Dolby Atmos continues to become more widely available as new speaker systems and receivers enter the market with native support. It’s kind of hard to walk into a store and not find a decent selection of Atmos-supported goods. Now, Klipsch has another to add to the list with its Cinema Series Dolby Atmos soundbars.
Klipsch Cinema 1200
It’s really a focus on the company’s new Klipsch Cinema 1200 system. A 54″ soundbar with speakers that reflect off the ceiling to provide you with two sets of height speakers from above, along with your normal 5.1-channel experience. Totaling 5.1.4 channels in all (capable of decoding up to 7.1.4). Your front two height channels come from the soundbar while your rear two height channels come from the two rear channel speakers. You can see this represented in the story’s main image above.
In addition to the rear channel speakers, the system also comes with a 12″ wireless subwoofer. All together giving you a combined 1,200 watts of sound to play with.
It offers 8K passthrough (including HDR and Dolby Vision), eARC, Wi-Fi, support for both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant (as well as Spotify Connect), as well as two additional HDMI inputs for other devices (ie, gaming consoles, Blu-ray player, etc).
Not only does the system look nice (at least from the images), it should sound absolutely amazing for the amount of wattage it is putting out. Good enough for anyone looking for a soundbar solution vs large speakers. The MSRP, however, might not be for all as it does run $1,699 for the system. It can currently be pre-ordered from B&H (Photo/Video/Audio) and will eventually make its way to other retailers shortly.
Klipsch Cinema 800
If the price of the 1200 model is a bit much for you, you can cut it in half with the Cinema 800 model. You do take a loss in the realm of Atmos. Although it decodes up to 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos sound, it is just a 3.1 channel system that supports upgrading to 5.1 by buying into an optional pair of Klipsch Surround 3 wireless speakers ($279/pair). No sound reflecting directly off the ceiling with any top-firing speakers as the 1200 has. However, it does still look like a powerful setup.
The 800 by itself is a 48″ soundbar paired with a 10″ wireless subwoofer. Hence the 3.1-channel specs. It offers the same 8K passthrough, Wi-Fi (Amazon/Google/Spotify), as well as the two additional HDMI inputs. It features an MSRP of $879 for the system (plus the $279 for the rear pair if you want 5.1-channel sound). It can currently be pre-ordered from B&H, Best Buy, or Crutchfield and should make it to other retailers shortly as well.
