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BAR 48 Surround volume at max but can barely hear them


DaleG

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Ok, now that makes sense. Maybe there's not a setting for all channel stereo, I don't know as I don't own this product. That would be a legitimate complaint if you were expecting the bar to function this way, but there is no setting offered to make it operate this way. Sorry if I came off as rude, that was not my intention. 

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Thank you, CA Andy. I hope you enjoy your LG soundbar! :) I've been reviewing a number of alternative brands and soundbars this passed month. I just ordered the JBL Bar 5.1 soundbar from Amazon and should receive it in a day or two. I recently setup the JBL Bar 2.1 soundbar for a friend, has very good sound quality, worked right out of the box, using HDMI-ARC with the TVs remote volume control and Bluetooth paired seamlessy to my smartphone.
 

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As for Klipsch failure in both quality control (Bluetooth pairing failure on the last 2 of 3 units, and 1 of 3 pairs of Surround 3 speakers produced static) and lack of features (lacking immersive stereo) and unfamiliar tech support staff, Klipsch marketing, engineering, manufacturing and customer support managers should make a serious review of this product line. I've had three BAR 48 units and three sets of Surround 3 speakers in the last 6 weeks because of these issues. The last two BAR 48s won't pair with Bluetooth and I now realize Klipsch does not include stereo immersion with the Surround 3 speakers. I've given up on the Klipsch BAR 48 5.1 and will be returning them for refund.

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1 hour ago, KevinB said:

@CanadianAndy

 

My comment was not meant to be sarcastic. My sentiment is genuine.

 

The Klipsch  BAR 48 definitely has its issues but I’m not prepared to say that it’s a failure. That will depend to what extent Klipsch is prepared to get these issues resolved.

 

 

My appologies if I read your comments and took them a different way.   I received another email from Gentech today as I've let them know about all the problems and told them about all our comments on this forum how there are these issues....he said to me ' try doing to firmware update' .   Well that is ridiculous since I told him I did all updates when I first set up the Bar 48.  I don't even think they were reading my complaints....As DaleG said, Klipsch's employees and alternate warranty agencies have NO idea what is happening to these units.  I hope a company with a reputation as high as one that Klipsch has, will solve these issues so they can be trusted again in the soundbar department.   Wish I had a stand alone  home so I could buy their floor standing speakers and their component speakers......those ones kick ***!

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On 1/13/2020 at 4:17 PM, KevinB said:

I expect to hear more during the week...

I received another email on 2020-01-17 14:57:

No real answers yet but I do appreciate the updates. These are the key points from this email.

  • We are still working our way from the Christmas craze.
  • We are not done working on the firmware for the Bar 48 so more adjustments are coming,
  • I hope to provide you with more specific details as soon as I hear back from my team.  

 

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Update Monday 20 January 2020. I received the JBL Bar 5.1 soundbar and subwoofer yesterday. It works right out-of-the-box just like I expected a 5.1 sound system to work and sound in full-time, room-filling 5.1 sound from all sources, both stereo and 5.1 source. Let me repeat that: 5.1 surround sound full-time from all sources, whether stereo music sources or 5.1 video sources. Full-time 5.1 surround sound, loud enough to be heard ALL the time during two 2+ hour movies (Star Wars, The Last Jedi and The Force Awakens). The Klipsch Bar 48 5.1, in comparison, played surround sound barely loud enough for only a few seconds at a time and only during a few loud scenes during the same two 2+ hour movies. Also, Bluetooth paired with no problems to my computer and smartphone (Klipsch Bluetooth failed to connect on 2 of 3 units I tried). After trying three BAR 48s with 5.1 in the last six weeks, the result is obvious to me now: Klipsch fails to deliver 5.1 surround sound on the BAR 5.1, nor do they acknowledge the problems (including Bluetooth failure to pair), nor do they promise a date when it will fully work as well as the competition does right out-of-the-box. Competition 1, Klipsch 0. Game over for me. I'm happy with the JBL Bar 5.1 and will be returning the Klipsch BAR 48 5.1 today.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 1/19/2020 at 5:18 PM, KevinB said:

I received another email on 2020-01-17 14:57:

No real answers yet but I do appreciate the updates.

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.

Quote

Due to heavier than usual traffic, we are a little slower in our responses, but we have not forgotten about you! We will respond as soon as we can, and apologize for any inconvenience.

 

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!

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  • 2 months later...
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4 minutes ago, Buke said:

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

Hello,

 

Please be sure to contact our Customer Support: https://support.klipsch.com

 

They'd be happy to assist you, and also that helps us track issues with products as they arise, so we make them better!

 

Thanks.

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11 minutes ago, Buke said:

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

@Buke

 

If you plan to keep your BAR 48:

  1. REGISTER YOUR KLIPSCH PRODUCT
  2. Update your BAR 48 firmware.
  3. 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! 😞

 

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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.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 2/3/2020 at 9:42 AM, KevinB said:
On 1/19/2020 at 5:18 PM, KevinB said:

I received another email on 2020-01-17 14:57:

No real answers yet but I do appreciate the updates.

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.

Quote

Due to heavier than usual traffic, we are a little slower in our responses, but we have not forgotten about you! We will respond as soon as we can, and apologize for any inconvenience.

 

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! 

 
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 I just received an email from Klipsch Tech support:

Quote
A new firmware update has been released for the Bar 48. Please go to www.klipsch.com/firmware and choose Bar 48 in the dropdown menu. Then enter in the serial number for your system and download the firmware update for your system. This update has resolved the low surround volume issue for customers.

Please let us know if this helps.

 

According to the firmware notes:

Quote

Version: v30 (S/N: 106655719280001 - 106655799999999)
Released: 05/15/2020
Region: Global

Bar 48 2.4GHz v30 - Change Log:

  • Enhanced volume output from surrounds
  • Removed noise from surrounds in certain use cases.
  • Addressed issue with Bluetooth playback
  • Corrected issue where previous Bluetooth device wouldn't auto connect
  • Misc noise issues on various input switches.

 

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On 5/23/2020 at 3:20 AM, tom974 said:

Update done for me. 1st Time i Can hear my surround. 😁🙏

Thanks for this update. 

Tom from France 🖐️

@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.

 

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  • 4 weeks later...
21 hours ago, Chris H said:

Did this ever get fixed? I''ve just been too busy to deal with this garbage but have always had the same problem with sound from rear speakers.

 

Are they just paperweights now? 

If you haven't registered your product and opened a Tech support service request, please do. If they have revised the hardware to resolve any of the reported issues you'll have to do that anyway if you want a warranty exchange.

 

The two firmware updates for the BAR 48 each claim to improve the sound levels from the Surround 3 speakers. I have noticed some improvement when listening to Dolby Digital 5.1 content but the speakers still appear to be dead when listening to mono/stereo content with the ((SUR)) enabled.

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4 minutes ago, KevinB said:

If you haven't registered your product and opened a Tech support service request, please do. If they have revised the hardware to resolve any of the reported issues you'll have to do that anyway if you want a warranty exchange.

 

The two firmware updates for the BAR 48 each claim to improve the sound levels from the Surround 3 speakers. I have noticed some improvement when listening to Dolby Digital 5.1 content but the speakers still appear to be dead when listening to mono/stereo content with the ((SUR)) enabled.

is it a factory defect in the speakers , or is it bad software ---

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4 minutes ago, RandyH 000 said:

is it a factory defect in the speakers , or is it bad software ---

I wish I knew...

 

Klipsch won't even confirm a reported issue let alone discuss possible causes.

 

I suspect it's a firmware issue but after two firmware updates that were supposed to resolve the issue one has to wonder.

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