KevinB

@Robert78, Welcome to the Klipsch Community forums. The Cinema series soundbars are being retired. The Flexus series soundbars are the next generation that will replace the previous generations. The Cinema series have had their issues some of which can only be addressed with manufacturing revisions (in other words, new models). If you encounter new issues, I encourage you to open a support request with Klipsch Product Support. If they can't resolve an issue, you are entitled to a warranty replacement - as long as your warranty hasn't expired.

Hi @MarkSAZ, Welcome to the Klipsch Community forums. I assume you have a Cinema 800 as you are posting in this forum... As with most Cinema soundbar models the volume, when using Direct mode, is substantially reduced. Try Standard mode and see if it helps. Verify that your Cinema 800 has the latest firmware installed: Cinema 700/800 - Current Firmware Update Notes. If your audio/video source is not the TV itself, try connecting the devices to the soundbar rather than the TV. Check these Cinema 800 knowledgebase articles for more help.

Hi @garyb6106, Welcome to the Klipsch Community forums. I can try to help you but I need more information than you have provided. Can you please provide all details that may be relevant?

Yes... Klipsch has even created a series of support articles for the Flexus soundbars where you can learn a bit more about them.

This Bar 48 No-Power Repair Thread has a lot of useful information in case you want to undertake a DIY project. If you find a repair shop, you may want to refer them to this thread.

As we all know, the Cinema 600 has its issues. As long as your soundbar is still under warranty Klipsch is required to provide a warranty replacement. I would open a case with Klipsch product Support. Klipsch may have some suggestions how to resolve your issue and if their recommendations don't help they should provide a/another replacement. Have you reviewed the Cinema 600 support articles?

After my second BAR 48 died, Klipsch gave me a Cinema 600. It had just become available. Unfortunately, it only lasted a few months. I was then given a Cinema 800. Search these community forums for "Cinema 800" to learn more. Both the Cinema 800 & 1200 have reliability issues too but far fewer than the BAR 48 and the Cinema 600 do. Early firmware updates were a disaster but the latest ones are stable. You should be quite happy with your Cinema 800. I am. 🙂

I don't believe that ARC/eARC is your issue. I have an older Samsung TV that does not have eARC. My Cinema 800 is connected to the TV's HDMI/ARC input and I have full 4K60Hz video. You could have an issue with your TV's HDMI/ARC input. That is why I said: If you used a different HDMI input on your TV when you did your tests, you did not eliminate the TV's HDMI/ARC input as the problem, which has nothing to do with ARC per se. Very true but ARC/eARC is not used for video. The Cinema Series soundbar articles mention eARC because it has the bandwidth required to provide all the audio formats the Cinema 1200 supports as described in Cinema 1200 - Decoding and Playback Modes but that article is a bit misleading. HDMI/ARC has the bandwidth to support a Dolby Digital Plus audio stream which provides higher quality audio (CD quality) when compared to Dolby Digital. Furthermore, Dolby Digital Plus does support Dolby Atmos, albeit at a lower audio quality. Since the Cinema Series soundbars do support Dolby Digital Plus we can listen to Dolby Atmos content via an HDMI/ARC connection as long as the TV can provide it.

Okay, you have confirmed your HDMI cables are good and everything works when the soundbar is out of the equation. Assuming you used the HDMI connection on the TV that the soundbar connects to, that just leaves the soundbar itself. If your soundbar is defective, and still within the warranty period, Klipsch will provide a warranty replacement but they will want evidence of a defect. The results of your tests should provide that evidence. Cinema 700/800/1200 Video Passthrough Capabilities states that the soundbar supports 4k60 passthrough at Chroma 4:4:4. That should be enough to confirm there is an issue with your soundbar. You may be able to learn a bit more if you can determine whether your soundbar can pass through 4k30 passthrough at Chroma 4:4:4 or 4k60 passthrough at Chroma 4:4:2. Either way, you should open a case with Klipsch Product Support and begin a dialog with them.

Both the cables you have should be able to handle 4K video: if there are no defects. if they conform to the specifications. I know others have had issues similar to yours that were resolved when they replaced their HDMI cable. There are many brands of new HDMI cables that have defects and don't conform to specifications. That is why there is now a certification program to protect consumers and provide some level of assurance they are getting what they are paying for. I hope using a certified HDMI cable resolves your issue. If it doesn't, you have eliminated the most likely source of your problem. There is one more thing you can try and that is to eliminate the soundbar from the equation. Connect your series x directly to the TV and confirm that you have 4K video. Don't worry about the audio. If you have 4K video, verify it still works when you use the same HDMI input where the soundbar is connected. If you don't have 4K video, try your other HDMI cable. If you still don't have 4K video, it is possible but unlikely that both HDMI cables are defective. Check the series x settings and the TV's settings to make sure both devices are configured correctly. If you don't have 4K video when your series x is connected directly to your TV, then your issue is most likely not related to the soundbar. If there is an issue with one of your HDMI cables, you should be able to identify which one.

This article has the information you are looking for: Cinema 700/800/1200 Video Passthrough Capabilities The Audio Return Channel (ARC/eARC) is used to pass audio streams to the soundbar when the audio originates from the TV, the TV's external inputs, or any internal apps the TV may have. When the program material originates from the soundbar, as is the case when the source is the soundbar's HDMI1 or HDMI2 inputs, the connection at the TV behaves as a regular HDMI port. The most likely cause your soundbar won't pass through 4k, assuming your TV does support 4K video, is your HDMI cable. All HDMI cables definitely are not created equal. I strongly recommend you use a certified HDMI cable. Considering the small difference in price, I would go with The Ultra High Speed HDMI® Cable. Thanks to the Ultra High Speed HDMI® Cable Certification Program, you can now be sure you are getting a genuine certified cable.

hi @audiophile18, The Cinema Series soundbars are being phased out and are being replaced with the Flexus Soundbars as @billybob pointed out. The Cinema Series has had its issues: most notable are the many firmware issues and general hardware reliability. The current firmware versions are quite reliable and have addressed most of the issues found in earlier firmware versions. Hardware reliability is another matter. Some owners have had two or three replacements while others have no problems at all (yet). The the most notable remaining issue that affects the Cinema 700, 800, & 1200 is the loss of audio which can be be be restored by power cycling the soundbar. I have a Cinema 800. I still encounter this issue every three or four weeks, much less frequently though than the almost daily occurrence when the issue first surfaced. The other issue involves the centre channel dialog which Klipsch never completely resolved. Very few, if any, of the hardware issues plaguing the Cinema Series soundbars involve the Klipsch speakers. Almost all are due to issues with the electronics. All owners agree: They sound fantastic! I know there are some great deals on Cinema series soundbars now but my advice would be to wait for the Flexus Soundbars. The entry level models will be released first followed by the higher end models a few months down the road, just has Klipsch did with with the BAR series and the Cinema series.

I have not had any issues with my Connect App but I don't use it very often. The equalizer function is pretty basic: it allows you to raise or lower levels in three ranges (lower, mid, & trebil). When I had my Cinema 600 I found the effectiveness of the equalizer to be disappointing. It's better on the Cinema 800 but not great. Since the equalization is done in the soundbar, the results depend pretty much on the soundbar.

The Cinema Series soundbars are being replaced with a new series. That's why you can find some great "deals". There are lots of posts about the Cinema 400 and the Cinema 600 soundbars, not all good I'm afraid. You may want to review the Klipsch support articles for the Cinema Series soundbars. If your Cinema 400 was just purchased, perhaps you can return it?

@Spyke77 @gbws See this Klipsch support article: Samsung Device Says an App is Required to Connect via Bluetooth