Do I have the bitter honor of having the first dead Cinema 800? It begins...

[KevinB]

Other Cinema 800 issues encountered after a failed firmware update!

 

I didn't have a lot of time to explore the sound bar features before encountering this failed automatic firmware update issue.

 

This was my initial setup on my Samsung Q70R TV.

• TV HDMI-4 ARC - Cinema 800 Sound Bar
• TV HDMI-3 - Apple TV 4K
• TV HDMI-2 - Cable TV Box

The TV recognized:

• I had a Home Theater connected.
• It supported Dolby Digital
• It supported Dolby Digital Plus
• It supported Dolby Atmos

When I Selected Dolby Digital, it automatically switched to Dolby Atmos. It sounded great. I could disable the Dolby Atmos if I wanted to.

 

After the failed firmware upgrade, the surround sound seemed to be different. I decided to change my configuration.

 

This is my current setup on my Samsung Q70R TV.

• TV HDMI-4 ARC - Cinema 800 Sound Bar

This is the setup on the Cinema 800 Sound Bar

• HDMI-1 - Apple TV 4K (with a Dolby Atmos stream)
• HDMI-2 - Cable TV Box (with a Dolby Digital stream)

The sound from the Apple TV 4K and the Cable TV Box is great, especially Apple TV movies with Dolby Atmos sound. I assume the sound bar gets its sound directly from the connected devices and doesn't rely on the HDMI ARC connection. With this configuration, however, the audio and video is not synchronized. It is barely noticeable on the HDMI 2 connection but quite noticeable on the HDMI 1 connection. 

 

The TV has streaming apps installed including Netflix which supports Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Atmos. Prior to the failed firmware upgrade I could enjoy the surround sound from Netflix movies with Dolby Digital or Dolby Atmos sound. Now, When I check the sound output settings on the TV, there are several issues:

• When I check the sound output it shows Home Theater. If I select TV Speakers, it immediately jumps back to Home Theater. I can no longer play sound from the TV speakers when the sound bar is connected.
• When I go to my Advanced Audio Settings, I see the output format is PCM. Dolby Atmos compatibility is selected which means the TV recognizes the sound bar supports Dolby Atmos. I suspect the lack of Surround Sound might be due to the output format being PCM.
• Edited 2022-01-29:
  I have the option of selecting an output format of PCM, Dolby Digital, and Dolby Digital Plus which implies all are supported by the connected device. If I select anything other than PCM I lose all sound output from the sound bar. Going back to PCM and enabling/disabling Dolby Atmos compatibility also makes no difference. The only way to restore sound to the sound bar is to remove power from it and reconnect after a few seconds. After successfully installing the 4.9 firmware update this is no longer the case and I can select any of the formats.

I have reported this to Klipsch Product Support but they have yet to respond.

 

The Cinema 1200 can exhibit similar behaviour after a failed automatic firmware update.

 

The other day I visited the retailer where I purchased my original soundbar. I was discussing with the owner the issues I was having with my Cinema 800. He had just received his Cinema 1200 a few days earlier and had completed the initial setup. He told me the soundbar had completed the automatic update and he hadn't notice any issues. 

 

He began to demo the unit for me. It sounded great but there was very little sound from the rear speakers. The soundbar was connected to a brand new Samsung TV via HDMI-ARC but he was using the YouTube app which doesn't support Dolby Digital. I convinced him to setup Netflix and use a Dolby Atmos movie to really exploit the Cinema 1200's capabilities. He did that but I noticed no difference in the soundscape. When we checked the TV's sound settings it showed PCM with no options for Dolby Digital or Dolby Digital Plus. I had this eerie feeling of déjà vu. When I checked the soundbar it showed DSP 4.4, not DSP 4.9. 

 

A brand new Cinema 1200 is showing the same symptoms and behaviour as my Cinema 800. That should be proof enough that this issue is far more widespread than Klipsch Product support has been willing to admit. How they will respond remains to be seen.

 

[KevinB]

On 11/19/2021 at 10:25 AM, KevinB said:

Perhaps if we share additional details about our attempted firmware upgrades we can find something in common with all the failed attempts?

 

I have successfully updated my firmware. The reason it wouldn't install previously is that I followed the instructions provided by Klipsch Product Support. 😒

 

Here is what I did:

When attempting the firmware update (part 1), wait 30 minutes after the update begins before powering off the soundbar and completing the remaining steps.

When attempting the firmware update (part 2), wait 90 minutes after the update begins before powering off the soundbar and completing the remaining steps.

 

The excessive wait times certainly aren't necessary in every case but if you can't get the update installed try these times. Klipsch has said to make sure the update has completed before powering off the soundbar but there is absolutely no indication given when the update has completed. The actual time it takes to install may depend on the specific USB device used.

[KevinB]

On 1/14/2022 at 1:27 PM, KevinB said:

I have successfully updated my firmware.

 

There is even a faster, easier, and more reliable way to install a firmware update. I describe how to do it here, in a Cinema 1200 thread.

 

There is just one catch: you have to get the 4.9 firmware update installed first, at least the first part.

[KevinB]

As of today, there is a new firmware for the Cinema 800 & Cinema 1200 soundbars.

See my post in this Cinema 1200 thread.

[wxman2003]

After 4 months, all I have is issues. Drop outs, muting itself. Not being able to connect to my phone app. It truly is the biggest waste of money I have ever spent. It literally is junk.

[KevinB]

On 2/10/2022 at 12:30 PM, KevinB said:

As of today, there is a new firmware for the Cinema 800 & Cinema 1200 soundbars.

See my post in this Cinema 1200 thread.

 

If you are updating your Cinema 800 firmware, BEWARE: The WIFI firmware link downloads the WIFI firmware for the Cinema 1200.

 

The Cinema 800 - Firmware Update document shows this for the WIFI firmware update:

The link you see is the correct link. If you click on that link the firmware downloads but you don't really see what's happening. If you just follow the instructions and rename the file to image.swu you may never notice the wrong firmware was downloaded.

 

I copied that link and pasted it into my browser and this is what I see:

https://pubklipschfirmwarefiles.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/Cinema-1200-Soundbar/ProductSupport-WIFI+151+-+Cinema+1200+-+2022-02-09.swu

 

That is the same link found in the Cinema 1200 - Firmware Update document. That firmware definitely will not install on the Cinema 800 and you will see no indication other than your WIFI firmware version will not be changed to "151". I know, because I spent a couple of days trying to get it installed! To get the correct firmware, use the URL in the document and not the embedded link.

 

@Klipsch: How can you be so careless??? 

 

Yesterday I notified Klipsch by email. As I am about to post this, I wanted to verify the link once again and I see the link has already been silently corrected less than 24 hours after I sent my email. The document makes no mention that the link was wrong or that it has been corrected. 

 

I decided to post this anyway in case anyone downloaded the wrong firmware in the past 10 days. If you did, just download it again and you should now get the correct one.

[KevinB]

On 2/17/2022 at 11:27 PM, wxman2003 said:

After 4 months, all I have is issues. Drop outs, muting itself. Not being able to connect to my phone app. It truly is the biggest waste of money I have ever spent. It literally is junk.

We have all experienced these same issues.

 

The latest firmware update (WIFI 151) addresses a number of these issues. My Bluetooth and WIFI connections are much better but some owners have still complained about dropouts and muting.