Key Points
- Our choice for the Best Overall Alternative to the Klipsch Cinema 1200 is the Samsung HW-Q800C.
- 5.1-channel soundbars are no longer the highest-end audio accessories for a TV, which means you can now get a great-sounding soundbar without paying an extravagant price.
- While modern TVs keep getting better picture quality year after year, the same can not be said for current TV’s built-in speakers, so you will want to add a soundbar to get a detailed and clear sound from even the highest-end TV.
- When shopping for the best soundbar for your TV, consider the following criteria: types of soundbars and subwoofers, the soundbar size compared to your TV mantle or stand, and the soundbar’s specifications.
Soundbars are specifically designed to deliver precise and immersive sound, and many utilize advanced features such as virtual sound and Dolby Atmos to create this more enhanced audio experience.
Whether you’re watching movies, playing video games, or just streaming music, a soundbar is a sure way to add some oomph to your sound setup compared to the lackluster capabilities of built-in TV speakers.
Soundbars are also a great idea if you don’t have enough space for external speakers on your media stand, as soundbars typically feature thin, space-saving profiles designed to sit or mount underneath your TV.
The Klipsch Cinema 1200 makes a great soundbar for watching movies or playing games, but it might be lacking in certain areas. Many buyers complained about the lack of bass, feature set, and value for the money. After reviewing dozens of options, our ranking for the best alternatives to the Klipsch Cinema 1200 is as follows.
History Computer’s Top Picks for the Best Best Alternatives to the Klipsch Cinema 1200
$687.99Buy Now On Amazon- Deep. 5.1.2 Ch. with True Dolby Atmos sound
- Powerful up-firing speakers, acoustic beam, and strong woofers
- Built-in voice assistant, adaptive sound, AirPlay 2
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12/02/2023 11:21 am GMT
$565.00Buy on Amazon- Two custom-engineered upfiring dipole speakers
- Exclusive Bose Voice4Video technology
- Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Apple AirPlay 2, and Spotify Connect
- Bose TrueSpace spatial processing
- Built-in Google and Alexa
- Noise-rejecting microphones
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12/03/2023 06:06 pm GMT
$820.00Buy on Amazon- Features Dolby Atmos
- Enhanced Trueplay tuning technology
- Support for AirPlay 2 as well as many favorite music streaming services
- Blends in beautiful underneath a TV
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12/03/2023 10:51 am GMT
$199.99Buy Now On Amazon- Designed for gaming
- Chroma RGB
- THX Spatial Audio
- Bluetooth 5.2
- Subwoofer
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12/04/2023 12:02 am GMT
#1 Best Overall Alternative to the Klipsch Cinema 1200: Samsung HW-Q800C
- Deep. 5.1.2 Ch. with True Dolby Atmos sound
- Powerful up-firing speakers, acoustic beam, and strong woofers
- Built-in voice assistant, adaptive sound, AirPlay 2
The Samsung HW-Q800C takes our spot on the list for the best overall soundbar. It’s a 5.1.2 channel soundbar that features Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support, delivers a 3D sound experience, and emulates a Dolby movie-theater sound quality.
Across the industry, it’s been praised for its versatile performance, producing intricate sounds from video games that are clear and detailed to bright and accurate music recordings. At the same time, dialog in your favorite shows is accurately reproduced.
The HW-Q800C is often praised for its better bass performance out-of-the-box when compared to the Sonos Arc. Along with support for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, the Samsung HW-Q800C was our favorite alternative to the Klipsch Cinema 1200.
At its price point, the HW-Q800C is a great option for anyone looking for a high-quality soundbar that will sound great across multiple formats while providing a powerful and detailed audio experience.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The Samsung HW-Q800C features Dolby Atmos and a sound ideal for most large living rooms. | It is a bit more expensive than the other soundbars on this list but can often be found on sale online, and it’s still less expensive than the Klipsch Cinema 1200. |
Best for Music: Bose Smart Soundbar 900
- Two custom-engineered upfiring dipole speakers
- Exclusive Bose Voice4Video technology
- Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Apple AirPlay 2, and Spotify Connect
- Bose TrueSpace spatial processing
- Built-in Google and Alexa
- Noise-rejecting microphones
We picked the Bose Smart Soundbar 900 for our category of best movie soundbars. It features both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support. When working together, these audio formats deliver a multi-dimensional sound experience that enhances the audio quality, particularly ambient sounds and dialog in TV shows and movies.
The overall sound profile is balanced and out-of-the-box great for dialog in movies and TV shows. Dialog is extremely clear thanks to the center channel within the Smart Soundbar 900, which allows the speaker to identify and boost the performance of dialog.
It’s not the perfect soundbar, though. Reviewers across the industry have noted the sound in the bass is relatively weak on the Smart Soundbar 900, and there’s a slight degradation of sound quality that was to be expected as the Smart Soundbar 900 is a single-unit soundbar.
Overall though, the Bose Smart Soundbar 900 is a great choice, especially if you are on a budget and want a soundbar that sounds great playing music.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The Bose Smart Soundbar 900 features both ADAPTiQ room calibration software to get the speaker utilized to the dimensions of your living room and a Bose Music app which gives you a virtual mixing board to balance your favorite songs. | We’ve noted some issues with the bass levels when watching movies and TV shows. Sometimes, the bass comes through too much, which can muddy the mid-range, making dialog harder to hear. |
Best for Surround Sound: Sonos Arc
- Features Dolby Atmos
- Enhanced Trueplay tuning technology
- Support for AirPlay 2 as well as many favorite music streaming services
- Blends in beautiful underneath a TV
The Sonos Arc takes our spot on the list for the best soundbar for surround sound. It has some great features for its price point, with an onboard voice assistant, HDMI eARC support, and Dolby Atmos audio playback.
Professionals across the industry have found it to be the best soundbar Sonos offers, with a detailed and versatile note that sounds great across music, movies, and games in equal measure.
©ClassyPictures/Shutterstock.com
It’s not a perfect soundbar, though. There’s no HDMI passthrough on the Sonos Arc, and unfortunately, there’s no DTS:X support. In our experience, though, DTS:X support shouldn’t be a dealbreaker for most users, as it’s an optional tuning experience. But it’s not completely necessary for a good audio experience.
Soundbars that don’t have the DTS:X feature still impress us in their overall sound quality, but it’s something to look out for if you are looking for a true cinephile or audiophile experience.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The Sonos Arc featured an excellent sound quality that was consistent across movies, games, and music, and it’s housed in a sleek, all-in-one design. | The soundbar lacks DTS:X support, which would provide an even more immersive and detailed audio experience. Many soundbars in higher price ranges feature DTS:X support. |
Best for Gamers: Razer Leviathan V2
- Designed for gaming
- Chroma RGB
- THX Spatial Audio
- Bluetooth 5.2
- Subwoofer
We decided to go with the Razer Leviathan V2 as another favorite alternative to the Klipsch Cinema 1200, as the Leviathan caters specifically to gamers as a soundbar. It’s a soundbar with a subwoofer and brings about a more detailed and accurate audio experience than the standard speakers built into your TV.
Notably, the Leviathan V2 is balanced to be able to pick up ambient sounds in games, most notably footsteps. It doesn’t necessarily beat the experience of picking up footsteps on a pair of excellent gaming headphones.
Still, the Leviathan V2 is definitely the way to go if you want an immersive gaming audio experience. One complaint we can’t ignore is that we didn’t particularly enjoy the experience of having to use two desktop applications along with two mobile apps to configure the soundbar and its RGB accent lighting system.
There’s a lot with deep menu trees to both of these apps, and it’s not the most intuitive system, a problem noted with many of Razer’s peripheral applications.
The saving grace of this system is the low price tag, which makes it perfect for gamers on a budget.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The Razer Leviathan offers decent sound quality for the price and sweet RGB lighting to pair with your gaming setup. | The software and installation process is a little complicated on this system, so you would do well to have some extra patience. |
How to Pick the Best Soundbar: Step by Step
When choosing a soundbar, there are four primary considerations for most buyers.
- Number of Channels
- HDMI ARC Connections
- Wireless Audio Support
- Voice Command Support
Let’s review each criterion in more detail.
Number of Channels
If you’re buying a soundbar, you’ll want to know how many channels the speaker has. Soundbars can range from two channels all the way up to 16 channels, and typically, the more channels, the more expensive the soundbar is.
All of the soundbars we’ve picked have at minimum 5.0 channels, as when you have a soundbar with 5.0 or more channels, you get a surround sound speaker experience.
HDMI ARC Connection
If you’re buying a soundbar and are a gamer with the current-gen Playstation 5 or Xbox Series X | S, you will want an HDMI eARC port on your soundbar.
A primary ARC connection HDMI allows your soundbar to transmit audio through a single HDMI cable between the TV and the soundbar, and eARC will enable you to utilize uncompressed Dolby Atmos audio signals if both your TV and soundbar support eARC.
Arc and eARC are common amongst all major newer soundbars and TVs, but it’s always important to confirm that the soundbar you are buying supports Arc/eARC when buying a new soundbar.
Wireless Audio Support
Nothing is more old-school and, dare I say frustrating, than having to plug a wire into your phone or computer in order to play some music. Wireless function is vital for a soundbar in today’s day and age.
For all of our alternatives to the Klipsch Cinema 1200, we’ve only chosen soundbars that have the ability to stream music wirelessly from a mobile device with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi integration. Luckily for first-time soundbar buyers, most new soundbars are compatible with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and often both.
Voice Command Support
Voice command support has become more popular as a feature with newer soundbars, but it’s often considered a ‘luxury’ feature, so it appears most commonly on higher-priced soundbars.
The quality of voice command integration on most soundbars varies widely, with some soundbars having interference problems with other household smart applications. For instance, reviewers and users have both noted that many Amazon Alexa-integrated soundbars will interfere with an Amazon Echo in the same house.
Ultimately if you want to utilize voice commands from Google Assistant, Siri, or Alexa, you will need to research if the soundbar you are buying supports these voice assistants. We recommend reading user reviews to ensure they work properly on the soundbar.
What to Know Before Buying a Soundbar
Before buying a soundbar, ensure you have enough space to fit the size and design of the soundbar, either mounted under your TV or sitting on the media stand. While they are typically slim, soundbars are often very wide. So, you’ll need to keep an eye on your space requirements.
Sound quality will be one of the most important things, and if you want to be playing the newest games and watching the newest movies with the best possible sound quality, you’ll want to look for a soundbar with at least 5.1 audio channels.
Price is another factor. It is often true that spending more is likely to yield a better-quality soundbar. But this is not always the case. Just because something is expensive, does not mean it is perfect for your situation. Always check out the features and the reviews to know you’re making the right choice.
©ronstik/Shutterstock.com
Using Soundbars: What it’s Like
Soundbars offer a wider, richer sound and a more pleasing speaker than your default TV speakers for gamers, movies, and TV shows.
Having your audio device separate from your TV also means that you’re free to upgrade your TV or switch to a different TV at any time. Plus, you don’t even need to use a soundbar with your TV. You can use it with your phone, tablet, or computer. They’re pretty versatile.
While there are tons of different brands and models, the best soundbar will be specific to your needs. For example, if you primarily are using your TV to watch movies and want a home-theater experience, buying a higher-end model with surround sound will be better than getting one without.
A soundbar by itself will offer an upgraded experience, but it can’t do the work of a whole home theater system. The beauty is that you can integrate a soundbar into a larger system over time. Add a subwoofer or some tower speakers to boost your system even more. It’s up to you.
Summary Table
| Rank | Alternative |
|---|---|
| Best Overall | Samsung HW-Q800C |
| Best for Music | Bose Smart Soundbar 900 |
| Best for Surround Sound | Sonos Arc |
| Best for Gamers | Razer Leviathan V2 |
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Joni Hanebutt/Shutterstock.com.
