusively on a 7.1 surround sound system, I was skeptical of just how great JBL’s SB200 would sound. To test the product, I hooked up the sound bar in our family room that until now had only featured TV audio from an older VIZIO unit. In the end, I have to say, I was blown away by the quality of audio that this little bar produces. To give you a more in-depth visual of the SB200 and everything it has to offer, do yourself a favor and take a second to check out the embedded video below.

Tech Specs:

• Two 3-1/2-inch woofers
• Two 1-inch tweeters
• Dimensions: 42.1 x 8.3 x 8.3 inches
• Weight: 12 pounds

Acoustically the first thing you’ll notice with this speaker is the amount of bass that is produced, even without the bass boost. Unlike other soundbars (like the JBL 400) , this doesn’t come with a subwoofer, but to be honest, most people won’t need one for the application this is intended for. You won’t need the Bass Boost, but it is hard to tell if you have it on or off as there isn’t a clear indicator. Sometimes the bass can overpower the sound, but I may be biased as I’m not that much of a basshead.

One issue that hindered the overall sound quality was due to the inputs offered on the SB200. The only options that are offered on this device are Bluetooth, Optical and 3.5 mm. Seeing the way that I had configured by TV, optical wasn’t a possibility and I had to use analog to 3.5 mm for the sound. This is disappointing as a R/L analog in would have been nice for those folks that don’t have the option for optical hookups. It should be noted that I did take the unit to my receiver and test with the optical input and the sound was improved.

This unit is large, but it looks nice and features clean, curved  lines with manual controls. A a very functional credit-card sized remote is also included. While the unit is wall-mountable you’ll need to plan for a power source and the accompanying cord could use a bit more length. Also, you’ll have to be very very precise to properly wall mount this. The hole in the back is quite shallow and doesn’t leave any wiggle room for error if trying to hide a power source.  The cord input is on a diagonal angle which helps, but measure twice if looking to hide all cords as you need to be 100% on. In all likelihood, you’ll leave have to leave the the cords exposed unless you are an electrician, so a wire hiding device should do the trick.   A straight-forward mounting is also included that seemed sturdy, but I did not fully test.

Bluetooth connectivity was not extensively tested, but once connected it worked nicely. In multiple uses with moving around the room,  it only dropped on connection once.

Overall, the JBL Cinema SB200 isn’t a replacement for a full home theater system, but it isn’t supposed to be. This sound bar is excellent for anyone looking for a space-saving sound solution and doesn’t want to wire 5-7 speakers up across their room. This is a perfect solution for apartments as the Bluetooth compatibility is a really nice bonus. The sound booms and can easily fill a room. While I typically watch TV in our basement with the full 7.1 sound system, I found myself watching more on the TV with the SB200 as the quality was exponentially better than a stock TV. I’d even recommend this unit over an all-in-one budget 5.1 system as this is something you’ll likely hang on to and the sound quality is comparable if not better.