Jbl Stage 240h – 2 Way Reflective Dolby Atmos Speaker (pair)

JBL Stage 240H Dolby Atmos Height Speakers (Pair)

The JBL Stage 240H is a compact two-way loudspeaker pair from the Stage 2 series with two distinct jobs. Set one way, it is a Dolby Atmos enabled height module that sits on top of a floorstanding speaker and reflects sound off the ceiling to create the overhead layer of an Atmos soundtrack. Flip its mode switch, and the same speaker becomes a wall-mounted elevation or surround loudspeaker. That flexibility makes the 240H the natural finishing piece for a Stage 2 home theatre, and a practical height-channel option for systems built from other speakers as well.

Key features

• Two operating modes: Dolby Atmos enabled topper or wall-mounted elevation/surround speaker
• 4.5-inch (114 mm) polycellulose ribbed cone woofer
• 1-inch (25 mm) anodised aluminium dome tweeter in a next-generation HDI waveguide
• Frequency response of 85 Hz to 25 kHz (plus or minus 6 dB)
• Sealed enclosure, optimised for height-channel and surround duty
• Designed to sit on top of JBL Stage 260F and 280F floorstanding speakers
• Sold and supplied as a matched pair

How the Atmos mode works

Dolby Atmos soundtracks place sounds in specific positions above the listener as well as around them. The 240H in Atmos mode fires its drivers upward at an angle from the top of a front floorstanding speaker, and the ceiling reflects that sound down to the seating area, where the ear reads it as arriving from overhead. This avoids cutting holes in the ceiling or running cable through it, which makes Atmos practical in finished rooms and rented homes. The arrangement works best with a flat, reflective ceiling of typical height, and with the modules placed on top of JBL Stage 260F or 280F floorstanders, whose top panels carry the binding-post connections the 240H uses. An Atmos-capable AV receiver with assignable height channels is required, along with its room calibration routine, which sets the correct levels and delays for the reflected path.

Wall-mounted elevation and surround use

Where ceiling reflection is not suitable — a very high, vaulted or heavily treated ceiling, for example — the 240H can be mounted on the wall high above the front or side speakers and aimed down at the listening area, working as a direct-firing elevation speaker. In this mode the mode switch adjusts the speaker’s response for its changed role. The same mounting arrangement also makes the 240H a tidy surround speaker in smaller rooms where a full-size bookshelf model would be intrusive.

Drivers and tuning

The 240H shares its driver set with the Stage 240B bookshelf model: a 4.5-inch polycellulose ribbed cone woofer, whose ribs stiffen the pulp cone for cleaner midrange, and a 1-inch anodised aluminium dome tweeter loaded by JBL’s next-generation High-Definition Imaging waveguide. The waveguide controls dispersion so the reflected or direct sound stays consistent across the seating area. Crossover between the drivers is at 1.6 kHz. Sensitivity is 87 dB at 1 m with 2.83 V input, nominal impedance is 6 ohms, and JBL recommends amplifier power between 20 and 150 W, a range that covers the height-channel outputs of virtually every Atmos receiver. The sealed enclosure keeps the cabinet compact at 176 x 180 x 270 mm and the response predictable close to walls and ceilings.

Building the system

A pair of 240H speakers turns a 5.1 or 7.1 system into a 5.1.2 or 7.1.2 Atmos layout; a second pair extends it to four height channels where the receiver supports them. Anti-slip pads in the box keep topper modules stable on the speakers below, and magnetically attached grilles keep the front clean. Each speaker weighs 4.6 kg.

Whether the goal is rain falling overhead in a film, a helicopter crossing the ceiling or simply more convincing surround envelopment, the Stage 240H adds the height dimension in the way that suits the room — reflected or direct — without rebuilding the system.