Loewe Klang Bar5 MR soundbar

Measuring less than 3in in height, the Klang Bar5 MR has to be one of the slimmest high-end soundbars out there, and is wrapped in an acoustic mesh grille up front and a perforated aluminum top to conceal its upward-firing tweeters. 

It may not win any beauty pageants, but it has won the prestigious IF Design Award and it's clear why. It’s a clean aesthetic that will complement any wall mounted TV perfectly and the accompanying subwoofer isn’t the usual cuboid shaped eyesore. 

Form follows function and it actually holds six woofers all around its periphery, of which four are passive and two are active. Together, they sync wirelessly and in terms of wired connectivity, you get HDMI ports, optical and line inputs and a 3.5mm jack. 

Of course, Loewe expects you to be up to speed in 2021, so it supports AirPlay 2, Chromecast and even DTS Play-Fi if you have to mix and match products from different ecosystems. As long as they support DTS Play-Fi, they will be able to stream music to the Bar5 or be connected to it as additional multiroom speakers.

While the Germans might be meticulous about the engineering, it appears that writing well documented owner’s manuals in English isn’t their forte. The Klang soundbar has a bunch of “hidden” controls that need long pressing of specific keys to trigger actions, like pairing via Bluetooth or connecting a DTS Play-Fi device or resetting the unit in case things go south. None of these would be possible without referring to the owner’s manual so it’s not really a plug and play set-up like other soundbars. 

Also, since you can add other standalone speakers from the Klang range as surround or even left/right channels, there are toggle switches at the back that need to be in the correct position for everything to work. Working for convenience seems to be the moral of the story here. 

Latching on to the soundbar immediately, the Sub5 subwoofer is clearly the class act here. Of course, like all subwoofers, it’s placement and location will determine how effective it is, but the corner of the room, preferably on the same side as the Bar5 soundbar is ideal. 

The rotary volume knob on the front panel allows you to fine tune its output in relation to the soundbar and it may be a matter of choice and music, but the midpoint is well suited for most genres. The soundbar itself is a 5.2 design, which means it has individual left, centre and right speakers facing the listener, firing forward. Two side-firing drivers on each side and a pair of upward-firing “height channels” for use with Dolby Atmos or DTS:X content complete the “.2” in the configuration while the .1 of course, is assigned to the subwoofer. 

The Bar5 is actually very effective at creating the sensation of a large space and if the conditions in your room are right, you will even hear sounds from the top and rear just like you would with actual speakers on the ceiling or in the back of the room! It may not be as consistent as the Sennheiser Ambeo in its surround sound presentation, but where it scores is in the overall tonal balance where the subwoofer kicks in with deep bass and perfect timing, making it sound like a much bigger speaker system. 

Of the three modes, Stereo has the most amount of clarity as it uses only the three front-facing L/C/R drivers. Panorama widens this stereo signal into a more wider presentation that seems to escape the boundaries of the Klang Bar5. It’s the Surround mode where all the seven drivers of the soundbar are active and immerses you into the movie. Sure, dialogue intelligibility takes a marginal hit compared to Stereo, but the gains in height, and space make it worthwhile if you’re watching a movie with an aggressive mix or a popcorn entertainer. 

For music, Stereo mode works best as expected by keeping things tidy, taut and thoroughly enjoyable with a precise and focused sound that is high on clarity and punch with perfect timing kept by the substantial subwoofer. It still won’t give you the wide stereo spread similar to a pair of bookshelf speakers kept 7ft apart, but as far as soundbars go, it’s probably the best out there.

Certainly not your retail store soundbar this, the Loewe Klang Bar5 MR is aimed squarely at the cost-no-object but aesthetic conscious home cinema lovers. Its ecosystem is healthy, with options to add physical (and wireless) surround speakers from the Klang range as your budget allows and its sound is big, bold and refined at the same time. 

It has its quirks with a sleek but ultimately impractical remote and a set-up process that might take longer than usual, but put in some effort and it rewards with brilliant surround and stereo sound from the slimmest speaker you’ll find in the category.