PRICE $1,199; $499; $399

AT A GLANCE

Plus

Clear dialog without sacrificing sound effects

Natural sound

Dirac Live to configure for room

Large LED display that disappears when not in use

Minus

Surround effects are only apparent in extreme action scenes

Dirac is difficult to set up

Sound bar is very big

THE VERDICT

Klipsch’s long history of speaker design shows in the Flexus Core 300. Dialog stays intelligible without flattening music and effects, and the overall balance leans warm and easy to listen to.

Introduction
Klipsch has been around since 1946, and it’s not new to soundbars. The company introduced its first Reference-branded soundbar, the R-10B, in 2014, and later released higher-end Cinema systems, including the Cinema 1200 flagship.

The Flexus series is a collaboration between Klipsch and Onkyo under the Premium Audio Company umbrella, and that corporate family changed in 2025 when Gentex acquired VOXX International (which had owned Premium Audio Company). The Flexus Core 100 and Core 200 arrived first, and the Flexus Core 300 followed as the step-up model in the line.

The optional Flexus Sub 200 subwoofer and Flexus Surr 200 surrounds connect wirelessly and are sold separately.

At the heart of the system is a dense driver array. Klipsch describes the Core 300 as a 13-driver design built around four front-firing 2.25-inch drivers, a 0.75-inch horn-loaded tweeter, two 2.25-inch up-firing elevation drivers for Dolby Atmos, two 2.25-inch side-firing drivers to widen the presentation, and four 4-inch high-output woofers in the enclosure to bolster bass output without requiring a subwoofer.

In price and intent, the Flexus Core 300 system overlaps with flagship soundbar packages like Samsung’s HW-Q990F. Samsung leans on automated processing and room optimization features such as SpaceFit Sound Pro and Adaptive Sound, while the Flexus Core 300’s headline feature is Dirac Live room correction. Klipsch positions it as the first soundbar with built-in Dirac Live, and the goal is straightforward: measure the room and apply correction to smooth response and improve coherence.

Klipsch keeps the concept focused: solid hardware, a few core modes, and enough control to tailor the system without turning it into a science project—unless you decide to go deep with Dirac.

Large front LED display (that disappears)
Powering up the bar triggers a big “HELLO” behind the grille, and that display is also where the bar shows settings as you make adjustments. When you stop interacting, it fades away.

Three levels of dialog enhancement
The Core 300 offers multiple steps of dialog enhancement. Even at the lower setting, the horn-loaded tweeter helps voices cut through. The highest setting is there for challenging mixes and very low-level dialog.

Klipsch Connect Plus app
The app covers setup and daily control, including input switching, volume, EQ, listening modes, and firmware updates. It’s also where you run Dirac Live.

Channel trims (quick adjustments)
If the subwoofer is too hot or surrounds feel too shy, the system lets you trim levels in simple steps. It’s the kind of control you actually use with real content, especially across inconsistent mixes.

EQ presets and basic tone shapingYou get straightforward Bass/Mid/Treble adjustments and presets that can shift emphasis depending on what you’re listening to.

Movie and Music modes
Movie mode prioritizes impact and spaciousness, while Music mode is geared toward stereo playback and a more direct balance.

Dirac Live (Limited included; upgrade available)
Dirac Live is included in a limited form, with correction up to 500 Hz; broader-bandwidth correction is available as a paid upgrade. The workflow involves measuring your room with the included calibration microphone and saving presets for different seating positions or room layouts.

Setup and Remote
A QR code on the box points you to the Klipsch Connect Plus app. The soundbar is large (54 inches wide) and not something you casually juggle while making cable connections, but the rear panel is accessible once it’s in place.

The system’s wireless expansion uses Klipsch Transport and a dedicated wireless USB transmitter dongle. The dongle plugs into the the recessed USB-A port on the back of the soundbar, and it’s included with the Sub 200 and Surr 200 add-ons. With the dongle inserted and the speakers powered, the app recognized the add-ons quickly and the system was ready to go.

Once everything was communicating, I moved on to Dirac Live. The system supports saving multiple Dirac presets, which is useful if you have more than one listening position or you tend to change the room setup.

Dirac is also where the friction is. In my case, the measurement process was prone to errors until I slowed down and followed the prompts carefully in a quiet room. I also found the app behaved more reliably when my phone and the soundbar stayed on the same local network/SSID throughout setup.

The included remote is small and practical, and it’s easy to make the adjustments you actually care about—source, mode, dialog enhancement, night mode, and level trims—without digging through menus. I ended up using the remote for most day-to-day changes and reserving the app for deeper tweaks and Dirac.

Performance

From the first show, dialog clarity was the standout. Even with dialog enhancement set to a moderate level, voices stayed intelligible without making effects feel pinched or thin. I’ve heard plenty of soundbars that “improve” dialog by gutting the mix; the Flexus approach is more controlled.

With movies, the built-in woofers in the bar carry more weight than you’d expect, but the Sub 200 is what adds the physical foundation. It delivered low-frequency rumble without turning into a one-note throb. F1 (the 2025 racing film with Brad Pitt) had the kind of engine texture and pit-lane ambience that benefits from real low-end support, and the Sub 200 supplied that scale while keeping voices from getting buried.

Saving Private Ryan remains a reliable stress test because it demands both restraint and chaos. Quiet details landed with clarity, and the more brutal sequences kept their intensity without collapsing into hash.

One scene I use often for surround evaluation is the drum sequence in House of Flying Daggers. With the Surround 200 speakers in play, the system did a convincing job of putting percussive hits and ricocheting movement around the room. The effect was immersive, though it didn’t match the fine-grained separation and micro-detail I get from an AV receiver and discrete speakers, where you can more easily track subtle tonal differences and metallic textures.

Atmos music is also on the table. With Apple Music’s Dolby Atmos content, the Flexus system spread instruments cleanly and maintained a cohesive tonal balance. Compared with a big, aggressively cinematic soundbar package like Samsung’s HW-Q990F, the Klipsch presentation stayed warmer and less forward. That won’t be everyone’s preference, but it can be easier to live with across long sessions and varied material.

Conclusion
The Flexus Core 300 system feels like Klipsch applied its speaker priorities to the soundbar category: clarity, tonal balance, and the ability to tune the system without burying you in gimmicks. The bar is physically large, and Dirac setup can test your patience, but once dialed in, the system delivers strong dialog intelligibility and a warm, natural presentation.

If your main frustration is constantly riding the volume to understand voices—and you want a soundbar system that doesn’t rely on a hyped top end to create “detail”—the Flexus Core 300 is an easy one to shortlist.

Specifications
Klipsch Flexus Core 300 Soundbar

Speaker system: 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos soundbar
Dimensions: Width 54 inches; Height 3 1/16 inches; Depth 4 15/16 inches
Weight: 18.7 lb

Drivers (soundbar):

Front-firing: 4 × 2.25″ drivers

Tweeter: 1 × 0.75″ horn-loaded tweeter

Elevation/height drivers: 2 × 2.25″ discrete full-range drivers

Side-firing: 2 × 2.25″ drivers

Built-in woofers: 4 × 4″ high-output paper cone woofers

Performance (soundbar):
Max acoustic output: 106 dB
Frequency response: 43 Hz – 20 kHz

Ports and connectivity:

HDMI: 1 × HDMI input (HDMI 2.1 pass-through) + 1 × HDMI eARC

Video pass-through: up to 8K/60 or 4K/120; HDR10 pass-through

Optical (Toslink) input

USB-C for MP3 playback from USB mass-storage devices

USB-A “Flexus Transmitter Port” (for the wireless dongle used by Sub/Surr add-ons)

Subwoofer output: RCA

Ethernet + dual-band Wi-Fi; Bluetooth

Streaming/services (network): AirPlay 2, Chromecast, Spotify Connect, TIDAL Connect, Qplay

DSP / sound processing / codecs:

Dirac Live included (Limited up to 500 Hz; full-bandwidth upgrade available)

Dolby Atmos, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Digital

DTS:X, DTS-HD, DTS

Multichannel LPCM (up to 8 channels)

Klipsch Flexus Sub 200

Dimensions / weight:
15.25″ Height × 15.25″ Width × 15.25″ Depth
36 lb

Driver / amp / enclosure:
Woofer: 12″ long-throw paper cone
Frequency response: 26 Hz – 250 Hz (±3 dB)
Max acoustic output: 103.7 dB
Enclosure: sealed MDF

Ports / connectivity:
Inputs: RCA/LFE line in + Klipsch Transport proprietary wireless (2.4 GHz)
Wireless transmitter dongle included

Klipsch Flexus Surr 200 Surrounds (pair)

Dimensions / weight (each):
8.75″ Height × 4.13″ Width × 4.31″ Depth
2.5 lb each

Speaker system / drivers:
Each speaker uses two 3″ paper-cone full-range drivers, including up-firing drivers for height effects
Frequency response: 235 Hz – 20 kHz
Max acoustic output: 106 dB (pair)

Ports / connectivity:
Wireless link: Klipsch Transport proprietary wireless (dongle included)