Its not the cheapest smart speaker, but its easily one of the most appealing.
Its distinctive enough to get people talking, without ever feeling like a fad.
Its beauty is more than skin deep.
Then theres the listening experience, which is superlative.
Separation is impressive, and theres a depth to its soundstage that delivers remarkable immersion for a single speaker.
Arguably its closest competitor is theAmazon Echo Studio, which costs $199.99 / 219.99 / $349.
Also in that price bracket is theSonos Era 100, priced at $249 / 229.99 / $399.
Still, this is a speaker thats happy to receive audio from pretty much any source.
For our part, we didnt experience any dropouts during our time with the Authentics 200.
Initial setup was simple using the JBL One app.
Its a pretty foolproof piece of software that makes it easy to control the Authentics 200 and adjust prefs.
We were online in less than a minute, with an update over Wi-Fi quickly out of the way.
Connecting Alexa and Google Assistant proved similarly seamless, with no hiccups hooking up to either.
With both voice assistants activated, we had no trouble getting each to respond.
In our experience, this crossover wasnt always seamless.
We found it simpler to stick with one assistant for a specific task.
You get the best of both worlds.
Taking more than a few cues from vintage amps, the Authentics 200 is a gorgeous bit of kit.
Measuring 266.3 x 171.7 x 167.4mm, it strikes an ideal balance between physical presence and ease of placement.
Its bigger sibling, the Atmos-compatibleAuthentics 500, is an altogether more substantial thing.
With its mid-size footprint, the Authentics 200 will easily find a home in most rooms.
But thats the only part which feels anything less than premium.
These give you the kind of hands-on audio control that isnt offered by many smart speakers.
Beneath the Bluetooth button is another with a heart on it.
Bass is particularly noteworthy, with a huge amount of energy available at the low end.
Even with the bass knob at halfway, the Authentics 200 has rumble to spare.
We were blown away by the breadth of the soundstage, with instrumentation given real space to breathe.
Top-end clarity is underpinned by a lovely weight to the mids.
Theres a real richness in the midrange, which feels deftly balanced for definition.
Altogether, the impression is one of fullness.
But for its size and price, we think the Authentics 200 is bang on the money.
Similarly, theGoogle Nest Miniwill set you back only $49.99 / 49 / AU$79.
There are also wireless speakers with high-quality audio available for less.
What those value comparisons dont account for is the individuality of the Authentics 200.
With its solid build and vintage design, it stands apart among home speakers, smart or otherwise.
Plus you get a generous set of streaming features and useful app connectivity.
Should I buy the JBL Authentics 200?
You get Amazon Alexa and Sonos voice control, plus Trueplay tuning.
Read more about how we test
