Klipsch Cinema 400 Soundbar review with Subwoofer

Klipsch Cinema 400 Soundbar offers a lot for the money with an enveloping sound field. This Soundbar Best Sound Quality, excellent build quality and a powerful subwoofer.

Klipsch Cinema 400 Soundbar has made excellent speakers for decades. But has never been able to fully translate its skill to soundbars. While last year’s soundbar 4x models were a huge step up from previous designs. They remained hamstrung by tiny subwoofers.

The new Klipsch Cinema 400 Soundbar keeps the last series’ main speaker combined with a new subwoofer that is, quite frankly, humongous. The result is one of the best TV speakers in this price range ever heard.

Despite having very good bass, the Klipsch Cinema 400 Soundbar does not sound leaden or muffled. Its pair of horn-loaded tweeters create a bigger, extra open sound than the JBL soundbar 2.1 Deep Bass in the same price sweep.

Klipsch Cinema 400 Soundbar Review All Features

The Klipsch Cinema 400 Soundbar offers solid connectivity too, although its single HDMI port and lack of Wi-Fi streaming are limitations compared to some other soundbars. If you don’t need those features.

However, the great sound and bombproof build of the Klipsch Cinema 400 Soundbar should ensure its place on your shortlist.

Body and Design

Klipsch Cinema 400 Soundbar made its name with horn-loaded speakers—technically, a driver amplified by a widening diaphragm — and the technology is used in both public address systems and megaphones.

This body and design aesthetic takes pride of place on the Klipsch Cinema 400 Soundbar. On either side of the soundbar is a metal-colored Tractrix horn. These distinctive horns flank a pair of 3″ oval. Fiber-composite cone subwoofers hidden after attractive, black tweed grill.

Unlike most soundbars the Klipsch Cinema 400 Soundbar is constructed of wood (MDF), and feels really sturdy. The Klipsch Cinema 400 Soundbar is relatively wide at 40-inches across and quite tall at 2.8 inches high. I had to raise my remote hand above the sound bar to get the TV to order.

By contrast the shorter JBL 2.1 sound bar deep bass had no problems let commands pass to the television. Whether the Klipsch Cinema 400 Soundbar’s height is an issue for you depends on your TV and installation, so it’s something to keep in mind.

The wireless subwoofer is also built from wood and measures 11.85 inches wide by 16.12 inches high and 16.11″ deep. It dwarfs the JBL sound bar 2.1 Deep Bass’ and is one of the largest I’ve seen on any soundbar, period.

If you crave even extra/deeper bass. So the sound bar does feature a subwoofer out to connect a wired sub, which could be used with or without this one.

The Klipsch Cinema 400 Soundbar’s connections add HDMI-ARC, Bluetooth, and 3.5mm analog and optical digital input. These should be fine for nearly all users but I’d love to see a second standard HDMI input as well.

HDMI ARC, which feeds a signal from your TV to your outboard gear. Can be a small finicky depending on your kit. Connecting your set-top box directly to the sound bar via a second HDMI port is always a great option, and one available on competitors like the JBL sound bar 2.1 Deep Bass and Polk audio Command Bar.

The Klipsch Cinema 400 Soundbar offers a Dolby Digital decoder. Lack of the second major surround format isn’t a big deal because DTS shows and streams are relatively rare.

The Klipsch Cinema 400 Soundbar also offers a number of sound modes which. Surround enhancement and “night” processing. The remote is a friendly small pointer with control over the sound modes, EQ and input.

Audio Performance

If I had to characterize Klipsch’s word, it would be “detailed and bold,” and it’s no wonder the brand has been embraced by the rock establishment: both fans of the genre and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame itself. The Klipsch Cinema 400 upholds this tradition but doesn’t stray into upper-midrange unpleasantness like some other “bright” speakers.

I compared the Klipsch to the similarly priced JBL Bar 2.1 Deep Bass, and found that the Klipsch sounded airier without going too far while the JBL sounded a little more boxy. This is something I commented on in my Deep Bass review — when it comes to music specifically, the JBL lags behind the others in terms of clarity and slam.

I started my experiment with the lobby scene in The Matrix — where our heroes Neo and Trinity trip the bad guys’ metal detectors carrying truckloads of weapons, and an over-the-top firefight ensues.

The Clips subwoofer was able to go impressively deep, but it didn’t quite match the main bar as well as the JBL combo. The bass line of this scene never came across in the clips as it should have.

Avatar was next, and the jungles of Pandora came alive and vibrant when heard through the clips. I had an enjoyable romp with Jack’s cat-like avatar as he escaped the Theater’s Glass ending by plunging into a waterfall.

JBL Bar, on the other hand, found the scene a bit small. Some details were not conveyed: the vocals are muted and the clicks of the machine guns are less natural.

However, the Bar 2.1 was capable of some pretty tight bass impact and offered a better slam as the Thanatos crashed against the tree trying to get to the jack.

Two former members of Fugazi on Koriki and Clean Kill’s chiming guitars and guttural vocal lines evoke memories of the DC quartet’s Red Medicine records.

The Clips pulled away from the JBL here, with better separation of instruments and a greater sense of dynamics when I heard the interplay between drums and guitars. I could feel Joe Lally’s bass line with my feet.

Clips wasn’t about power, though. It was able to pick up the jittery guitar of Dolly Parton’s classic Jolene, and the snap of the instrument seemed to come out of a much wider space than the physical speakers.

Her voice sounded expressive and haunting in the best way. JBL was a disappointment after that and, while the lyrics were still intelligible, his voice didn’t grow as much.

Advantages

Pros 

• Great for both movies and music
• Good build and design quality
• excellent looks

Cons

• It is taller than other soundbars
• Will be Only one HDMI input
• Won’t be Wi-Fi streaming