We absolutely love the JBL Authentics 500! Sound quality is so amazing and robust. We decided to use it in our 1700 sq foot basement. It fills the entire space with sound. Part of the area is for working out and the other part Is a workshop/crafts area. With the volume at half, the sound is amazing and the bass really hits. With its retro style and amazing audio it's a complete package.

I really LOVE this speaker. The sound quality is unmatched with the ability to Autotune to the room it is in. The elegant design looks great in my office with a timeless style. The mix of tweeters, woofers and sub-woofer works with all genres of music. Just really I had another Authentics speaker for Multi-Room playback.

JBL Authentic's 500 First thing I'd like to say is, the JBL packaging this speaker comes in, is extremely impressive, and exhibits complete quality within from the moment you unpack it. It is a beautiful retro design, looking as if it were wrapped in black leather. The speaker is banded with a gold metal  trim, along with what looks like a black foam front which is actually a durable black material wrapped around a plastic speaker grill and a gold JBL label on the left bottom corner which gives this speaker a fabulous appearance. On the top are two knobs one for bass and one for treble which light up when turning them. A third knob for volume. Through this control, you can pause your music, press twice skip forward press three times and go back a song. Again lighted control knob. 5.3 Bluetooth pairing and a moment button to play your favorite song list. I play a lot of internet radio and found I can move from one exclusive channel to another by pressing the control knob twice which is really nice. On the back is a, on/off switch for voice control, a aux plug for playback through an audio cable from another device. Ethernet connection to connect to home network, and a usb connection for mp3 playback. This all controlled as well through the JBL one app. You can personalize your audio settings with a equalizer in the app, set up voice control with google play Alexa etc., connect streaming services, listen to Dolby atmos through your streaming service, connect the speaker to your WI-FI network as well. One of the best features is the auto tune feature. The speaker automatically adjusts itself to the room when you plug it in, so you get the best sound for that room your in. Right behind the front speaker grill is three aluminum tweeters, three 2.75" midrange speakers and one 6 1/2" down facing subwoofer delivering crystal clear sound and a nice pounding bass. On the back, there is two bass ports helping I think the bass delivering a snapping pounding sound that is great for today's music. The louder the volume the punchier the bass gets. You of course can get just the sound you like through the app's equalizer. The Authentics 500 boasts 270 watts of power and a wide frequency range of 40htz-20khtz. The louder you go the crisper the sound and the bass really gets pounding. I spent some time going back and forth between the JBL boombox 3 and the Authentics 500. Both  deliver incredible sound. However, the Authentics 500 does have the edge for power and clarity. And the appearance fits well in any decor. Especially if you have a retro style room as this has become popular again. The only suggestion I can make for JBL on this speaker is, that they put a flat plastic or maybe black metal grill on the bottom of the speaker cabinet to protect the facedown subwoofer from possible punctures. If you're not careful with placement and something is sticking up, you could punch a hole in the speaker.  In conclusion, the JBL Authentics 500 is a fantastic sounding speaker with a really cool retro look. And very affordable price point. As usual JBL quality is very present and unsurpassed with this speaker.

Well, I have to first start out with how great it looks !! It's just so old school but with a feel and look to it but yet modern still ! It's high quality as soon as you touch it and feel the weight of it. When it comes to sound it's very impressive with how it's able to produce such energy and feeling that you forget that it's not even a large speaker and does not take up to much space at all. Very clean highs and good low bass as well. I love the adjustable treble and bass settings which allows you to fine tune the feel to your music taste. The bass is quite strong so as a warning if you live in an apartment they will hear you bumping this thing !! 😎😎

To start off with I know this is a premium product but it defiantly feels it. The leather wrap feels very premium to the touch and all of the controls have a nice tactile feel. It also just looks very nice. The aesthetic is something that defiantly could be a solid fixture of a room and it lis a slightly retro look but I really like it. As for the sound I think that it sounds amazing and you can tune the sound with the knobs on the top or the app. Overall it just has a very solid experience and quality feel.

I have had the privilege to welcome the authentic 500 into our home. Let me start by saying if I want the neighbors to hear my music… They're going to hear my music Even though we live in the suburbs. The sheer volume capabilities from the speaker are amazing. Like a classic stereo system, you can change the treble and base with knobs on the unit. You can also change the volume manually, if you are using Bluetooth to your phone, you can also adjust it there. The design is sleek and classic, and easily fits into any decor. I personally love that since it connects to Alexa, or Google Home, the device stays on, and you can just speak what you want. This allows me to put it up high and not have to worry about reaching the controls. If you so, choose, you can connect it to other devices within the same family so you can have music throughout your home with one system. The built-in Wi-Fi is key and really just makes this the best of the best.

It's been a week I used this speaker and I still can't stay away from it. This is undoubtedly the best speaker I've ever owned. The Bass is terrific, WiFi connectivity is easy, Bluetooth is seamless and Alexa Smart Control is icing on the cake. My favorite part of the speaker, more than its spectacular sound, is its Retro design. I've never owned a retro speaker before and this one truly blew my mind. I've decided to redesign my entire room so this speaker can fit in it properly. Fact that you can control the speaker through an App makes your life so easy. This is a rare combination of top class performance and top notch style (design) and it excels in both the departments.

Retro 70s look with current day sound. One impressive system for its size. Much bigger than the portable series for sure, but about the size of a medium box from Amazon. Corded, no battery. Ready to jam your house and about 3 in either direction into a block party. The 270 watts of power is more than enough. The clarity and just presense of sound makes you feel the music not just hear it. Very impressive, anyone who tells you otherwise is Bias. We donated our old 4 15" pioneer system to family, dont need it anymore with this and tales up about a 1/5 of the space. This thing sounds like the concert/ pro series JBL loud speakers, your Church or recent concert uses. Very Impressive. And Thank You JBL for not letting me ruin it by putting in a rechargable battery, so I want to take it everywhere.

JBL Authentic 500 got it today .. Very excited you can tell by the weight of the box that's it's made well ... turned it on and wow the bass and the richness of the voice and rhythm of the music blew me away... JBL hit it out of the park on this one

The JBL Authentics 500 is a quality eye catching smart speaker (has both Alexa and Google assistant built in) and the fine tuning controls on a downloadable app for your phone. Its look reminds me of classic JBL speakers I've seen as a kid, with its black with gold accents and a waffle-like Quadrex grille in the front of the speaker that resembles the 1970's high end JBL speakers. Even though there is no dedicated RCA inputs for a turntable there is an audio in jack in which you can connect a 3.5mm Stereo Male to 2RCA Male cable, and it works well. I have used the smart feature to create alarms, as a sleep timer, get weather updates, music streaming and to get general information, the extent of its capabilities goes far beyond that all while enjoying the premium JBL sound. The speaker provides plenty of deep bass, and just has a premium sound. Altogether, the system delivers a frequency range of 40Hz to 20 kHz and 270W of power (I got this info from the spec sheet). All of these features make it much more than just a Bluetooth speaker, I believe it will stand the test of time and I will be enjoying it for years to come.