80
Tom Bedford
TechRadar
“The JBL Authentics 500 provides punchy room-filling sound, with a classy design and plenty of supported apps and features to make it a great buy for audio fans.”
Critical Assessment
What Critics Praise
- Powerful sound with deep bass
- Bluetooth wired Wi‑Fi playback
- Hands‑free Alexa Google Assistant
- Multiroom audio support
- Retro‑inspired design
- Multiple streaming apps
Points of Contention
- Fussy control panel
- Limited SBC codec
- High price
- Challenging setup
- App bugs
- Compression at max volume
Professional Reviews
3 reviews from 3 critics77
RTINGS.com
RTINGS
“The JBL Authentics 500 is excellent for voice assistant support.”
70
Tim Gideon
PCMag
“JBL's Authentics 500 speaker supports wired and wireless playback, delivers massive sound, and offers hands-free Alexa and Google Assistant, though the fussy controls detract from the experience.”
