Klipsch BAR 48 48-Inch Soundbar System with Subwoofer
[BAR48]

I've been a fan for Klipsch ever since I purchased their Promedia Ultra 2.0 desktop PC speakers back in 2004 as they produced some of the best sound I had ever heard given their size and price (to this day nothing comes close for 2.0). So when I moved to a new home that wouldn't allow my 5.1 Energy speaker setup, it was a no brainer to order this new Klipsh sound bar to go along with my new Vizio M658-G1 65" TV. The sound bar is well protected for shipping so the chance of damage in transit is extremely unlikely. The sub is an 8" ported down firing design but this shouldn't concern anyone as the difference from my research and experience is negligible and proper placement is much more important and since the sub is wireless, placement is much easier. The sub and soundbar paired with each other immediately. I ran through my various test movies and music and overall I was really impressed with the sound from the two pieces as the sub seems a sonically perfect match to the sound bar and fills in the mid bass and deep bass just right. Adjusting the sub woofer up should satisfy even the biggest bass heads out there as for a such a small unit, it fills my 13' x 16' area easily. My TV is set to bitstream output over HDMI (ARC) as to allow the Klipsch unit to do all the decoding and mixing and you get a good 3.1 setup in terms of good left/right separation with dialog clearly come from the middle like I would expect from my 5.1 setup. The unit does have a virtual surround mode that does try to play with some delays to mimic a surround feeling and it's not half bad, but obviously dedicated rear channels are needed, especially if you're coming from a 5.1 setup like I am. An option to add rear channels would have been nice, but if you're getting a sound bar you probably don't have room for them. The "dialog" button which more or less increases the volume of the center channel is a really nice touch as I have that turned on as in the evening it means the wife I can hear the voices without out all the other effects waking up the kids. One thing I would recommend is to update the firmware right away. I was having issues where if I turned off my TV, the sound bar would power down but when I turned the TV back on, the soundbar was locked up and I would need to unplug it and plug it back in or it would come on but no longer adjust it's volume. According to the latest firmware update they have updated it for better CEC compatibility. If you still have a problem, you can just switch to optical and use the included remote or if you have a Logitech Harmony or equivalent, just program the volume controls to control the soundbar. So long review, but as someone coming from the great Energy Take Classic 5.1 speaker setup, I'm really happy with this setup.

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