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The BAR 48 has lots of issues that the latest firmware does not address. We all have BAR 48 issues and are waiting for fixes. You are not alone.

@Leopardlady See this thread for additional information: BAR 48 Surround Button Others have reported a burst of static which I have also experienced. It is unclear from the limited information provided about the V30 firmware update whether it completely addresses this issue. Many of us have experienced this issue. It was supposed to have been addressed by the previous firmware update. If I remove power from the subwoofer for about a minute then reapply power the issue resolves itself. If this doesn't work for you, I would then follow the procedure in the manual to pair the subwoofer with the soundbar. I have provided additional information in this thread: Bar 48 Bluetooth Issue....maybe....

@tom974 I'm glad this worked for you. After I installed the update I noticed little difference in the volume from my Surround 3 speakers. Even though we all have a BAR 48, I suspect we may have different hardware revisions. The serial number is only way to know for sure but Klipsch hasn't made that information public.

I bought a Klipsch Bar 48 with surround pack 3 weeks ago in Sydney from harvey Norman. At first the surround speakers volume would not increase. I have downloaded the latest firmware update V30 which helped somewhat but occasionally the surround speakers will have a burst of much louder sound than what they generate at full volume. I now notice that my subwoofer seems to have no power. I've tried it in several different power points but no light at all. Have tried unplugging soundbar and subwoofer power to restart but still no life in the subwoofer. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

So I'm watching TV suddenly my bar powers off on its own, tried to power it up from the remote that was unsuccessful, tried from the console on the bar unsuccessfully, unplugged it from the main and plugged it in another outlet and still won't power up, any ideas?

@MikeF I'm a customer like you. When we encounter issues we can't get resolved we turn to public forums for answers when we probably should have checked the forums before making our purchase. 😉 My personal recommendation is to return your soundbar for a refund or for different brand, if your retailer will do that for you. It's really up to the retailer. I have not done this because I purchased my BAR 48 last November and my retailer is under no obligation to accept the return. In my opinion, Klipsch should not be suggesting we do this as it's not the retailer's responsibility to resolve issues with Klipsch products. Have a look at this thread for other reasons why I suggest looking at a different brand. Audio is coming but voice is not coming with new soundbar You might be surprised at the number of BAR 48 issues that customers have encountered as is evident from these forum posts. If you are unable to return your BAR 48, I have some additional recommendations in this thread: BAR 48 Surround volume at max but can barely hear them Please update this thread and let everyone know how you plan to proceed.

@glens I'm a new Klipsch customer and new to this forum (~5 months). I'm well aware of Klipsch's reputation for producing quality products and that, in part, influenced my decision to purchase the BAR 48. During the past five months I have encountered almost a dozen issues with this product that I have documented and reported to Klipsch technical support and all of which have been referred to engineering. All of these issues, I might add, are with the firmware or other active components. As I browse through posts from owners of other Klipsch soundbars I find similar issues. You say, "they'd be better off sticking with passive loudspeakers only." Perhaps, but market conditions change and vendors need to explore new market segments to stay competitive. I do believe there is a large demand for soundbars and I'm glad to see that Klipsch has stepped up to the challenge. Having said that, their current line of active products is plagued with issues that basically make them unusable in certain situations for which they were designed and marketed. Whether or not the active components in these products were developed by Klipsch or sourced from third parties is irrelevant. These products are marketed under the Klipsch brand and are having a negative impact on the Klipsch brand reputation. One way or another, it is Klipsch's responsibility to resolve these issues. It's unfortunate but but it does happen, to all vendors, that new products sometimes experience unforeseen issues. What is important is how they deal with them and in my opinion Klipsch is not handling this well at all. Technical support will only say that these issues have been reported to engineering and that they will provide updates when they hear back from engineering. Of course, engineering has not yet reported back (or so I'm told) and despite my many requests, tech support has made no effort intercede on my behalf. In effect, it appears their primary function is to ensure customers remain ignorant about the number of issues reported and the steps (that may or may not) being taken to get them resolved. Customers are told to return their products to the retailer from whom they purchased it and ask for a replacement. As discussed in these forums, the replacements may have more issues that the product being returned. This suggests strongly that there are internal quality assurance issues that need to be addressed. Furthermore, Klipsch is aware that many of the reported issues are related to firmware defects which will also be present in any replacement product. Tech support will not even confirm that the issues I've reported can be reproduced. All they will say is that there has already been one firmware update released and that will not be the last. I have pointed out to them that I am about half way through my warranty. I have asked about what happens if these issues are not yet resolved when my warranty expires. I have not yet reserved a response. Obviously, there is a lot of concern about how these issues are being handled. What I find most disturbing is the apparent lack of interest in getting these issues resolved. Yes, the products affected by these issues are entry level products and may not generate the same revenues as some of the more traditional products but, on the other hand, a huge number of customers are affected. Take a look at the number of views generated by a couple of threads in only a few months (these numbers keep increasing daily). Bar 48 Subwoofer disconnect 126,505 views BAR 48 Surround volume at max but can barely hear them 44,730 views In conclusion, I agree that products containing active components do appear to experience more issues than more traditional products but the real issue here just how Klipsch is dealing with this!

For those reading this thread I thought I'd provide another update... I get an email about once a week to remind me they are still working on the issues I reported. Other than that and the fact that my issues have been forwarded to their technical team, I have had no feedback at all. I haven't even been told that the issues I have reported have been confirmed or if they can be reproduced. I'm very disappointed! In the beginning I was getting an email from Tech Support about once a week, mostly just to acknowledge the latest issue I reported, but absolutely no report on progress at all. On February 26 they reported, "We are working on the issues that you have presented to us." On March 23 they reported, "Our engineering team is still working to resolve the issues you are experiencing." On April 21 I requested another update but received no response. I'll acknowledge that the restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic are impacting everyone and are likely contributing to the delay but it is inexcusable that they refuse to discuss any aspect of the issues that have been reported. I purchased my BAR 48 in November 2019. I am now about half way through the warranty. I have asked, "What happens when my warranty expires and these issues still haven't been addressed?" Still I have received no response!

@Badhan I just discovered this post... My BAR 48 is connected to my Samsung TV via the HDMI-ARC connection. I have experienced the same issue. I will also lose audio completely if I skip forward or backward multiple times while watching a program. I have opened a support request with Klipsch tech support but have yet to hear back from them. I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone.

@Bigdrago I can find no additional information on the new (revised) BAR 48 other that what was available at CES. See this Klipsch press release: KLIPSCH INTRODUCES NEW FEATURE-RICH SOUND BAR LINEUP CES 2020 Here's a clip of Michael Buratto, Sr. Product Manager - Connected Audio, at CES describing the new BAR 48. CES 2020 - Klipsch BAR 48 with Dolby Atmos @wuzzzer Were you, by chance, looking at the spec sheet for the current BAR 48? That is indeed the case for the current model.

@aston_martin260 I'm not sure what you mean. The lights show the volume level for the soundbar, subwoofer, and Surround 3 speakers (if you have them). When the bottom light is red, it means the audio source is from the digital input. Have you checked the manual? BAR 48 Sound Bar + Wireless Subwoofer Manual

@v.mizandari@gmail.com I would think very carefully before proceeding. Scroll through the posts in this Home Theater forum for BAR 48 threads to see the many issues others have encountered. If you do not purchase your BAR 48 from an authorized Klipsch reseller you may not be able to get any support for it and, believe me, this product requires lots of support!

@JayPea @Hooped.ca @justinm@sgm-inc.com I would like to assure you that you are not alone. I too am experiencing the same issue and I have a Samsung Q70R TV. I have reported this issue to Klipsch tech support along with a half dozen other issues. If you have not done so already, search the forums for "BAR 48" or scroll through the posts in this Home Theater forum for BAR 48 threads. You will discover there are many other issues along with suggestions how to best deal with them.

Being the OP, and having posted about my experience with my beloved Klipsch brand Nov 2019 to Jan 2020, I do not say this lightly. I fully enjoy my traditional set of 7.2 Klipsch speakers. I expected the Bar 48 with Surround 3 rear speakers to be of equal quality and enjoyment. I went through 3 Bar 48s and 3 sets of surround 3 speakers before I realized Bar 48, Surround Sound and quality do not exist in this product line despite the claims. Klipsch tech support finally admitted and confirmed this, after I told them I'd returned the product. The surround speaker volume never improved beyond a mere whisper, home theater quality of surround sound never occurred. To add insult to injury, Bluetooth failed to connect on the last 2 Bar 48s. I worked with this community. I worked with Klipsch tech support. No resolution. I returned them for a full refund and walked away. I'm now a very satisfied customer of JBL 5.1 soundbar with wireless surround speakers which I purchased from Amazon for about five hundred. If you're losing sleep over the Bar 48 product line, run, don't walk. Shop elsewhere.

so I tried to update the Bar 48 I think it's half way there cause now when I plug it up I only get these lights now so what am I doing wrong? UPDATE - so when I downloaded the first firmware it's different then I went back & checked it again now it's a different firmware so I'm about to try this & see what happens

I'm having similar problems. Adjusting inputs on the remote doesn't result in TV sound working though. The only function that works is the bluetooth from my phone, which is not nearly as loud as it should be... I have to crank my phone and soundbar volume unreasonably high. Are the lights on the front and top of your soundbar yellow? I have a Vizio TV and have connected the Bar 48 via HDMI-ARC. Initially, after turning the TV off then back on, the sound does not work and the power to the soundbar doesn't cycle like it used to. All TV settings are correct, so I initially unplugged and replugged in the soundbar. That worked a few times. Now, my TV won't recognize the soundbar at all via CEC. Think it could be a Vizio update that got pushed to the TV? This is crazy...

I just recently got the Bar 48. I have the HDMI (Arc) from my TV going into the soundbar. Numerous times the audio would just go out, and I'd have to fiddle around with the inputs on the remote to get the sound back. I'm not sure why this is happening. When I switched to the optical cable, everything seems fine, but then I lose the benefits of the HDMI Arc. Has anyone encountered this issue?

@Srhigson Please see my response here: Bar 48 fail to power on after firmware update

I bought a bar 48 from a reseller, and had the subwoofer connectivity issue right off the bat. I tried a firmware update and it must have failed because I can no longer even power on the sound bar. It's got serial number 106655719240313, so by the sounds of it is one of the early production bars. Any idea how to "unbrick" the soundbar?

@Kailey If your soundbar died because of a failed firmware update it usually can be fixed by trying the update again: https://www.klipsch.ca/firmware These are the instructions for the BAR 48. If you still can't install the firmware, your device may be defective. Either return it or open a Support Request with Klipsch tech support.

@Filippo I haven't used the BAR 40 soundbar but I do have a BAR 48. Do you have another device that you can connect to your TV via the optical cable? Does it also experience the same behavior observed with your BAR 40? If so, the cable or the TV itself is likely at fault. If not, it is likely the soundbar. You could try a different cable just to eliminate it as the the cause. Also, you should check to see if your BAR 40 has a firmware update available: Bar 40 Firmware Update If you still cannot resolve the issue, I would return the unit and try a different one.

Can I still do the firmware update for the bar 48 if I have already paired the surround 3 speakers? I didn’t know anything about the firmware update.

@cjhaines1972 Read through this thread to get a sense of what you are facing: BAR 48 Surround volume at max but can barely hear them

@Buke If you plan to keep your BAR 48: REGISTER YOUR KLIPSCH PRODUCT Update your BAR 48 firmware. Open a Klipsch PRODUCT SUPPORT request and report your issues. The firmware update does address a number of issues found in the original firmware and does improve the volume of the Surround 3 speakers. So far, no other fixes have been forthcoming but the more customers who report issues the higher priority those issues will have relative to other issues. Should you want a warranty replacement at some point, you will have to open a support request anyway. Hopefully all the reported issues can be resolved with new firmware but if that is not the case we may require a warranty replacement once new devices are in production. In the mean time, your best bet is to return your device to the retailer from whom you purchased it. Some customers have also reported hardware defects. Sometimes replacements have resolved some hardware issues; other times replacements have had different defects. In any case, there are still the firmware issues that need to be resolved. I hate to say it but, at this point, your best option might be to consider a different brand! 😞

I’m part of the ‘me too’ movement....minimal volume out of the surround 3 speakers with my bar 48; all brand new. WTF? i want a fix or replacement