JBL has long been in the business of producing hardyBluetooth speakersat a variety of prices, but its heritage is actually much more hi-fi than that. Its new Authentics speaker range is an enthusiastic nod back in that direction.
The three speakers announced at IFA promise powerful sound in something a little more style-focused than JBL’s popularFlipand Boombox ranges. They also bring with them combinedAlexaandGoogle Assistantfunctionality - an industry first in smart speakers - and some nice touches like portability, Atmos sound and a range of sizes and price points to suit all homes and budgets.
I got a first look (and listen) at the JBL Authentics range at IFA 2023, and here are some first impressions.
JBL Authentics
A smart range of retro-inspired speakers with very modern functionality, the three-stong JBL Authentics range makes a compelling addition to the JBL line-up of speakers, with industry-first bragging rights for simultaneous voice assistants.
Price and availability
There are three speakers in the range, the JBL Authentics 500 ($699.99/£579.99), JBL Authentics 300 ($429.99/£379.99) and the JBL Authentics 200 ($329.99/£299.99). The bigger the number, the bigger the speaker, though there are a few other features that help them to stand apart from one another, which I’ll go into more detail on below.
The whole range will be available to buy from 15th September 2023.
If you’re familiar with JBL’s ranges of portable speakers, you’ll know they generally go for fairly young, playful and more functional design. In fact, it was one of our main issues with the otherwise excellentJBL Boombox 3 Wi-Fi, a home-focused speaker that doesn’t really offer home-focused styling.
With the Authentics range, JBL is changing that with some considerable flair. Taking inspiration from the iconic JBL L100 speaker from the 1970s, they serve up a retro design with a modern twist - offering a premium aluminium frame, custom vegan leather enclosure and a new take on the famous Quadrex grille.
There’s a sustainability focus here too, offering 100 per cent recycled fabric, 85 per cent recycled plastic and 50 per cent recycled aluminium.
In terms of sizing, the JBL Authentics 500 is big. Huge, in fact, and will need some considerable space to sit it on, while the JBL 300 is perhaps a little smaller than aSonos Five. The Authentics 200 feels like the perfect size for kitchens and bedrooms
On the JBL Authentics 300 there is the addition of a foldable carry handle, as it is the only one of the range that is portable. Offering eight hours of battery life, it should allow you to move it around the house and garden, but I’m not convinced JBL is encouraging you to take this out and about with you… it has many more speakers more suited to that.
All three speakers have control panels at the top for controlling volume, treble and bass, with a button for Bluetooth pairing and another that will start playing your favourite playlists from Spotify with one tap.
There’s no doubt that these speakers look and feel fantastic, with plenty of weight behind them that shows you they’re solidly made. I’d have taken some nice clicky feedback on the dials on top of the speakers if I’m being picky, but they move smoothly and feel nice enough.
However, having on-speaker dials for EQ adjustment does worry me for anyone like me with small children hanging around, but hopefully the JBL One app - which offers further EQ dabbling - will offer the option to lock these controls to stop small fingers from meddling with your sound.
JBL has tried to cover off a fair few tick boxes with the Authentics range, not only from a size and price point of view, but also from a features perspective.
I’ve already touched on the portability of the Authentics 300, but the Authentics 500 also has its own unique functionality to shout about - namely, support forDolby Atmos spatial sound.
There is also automatic self-tuning across the range, so the speakers will adapt their audio performance to wherever they are placed to ensure the best optimised sound - a little like Sonos does with itsTrueplay feature.
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are on board all three speakers, so you can choose how you listen to your music, and there’s support forAirPlay 2, Alexa Multi-Room Music,Spotify Connectand Chromecast built-in. As far as physical connections go, you’ll find an aux in, USB-C and Ethernet ports around the back.
The JBL One app allows you to chain several speakers together to play the same music throughout your home, or you’re able to use Chromecast or Alexa to integrate them into existing multi-room systems with other compatible brands.
Speaking of which, perhaps one of the most interesting features of these new speakers is the industry-first integration of Amazon and Google for simultaneous voice control across the Authentics range.
While many speakers have offered users a choice between their favourite voice assistants, being able to use both interchangeably is a first - and shows, perhaps, that relations are thawing between the two tech giants.
For a long time, they haven’t seen eye to eye - so much so that you may’t watch YouTube on anEcho Showand you can’t listen toAmazon Musicon aGoogle Nestspeaker. The close collaboration between the two on this suggests we could see these things finally start to change.
This functionality ultimately allows you to use both voice assistants interchangeably, asking Alexa to start the music and Google to stop it, for example. I saw a brief (and arguably, simple) demo and it worked perfectly - and in a very loud room too, suggesting the far field mics on board are top notch.
The only thing that seems to be missing here is any kind of waterproofing. That’s probably not a problem for the non-portable speakers (though the Authentic 200 seems like it could be a popular choice for kitchens where spillages might occur), but for the JBL Authentics 300, which may find its way out into the garden, an IP rating would’ve been welcomed.
Performance
We got to hear all speakers for a few seconds in less than ideal circumstances so I won’t be passing any firm judgement on the sound quality here, but the one thing you’re able to be sure that all three of these speakers have is power. They go very loud indeed.
The JBL Authentics 500 of course is capable of the biggest sound, with incredibly powerful and expansive, thanks largely in part to the 6.5-inch downfiring subwoofer, three 2.75-inch midrange woofers and three 1-inch tweeters creating 270 watts of 3.1-channel sound, that is also capable of reproducing Dolby Atmos sound.
There’s no upfiring drivers, so this must be done virtually or through the clever angling of drivers to help deliver the spatial sound experience. We weren’t told specifically if there was an Atmos track playing during our demo, but there’s no doubt that describing it as “room filling” would probably be doing the 500’s sound a disservice.
JBL hasn’t shared any internal details about the Authentics 300, but I do know than under the hood of the smallest in the family is two 1-inch tweeters, with a full-range five-inch woofer and a downfiring 6-inch passive radiator. That passive radiator really helps to give the small speaker some presence in spite of its size, with no sense of distortion in our short demo despite the volume being pushed towards the top.
With the other two, we only heard volume at 50-60 per cent and it felt like that would easily be enough for most people.
It’ll take a more considered and critical listen to evaluate how these swanky speakers perform when it comes to things like clarity and detail, but first impressions are undoubtedly very positive indeed.
First impressions
The JBL Authentics series are an impressive family of good looking speakers that are doing plenty to offer something new to the industry, while also pushing good sound and lots of it. I’ll be interested to seeing how they perform and work together once we get them in for a full and thorough full review. Keep your eyes peeled for that.
