It makes sense comparing Yamaha MusicCast BAR 400 vs JBL Bar 5.0 because they both are able to give some premium features. Based on our rating, both soundbars have the same overall rating of 8.2. The competitors' control buttons are different: power, volume down, volume up, input, mute and power, source, volume down, volume up, respectively.
Both soundbars have active amplification type. A significant difference between the units in the number of channels, the Yamaha MusicCast BAR 400 has 5.1 versus 5.0 for the JBL Bar 5.0. The output power is different and equal to 200 (overall) W for the MusicCast BAR 400 versus 250 (overall) W for the Bar 5.0. Competitors do not have a built-in subwoofer. Rivals have wireless connection to separate subwoofer. The Yamaha MusicCast BAR 400 got our rating of 7 out of 10, and the JBL Bar 5.0 5 for its audio features and specs. Spotify is available on each of the soundbars.
These models have the ability to connect to the Internet via WI-FI. Rivals from our review have Bluetooth support. Each soundbar has 1/1 HDMI inputs/outputs. The HDMI Audio Return Channel (ARC) feature supports both devices. Both soundbars have a USB connector. For connectivity, the MusicCast BAR 400 received a rating of 8/10 versus 10/10, respectively. App control is available for the Bar 5.0. A built-in microphone is present in each model. Multi-room is available to every soundbar.
Only the Bar 5.0 has a Dolby Atmos multichannel audio format support. The soundbars do not support the surround sound technology DTS:X. For multichannel surround Yamaha MusicCast BAR 400 got a rating of 6, and JBL Bar 5.0 7 out of 10.