Klipsch’s Reference Series has always offered excellent sound at a value price, and the R-800F is the flagship tower of the Reference Series, featuring two large woofers and a refined tweeter for rich, expansive sound. Its high-efficiency drivers work without problems with most receivers, making it ideal for two-channel stereo and home theatre applications. Each 8-inch woofer in the R-800F uses spun copper TCP (thermoformed crystalline polymer) as the cone material.
Klipsch chose this material because of its smooth response and transparency. This woofer also uses technology inherited from the more expensive Reference Premiere line. It has a similar cone shape and uses additional ribs to increase rigidity and reduce distortion at higher frequencies. Our exclusive Tractrix® horn technology delivers the power, detail and emotion of the live music experience in the cleanest, most natural sound.
The larger horn outer diameter allows directivity to be controlled over a wider frequency range, improving high frequency directivity and creating a more accurate soundstage. The unique Linear Travel Suspension (LTS) minimises distortion and allows for a highly detailed performance. Aluminium is an extremely lightweight and rigid material used in the tweeter assembly, providing high efficiency and improving resolution and detail LTS tweeters are a hallmark of Klipsch speakers and are a core component of the world’s best speakers.
Klipsch is also undeniable when it comes to design. They could have opted for a more streamlined look, but that wouldn’t have been authentic Klipsch. In addition to the angular, raw styling, the design is also a bit crude in places. The iconic vinyl finish on the wood panels isn’t the prettiest we’ve seen, and the overall build quality is only average considering the price.
The Klipsch Cinema 800 has two HDMI inputs for connecting video sources and one HDMI eARC (audio return channel) that connects directly to the TV. That way, you can easily download audio from built-in streaming services such as Netflix and HBO Max. The soundbar has built-in Wi-Fi, so you can also connect to the network and control it with the downloadable Klipsch Connect app. You can then also access music playback via Spotify Connect, while live music playback via Bluetooth is another option.
In our experience, the Klipsch soundbar was easy to set up: simply enable eARC audio output in the LG TV set-up and the Klipsch Soundbar appears as an Atmos-enabled device, with visible support for Netflix and others. The Klipsch Connect app makes it easy to download firmware updates, and Klipsch has indicated that the equaliser settings will eventually be available from the app. However, we found that in most cases, using the supplied remote control with backlit buttons worked well. Here you can control volume, input selection and sound settings.