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Best of the CES Show Floor: Samsung's Ballie, HomeKit Shower Heads, Brydge Keyboards, Concept Phones, and More
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According to another review (https://www.techradar.com/reviews/jbl-bar-91):
That the "rear" speakers are battery powered and (by appearances) have specific points to attach to the "bar" at the front on the ends, tells me they know that customers of this are just going to stick the thing in front of their TV and never use them as actual "rear" speakers.
The JBL speaker set seems really nice for having wireless surrounds, plus Airplay 2, and Dolby Atmos and Vision support. I know it wasn't a value buy, but my Sonos TV soundbar + sub cost about that much, or slightly more, but strictly for the sound and Dolby features, this is way better. Too bad I'm so invested with Sonos speakers in the rest of the house, a change like this would not be 'wife approved'. 
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I have seen for sale a single sound bar with a subwoofer advertised as 5.1 (such as this one https://www.crutchfield.com/S-OihS4YgMPT9/p_109BAR51SR/JBL-Bar-5-1-Surround.html). That always seemed kind of insane for the front soundbar to be able to fire off sound to trick the brain for the rear speakers. So it seems that they have made the two satellites cover the other 4 channels.
Based on current 5.1 sound bars, I would have guessed this was a 7.1 without knowing better, but it seems that the 9.1 checks out.
Having a dedicated speaker for each and every channel will always sound better. But that takes up a lot of space, and a lot of wiring. But the size and convenience of soundbars (not sure how convenient wireless satellites with a 10 hour battery that need to be docked to recharge really is, but anyway) make them sound nice enough still, and are good enough for a lot of people.
Whatever sound solution is chosen by everyone (even if it's a basic 2.1 soundbar), please say no to using TV speakers. After your ears get used to the better sound, you'll wonder what took you so long.
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So based on that link it isn’t a 9.1 setup, the name is false.
I agree, the link you shared basically reviews this as a sound bar not a speaker system.
What irks me is that they use all the correct terminology, 9.1 system, Dolby atmos, etc. when at best it’s 4.1 or 5.1 and they are signal processing and just bouncing sound to make it sound ‘good’. Too bad.
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I have seen for sale a single sound bar with a subwoofer advertised as 5.1 (such as this one https://www.crutchfield.com/S-OihS4YgMPT9/p_109BAR51SR/JBL-Bar-5-1-Surround.html). That always seemed kind of insane for the front soundbar to be able to fire off sound to trick the brain for the rear speakers. So it seems that they have made the two satellites cover the other 4 channels.
Based on current 5.1 sound bars, I would have guessed this was a 7.1 without knowing better, but it seems that the 9.1 checks out.
Having a dedicated speaker for each and every channel will always sound better. But that takes up a lot of space, and a lot of wiring. But the size and convenience of soundbars (not sure how convenient wireless satellites with a 10 hour battery that need to be docked to recharge really is, but anyway) make them sound nice enough still, and are good enough for a lot of people.
Whatever sound solution is chosen by everyone (even if it's a basic 2.1 soundbar), please say no to using TV speakers. After your ears get used to the better sound, you'll wonder what took you so long.
Ya, but, they could add 4 more remote speakers faced the right directions and actually truly call it 9.1, this is bait and switch. Someone will get this, and be at a dinner party and argue that it is 9.1 because they spent $1000 on it. When anyone that knows will have to teach them that the 9 means 9 physical speakers arranged around the room and the .1 means the subwoofer. It may sound ok, but it isn’t what was recorded for the movie.
On a positive, at least they made the rears actual satellites, some ‘systems’ even try to signal process those channels to make your brain think they are there.
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Let’s reflect on the years past:
How many of these products actually are successfully bought/sold? A lot of these products never come to fruition in terms of being sold through retailers or even have any ‘consumer awareness’, what I’m trying to say is, ‘tech’ can only go so far in terms of how we can practically use it depending on how much technology we Allow into our personal lives. Not everybody’s going to find value in every product at CES, some will, some won’t. I read somewhere where another member said this is one of the ‘best CES shows’ of the last five years, but their view probably is dependent on what they would find value in in certain types of technology.
I don’t think this 2020 show was any different than any other show, it depends on what type of technology is being demoed and the target demographic.
Jokes are supposed to be funny 🤷♂️
Duh 🤣
btw I think my comment about Samsung throwing a garden fridge against the wall and seeing if it sticks was pretty funny.
Yeah bud, I'm just gonna to bow out of this one if you don't mind. Seems like you're looking for a fight for some odd reason. Enjoy your weekend.
If you don’t want any responses, don’t post snarky, condescending replies 🤷♂️
You enjoy your weekend too.
Maybe next year's revision of the shower head will include a camera to use an "advanced AI" to adjust the temperature based on body language. Of course, Moen will have to send the video feed to "independent contractors" to train the AI. And if the "independent contractors" are actually paying Moen to participate in the program, that's just Moen's good business practice in maximizing their profit streams.
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You're right, but that's still useless, it's the wrong place to put flow meters, the best place would be where the water comes into the house...or maybe keep an eye on the water meter.
I have a water softener that's a few years old now. It measures and displays instantaneous and last 14 day usage as well as the time and number of gallons since it's last refresh cycle.
A newer model than I have can also report to an app on the iPhone and provide usage reports..
This exactly. It's not that hard to use a measuring cup and if you care enough to measure this thing won't be near accurate enough.
Also, in my case, I also have a reverse osmosis system in my basement that supplies my kitchen sink, ice maker, and bathroom. It has small side faucets in the kitchen and bathroom, the main faucets still come straight from the softener. Any water I'm using for cooking where I would care to measure comes from the filter system, not the main tap, so that's another reason this would be useless to me.
I bet my filter was cheaper than this faucet as well as a lot more useful.
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9.1 is the model number, it's not a 9.1 system. That annoyed me when i read it too, but I would guess people who would pay $1000 on a sound bar rather than stepping up to a proper home theatre are the sort who eat up this kind of marketing nonsense.
For the same reason that GSM based networks were a big deal (i.e. the ability to use a SIM card) in the US years after the rest of the world just took them for granted, or the same reason that the eventual adoption of metric will result in a collective "why the **** did we wait so long" when Americans at large realise that you can convert units of *anything* in metric just by multiplying or dividing by 10, and get a lot of basic things for free: 1L of water/similar density liquid weighs 1KG at sea level, or 1 cm3 is 1ml; etc. We are having a pool built and based on the dimensions alone, I have a rough (close enough for our purposes) idea of the volume of water it will hold, and how much that water will weigh - and it took about 10 seconds in my head.
So, that. THAT is why there is some big deal in the US about a thing that has apparently been done elsewhere for years. America as a whole is very good at taking that "best country in the world" schtick to the point of believing that everything they do must be the best way to do it.
Good rant but what does it have to do with Sony’s concept car or it’s LIDAR assisted mirrors? But yeah I sure wish we had stuck with the attempt to switch over to the metric system around 1977 or so
America(ns) ignoring/being oblivious to better/newer technology and then making a fanfare about it when everyone else has had it for years:
Who has LIDAR-assisted mirrors at all, let alone for years? No one. Sony apparently has them in their concept car, at least according to them.
I see no evidence of “America(ns) ignoring/being oblivious to better/newer technology and then making a fanfare about it when everyone else has had it for years.”
Maybe save your disdain for Americans for when it’s warranted, or at least where it makes some sense.
So, lets keep this in context here:
In 2017 BMW produced a concept car (i.e.: one that will never be made for sale) that does away with physical mirrors.
In 2018 Audi confirmed the their in-development E-Tron would also drop physical mirrors, and it's been in production for over 12 months.
In 2020, Sony - a company that does not make cars, and has no intention to - produces a concept car that... has no physical rear view mirrors, and exists purely to showcase how Sony components could be used in a vehicle.
Getting excited over part of a concept car that already exists in a production car is absurd. It'd be like getting excited because it's all-electric. But of course, American laws don't allow the actual, existing production vehicles to use the mirror-less system, so a concept car - which has no such laws to abide by - is somehow novel.
Let’s keep on topic. Sony is demonstrating a LIDAR assisted mirror. That means it can give you an image at night. In the dark.
It is novel.
No one else has this, Sony shows it in a concept car because they want to sell it, MacRumors wrote about it, and you used it as an opportunity to take a cheap shot at Americans
Who exactly is excited about this concept car, anyway? Where is this “fanfare” that you think is being made about this car? If you think it’s absurd for MacRumors to cover it, take it up with them.
btw Sony is a Japanese company so your complaint that this is Americans “believing that everything they do must be the best way to do it” makes exactly zero sense.
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When a country believe it does anything bigger and better is a problem when it ignores that others have done it long before and have had it long before. I remember "transition" glasses it was in Japan and its surrounding neighbours in the East since the 90's if not earlier it may have had a different marketing name but when USA was introduced to it, it was suddenly a big thing. Just one example from this in the box mentality, maybe open ones eyes and mind that others have had this years prior.