JBL Horizon Review

JBL Horizon is not your run-of-the-mill bluetooth speaker in the sense that it has a modern design, functionality and, ultimately, sound quality that stand out from the competition. Horizon is a compact, circular shaped tabletop speaker, measuring 5.8 x 8.5 x 7.3 inches and weighing 3.2 pounds, and it hides two speaker drivers with a diameter of 1.75 inches. The front has a sizable display - very easy to read - which displays information about the time, date and the selected audio source. The 'glass' that is placed over the display is made of plastic and is quite reflective, almost like a mirror, which can cause some problems when you try to read it in a brightly lit room. The casing is made of soft gray plastic that is quite pleasant to the touch. On the back is a large, white, shiny area for the sophisticated ambient light.

Features, Bells and Whistles

The Horizon uses power amplifiers of five watts to each of the two channels, which should be enough to fill smaller bedrooms with sound. It supports several audio sources, the most important is probably the bluetooth pairing for phones, tablets and similar devices equipped with this technology.

Add to this an FM radio that can store up to five stations. We were able to tune in all the major radio stations that we were aware of, but only when we connected the supplied antenna in the form of a thin cable. Depending on conditions, you may have to use a better antenna to get the best radio reception.

In addition to the radio antenna and power supply, a short quick guide is included with instructions on the basic operation and commands, especially those that require you to press certain buttons for an extended period (usually more than 2 seconds).

One of the most useful things with the Horizon is two USB ports for charging other devices, such as mobile phones. These can come in handy if you lack a sufficient number of power outlets in the bedroom. In the bottom you´ll find more useful things, like a backup battery slot that will keep the correct time and still trigger the alarm in case of power failure, the buttons for setting the time and date, as well as an additional switch to easily change to daylight savings time.

Setting the alarm is also carried out in a smart way. Horizon has two alarms, so that it can cater to two people for example. Setting the alarm time allows you to choose whether to repeat the alarm Weekdays / Weekends / Everyday / One Day. Of course, you can choose how you want to wake up; awful buzzing (very effective though), FM radio or music via bluetooth. You can also wake up to three predefined melodies: 'Rise' (guitar melody), 'Solar' (synthesizers) and 'Groove' (more modern).

For the purpose of a real sound quality test we used high-resolution music that we have stored on a PC. We did a quick comparison between the JBL Horizon and a clock radio of similar size and price, and we were delighted with the result - the JBL sounded much better. It had more energy and details in the mid and high frequencies, and the bass was powerful enough. So far, so good, but Horizon is limited in terms of the deepest bass, and bass-heavy songs won´t sound as they are supposed to. Listening to electronica clearly demonstrated this restriction. On the other hand, music with focus on the upper frequencies sounded just as we are used to.