Polk Audio MagniFi Max SR Home Theater Surround Sound Bar for 4K & HD TVs, Wireless Subwoofer & Two Speakers Included - Black

Selecting the Polk MagniFi MAX SR 5.1 Maximum Performance Sound Bar System was in part based on Polk’s long-standing reputation for excellent audio equipment, and largely based on the impressive specifications for the system. Unfortunately, it proved to be problematic. Not because the sound bar does not sound good, but rather, because the system has flaws which have been documented since at least 2018. I was initially very impressed by many aspects of the MagniFi MAX system, however the problems discovered during initial installation were frustrating. I only learned of the long history of these issues after I received the sound bar, encountered the problems, and in researching them discovered on Polk’s forums several years of user complaints pertaining to these same issues. The MagniFi MAX is comprised of a sleek sound bar which is 43” wide, just over 2” high and just over 3.75” deep. The sound bar has 7 drivers comprised of 4 – 1” x 3” oval drivers, 2 – 0.75” round tweeters and 1 – 1” round midrange driver for the center channel. The 120VAC to low voltage power supply is an inline unit, with a 50” low voltage cord to the sound bar, and a 59” line voltage cord with a conventional plug to the AC outlet. This avoids a “wall wart” power supply which would block multiple taps on a surge protector. The rear panel of the sound bar is equipped with 1 HDMI ARC output, 3 – HDMI (HDCP 2.2) inputs with 4k HDR pass-through, 1 optical input, 1 – 3.5mm analog, stereo auxiliary input an Ethernet port (RJ-45), and a USB for maintenance purposes. The top panel controls are flush mounted and inconspicuous. The front panel LED indicator lamps are concealed behind the front grill cloth, and are only visible when illuminated. There are additional LED indicators on the rear panel, as well. The compact remote control has a high-quality appearance and feel, provides a full complement of system controls and audio controls, and via CEC functionality, worked with my Sony smart TV without codes or learning. The remote control measures approximately 1.75” wide x 5.75” long x 0.75” thick, and is powered by two, AAA batteries which were included. The MagfniFi MAX system also includes a wireless, Bluetooth connected subwoofer with a down-firing 8” round driver and a conventional line power cord to the internal power supply. The subwoofer measures just over 12” wide, 14.5” high and just over 14.5” deep. Rounding out the system are 2 wireless, Bluetooth connected surround sound speakers each of which is equipped with a 3” round driver. The surround speaker power is supplied by “wall wart” power supplies with 9.5’ long low voltage cables for each speaker. Each compact surround speaker measures 7.75” wide x 4.5” high x 3.5” deep. The surround speakers are marked “L” and “R” for their respective channels. All of the components have a sleek and modern appearance and a solid and substantial feel to them. Every cable which might possibly be needed is also included. A 6.5’ HDMI cable, 6’ optical cable, 6’ 3.5mm plug auxiliary input cable, wall mounting brackets, wall mount templates and batteries for the remote control are all included. Polk also includes a printed User Manual, which most companies no longer provide. The MagniFi MAX system is rated at 180 watts RMS power, 400 watts peak music power. Wi-Fi is dual band (2.4 GHz and 5 Ghz) 802.11 a/b/g/n/AC. The frequency response specification is 35Hz – 20kHz. The system includes three sound modes with selectable preset EQ settings for Movies, Music and Sports, as well as Polk VoiceAdjust Technology to enhance dialog, and Polk SDA Surround Technology to create an enhanced spatial sound experience. True 5.1 channel Dolby Digital and DTS are supported. Speaker setup could not possibly be any simpler or faster. Once the sound bar is connected to the television HDMI ARC port via the provided HDMI cable, and all three satellite speakers are connected to AC power, they automatically pair via Bluetooth. No user interaction whatsoever is needed. Solid green LED lamps on the rear panels of each component confirm active Bluetooth connectivity. The MagniFi MAX must be connected to a Wi-Fi network both for receiving automatically downloaded firmware updates, as well as for enjoying the useful benefits of Chromecast Built-in functionality including wireless streaming from other devices and sources, and for sound bar control via the Google Home app. Connecting the MagniFi MAX to Wi-Fi and configuring and using Chromecast Built-in requires the use of the Google Home smartphone app. However, after very extensive efforts consuming many hours, the MagniFi MAX could never be connected to Wi-Fi with the Google Home app, which is the only means of accomplishing that function. During attempts to configure the sound bar with the Google Home app, once the app found the sound bar via Bluetooth and attempted to connect to the Wi-Fi network, it failed and produced an error message that it could not connect. The process was reattempted numerous times, with each attempt failing in the identical manner. Polk Technical Support was familiar with this problem and has dealt with it numerous times. To rule out the possibility of a problem with outdated firmware, the non-Wi-Fi workaround of connecting the sound bar directly to the network router via Ethernet overnight was attempted and resulted in an updated firmware version installing. After the firmware updated, numerous additional multiple attempts to configure the sound bar and connect it to the Wi-Fi network were still unsuccessful. The following day, the sound bar which was less than 3 days old, became completely non-functional and could no longer be rebooted or reset. The initial problem was that the sound bar could not be connected to a Wi-Fi network and therefore the Chromecast Built-in functionality of the sound bar could not be configured or utilized. Once the sound bar became completely inoperative it required replacement under warranty. Research determined that these are known issues with the Polk sound bar. There are several threads on the Polk Audio Forum dealing with these exact problems, dating from January 2018 through December 2020. Polk support was excellent and replaced the non-functional sound bar. Unfortunately, the replacement sound bar also would not connect to Wi-Fi with the Google Home app despite exhaustive efforts. Therefore, the firmware was updated via the overnight Ethernet workaround, and the MagniFi MAX is being used without automated Wi-Fi updates or Chromecast functionality. Speaker setup could not possibly be any simpler or faster. Once the sound bar is connected to the television HDMI ARC port via the provided HDMI cable, and all three satellite speakers are connected to AC power, they automatically pair via Bluetooth. No user interaction whatsoever is needed. Solid green LED lamps on the rear panels of each component confirm active Bluetooth connectivity. The MagniFi MAX exemplifies “Plug ‘n Play” in the truest sense. The system includes three sound modes with selectable preset EQ setting for Movies, Music and Sports, as well as Polk VoiceAdjust Technology to enhance dialog and Polk SDA Surround Technology to create a superior spatial sound experience. True 5.1 channel Dolby Digital and DTS are supported. When evaluating the three sound modes, it seemed that the Movie mode delivered the greatest wide field, spatial sound coupled with a deep bass effect. The MagniFi MAX demonstrated excellent, resonant bass response thanks to the subwoofer speaker. Across the audible range, the audio sounds clear and undistorted, even at very low and very high volume levels. The sound reproduction is excellent, even in a very large room. The surround speakers contribute greatly to the wide, spatial audio. As an integrated system, the surround speakers, in concert with the 7 driver front sound bar and the large, ported subwoofer deliver excellent audio. Dialog was clear and intelligible with the MagniFi MAX. Dialog audio can be further enhanced with the Polk VoiceAdjust control feature. There is also a Night Mode which cuts bass and reduces volume, while boosting voice (treble) frequencies. The excellent, full featured remote control can be used to select the preferred sound mode (Movie, Music, Sports), adjust bass and voice adjust (treble frequencies), control system master volume, adjust surround speaker volume and/or balance, select TV input and HDMI inputs, control video operations, etc. The front panel LED lamps confirm many user selections. I have been disappointed that the MagniFi MAX will not connect to Wi-Fi, and that one sound bar almost immediately became completely inoperable and needed replacement. There are numerous Internet reports of identical Wi-Fi connection problems and of sound bars becoming inoperable. The speakers intermittently produce spurious sounds. There are also numerous documented complaints of unpleasant popping and crackling sounds from the Bluetooth speakers. It is presumable that many MagniFi MAX systems likely perform properly and their owners are satisfied with them, as well. When the MagniFi MAX works, it does sound very good. I certainly never anticipated that the MagniFi MAX would be problematic and it is certainly disappointing. I was unaware of the issues with this product until after I encountered them. Prospective purchasers will be better informed by searching the Polk Audio forum, other Internet forums and product review sites and Consumer Reports online review. I genuinely like the MagniFi MAX when it is working properly. I am disappointed in the product failure that I have already experienced and the ongoing Wi-Fi connectivity failure. I remain concerned that the replacement sound bar will also fail since it apparently is not an uncommon occurrence. Fingers crossed.

The point of a sound bar is simple to me. First, it should sound better than my TV speakers by adding more immersion and depth. Two, it needs to work seamlessly with what I already have. Three, it needs to have the correct ports. Fourth, it needs to support modern tech. Fifth, it needs to look good and not distract from my home theater look. Sixth, it needs to be easy to setup. In general, this soundbar checks all those boxes. It has good sound, looks sleek, and is easy to operate. First: Sound Quality: This is a mid-fi sound system. For what you get I think it is priced competitively as it has great price to performance. For most people this will elevate their sound to a very solid place. It has plenty of power, but once you start nitpicking, you’ll find it lacks some precision that certain users (audiophiles) crave. Voices were easy to hear in everything (movies, music, TV) whether volume was high or low and even when the bass was blaring, and a lot was happening. So, I never had to use the voice adjust feature. Volume only varied by about 10 – 15 dB. Which is a good thing. That way you can easily hear the quiet parts and not have the loud parts make your eardrums bleed. The soundbar will notify you if you are getting Stereo, Dolby, or DTS sound via an LED on the front. I found that the sound was best when it was on Dolby (as all the movies and shows I happened to watch were mastered in that) over stereo. As when in Dolby it would utilize the subwoofer more while also putting directional sound to the rear speakers. In stereo I didn’t really notice the subwoofer and the rear speakers would mimic the soundbar. Which was cool as it made the sound feel all around you which made for a more immersive experience. I noticed minimal leakage of the sound from the room it was in even at loud volumes. Except for bass as that is hard to shut out. Music in general sounded good. But it lacked emotion and the instruments were accurate. So, I do not recommend it for dedicated listening. As a lot of the nuance of the music is being left on the table. But it would work great to cast your phone or tablet audio to or to have on in the background when doing work or at a party. Second: Seamless Operation I had three issues. The main issue I had was that it would switch sources ever so often so my sound would go out and I’d have to manually put it back on the correct source and then rewind. Other times, when I was looking for a specific source (usually my PC) it would take forever to find it. As it seemed to auto switch to another source, which would turn on automatically via CEC. Last, I had some serious issues with the volume control. As it continuously seemed delayed. I would press volume up/down and about 0.25 seconds later it would change. It would also often go up multiple numbers instead of one at a time. If I held the volume, I had no idea where it would stop. This by far was the most irritating part. However, it worked well for all my remotes (except for my 4k Blu-ray player). I do want to mention that my 75 Vizio 4k 2020 TV does have some firmware issues and the way I had the soundbar setup could have been the culprit for all these issues. As I haven’t seen other reviewers mention these. I was on the latest firmware. Some users were also mentioning popping. The only popping that I experienced was from the Subwoofer when there was no sound playing. It was very quiet. It was very rare for it to do it and only lasted for a second. Third: Ports On the top of the soundbar you have from left to right, power, source, Bluetooth, volume, mute, and voice adjust. On the back going left to right, HDMI 1, HDMI 2, HDMI 3, HDMI ARC, Optical, Aux, Network, Service, Wi-fi reset, sync, and power input. So, in general here I think they did a good job. I like having onboard controls. However, you still don’t want to lose the remote as it allows you to go into “Night” mode, quick switch to HDMI 1 – 3, TV, Aux, or Bluetooth. Along with increase/decrease voice, bass, and volume. Switch to Movie, Sports, or Music mode. And last increase/decrease surround speaker volume and their left/right balance. In general, I’m not a fan of the remote. It looks good. It is also setup well. But the buttons require severe pressure to press and have a horrible membrane feel to them which makes the remote feel cheap. There are no ports on the rear speakers or the subwoofer outside of the port to plug in the power and pairing button. Fourth: Support Modern Tech Unfortunately, this does not support eARC or Dolby Atmos. It does support 4K HDR which includes Dolby Vision. But I wasn’t able to get HDR to work on my PS4 when plugged into the HDMI port. Also, it does not support 4k 120 Hz for the new consoles as far as know. As this came out before that became a thing. Fifth: Aesthetics I think in general this guy looks professional and blends in well. As nearly everyone has mentioned it is longer than most soundbars. But on my 75-inch television it looks kind of small. But it is low profile at 2 inches. The rear speakers are small but pack a good punch and look great. The subwoofer is bigger than the one that my parents have from like 15 years ago. But otherwise, I haven’t seen a subwoofer so can’t compare. But is also sleek appearing. Sixth: Setup I decided that it was best to mount this for my personal setup. Fortunately, they do provide a mount for the soundbar itself, but they do not include screws. You also need to buy a mount or have some shelves to place the rear speakers. Once that is situated setup is easy. Just plug and play basically. Even though my Vizio 4K TV supports eARC I just used the ARC connection as that gave me the least number of issues (again probably my TV and not the soundbar). As this soundbar doesn’t support eARC as mentioned previously. Which used up HDMI 1 on my TV. But thankfully the soundbar comes with another 3 HDMI’s that support 4K HDR (but I wasn’t able to get that to work with my PS4 but my Apple 4KTV and 4K Blu-ray player did work just fine). However, I found it easier to keep my Apple TV, Blu-ray Player, and PS4 plugged into my TV’s HDMI’s. The subwoofer and two rear speakers were a piece of cake to setup. Simply find a power outlet and plug them in and you’re good to go. If you have sync issues you can just press the button on each of them to sync them back up. I didn’t have to do this and it automatically synced the first go round. Overall, setup was easy and straightforward. As for getting it connected to the Wi-fi. This was a bit different. As they don’t have an actual app and instead use Google Home. So, I went into my Google App, then added it through there (which then setup the wireless on the device itself) and then it went through a firmware update that took about 10 minutes. This process was extremely easy and pretty straight forward. Google cast worked great via YouTube Music. As did Bluetooth. Voice commands worked immediately as did connecting and sending stuff through Bluetooth. Due to the ease of setup (assuming you aren’t mounting anything) and it being wireless, it’s a piece of cake to take it to another room and use it there. As you’d simply just move the speakers to the correct place. Power them on and plug in your HDMI cord and bam you’re done.

The Polk Audio MagniFi Max SR Home Theater Surround Sound Bar is a complete all-in-one surround sound system that comes with everything you need to greatly improve your TV sound experience - it even comes with HDMI and optical input sound cables. Well packed in a funky looking box. The soundbar is about 43” long, but very slim and sleek looking, and it has all the connectivity inputs in the back and control buttons discreetly on top. The system also includes an 8” powered subwoofer and two satellite/surround speakers. Both the sub and the rear speakers connect wirelessly to the soundbar, all they need is power, so that makes their placement very easy. The initial setup is very easy, just plug-in the soundbar, the subwoofer and the surround speakers and turn the system on, which will automatically pair all components together. If for some reason there is a glitch in your setup process, the sub and satellites have a small button you can press to pair with the soundbar and a green LED light will be lit when connected. There are 3 HDMI inputs, one HDMI ARC input, as well as optical in and headphone jack AUX input, as well as an RJ-45 Ehternet jack, which is a nice to have if you don’t want to rely on a potentially slower/less reliable Wi-Fi connection. The network connection is used for firmware updates and Chrome casting music from your other compatible devices. Since Chromecast is built-in, you can use Google Home for the setup and voice commands. The soundbar has a row of small LEDs that are used as visual indicators for power on, volume level, input type, bluetooth and chromecast connection, etc. I would have loved it if it had an on-screen menu and indicators that you could see on your TV, but may only be available on much more expensive setups. The remote control is pretty sleek looking and has quite a few buttons, you can control the full array of soundbar features, especially volume, bass and voice levels, surround speakers volume and balance, input source, 3-preset sound modes and basic playback controls for Chromecast music. It also works out of the box with most major TV brands and has an Infrared learning option, if it doesn’t automatically recognize your TV. It worked instantly with my 4 year old Samsung TV. It also worked with a Sharp Roku TV that will get this soundbar as a permanent fixture. The default sound levels coming out of such a compact system is quite loud - impressive. I found myself having to turn the volume down quite frequently. The small-ish 8” subwoofer provides plenty of kick to satisfy most movie buffs. I was quite pleased with the surround sound field that was very crisp and more pronounced than my Yamaha receiver with much larger 5.1 discrete speakers. All in all this is a solid mid-range sound system that would make a great addition to any TV, especially in smaller to medium sized rooms. Nice to haves for an upgraded model: Smartphone App that could be used instead of the remote control. On-screen menu that could display a numerical sound level, input selection, etc.

This is review for Polk MagniFiMax SR and based using Apple TV, Sony TV LED, Epson Projector and iPhone for Google Home, and attempt to focus on the H/W and Polk to isolate Google Home experience. The set consist of the sound bard, wireless 2 rear speakers and a wireless subwoofer. Its specs can be found from the info sheet but including below for convenience: Drivers: (4) 1 ̋ x 3 ̋ (25 x 75mm) full-range drivers, (2) 0.75” (19mm) tweeters and (1) 1 ̋ (25mm) center channel driver 8 ̋ (200mm) ported, wireless subwoofer (1) 3 ̋ round driver in each SR1 wireless rear speaker Inputs: (3) built-In 4K HDMI inputs (HDCP 2.2 compliant), (1) HDMI (ARC) output, optical input for TV audio, AUX 3.5mm, Bluetooth, Google Home featuring Chromecast for audio, Ethernet (RJ45) for music streaming Frequency Response: 35Hz - 20kHz Included in the box: MagniFi MAX sound bar Wireless Subwoofer; (2) Polk SR1 wireless rear speakers; Deluxe remote control; (2) AAA batteries; Sound bar power adapter with power cord Subwoofer power cord; 6.5’ (2m) high-speed HDMI cable; 6' (1.8m) Optical cable; 6’ (1.8m) 3.5mm AUX cable; (2) wall-mounting brackets (screws and fasteners not included); Sound bar wall-mount template; Literature. First impression from the experience of viewing a movie with 5.1 sound. It was good as could hear voice from center, and the surround sound from the combination of the bar + subwoofer for deep bass sound + rear sound. Watched Jason Bourne and Jason Bourne Ultimatum from Amazon Streaming, and 6 underground from Netflix, both via connection with Apple TV with two settings: Setting 1: Watched 6 Underground from TV for which bar was about at 12ft and rear speakers 6 1/2 ft. Setting 2: Watched Jason Bourne and Jason Bourne Ultimatum via projector for which sound bard was about at 6 feet and rear speaker right behind my head. For both settings the sound experiences did deliver a cinematic feeling, although Setting 2 closer to the surround experience as space was smaller. However, it didn’t feel that wow effect that grab the attention into the movie. This might vary much per person, but it was about good for voice and sound effect as describe the product description. Now, setting up is straight forward and consist of three types. First connecting to TV and Streaming/Game devices, as It come with three HDMI input and an Output for TV or Projector has HDMI connection. It can connect let’s say an Apple TV , Amazon Fire TV and a Third multimedia that can another streaming device or game, or any combination. The end result is alike a receiver using experience or hub that comes in a single sound device to connect with tv without having to control individually per device. Secondly, setting up with the wireless subwoofer and rear speaker are straight forward as well. Rear side of bar has two small buttons to be pushed in the same way from each speaker and subwoofer. Upon connected does make a sound that has been connected and light indicator on the bar. Third, connecting with Wifi and Google Home app. This takes couple of more steps for being first time user of Google Home, but connecting and adding it to the app to be recognized didn’t take much of time, and worked well with wired connection to internet and WiFi. Upon having all the connection in place, the experience of using it while switching from one type of connection to another, ie HDMI connected Apple TV to Listening music playing via Google Home, then switch back to HDMI connection to watch TV for movie or any streaming, the system sort of fail to recognize respective connection type as the volume doesn’t work correctly. This is observed in two use cases: 1. Play music from Google Home then switch to play streaming. The volume of the selected movie or show cannot be heard. As work around have to change to other HDMI Connection then change back to HDMI Connection that has streaming playing. 2. While watching streaming, the volume control from Google Home doesn’t reflect the actual volume. From the short time test, it is observed there is synchronization issue between the hardware and the Google Home volume control at least. In one case, switching from Google Home to streaming connected via HDMI, the volume control from the remote control didn’t work at all. Its workaround was solved via resetting all from the sound bar and start over, and the same situation was not repeated at least by this review. In conclusion Pro: 1. This almost a Sonos/Apple alike experience at much affordable price point but compromised in level of sound and use experience. 2. Limiting to hardware bundle itself is appealing as deliver acceptable sound experience 3. It has three HDMI input that is alike having a swisher or receiver and single control. 4. The package comes with all the needed cables which is quite handy as some other brands doesn’t. In conclusion Con: 1. The experience of switching between Google Home and Sound Bar is not practical. Every time play music from Google Play, then watching streaming take additional workaround to make it work. 2. The volume level is not in sync in real time between H/W and Google Home application and takes additional steps to reflect the change. 3. The main volume control from remote control doesn’t feel as pressing “-/+“ to decrease/Increase. In short: The effect of practicality changing between connection type from Google Home to HDMI and vice versa and need to apply workaround often to overcome those situations diminish the benefit of the H/W options and its intend making non recommendable.

Solid sound bar - very well built and can get very loud. Does not do Atmos but the Dolby digital 5.1 is certainly good enough. I have been through about 4 different sound bars over the last year and this one is staying in my living room for a long time. Chrome cast works great after a few firmware updates, ARC connection so far very reliable - overall I am very happy with it. One other thing to mention - the subwoofer is quite large and I find myself turning the bass down as it is very powerful - which is usually the complete opposite of what I have experienced with other sound bars. I will take a solid 5.1 sound bar over a less expensive one with Dolby atmos 7.1.2 any day - don’t be fooled by 200 bars claiming atmos - it is not a cheap technology to simulate properly in a sound bar.

Set this up before Christmas. It was very quick and simple. So far we are very pleased with the sound quality. Per previous reviews we registered our product in case anything does go wrong, such as the crackling some people have mentioned. It was commented that this way you get service directly from Polk. We recommend this product if you are looking for a sleek way to replace the bulky receiver/wired Polk speaker system we had previously. Our system looks much cleaner and less cluttered now.

Our Bose Soundtouch 300 system died after 2 years. This Polk Magnifi SR was on sale and a fraction of the cost to replace our Bose. We could not be happier. It synced seamlessly with our Sony TV and sounds better than the Bose. The adjustments to the voice channel and surround volumes allow you to taylor this setup to your room.

Excellent speaker system! I use it for all my bluetooth devices, phone, turntable and TV. If I could figure out a way to play my guitars through it I would get rid of my guitar amps.