We got a chance to check out Klipsch’s new soundbars at CES this past January and they
were getting a lot of attention at the show, as they typically do.
Well, they’ve finally started shipping and we just got ours in so we’re wanted to give
you a closer look to see what they’re all about.
Hi, I’m Carl with Abt, and this is the Klipsch soundbar model BAR40, the smaller of their
two newest models, and, as you may have guessed, the 40 in it’s title refers to
the width, 40 inches.
It’s 2 and 7/8" tall and 3 and 3/8" deep, so it’s
not necessarily ultra-compact, but it’s not huge either so it’ll fit under a variety
of TVs.
And it’s not packed with features, particularly, but it uses what it has well.
As far as the design’s concerned, you get a cloth grille that wraps around the front, top
and back, which is a nice change from all the wire grilles that we’ve been seeing this year,
and the sides have a wood finish which you also see on the feet of the subwoofer,
although the subwoofer feet are just slighty lighter in color.
On top are some buttons for power, source, and volume.
Then, on the outside edges is really the most eye catching part of the design, the tweeters.
These are each 3/4 of an inch and paired to Klipsch’s tractrix horns.
Just inside of those, under the grille, are two 3" midrange drivers, and as I mentioned
before, you also get a wireless, 6 and 1/2" sub.
Now, the unique thing about this setup is that the soundbar itself, you have
a wired subwoofer output, which allows you to hook up a second one if you choose.
It’s a great option if you’re looking for more bass, and not something that we’ve seen
on any other soundbars that we’ve looked at so far this year.
The other inputs include a 3.5 millimeter auxiliary, HDMI with ARC and they actually include
an HDMI cable in the box, optical and bluetooth.
There’s also a USB, but that’s only gonna be used for service, like doing a firmware
update.
The audio is really quite good for a soundbar at this price point.
It’s not inexpensive I wouldn't say, but it’s not overpriced for what you’re getting.
Bass, as you might guess with a 6 and 1/2" driver, wasn’t earth-shaking, but it
does enough to let you know it’s there.
Plus you can adjust it up and down from the remote based on what you’re listening to.
Highs were sharp and I was able to pick up smaller noises within songs and movies.
Mids were on the flatter side.
The highs and lows are what really stood out to me.
This is only a 2.1 channel system too so it doesn’t have a dedicated center channel and because
of that, the vocals did suffer a little bit.
It almost felt like they were getting lost at some points.
You can boost em by pressing the dialogue enhance button on the remote, and it definitely helped,
but it added an almost echo-like effect to the voices.
What made the bigger difference as far as overall sound was concerned, was the virtual
surround mode.
Turning that on really made a noticeable difference with the sound stage.
I don’t know that I’d call it surround, but it definitely expanded everything so it
felt like the sound was coming from a much wider area in front of you.
Night mode helped bring the big sounds down to make it better to listen to if you kinda need
to keep things a little more subdued while the kids are sleeping, but for me, the biggest
difference-maker was that surround mode.
And here’s a demo so you can get a sense of what the BAR40 sounds like……
Music playing
I like this one a lot.
The sound quality’s very good, you get the option to attach a second sub, and the design fits
well with higher-end home decor without the high-end price tag.
Make sure you check out the link below for all our current pricing.
Is this one you’d consider for your home theater?
Make sure to let us know in the comments.
As always, we appreciate you watching.
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in the next one.