KevinB

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

@SeanFK @MikeW123 @sheemer See this Klipsch support article: Cinema 600 - Connecting to Klipsch Connect App

The BAR series and Cinema series soundbars have had their ongoing issues. Thankfully, Klipsch has been providing warranty replacements, sometimes even outside the warranty period. 😉

Hello @R1c0, @itsmeray, @CH315, @Dlayhue01 I just came across this thread otherwise I would have replied sooner. I use the Surround 3's with my soundbars. First, I had a BAR 48 so I know all about those issues. I too was given a Cinema 600 as a warranty replacement so I know all about the Cinema 600 issues too. My Cinema 600 died completely after a couple of months. I had just updated the firmware to the latest version a few days before Klipsch pulled that update. While Klipsch is pretty good about providing warranty replacements, if you are within the warranty period, the Cinema 600 doesn't really qualify as a replacement for the BAR 48. The BAR has more features than does the Cinema 600 and, while a warranty replacement doesn't have to be the same model, it does have to have compatible or better features than the model it is replacing. Both the BAR series and the Cinema series soundbars have major reliability issues, especially the BAR 48 and the Cinema 600. The most recently manufactured Cinema 600's are labeled Rev 3. 😞 When I pointed out to Klipsch that the BAR 48 specs had features not present in the Cinema 600, they replaced my dead Cinema 600 with a Cinema 800 that had just been released. Through all of this, my Surround 3's never gave me any problems. Here are some suggestions how to troubleshoot Surround 3 pairing issues. Move the Surround 3's close to the soundbar, say 3 to 5 feet, just in case there are any signal strength or interference issues. Move any bluetooth or Wi-Fi devices that could cause interference away from your soundbar. Make sure the switch on the back of the Surround 3's are set correctly: One should be in the "L" position; the other in the "R" position. If only one of the Surround 3 speakers is paired, try reversing the switches on the back so that left becomes right and right becomes left and try to pair them again. If the same physical speaker again pairs successfully, that would suggest the other speaker has an issue. If however the other speaker pairs successfully it would suggest that the soundbar is only able to pair to a specific channel (either the left or the right) and the failure to pairing is due to an issue with the soundbar. If you haven't done so already, I suggest you read these Cinema 600 articles.

Hi @Spiral and welcome to the Klipsch Community forums. You may want to review these Klipsch Cinema Series support articles. Check the Cinema 1200 - Current Firmware Update Notes and Cinema 1200 - Updating Older Firmware to make sure you have the latest firmware installed. Does this happen when you try to adjust the volume... using the buttons on the soundbar? using the soundbar remote? using the Klipsch app on your smartphone? Do you experience the same behaviour on all of the source inputs?

Hi @nicksri and welcome to the Klipsch Community forums. This thread has a lot of useful information. You can learn a lot about your Cinema 1200 if you read through the posts. The first thing you should do is insure your soundbar has the latest firmware. Klipsch has provided a series of knowledgebase article to address issues with the Cinema 1200. This one may help you: Cinema 1200 - No Audio via HDMI Troubleshooting Unplug your soundbar from the electrical outlet. Wait ~ 15 seconds. Plug your soundbar back into the electrical outlet.

Hello @suko_nanami, Welcome to the Klipsch Community forums. Klipsch does not repair the Cinema soundbars. If your soundbar is still within the warranty period, they will provide a warranty replacement. The replacement will be the whole system. If this is a new system that has recently been purchased, Klipsch recommends you return it to the place where you purchased it for a replacement (or a refund). If it is outside the warranty period then you will have to have it repaired. If the place where you purchased it doesn't do repairs you will have to find a repair shop, preferably an authorised Klipsch repair depot.

When Klipsch decides to do a major upgrade to products like the BAR series and Cinema series soundbar they do it by introducing a new product. Prior to introducing a new product it is a common practice for manufacturers to discontinue an existing product and sometimes significantly reduce the price to clear out existing inventory. I have not seen any official notice from Klipsch stating that Cinema soundbar models are being discontinued but I do see a number of indications that lead me to believe that is indeed the case. There are only a few Cinema models still on the Klipsch website available for purchase. Some retailers have told customers that (some of) the Cinema series soundbars are being discontinued. The price of the Cinema soundbars has been reduced significantly. I have not heard of any announcements from Klipsch about new soundbars to replace the Cinema series but this article suggests they are coming. Klipsch and Onkyo joined forces for a soundbar — and it sounds awesome

Yes!

The best news I've heard is that they have finally been discontinued.🙂

The only other thing I can think of is perhaps a small preamp connecting #1 to the soundbar, if you really want to use #1. You appear to appreciate all the issues and have a workaround, albeit not your preferred solution. Please let us know what you decide. Good luck!

So very true... It would be great if you could connect the BluOS Node to the soundbar using #1 and #3 so you could do an A/B comparison. 🙂 Klipsch doesn't provide detailed specs for the Cinema soundbars so it's impossible to know just what they do. The various modes that you can select alter the soundscape in propriety ways and we don't even know if that processing is done in the digital or analog domain so it's even possible that the soundbar's analog input is converted to the digital domain to enable audio processing. Have you confirmed that #1 actually provides variable audio output?

Until I saw your OP I had never heard of the BluOS Node. I just checked the specs and see that it supports these audio outputs: Analog Stereo RCA (Fixed or Variable) Coaxial RCA TOSLINK digital optical USB Audio 2.0 #3 should provide the highest quality audio and your soundbar has a digital input so I don't understand what you mean when you say: #1 says (Fixed or Variable). I haven't read the manual but that suggests there may be a setting to enable variable audio output levels. Are you sure it is configured correctly?

When using the analog input, the volume heard from the soundbar depends on the volume setting of the connected device. Increase the volume output level on the BluOS Node and it should resolve your volume issue. The analog input can only process 2-channel audio. If your soundbar is using DIRECT mode you probably won't get any rear channel sound.

That can happen if it is too far from the soundbar. Rear speakers can be too far from the soundbar to get the firmware update but still be okay for sound. The workaround is to move it closer (5 to 10 feet from the soundbar) for the firmware update then put it back to it's listening location. You can try to move it closer overnight when the firmware updates are automatically installed and see if it updates automatically. If it doesn't you can do the manual firmware install.

@Luca Pescatori Welcome to the Klipsch community forums. You can return your soundbar to the retailer from whom you purchased it for a replacement or a refund. If your soundbar is defective open a support case with Klipsch product support and request a warranty replacement. First, though, you should do some basic troubleshooting to isolate the problem. Does this happen only when you you use the analog input or is it the same for all/other input sources? This sounds like a separate issue... Have you read the Cinema 1200 Knowledge Base articles? They may provide some help.

If you own a Cinema soundbar and it is still within the warranty period it is "supported". If your soundbar has a defect and it is still within the warranty period Klipsch will provide a "warranty replacement". They do not repair customer's soundbars. If they provide a warranty replacement you have to return your defective one. Klipsch doesn't guarantee that your warranty replacement will be new; it may be a refurbished unit. I owned a BAR 48, Cinema 600, and a Cinema 800. Over the life of these products Klipsch provided firmware updates to address specific issues and provide new features so it was quite possible that your soundbar was beyond its warranty period but you were able to install new firmware. You may notice a revision (rev) number on a some soundbars. That indicates a change to the manufacturing process. Perhaps there were reliability issues with certain components and Klipsch addressed those issues. Those are the only changes I'm aware of that Klipsch makes to existing soundbars. When Klipsch decides to do a major upgrade to products like the BAR series and Cinema series soundbar they do it by introducing a new product. Prior to introducing a new product it is a common practice for manufacturers to discontinue an existing product and sometimes significantly reduce the price to clear out existing inventory. I have not seen any official notice from Klipsch stating that Cinema soundbar models are being discontinued but I do see a number of indications that lead me to believe that is indeed the case. There are only a few Cinema models still on the Klipsch website available for purchase. Some retailers have told customers that (some of) the Cinema series soundbars are being discontinued. The price of the Cinema soundbars has been reduced significantly. I have not heard of any announcements from Klipsch about new soundbars to replace the Cinema series.