Customer Reviews

JVC TH-BA1 Soundbar System with Wireless Subwoofer

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

You should know that a soundbar is not replacement for a home theater system. You are not going to the full impact bass and big room filling sound with a soundbar. What are you going to get? Convenience, simplicity and, if you set your expectations right, pleasing sound.

The JVC TH-BA1 delivers high value performance. It's an attractive, well built unit which provides sound that will probably put your TV audio to shame (it did mine - a Panasonic Viera plasma). The wireless subwoofer is a little muddy and undefined but does not overpower or boom. The unit has no variable crossover control but the factory setting sounds very balanced. You just plug it into a wall power outlet and follow the extremely simple pairing instructions and you are up in less than a minute.

The 2 surround settings are very subtle and natural sounding, avoiding that fake effect of many units. There are 2 optical inputs, so if you are not using HDMI this could come in handy for game consoles, disc players or DVRs. The small remote has the basic controls, plus the ability to control the relative loundness of the the center and surround channels, and the subwoofer. For you Tivo owners, the JVC codes work and you can control volume with your Tivo remote.

I choose this JVC unit over the Polk and Boston Acoustic offerings. I'd be curious to hear those units, but am very satisfied with the JVC. I recommend the TH-BA1 to anyone who wants to upgrade their TV sound without the expense and hassle of a full blown home theater system.

Pros:
- Easy set up
- Great remote (bumping up dialogue, bass, etc. is a breeze)
- Display is on front bar, not sub
- Sound quality

Cons:
- Subwoofer is only OK. Far far better than just using the tv speakers, but a far cry from a $500+ sub in a real 5.1 surround set up. This adds some oomph, but doesn't shake the room or rattle the bones the way a more expensive sub does.
- It is not as "pretty" as some others (Sony 100 or Vizio 210), so might not be ideal in a nice living room.
- No HDMI connectivity (not a negative for me but may be for some)

Overall, a better choice for me than the Sony (no wireless sub, display is on the sub) or Vizio (no center channel/dialogue adjustment on the remote).

For a living room I'd want something with a higher quality sub, but for a secondary system for under $300, I think the JVC TH-BA1 is excellent.

I recently took the HD TV plunge in our small living room and quickly decided we needed something to compliment the great picture. The soundbar is located directly in front of the TV; connected with digital cable from the U-Verse box and the Blu-Ray player, and then an analog connection from our media center PC via the TV. Setup went smoothly and the wireless subwoofer connected instantly from across the room. I've found that I have to reduce the subwoofer output when my wife is in the room because she keeps asking if someone is at the door or pulling in the driveway. The only problem I had was with the analog connection. At first I thought that it wasn't working and called customer support. They helped me figure out that the "center" volume had to be cranked up along with the TV volume since I have the the analog audio out going from TV to soundbar for playing stuff from the PC. This setup is more than enough in a small, open living room to benefit from HD/Blu-ray effects and it does a good job when I play from my music collection on the PC.

I have been researching reviews for various soundbars for a while now in order to find out which one I wanted. They are perfect for what I need. Surround is great, but I didn't want to run speakers all around, have to mess with a reciever and changing inputs, etc.

A lot of people seem to talk down about soundbars, but you can get some really good sound from them.
Anyway, I decided to get this JVC unit after seeing how great all of the reviews were and how good the price was. The unit itself looks fairly nice, especially when compared to the plain look of the sony or polk models. The remote is also very nice with the ability to control individual sound channels.

First up, there is no wallmount hardware. Which isn't really a big deal, but just takes longer to properly line up and mount. Next when the unit is on, the amount of red lights on the display are really annoying. I have never been bothered by such a thing before, but there is red light for the power, the surround mode, the input, the sound type, and finally large old school red led numbers for the volume level. While it may not bother most people, I found it to be VERY distracting when sitting under my tv. Next, the 2 surround modes sounded OK, but it was annoying changing between the two of them depending on what was being watched. One sounded better for tv, while the other sounded better for blu-ray. Furthermore, I really wasn't impressed with the sound to begin with. It is certainly better than tv speakers, but I really didn't think it was all that great. The subwoofer also left something to be desired. I realize that this isn't going to be a high end surround sound system, but still was not impressed. Finally, there is no optical cable provided, which isn't really a big deal, unless you get the unit only to find you have to go out and get a cable because you don't already have one. Between all of these annoyances, I really did not like this JVC unit and decided to return it. I ended up getting the samsung c450 soundbar which I think looks fantastic, sounds great and has nice little features added, like turning on automatically when the tv is powered on.

I would not recommend this JVC soundbar unless you have seen & listened to it in person. Then you can decide if this is the one for you.

I purchased this as a gift for my mother but did not give it to her for almost 60 days. In the beginning the sound bar worked well and was a great addition to her plasma which does not have the best audio in the world. The sound bar worked for exactly 54 days after I gave it to her and then it stopped producing any sound except for static.

I called JVC and they wanted me to bring it to their factory authorized service center. It was then that I learned that JVC covers "labor" for only 90 days (and parts for 1 year). I take responsibility for not researching the warranty better as that is not a great warranty in my opinion. I brought it to the factory service center and paid a non-refundable $39.95 for the diagnostics. I received a call that the labor to repair the unit was $200. So now I have repairs of $240 on a sound bar that I paid $250 for that was in use (but certainly not used) for 54 days. I don't think so!! Unfortunately I am past my return time for Amazon and JVC's 90 day warranty for parts has passed and the cost to repair is almost 100% of the purchase price. I think I threw my money away. My lesson -- look more closely at the warranty and I certainly will not purchase any type of electronics with such a short warranty.

Great sound and easy set-up!
The wireless sub-woofer sounds great and was set-up in about 15 seconds with
one button.
The unit has a clean look with real metal speaker grill.
The 2 surround modes can be adjusted by the remote.
I wanted to add better sound to my TV without running a bunch of wires
and this Soundbar hits the mark!

Ordered this system to replace the Polk Audio Instant Home Theater, which I sent back after one day(see my review). This JVC sounds oh so much better (although I wasn't unhappy with the Polk's sound), was so easy to set up, has more functionality, and is significantly less expensive. There are controls on the remote for adjusting center, surround, and subwoofer; input selections; surround modes. The volume level is shown on the unit's display - a feature the Polk lacked.

The only issues:

1. There is a slight buzzing noise upon power up. This occurs on my unit even if no input cables are attached. I usually play at a volume high enough to cover the distraction.

2. Customer support was pathetic. The guy tried to tell me I had to run a cable from each source (DVR, DVD) to the speaker rather than using one cable from TV to speaker. Bull. I'm listening to beautiful sound right now with one cable from TV to speaker. He spent most of his time trying to sell me several variations of extended warranties.

Haven't decided if I will ask Amazon to exchange systems. I am definitely impressed enough to want to give this system a permanent home.

I needed more sound and better quality than the sound in my 50" LG Plasma tv. This soundbar was the perfect solution for a relatively low cost. I didn't need home theatre for the rectangular, mostly closed room and this sound clarity is excellent. Set up is about as simple as it gets - no more than 5 minutes to connect and synchronize. I'm glad I didn't go with the home theatre at 3 to 4 times the cost.

Nice unit, won't rock your world but won't rock your wallet either. I wanted a wireless sub woofer for my home office (13x16) to ease install. I'm streaming iTunes through an Airport Express WiFi router. No surprise, there are wireless interference issues - this unit operates on 2.4mhz frequency, same as many cordless phones, same as SONOS wireless systems, same as many WiFi routers.

Overall, it's suits a purpose - remote is fine, sound is pretty good (not fantastic). I don't think it would be suitable for a large TV room if you want to 'feel' the sound. But as a replacement for bookshelf speakers, it's fine - and as another reviewer said, it's probably better than the speakers on most TV sets. If your expectations are high and/or you have other wireless devices and will be ticked with some occasional clipping, go with a wired subwoofer.

Also, has very limited inputs (no HDMI), but that is clear in the product description.

I am happy with the JVC 4.1 Soundbar and wireless bass. It isn't a home surround system; however, it serves my purposes well. I use it with my Home Surround System to add to the full volume during large parties... but primarily at night when the full system is too loud. The JVC system works well by itself. Bass system could be a bit stronger, but we have a hugh room. In smaller areas it would be great.

I switched from a Samsung soundbar becasue the JVC has two digital outputs which I needed.. Samsung had only one. It didn't work with the Blu-Ray - only the TV. The JVC works with both because of two audio/optical outputs... one to the Blu-Ray; one to the Dish Receiver. Unlike the Samsung (which had a great mounting bracket (making it easy to place/remove the soundbar), the JVC has four hole on the back surface which fit over the four screws you have to place in the wall.... not as clean, but functional.

All-in-all, I'm happy with the system, cost, and looks. I did submit photos for review.