The JBL Bar 1000 is the soundbar we recommend when you want a true wraparound cinema in a large room: a full 7.1.4 system with detachable wireless rear speakers, a big subwoofer and real height effects. Here is what makes it special, and what it asks in return.
Most soundbars are a clever compromise that gives you most of a surround system from one box. The JBL Bar 1000 goes further: its rear speakers detach and become genuine wireless surrounds, so it bridges the gap between a soundbar and a full home cinema system. For a large or open-plan room, it is the pick here.
| Model | Price | Channels | Connection | Best for room size | Rating | Link | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ★ Top pick JBL Bar 1000 7.1.4ch Soundbar with Detachable Surrounds | £719.00 | 7.1.4 (wireless sub + rears) | HDMI eARC, optical, Wi-Fi | Large and open-plan | ★ 4.2 | View → |
£719.00
7.1.4 (wireless sub + rears) · HDMI eARC, optical, Wi-Fi · Large and open-plan
The verdict from Liam O'Connor, home cinema and audio tester
The pick for a large room. The JBL Bar 1000 is the most ambitious bar here: detachable rear speakers that charge on the main bar and clip off to become true wireless surrounds, plus up-firing drivers and a big wireless subwoofer for a full 7.1.4 layout. That gives real surround and height in a way the one-box bars cannot match in a large or open-plan space. It is expensive and takes up room, and the rears need recharging, so only step up to it if you genuinely want a wraparound cinema setup.
A proper wraparound effect once the rears are placed; the room genuinely fills with sound.
The Bar 1000 is the right system if you want real surround sound — proper rear channels, not a simulation — in a large living room or open-plan space, and you are happy to manage a bigger setup to get it. It suits committed film fans who want a true cinema feel without installing fixed speakers, and anyone whose room is simply too big for a compact bar to fill. With its detachable wireless rears it delivers a wraparound effect the one-box bars in this comparison cannot match.
It is not the system for a small room or for a buyer who wants the simplest, tidiest setup. The bar is large, the subwoofer needs floor space, and the rear speakers need placing and recharging. In a small room that scale is wasted and a compact bar like the Sonos Beam would be a far neater fit. Where there is genuinely space to spread out, though, the JBL is the most immersive option here.
This is the Bar 1000's defining feature. The rear speakers clip onto the ends of the main bar to charge, then detach as fully wireless, battery-powered surrounds you place behind your seating. That gives you true rear channels with no speaker cable trailing across the room — a genuinely clever solution. Once positioned, the surround effect is properly enveloping, with sound moving around you in a way virtual processing simply cannot reproduce.
With a full 7.1.4 layout, the Bar 1000 combines those rear channels with up-firing drivers for real Dolby Atmos height and a large wireless subwoofer for deep, cinematic bass. The result is the most complete, room-filling sound here: real surround, real height and real low end, all from a system you can set up yourself. In a large room it has the power and the channels to create a convincing home cinema, which is exactly its purpose.
Connection to your TV is via HDMI eARC for the best audio and remote control, and the bar adds Wi-Fi with AirPlay 2 and Chromecast plus voice support, so it doubles as a streaming speaker. That makes it flexible as well as powerful — it is as happy playing music across the day as it is anchoring a film night. For a system this ambitious, the connectivity is comprehensive.
Setup is more involved than a one-box bar but still manageable: connect the bar to your TV, plug in the wireless subwoofer, and decide where to place the rears. The main thing to live with is the rear speakers needing to recharge by docking on the bar between sessions, which is the trade-off for going cable-free. It is a system that rewards a little setup effort with a genuinely cinematic payoff.
The Bar 1000's compromises are the cost of its ambition. It is the most expensive option here and the largest, with a bar, a subwoofer and two rear speakers to accommodate, so it needs a real room and a real budget. The battery-powered rears also need recharging, which means docking them when not in use. None of this is a flaw for the buyer it is aimed at — these are the natural consequences of fitting a true surround system into a soundbar package — but they are the reasons it is a specialist large-room pick rather than an everyday recommendation. For a smaller space or a simpler life, the Samsung HW-Q800C gives you Atmos and a sub without the rears to manage.
The rear speakers clip onto the ends of the main bar to charge, then detach as fully wireless, battery-powered surrounds you place behind your sofa. It is a clever way to get true rear channels without trailing speaker cable across the room.
Possibly. With a full 7.1.4 layout it is built to fill a large or open-plan room with proper surround and height. In a small room a compact bar like the Sonos Beam will be a tidier, cheaper fit. Only step up to the Bar 1000 if you genuinely want a wraparound cinema setup.
Yes. Because they are battery-powered and detachable, the rears recharge by docking on the main bar between sessions. That is the trade-off for cable-free surrounds — you gain placement freedom but need to dock them when the battery runs low.
The JBL Bar 1000 is our pick for a large room because it delivers something no other bar here can: genuine wireless surround from detachable rear speakers, plus real Atmos height and a big subwoofer, all in one system you set up yourself. It is expensive, large and asks you to recharge the rears, so it only makes sense if you have the space and genuinely want a wraparound cinema. If that is more than you need, the Samsung HW-Q800C offers Atmos and a sub in a tidier package, and the Sonos Beam is the compact all-rounder. To decide whether to go this far, read our guide on soundbars versus home cinema systems and our buying guide.