Yamaha MusicCast BAR 400 vs JBL Bar 5.0 review

Votes 1 1
Rating 5 5

Yamaha MusicCast BAR 400 vs JBL Bar 5.0 comparison chart

Overall
Yamaha MusicCast BAR 400
8.2
JBL Bar 5.0
8.2
10
9

Yamaha MusicCast BAR 400 vs JBL Bar 5.0 review

Yamaha MusicCast BAR 400
vs
JBL Bar 5.0

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.

Audio features

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.

Connectivity

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.

Multichannel surround

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.

Advantages Yamaha MusicCast BAR 400 over JBL Bar 5.0

  • Separate subwoofer in package

Advantages JBL Bar 5.0 over Yamaha MusicCast BAR 400

  • App control
  • Compatible with Dolby Atmos
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Common

Product

Yamaha MusicCast BAR 400
JBL Bar 5.0

Model

MusicCast BAR 400
Bar 5.0

Brand

Yamaha
JBL

Reviews

121
0

General

Placement type

table-top, wall-mountable
table-top, wall-mountable

Connection to source

wired, wireless
wired, wireless

Soundbar buttons

power, volume down, volume up, input, mute
power, source, volume down, volume up

Audio features

Built-in channels

5.1
5.0

Amplification type

active
active

Output power, W

200 (overall)
250 (overall)

Separate speaker (in package)

0
0

Separate speaker connections

wireless
has not

Subwoofer

Built-in subwoofer

Separate subwoofer (in package)

Separate subwoofer connections

wireless
wireless

Streaming services

Apple Music (AirPlay)

AirPlay 2

Amazon Music

Spotify

Other streaming services

Pandora, Deezer, TIDAL, Napster, SiriusXM, Qobuz
Pandora, SoundCloud

Connectivity

WI-FI

Bluetooth

Ethernet (RJ45)

1
0

NFC

HDMI input/output

1/1
1/1

HDMI ARC

HDMI eARC

HDMI CEC

Optical digital input/output

1/0
1/0

USB

1 (USB 2.0)
1 (USB 2.0)

Coaxial digital input/output

0/0
0/0

Analog audio input/output (RCA)

1/0
0/0

Headphone output

0
0

Subwoofer output

0
0

Features

Voice control

Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant

App control

Microphone

Remote control

Multi-room

Multichannel surround

Dolby Atmos

Dolby (other)

Dolby Digital

DTS:X

DTS (other)

DTS Virtual:X, DTS Digital Surround

User manual

Manual

Dimensions

Size (Wx H x D), cm/in

94.2 x 8.3 x 11/38.6 x 3.3 x 4.3
70.9x5.8x10.1/27.9x2.3x3.9

Weight, kg/pounds

2.7/6
2.8/6.1

Other

Release year

2018
2021
Yamaha MusicCast BAR 400
JBL Bar 5.0
Yamaha MusicCast BAR 400
JBL Bar 5.0

Soundbars SoundStrokes Art comparison rating

  • better
  • worse
  • 8.2
  • 8.2
  • 8.2Yamaha MusicCast BAR 400
  • 8.2JBL Bar 5.0

Yamaha MusicCast BAR 400 competitors

JBL Bar 5.0 competitors