Sonos Beam rival flexes its soundbar muscles with new Onkyo & Klipsch collab

First teased at the world's largest tech show, CES 2024, back in January of this year, there's a new soundbar series to rival the Sonos Beam (2nd Gen) coming to market. And now it's official, with more information about the new Klipsch range revealed.

Named the Flexus Core series, Klipsch has collaborated with Onkyo, the Japanese high-end audio manufacturer, to produce a series of soundbars to rival the best, plus separate surround speakers and a subwoofer (sold separately).

The soundbars come in two options, the Flexus Core 100 and Flexus Core 200, with the former offering a 2.1 channel setup, while the latter upgrades this to a 3.1.2 channel setup to incorporate upward-firing drivers for enhanced surround sound. Both offer Dolby Atmos decoding and feature eARC. 

Which will suit you best will depend on the size of television you own. If you've got one of the best 55-inch TVs or above then the 48-inch-long Flexus Core 200 is the better match. If you've got a smaller set then the diminutive 28-inch length of the Flexus Core 100 will be better suited. 

If you want to go all-out for one of the best surround sound systems, however, then you'll want to think about adding the Flexus Surr 100 wireless surround speakers and Flexus Sub 100 wireless subwoofer. That'll provide a full rear channel setup and beefier bass – although Klipsch does promise "4-inch built-in subwoofers" from either 'bar to deliver low-end without the additional purchase. 

At the time of writing the products are now on sale in the US, with other territories including the UK to follow. Pricing is as follows: the Flexus Core 100 is $349, Flexus Core 200 $499, Flexus Surr 100 $249, and the Flexus Sub 100 $299. The exact kind of pricing to rival Sonos with Beam and Ray competitors. 

It'll be interesting to see how the new Klipsch range stacks up compared to many of its best competitors, especially for those seeking the best soundbars for Samsung TVs or the best soundbars for LG TVs – where such brands also include brand-specific TV-matching, with features such as Samsung's Q Symphony and LG's Wow Orchestra.