Polk Audio MagniFi Mini Home Theater Surround Sound Bar | Works with 4K and HD TVs | Compact System with Big Sound | Wireless Subwoofer Included

[*UPDATE*]Everything is still great and honestly even better. After adding a PS4 to the mix yesterday, I decided to quit procrastinating and re-configure the cables to test HDMI ARC (previously used optical input). NOW, after nearly 8+ months, I have an on-screen volume indicator again instead of relying on the sound bar LEDs and the sound quality is even more amazing (Dolby D+/DTS used with TV, bitstream DTS w/PS4) If your TV supports HDMI ARC, take advantage of it with this sound bar. I’ve also since ditched the tiny, stroke inducing OEM remote for the sound bar plus 2 others and programmed everything through a Harmony Ultimate remote. All the thumbs up!————————————————————-[*FYI*]I bought this product with my own hard-earned salary and have gained no reward or free crap from a 3rd party for leaving this review...sorry it's kind of a novel :)It has been 6 months since purchasing the MagniFi mini and I'll have to say I have gotten quite a bit of well welcomed, unexpected bang for my buck. I was skeptical at first thinking that one tiny bar and sub couldn't possibly give me a believable theater sound experience...WRONG!!! The coolest part about the sound is that even though the bar is positioned in front of me, underneath my TV, the sound "feels" submersive like it's coming from all around the room.The main bar speaker is heavy as a brick, very well made. The down-firing sub is quite light, very well-made and fits just about anywhere. There is, however, quite the learning curve when it comes to figuring out your optimal audio settings. You'll be tweaking the your TV's audio out settings for a while before finding the sweet spot. Also, getting used to knowing the what the colored lights on the speaker front were telling me was different especially when being used to seeing a visual indicator on the TV. It took about a month to finally work the kinks out of the TV's audio out setting situation and find the optimal setting for at least 3 out of the 4 things I have connected to the speaker.I honestly don't think I've been able to use this speaker to the potential I have no doubts it has like really crank it up to an ignorant level, but I can say that when I have turned it up (using just the optical input) like for a PlayStation game or streaming movies with my TV audio out setting to Dolby+/DTS, there's a TON of power behind that set-up. 99% of the time I stream content from TV apps (Pandora/Netflix/Amazon Prime Video/E! Now etc.) Sound is amazingly balanced and has rarely required any tweaks from the remote. Quiet movies like Moonlight was a bit of a nightmare, but I watched that the night I got the speaker and hadn't figured things out yet. I also replaced the puny factory wire with a high quality/premium optical cable and noticed a richer improvement in the sound quality. Bluetooth streaming quality is equally as amazing. I've tested streaming from my iPhone, a couple old Androids and my Mac. Each one worked equally as well and pairing was effortless. My U-verse cable box takes up the only ARC HDMI port on the TV so I have yet to test the sound quality from TV over ARC to the speaker. Pretty sure it's excellent though. Once I do get to test that I'll come back and update if anything significant comes out of it. My one gripe with inputs is, for example, channel changes or changing content while streaming. There's a sound delay that takes takes several seconds to resume unless you trigger it manually by mashing a volume button. It's slightly annoying and I keep wondering if this is remedied by using ARC HDMI...I'll test it eventually.On the other side of the review token, audio when watching cable TV (AT&T U-verse) has always been and continues to be a butt pain. I'm not blaming the speaker system at all because I'm betting the U-verse cable box is the problem, it just needs to be upgraded...old tech + new tech=all kinds of weird sometimes. Some channels apparently only support certain audio formats over optical. The main issues are that some channels will have no sound until I change the TV audio out setting to plain Dolby+ (no DTS). Or, others will be so quiet I have to crank it to 11 to hear anything then get then need a change of pants once a commercial comes on because it'll blare so loud that the rest of the city will know what I'm watching. At this point, I know which channels are borked and avoid them. Meh. No biggie.Last gripe is the remote. Whoever thought of this design should've called in sick that day. #1) It's not very responsive. You have to point it directly at the speaker or else nothing is going to happen. It's mainly the scalloped/flat buttons that have major responsive issues. Mute button is the wrong place so when you need to quickly cut the sound and it takes 3-4 presses before it actually works. Volume Up and Down are both scalloped out. In a perfect remote world, Volume Up should be raised so you can feel the difference in your hand without looking. If you aren't pressing in exactly the right spot, you're gonna do the opposite of what you intend. Very annoying. Then there's the speaker LED's. Gauging the number of clicks to change the volume level remains a mystery so I STILL have to look at the lights to know my remote press registered (which isn't always do-able depending on where I am in the room). It always 1 click to display the sound level LED's then 4-6 clicks to actually affect the volume level. I could count for clicks forever and it'd never end up being the same ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I've eliminated these issues entirely by just programming the speaker on my Harmony remote. Bam...perfection anywhere.Since my purchase 6 months ago, the price has gone dropped to $199 so I kinda wish I had waited, but I needed an audio upgrade immediately back then. This product was very well worth the original $269 price tag, though. Don't hesitate on getting your hands on this little system! I always pre-search major purchases until it becomes ridiculous, but there's really no need if you're looking for awesome audio quality, high product quality and ease of use. You will NOT be disappointed especially at this new lower price, it's pretty much an un-pass-up-able* steal! (*wonder how many scrabble points that word would gimme :P)

The Polk Magnifi Max AX SR (2023) system is a great performing system that gets overshadowed by the more hyped up systems like those from Samsung, Sonos, etc. I tested this Polk system against Samsung's flagship Q990D and couldn't notice the difference when it came to Dolby 5.1 with or without Atmos. Indeed, some aspects of the Polk system were better than Samsung's. The best aspects of the Polk system are:1. Very easy setup. No app or login to the vendor site needed. Just plug in the soundbar, connect to TV with HDMI, and plug in the subwoofer and surround speakers. It just works. You may use the Google Home app to connect the soundbar to Wifi, but that's optional.2. Easy to use remote with a substantial text display on the soundbar visible across the room. This is as simple as it gets. You may think that the lack of an app to fiddle with a lot of features is a drawback, but the system has the right controls on the remote and the minimalist design actually works well.3. It automatically responds to your TV remote. No programming of any kind needed.4. Provides 3 HDMI input ports, a rarity in this price range. With the right setting on the connected devices (I have a Fire Stick connected), the soundbar automatically switches to the right input when the corresponding device is activated. The TV is also turned on automatically via the HDMI CEC. A must-have feature if you have more than one device connected to the soundbar.5. Dolby 5.1 with or without Atmos sounds very good. The subwoofer is substantial (10 inch, another rarity in this price range), and the surround speakers, though small, are loud and make a big difference. Compared to the Samsung flagship Q990D on the same scenes, I couldn't tell any difference. The thing to note though is that the sound quality varies as per the source material. You need premium subscriptions with Netflix, Amazon, Paramount+, etc to get Dolby Atmos, and movies from Max often sound subdued compared to these other streamers. Best performance will be with Blurays presenting uncompressed multichannel sound tracks.6. The All-Stereo mode allows you to play music on all speakers, which is a great feature. Adds life to stereo 2.0 sources. I didn't see this in the Samsung Q990D.7. The Polk system also allows you to balance the volume between the right and left surrounds. This is a very useful feature that lets you position the surround speakers wherever there is room in your setting and just adjust the balance to suit your seating position.On the flip side, I cannot tell whether the two upfiring speakers make any difference. Not just in this Polk system, but also in the Samsung flagship, which as up and side firing speakers. The sound always seem to come from the soundbar, not magically above your head. Perhaps this depends on your setup. The surrounds do make a big difference.Overall, the Polk Magnifi Max AX SR performs well and a great value for money especially if it's on sale. It's solidly built, easy to set up and use, and makes a difference in your movie experience. There is no hype or cult behind Polk, but it performs as good as more expensive systems at less than half the price.For those curious about the power output, there is no specs available from Polk. We can only deduce this from the input power consumption. The soundbar is rated at 120W, the subwoofer at 200W, and surround speakers at 18W each.

It is a great product for my needs. Specifically, ease of setup, wireless (except for the tv connection cable) and decent sound. Probably the most painless setup of a sound system I have ever experienced. The sound is impressive for what it is. I have to replace a pretty good component system with large floor standing speakers, and a dedicated sub woofer. So, no, the overall sound profile is not as good, but I am happy. It is unremarkable, and the issues I had with my aged out tower speakers is now no longer a problem.I did hear some pops and crackles others spoke of, but only when streaming youtube over the phone using blue tooth.I did keep the packing box, with photos of how everything was packed, in case there is a return needed.I recommend this unit without reservation for anyone looking for a reasonably priced wireless soundbar with satellites and sub.