16 de diciembre de 2022

Easy to setup, easy to use, great sound

This relatively low cost sound bar has remarkably good sound for such a low profile. Setup was easy. It came with HDMI and optical cables for attachment to the TV. I attached the HDMI to the ARC (Audio Return Channel) HDMI connection of my flat panel and just turned it on. The TV recognized the sound bar by turning off its internal speakers and playing sound through the sound bar. Additionally, it shows the audio level bar on-screen whenever the TV or sound bar remotes are used to adjust the audio level. I plugged in the wireless subwoofer and it connected automatically to the sound bar, but there is also a manual process if necessary.It is also easy to use. There are various adjustments that can be made with the sound bar remote, but once these were made we only use the TV remote. The sound bar appears to go into sleep mode when the TV is off and comes back on when the TV is turned on. It is compatible with Dolby 2.1 content, but it cannot be upgraded with additional speakers.There are five inconspicuous buttons on the top of the sound bar: on/off, source selection, Bluetooth on/off, volume down, and volume up. Bluetooth is used for playing sound from other sources like a smart phone. These buttons also appear on the sound bar remote along with other buttons for mode selections. There are three sound buttons: Movie, Night, and Music. We use the Movie mode mostly as it “expands” the soft and loud sounds as if in a movie theater but with 2.1 speakers. The Night mode “compresses” the sound levels, making “quiets” a little louder and “louds” a little lower. This mode is good for late night listening with the sound turned down so that others aren’t disturbed by loud explosions and you can still hear the “quiet” portions. The final sound mode, Music, is for listening to music with the frequencies set at a more equal distribution.There are also three buttons for Voice Adjustment. These adjust the voice frequencies to make voices easier to understand. At the highest level, number 3, we can tell that voices are much clearer but they sound somewhat unnatural. Consequently, we normally use level 1 and occasionally level 2 when necessary.There are a series of lights on the front screen to indicate operation and when modes are selected. The main light comes on when the sound bar is in operation and goes off when it goes into sleep mode. This is a soft light and I do not notice it when watching the TV. The color changes whenever the Dolby 2.1 signal is received and being used. Other lights on the front will turn on momentarily whenever a new mode or source is selected to indicate that the signal has been received and the change made. There is also a light that comes on when Bluetooth is turned on. This goes off when Bluetooth is turned off or when Bluetooth goes into sleep mode if it is not in use for more than 15 minutes. Note, the auto sleep mode is not the default and this option has to be manually selected to be in use.This sound bar produces much better sound than the TV speakers and requires little attention once the adjustments are set; we mostly use the TV remote. My only criticism regards adjusting the subwoofer levels. The subwoofer has bass minus and plus adjustment buttons on the remote but, unlike the other mode adjustments, there is no visual indication that anything is happening when this is used. There isn’t even an indicator that it is wirelessly linked except for the lights used when manually connecting it. The bass can be adjusted up to the point that deep voices and drums rattle items on the shelves in the room. When adjusted down to reduce such rattles we have no way of knowing if we are at a mid or lowest level. The bass can be adjusted to what is being listened to, but it would be nice to know the actual setting so that a “standardized” level could be selected for particular circumstances.Ver más

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Colin

9 de diciembre de 2018

Good sound, clear dialog, turns on/off automatically

June 2020: still functioning perfectly. I think once or twice I’ve had to unplug the subwoofer to get it work again. Very rare occurrence. The remote can be slightly difficult to get to work (needs the right angle) but I almost never have to use it because the TV controls it. Great sound bar, 100% recommend.December 2019 update: still working great.Original 2018: I got this speaker a couple weeks ago and it's been working great so far (November 2018). I plugged in both the HDMI ARC cable and the optical cable, per the instructions and it started working after I turned the TV off and then on. It turns on instantly along with my TV when I press the Apple TV remote. The volume changes through my TV remote (or Apple Remote). There are three different buttons for levels of voice clarity, but I haven't had to use it at all which is a huge plus. The bluetooth syncing works very easily, again a problem that many other sound bars have. There is no Alexa integration, but that probably helps keep the price low (no mics or networking hardware, a plus in my opinion).The wireless subwoofer has totally satisfactory sound for a semi-large living room, and was completely plug-and-play. I just plugged it in behind the couch and it works perfectly, no syncing needed.This model also doesn't have any problems that affected the last generation (namely turning off after 30 seconds if no audio input), which is great.The price is fair, and it mounted to the bottom of my TV easily.I was not able to figure out what the two "spacers" are that were included in the package. The instructions didn't seem to say what they are.Ver más

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BDLamp

26 de mayo de 2026

Pretty Good Sound Quality for the Price

This speaker system is very reliable and works well with my Smart TV and my phones. I have been using it for the past six years with no issues. It is portable and durable, working just as well as it did when I first bought it. I have moved it to two different apartments and it easily transports from one apartment to the next. It is pretty discreet, blending well with my Smart TV console.My main critiques are that the sound system doesn't always interpret the sound as best as it could, especially the lower registers of the bass guitar and the bass drum. It is good at highlighting the treble sound but I find that I have to increase the volume significantly to appreciate the richness of the bass sounds. I also don't think that switching between the 3 different voice/sound controls on the remote are very helpful, or pressing the musical note button. Moreover, I wish the cables were longer, especially the cord for the subwoofer. For this reason, I did not give the speaker system full stars.Overall, it is a great product for the price though as I paid just under $200 for the set. I have hosted multiple house gatherings and it never disappointed the crowd. I would recommend it to my friends and those who want a good sound system that won't break the bank.Ver más

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Peter Korsberg

27 de junio de 2026

Good sound, easy setup

Another winner from Polk Audio. Sound is clear and clean. The voice enhancement is a welcome addition, especially at night, or early in the morning. As others have said, the lack of display screen doesn't allow the user to know what mode they're in, but for the price, this is easily overlooked and expected. Bass is rich, almost overpowering without tweaking. All in all, a solid purchase for a smaller roomVer más

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Jenni

28 de junio de 2026

Fabulous Polk product! Buy it! Don’t wait any longer!

This Polk soundbar and subwoofer set was just delivered to my doorstep a couple hours ago and I can already say it’s one of the best purchases I’ve made in a long time! I had been waiting to purchase it for months, hoping the price would go down a bit. Well, for Prime Day, it did - that sealed the deal and made it affordable for me!After taking everything out of the box, I simply plugged the power cords in for both the soundbar and subwoofer and connected the soundbar to my TV. I turned on the soundbar and my TV and the TV automatically connected to it. There was also no need to program the soundbar’s remote. Following the instructions for pairing the soundbar and subwoofer via Bluetooth, I activated Bluetooth on the back of the subwoofer and pressed the 2 necessary buttons at the top of the soundbar. Done!The sound these Polk items put out is INCREDIBLE in comparison to the internal speakers on my Samsung smart TV. There is really no comparison and I can’t believe I waited this long to hear! I am especially enjoying the “movie” and “music” sound settings you can use. I don’t usually feel the need to mess around much with things, so other than using the soundbar as audio with my phone, I think switching those settings is all I’ll need to do. Thank you, Polk, for making these awesome products!Ver más

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Jan Strnad

11 de agosto de 2022

Surprisingly good sound, easy to set up, you can turn off auto-off

Lots of reviews here, and many complain about the "auto-off" feature that turns the soundbar off if there's no audio input for 15 minutes. YOU CAN TURN THIS FEATURE OFF. Hold down the "TV" button on the remote for about 5 seconds; a light will flash on the soundbar and the feature will be OFF. Repeat the process to turn it back on again.Now that that's out of the way:I've been using an A/V receiver and hi-fi speakers for a 3.0 (front right, left, center) experience. The problem is, with an over-the-air antenna with TiVo DVR, Roku, smart TV, and disc player, it's gotten very complicated. I turned to the Polk Signa 2 soundbar to help simplify things.Setup was easy. I used the supplied HDMI-ARC connection on my TV, plugged in the soundbar and "sub-woofer" to the wall, and that was that.I was really impressed with the quality of the sound, even at high levels. It plays much louder than I expected and still delivers clean sound. The dialogue enhancement settings give me clearer dialogue on modern movies than my previous center channel speaker delivered.The soundbar comes on automatically when the TV is turned on and it goes off when the TV is turned off. Any remote that controls the TV volume will automatically control the soundbar volume. Couldn't be easier!The "sub-woofer" is really a powered woofer. The speaker is 5.25" in diameter, powered by a 60-watt built-in amp. It delivers good bass at satisfyingly loud levels but calling it a "sub-woofer" is stretching the definition. Still, the sound is much better than you get from a television's built-in speaker and plenty good enough for this hi-fi enthusiast.The soundbar is quite short, barely more than 2" high, which means it fits very nicely under my LG television on legs on a shelf. It looks as if it came with the TV. The wireless woofer can sit about anywhere but sounds best on the same wall as the TV.Anybody can make a soundbar but I chose Polk because of their hi-fi reputation. I'm very happy with my choice.Now, some notes for those who have had trouble getting the soundbar to work.Make sure you're using an HDMI-ARC connection on your television. That "ARC" is critical. Not every HDMI connection is "ARC," which means Audio Return Channel. It should be marked as such. If you don't have an HDMI-ARC connection, you can use an optical connection or Bluetooth, but you'll lose some features like auto-on.Use the supplied high speed HDMI cable. Don't use an old HDMI cable. They've gotten better over the years.Remember to change the "sound output" setting on your TV. It must be set to output sound to the HDMI-ARC connection, or to the optical or Bluetooth outputs if that's what you're using.It works from your TV, so it doesn't matter what sources you use for programming. However, the soundbar will take up one HDMI connection on your TV. If you have a lot of sources plugged into your TV, you may come up short on HDMI inputs.