Review of Klipsch's BAR 48

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A brand new sound bar and wireless subwoofer combo, the Klipsch BAR 48, is a 3.1 sound bar system that has been handcrafted for enhanced vocal clarity and improved surround sound capability. The BAR 48 provides the detailed and dynamic sound you’ve come to expect from Klipsch, and a powerful, dedicated center channel means you won’t miss a word of the action.

Loaded with all the important features (HDMI-ARC, Bluetooth, analog and digital audio inputs), BAR 48 is a plug and play solution to massively upgrade your TV’s audio performance. Dialog, surround, and night modes make it easy to get audio customized to your needs. Dolby Audio and DTS decoding enable powerful cinema experiences. Plus, with DTS Virtual:X readiness, a future update will enable you to add height to your surround experience via a USB firmware update. Add on the Klipsch Surround 3 wireless speakers, and you've got a killer 5.1 Klipsch Home Theater system.

If you want high-performance audio for your TV that doesn’t hog floor space, the BAR 48 delivers in a big way.

Also check out our best soundbars award list. 

Video Transcript

"Hi, everyone. This is Adam with World Wide Stereo. Today I'm going to talk to you about the brand new sound bar from Klipsch, the BAR 48. So this is the Klipsch BAR 48 Sound Bar. It is 48 inches wide, and it's a 3.1 system, so you have a left, center, and a right, and it will come with an 8-inch powered wireless subwoofer. Now, normally with sound bars, the wireless subwoofer is Bluetooth connection from here to here, which kind of limits your range.

But in here, they put a 2.4 gigahertz antenna, so now you'll have a lot more flexibility of where you can actually put this subwoofer. Most sound bars, too, are also made of plastic. What makes this one special, this is actually made of wood. And the first time that I heard it, I could actually really hear the warmness that it brought. It wasn't tinny, or thin sounding, or anything like that. It actually was rich and had some really good tone to it.

There's a little bit of customization with this sound bar, as the side panels will come stock with black. But also included in the box, you will get a wood-toned side panel as well. You can actually add wireless rears to this system as well. For an additional $249, you can get wireless rears, and now you'll have a full 5.1 system. Behind that side panel that I talked about, there's going to be a little USB dongle that will help transmit the signal from the front of the room to the back of the room, to make that connection.

Your connectivity one is going to be HDMI. You have optical. You also have a 3.5-millimeter audio jack, and Bluetooth, so you'll be able to Bluetooth from your phone, or your tablet, or your laptop, right to this device and get great audio performance from it as well. To control this, it does come with a full backlit remote control. But if you do use the HDMI(R) connection, you'll be able to actually utilize the TV's remote control, or your cable box remote control to control the volume.

The Klipsch Bar 48 has Dolby audio decoding and DTS decoding, and you have some sound modes. You have surround mode, there's obviously a stereo mode. But then you have a dialogue enhancement mode, and a night mode. The dialogue enhancement-mode will kind of beef up the sound of that center channel, so it will help you hear the dialogue of that movie, or TV show, or whatever you're watching. The night mode will help so when you're watching that movie, you know when things get really, really loud?

It'll stop it from being so loud, so it will remain at one more volume, to not disturb the people that are sleeping. My first experience with this, as I mentioned, I noticed how warm it was, because it's made out of wood now, not plastic, so much warmer than the previous models I've heard before. And it did a really good job with movies in that dialogue mode, like I talked about, to help the sound kind of come through, and that dialogue of the movie come through.

We did add those wireless rears, which are an additional $249. And I've got to say, for a total $750 in this package, it's well worth it. What a great product. It sounded awesome. A lot of fun. This is the Klipsch Bar 48. Currently, it's selling for $499, and it will be available online at worldwidestereo.com.

Or, if you happen to be in the area, you can stop by our Ardmore or Montgomeryville, Pennsylvania showrooms. We have a 60-day return policy, free shipping, and we're authorized dealers for everything that we sell here. If you have any questions, you can please leave those in the comment section below, or call or email us at any time. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel so you can keep up to date with future product videos. This is Adam with World Wide Stereo, reminding you to listen to music every day. So long."