Polk Audio today debuted its latest flagship sound bar systems, the MagniFi Max AX and AX SR. The compact systems both include an 11-speaker-array sound bar with dedicated center channels and up-firing height speakers, as well as a 10-inch wireless subwoofer. The SR system adds two additional wireless surround speakers.
The new sound bars support both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X along with Polk's patented Stereo Dimensional Array (SDA) technology for immersive sound, and AirPlay 2 is a welcome inclusion for Apple fans. Google Chromecast, Spotify Connect, and Works with Alexa services are also supported thanks to both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.
One-touch modes optimize the systems for movies, TV, or music, while Night Mode turns down the bass to reduce potentially disruptive bass sounds and Polk's VoiceAdjust technology ensures that voices are intelligible above the rest of the audio. Connections include 3-in/1-out 4K HDMI ports with eARC, as well as an optical input. A subtle OLED display on the front panel shows your adjustments but dims when not in use.
The MagniFi Max AX ($799) and MagniFi Max AX SR ($899) systems are available to order starting today and will begin shipping next month.
Tuesday September 17, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
The "Apple ID" era is officially over. The transition from "Apple ID" to "Apple Account" went from a rumor to an official announcement to something that has now been fully completed. As of this week, the account.apple.com website is fully updated with Apple Account branding. "Apple ID is now Apple Account," the page says. "You can still sign in with the same email address or phone...
Sunday September 15, 2024 10:09 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Following over three months of beta testing, iOS 18 was finally widely released to the public on Monday, September 16. The update is available in the Settings app under General → Software Update on the iPhone XS and newer. Below, we have highlighted eight key new features included in iOS 18, and Apple shared a complete list of new features and changes last week. Note that Apple...
Thursday September 19, 2024 10:45 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. The list of states where the feature is available currently includes Arizona, Maryland, Colorado, Georgia, Ohio, Hawaii, and most recently...
Wednesday September 18, 2024 11:34 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today released a new firmware update for all AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 models. The AirPods Pro 2 firmware has a build number of 7A302, up from 7A294, and the AirPods 4 firmware has a build number of 7A304. There is no word yet on what’s included in the firmware, but it comes just a week after Apple last updated the AirPods Pro 2 firmware to add iOS 18 features like support for head...
Wednesday September 18, 2024 7:40 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
It's the end of an era. It has been confirmed that the latest iPhones do not come with Apple stickers in the box, breaking a 17-year tradition dating back to the original iPhone. Marques Brownlee shared an unboxing video that confirms the new iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max do not include Apple stickers in the box, as part of Apple's goal of removing plastic...
Tuesday September 17, 2024 11:24 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple stopped signing the iPadOS 18 update for the M4 iPad Pro models, which means the new software is no longer available to be downloaded and installed at the current time. The update appears to have been pulled following complaints from some iPad Pro owners, who found that the update bricked their devices. There are reports on Reddit from iPad Pro users who had an interruption in the...
I wish these things would compete on robustness and reliability rather than persnickety audio claims that no-one cares about. eg my LG Soundbar + satellite speakers sounds great and is mostly robust, but once a month or so it refuses to wake up when the rest of the system wakes up, so I get audio through the TV until I power cycle the soundbar.
IMHO this is unacceptable in consumer electronics, but no review tracks stuff like this; they'd rather tell you about the 96KHz response curve or something equally irrelevant to normal use cases.
I wonder how this sounds compared to a Sonos Arc with sub and Play Ones setup. I like the idea of having multiple HDMI inputs in the sound bar, it makes it more like an AV receiver, but without the bulk.
Edit: my suggestion is redundant as you don’t want a soundbar I assume.
I got the Sony HT-7000 and SA-SW5 sub a few months ago and the recently released SA-RS5 wireless upfiring rears a couple of weeks ago. Very hefty price overall, but sounds incredible, is well specced if you’re hooking up consoles etc and it gets updates. VRR pass through support is hopefully incoming, but I’m a few years off having a VRR tv anyway.
I go 10 years plus between hi fi setups typically, old one was from 2008, so I don’t mind the hefty price. Bought it to coincide with move to a detached house so there’s no real limit on how loud I can have it, unlike my last place ?
Im not competely closed off to sound bar solutions, I just think that if I am going to spend a considerable amount I could just geta reciever with 7+ HDMI inputs etc. I know the wife would prefer somethnig smaller tho (queue the jokes:p )
I've never understood how I would benefit from wireless surrounds. They still have to be plugged in for power, and copper audio wires from a receiver can be virtually any length (since you can cut them yourself) and are so much easier to run under carpets or along walls. With the bluetooth surrounds, that power cable is going to be a pain to compromise between where the speaker should be placed vs where the outlet is, right?
The difference is that a modern US house (I have no idea about your house) has I don't know, maybe 8 electrical sockets in a TV/family room, including both sockets near the front of the room (power TV, sound bar, bass) and at the back of the room (power satellites). This means that for most people a system with something like soundbar + bass + two satellites is fairly easy to plug in and manage. (Eg I put my two satellites on book cases that are mounted against the back wall).
I don't know exactly what the current CA code is, but it seems to be something like a power point every linear 6 feet of wall. Which might sound ridiculous (and looks like overkill when you see a bare room) but it turns out to be SO nice when you actually live in the house and rarely have to either run long cables or use aggressive power splitters.
I'd really like to know how this compares to a Sonos system. This whole system costs as much as 1 piece of the Sonos system.
I've still yet to buy the Sonos sub because I just can't bring myself to pay another $700+ for just the sub, when the Sonos Arc and Sonos One(s) already put me over $1200. But the system lacks any depth without the sub.
