This entry-level Klipsch soundbar is capable of going head-to-head with other premium brands — and it's buildable into a home theater powerhouse

The Klipsch Flexus Core 100 is one of the best soundbars below $400. With surprisingly powerful bass and seamless connectivity in the Klipsch Connect Plus app, this is the ideal soundbar for those with smaller TVs or living rooms. If you don’t have room for a subwoofer, the Flexus Core 100’s adept bass will be more than enough.

Although it lacks Wi-Fi connectivity — so you can’t stream via AirPlay, Google Cast, Spotify Connect or the like — I was easily able to set up wireless playback via Bluetooth. Even so, if you want a smart home sound system, this wouldn’t be the soundbar for you.

But perhaps the impressive bass and compatibility with Klipsch’s rears and subs make this the perfect soundbar for beginners? I’ll discuss everything in full in this Klipsch Flexus Core 100 review.

Klipsch Flexus Core 100 review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? An entry-level Klipsch soundbar you can add a subwoofer and rears to
• Who is it for? If you want to invest in your home cinema setup brick by brick
• What does it cost? $349 / £299
• What do we like? Very affordable for the sound quality
• What don’t we like? There’s no Wi-Fi, so say goodbye to AirPlay, Spotify Connect, and more

Klipsch Flexus Core 100 review: Specs

Klipsch Flexus Core 100 review: Price & availability

The Klipsch Flexus Core 100 is $349 from Amazon U.S. and £299 from Richer Sounds in the U.K.. This is a pretty reasonable price for a soundbar of this caliber — I’ve also tested the Denon Home Sound Bar 550 ($699) and the Bose Smart Soundbar ($549), which perform similarly, but at much pricier MSRPs.

The Klipsch Flexus Core 100 is intended to be the first model you buy from Klipsch’s lineup, and it’s built to be a part of a whole Klipsch sound system. Klipsch offers a couple of other soundbars: the Flexus Core 200 ($549), and the Flexus Core 300 ($1,199).

All the soundbars are compatible with both the Sub 100 ($349) and Sub 200 ($599). You don’t have to purchase the subs simultaneously — you can just grab the soundbar now and add subs when you can.

Still with me? Good. You can also get Klipsch’s rears for “true” Dolby Atmos. These are $499 for the Surr 200, and, again, can be added onto the soundbar or soundbar + subwoofer at any time.

You can also get the Klipsch Flexus Core 200 soundbar with the Sub 100 for just $549, which I’d recommend getting if you want a more powerful home setup, but you don’t want to drop a grand on a soundbar.

In the grand scheme of soundbars, $349 for the Klipsch Flexus Core 100 is very reasonable. This would be a great option for those who want to upgrade from TV speakers for less, with the option of adding subs and rears in the future.

Klipsch Flexus Core 100 review: Design & controls

• Just 28 inches, suitable for smaller TVs
• Buttons on the top and weighty remote control
• Controls in the Klipsch Connect Plus app, too

The Flexus Core 100 is notably smaller than other soundbars I’ve tested. I’d recommend this for smaller homes or smaller TVs. I tested with a 65-inch LG, and the Flexus Core 100 looked out of place.

As with other Klipsch gear, the Flexus Core 100 has a retro-yet-modern appearance. There’s a Klipsch logo on the top right, which I think is a touch too big. This logo is much more prominent than Bose, Samsung, and Yamaha’s respective logos.

The Klipsch Flexus Core 100 does share similarities with these other soundbars, though. As with the Bose Smart Soundbar and the Samsung Q-Series soundbars, there are a number of touch buttons on the top of the bar itself. However, I always found myself gravitating towards using the remote or the app to control the soundbar. The controller is pleasantly weighty and has a much more luxurious feel than Bose’s flimsy remote.

Even though I’m not a fan of the large logo, I like pretty much everything else about the Flexus Core 100’s appearance. The fabric casing is well-made and functional, as it softens harsh treble during action scenes, giving the soundbar a warmer sound.

Klipsch Flexus Core 100 review: Features

• Playback modes ‘Music’ or ‘Movie’
• Dialogue enhancement mode
• Listening presets ‘Vocal’, ‘Bass’, ‘Treble’, ‘Rock’, and ‘Custom’

Although the Flexus Core 100 only has two playback modes — ‘Music’ or ‘Movie’ — I didn’t find myself longing for more modes. Usually, soundbars have a ‘Gaming’ mode, too. Even so, I found ‘Movie’ and ‘Music’ to be more than enough.

‘Music’ softened dialogue and increased bass, whereas ‘Movie’ heightened both dialogue and bass, giving a more U-shaped EQ. As you might expect, ‘Music’ sounded terrible for TV and movies, and ‘Movies’ sounded terrible when playing music.

Similarly, it was easy to enhance dialogue and playback by cycling through the listening presets until I found one I liked. For example, I watched ‘Stranger Things’ with the ‘bass’ preset and ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ with the bass preset. With dialogue on ‘high’, this provided an immersive, floor-shaking, yet still intelligible soundstage.

However… and this is a big however. There’s no AirPlay, Google Cast, or Spotify Connect. Only the premium Flexus models — so the Core 300 — have Wi-Fi, and, therefore, Wi-Fi playback. This is a major con for those looking to integrate multi-room playback systems like Roon into their soundbar. Simply put, it can’t be done unless you get the $1,199 Flexus Core 300.

Klipsch Flexus Core 100 review: App

• Delightful to use
• No connectivity issues
• Can add subs and surrounds easily in the app

The Klipsch Flexus Core 100 uses the Klipsch Connect Plus app, instead of the confusing, similarly named Klipsch Connect.

As the Flexus Core 100 is intended to be the first investment in a series of home cinema products, the Connect Plus app offers a range of features like rears and subwoofer setup, channel configuration, and allows you to purchase add-ons in the app.

The app itself is easy to navigate and a pleasure to use, which is a welcome reprieve from the frustrating world of sound system apps. I struggled with Denon’s HEOS app due to finicky connectivity issues, and even Bose’s app proved frustrating at first.

The Klipsch Connect Plus practically set itself up — it recognized the Flexus Core 100 and added it to my smart system without any input from me. If you want a soundbar app that is actually a delight to use, then I’d recommend Klipsch products over Denon’s or Sonos’.

Klipsch Flexus Core 100 review: Sound quality

• Great bass despite lack of subwoofer
• Not as much clarity in high-frequency sound effects as I’d like
• Very clear dialogue

I test every soundbar with ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ on 4K UHD Blu-Ray, TV shows on Netflix, and music on Spotify and Qobuz.

Movies

Firstly, I watched ‘Top Gun: Maverick’. The opening scene has a fantastic audio mix, with high-frequency sound effects like whooping ropes and clinking metal, layered over a bass-heavy soundtrack and rumbling jet engines that challenge the low-end.

There was a surprising amount of width to the soundstage, especially when ‘Danger Zone’ started. I could almost pretend that the jet engines were flying around me, but, obviously, the Atmos performance isn’t as advanced as that of the Samsung Q600F ($699).

The soundbar struggled to balance dialogue and bass in the jet flying scenes, even with dialogue set to max. I could still understand most of what was said, but if you struggle with hearing, I don’t think it would be clear enough. The Bose Smart Soundbar has fantastic dialogue (with an AI dialogue enhancer), so I’d recommend that if you need something with extreme clarity.

Afterwards, I watched ‘The Mask’. The dialogue was fantastic, and I never struggled to understand any of the actors, even the soft-spoken characters. As this is a comedy movie, sans-jet-engines, sans-car-chases, and sans-overly dramatic soundtrack, there’s naturally less bass in the mix. As a result, the dialogue was brought to the forefront of the mix, which the Flexus Core 100 handled deftly.

Lastly, I watched ‘The Sound of Music’. I was really impressed by the clarity of dialogue in this movie. The contrast between the tranquil diegetic sounds — chirping birds and rippling grass — and the prominent dialogue made the movie a breeze to watch.

The bass is better than the Samsung B650, but only marginally. If you want to spend only around $400, but you want the best bass and clarity possible, I’d recommend the Polk Audio Signa S4. The S4 is the best all-rounder for earth-shattering bass and audible high-frequency sound effects.

TV

As I watched a range of hi-res 4K UHD Blu-rays, I wanted to test out the Flexus Core 100 with basic TV as well. Not everyone will be watching 4K UHD Blu-rays all the time, so it makes sense to give the soundbar a fair run with standard 5.1 TV, too.

I watched ‘Friends’ on Netflix using the ‘vocal’ preset. I also used dialogue enhancement mode to see how this affected the mix. Strangely, ‘vocal’ preset and ‘high’ dialogue enhancement made the laugh track sound like it was coming from underwater. However, the dialogue did sound great, so if you need to strengthen the dialogue performance and don’t mind a narrower mix, then this could be a worthy sacrifice.

After ‘Friends’, I switched it up with ‘Stranger Things’. As this is a more action-heavy, movie-like show than ‘Friends’, I adjusted the playback modes. I used ‘Movie’ mode with the ‘bass’ preset.

I wanted a little extra from the high-frequency diegetic sound effects, like footsteps on leaves and zippers. For such a compact soundbar, though, this is a big ask. I was really impressed by the clarity of the bass — the thunder sound effects rumbled through the floorboards, despite the lack of a subwoofer.

While the high-frequency sound effects were much clearer on the Denon Home Sound Bar 550, I’d recommend spending a bit extra for that premium soundbar if you want a more immersive, wider soundscape. I also recommend the Samsung Q600F or the Sonos Beam 2 if you want a better out-of-the-box performance.

Music

As the Klipsch Flexus Core 100 doesn’t have Wi-Fi, I had to test music playback with Bluetooth. I connected to my iPhone 16 Pro using the Klipsch Connect Plus app and then played music from Qobuz.

I listened to ‘Unravelling’ by Muse, which has a synth-heavy verse and heavy guitars in the chorus. The guitars sounded a little too close, and there wasn’t much width to the sound. However, the bass was powerful, and the vocals were melodic. Obviously, it doesn’t sound as good as a dedicated speaker, but the Flexus Core 100 would do in a pinch.

After, I listened to ‘Holiday’ by Confidence Man, which is a much sparser yet euphoric dance track. The vocal melodies were clear and effective. I could hear the high-frequency plane sound effects well. The ‘90s house bassline was groovy and loud, but, again a dedicated speaker would do the trick better.

Overall, the Flexus Core 100 is a fantastic TV speaker upgrade, and for just $349, you can’t go wrong. Obviously, there are better, more expensive options, but I wholeheartedly recommend the Flexus Core 100 if you’re on a budget and not fussy about Wi-Fi.

Klipsch Flexus Core 100 review: Verdict

The Klipsch Flexus Core 100 is a great option if you want to upgrade from your TV speakers for relatively little money. With powerful bass and a surprisingly wide soundscape (in some UHD Blu-rays), this compact soundbar is reliable and, most importantly, fun. And the best part? You can add pieces whenever you desire, which makes this a perfect option for those looking to create a serious home cinema experience eventually.

I found it easy to overlook the lack of Wi-Fi streaming with the easily accessible Bluetooth mode — and pleasing $349 price tag. With the Klipsch Connect Plus app, you don’t need the remote at all, and I didn’t experience a single connectivity issue. If you’ve used a lot of soundbars, you’ll know how impressive that is.

Although $100 more will get you the more advanced Polk Audio Signa S4, $349 is a fantastic deal for the Klipsch Flexus Core 100. If you’re looking for bass-heavy sound for the lowest price tag possible, I’m sure you’ll be happy with the Flexus Core 100.