Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Culture

Polk’s latest soundbar does wireless surround at a serious bargain

Brendan Hesse
By

Polk’s-latest-soundbar
Polk
Trying to get big sound from a tiny soundbar is no easy task, but Polk Audio is making it much easier. Following the lead of the company’s tiny powerhouse, the MagnFi Mini, Polk’s new MagniFi Max SR soundbar aims to provide another option for big sound from a petite package.

The MagniFi Max is equipped with four one-inch-by-three-inch full-range drivers, a pair of three-quarter-inch tweeters, a one-inch center channel driver, and a wireless subwoofer with an eight-inch driver. It also features Polk’s Stereo Dimensional Array technology, plus DTS and Dolby Digital surround sound decoding. But the real kicker is the soundbar’s included pair of SR1 wireless satellite speakers, which can be linked up with the soundbar to create a true surround sound experience in just about any space.

Recommended Videos

This might sound like a large setup, but the soundbar has a slim footprint, standing a mere two inches tall, while the SR1 speakers are small enough that they won’t disrupt your room’s layout, or require messy speaker wires (though each will require a power outlet). Polk will also offer the MagniFi Max and SR1 speakers separately, for those who would rather purchase the system by piecemeal.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

As for wireless conenction options, the MagniFi Max SR packs Google Home-integration, meaning it can be controlled with voice commands and can pair up with any Chromecast Audio-enabled devices. And of course, the bar also supports Bluetooth to conveniently stream music from your phone.

For wired connections, there are three HDMI inputs with HDCP 2.2 support for 4K passthrough, as well as HDMI ARC support for high-quality, one-cable connection to your TV. Additionally, the soundbar boasts a digital Optical input, an Ethernet port, and a 3.5mm analog input.

Users will be able to select between a number of EQ presets to find the best possible mix for whatever they’re watching or listening to, as well. Alongside  setting options like movies, music, and sports, there’s also a “night effect” mode that’s designed to reduce bass and increase dialogue clarity without affecting the volume level. Polk’s Voice Adjust technology also provides users with a number of voice-specific tuning options.

Finally, Polk has ensured users can control their MagniFi Max with the remotes they’re already using by including built-in support for Samsung, LG, Sony, and Vizio IR TV remotes.

Perhaps most impressive is the price. The MagniFi Max SR (which includes the wireless speakers, as well as HDMI and Optical cables) is available now for just $600 from Polk, Amazon, Best Buy, and Crutchfield. The soundbar is $500 by itself, and the speakers can be purchased separately for $150.

If performance is on par with the rest of the MagniFi family, this could be a great surround sound solution for those on a budget.

A version of this post first appeared on our “brother site,” Digital Trends.

Brendan Hesse
Brendan Hesse
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Please reach out to The Manual editorial staff with any questions or comments about Brendan’s work.
How long should you let new cigars rest in a humidor?
Cigar humidor

Looking at those beautiful, oily cigars you've just unboxed or unwrapped, the calling to light up is real. I get it. I always want to smoke my cigars right away, too. But you shouldn't. Mail day is always exciting after you've ordered a slew of new cigars. When they arrive, the real fun begins. You'll probably need to organize your humidor to make the new sticks fit or arrange them for optimal humidification. As you're handling them, it's difficult to resist the temptation to crack open the cellophane or boxes and smoke one right away. While you can do that in most cases, I would recommend against it. Depending on where those cigars came from, where you live, and how they traveled, they might need a little time to rest in a humidor. They'll need to replenish some humidity and moisture or dry out a little.
How long should you let your new cigars rest?

When you put cigars in a humidor, especially one that's filled, they'll soak up and release humidity over time until they reach the average RH (relative humidity) that you have set inside your humidor. If you have a device like a that does this automatically, it will produce moisture and humidity to keep the levels optimal. You can also achieve the same thing with in smaller humidors, which release and soak up the humidity to match the levels on the label. Boveda packs come in a range of RH levels, from the low to mid-60s to the mid-70s.

Read more
The 11 best Kevin Costner movies, ranked
He has a full resume of films, but if you're a Costner fan, then you must see these movies
Kevin Costner in Dances with Wolves

An all-American, blue-collar working man turned Hollywood essential, Kevin Costner has lived a life full of experience and dreams that some can only imagine. Starting out as a small kid -- 5'2" at high school graduation -- who moved around a lot, Costner was fond of things like poetry, writing, and singing in his Baptist choir. Outside of the arts, he was also very interested in sports of all kinds, which is reflected in his film career to this day. Also a man of the outdoors, Costner built his own canoe at 18 and paddled it through sections where Lewis and Clark ventured. Fun facts aside, Costner had a full and interesting life before the world got to know him as the charming and eloquent movie man we know him to be today.
From his past life, accomplishments, and hobbies, Costner was fully prepared to write, direct, and act for the screen as he fulfilled yet another lifelong dream. A man who was once called "The King of the Sports Movie," Costner has been able to act in films of a subject matter near and dear to his heart that became the films he is best known for. And that doesn’t include his many other successful movies having to do with politics, crime, and romance that also make for some of his best roles. Luckily, we’re here to talk about all of those films at once as we celebrate the man who has accomplished more in one lifetime than some could in many. Here are the best Kevin Costner movies of all time.

11. Open Range (2003)

Read more
The best Quentin Tarantino movies, ranked – Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and more
If you haven't seen these films at least one time, you need to ... and then watch them again and again
Scene from Pulp Fiction, John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson

Of all the contemporary film auteurs, perhaps no one’s work has permeated pop culture as thoroughly as Quentin Tarantino's. This director’s hyper-stylized, retro fantasy worlds have come to define cinematic coolness. His clever mashups of genres, exquisite sense of aesthetics, impeccable editing, uproarious suspensefulness, and impossibly quippy dialogue have been endlessly imitated.
Given the current political landscape, Tarantino’s work has undergone a serious critical re-evaluation from Black and feminist critics and scholars who point toward both his allegedly abusive behaviors and the offensive politics and rhetoric of his films. It’s true that in this new light, for many, there may be nothing redeemable about his entire oeuvre. 
However, to discard all Quentin Tarantino movies would discount the impossible talent of his frequent collaborators and stars, such as Sally Menke (who edited all of Tarantino’s movies until her death in 2010), Uma Thurman (who not only played the protagonist of Tarantino’s most iconic movies but was also credited as a co-writer on Kill Bill), Samuel L. Jackson (a frequent Tarantino star), and many more.
With that in mind, here’s our (subjective!) ranking of the greatest directed Quentin Tarantino movies of all time.

9. Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019)

Read more