Polk introduces the MagniFi MAX SR

[Deleted User]

From the Polk Audio team:

Introducing the Polk MagniFi MAX SR -
This maximum performance home theater sound bar system provides a bigger, more dynamic and immersive entertainment experience and is optimized for movies, TV, sports and music. Plus, patented Polk technologies deliver clear dialogue, a wider sound stage and deeper bass than traditional sound bars and TV speakers. With Bluetooth and Google Chromecast Built-in technologies, they let you stream all of your favorite music.
https://www.polkaudio.com/products/magnifimaxsr

F1nut

The latest and greatest

LeeSoFL

Love the A77 Kenneth. Do you know what the speaker layout is for the soundbar? Do they face forward, or are some of the 7 drivers aimed up at an angle? The grille material laps from the front, up over the top. Thanks, Lee

motorhead43026

Sweet, I have been waiting.

LeeSoFL

They're due to release it soon. The ads have been running for months in S&V.

[Deleted User]

Good morning @LeeSoFL, the drivers are all facing forward.

westmassguy

I got to say, Polk makes some awesome sound bars. I bought a higher end unit a few years ago for my Sister's bedroom system. Still blows me away how good it sounds, even the little wireless bass module kicks butt.

erniejade

Looks like it will be nice!! Is the Google Chromecast that is built in like chrome cast audio that can receive wav from your wifi? If so, a cell, bubbleupnp and a nas, your music is all set.

LeeSoFL

Watching for the release date closely!

The Sony TV I'm getting has two HDR HDMI inputs at #2 and #3. The ARC is at HDMI#3 which would connect to the soundbar. Does the MagnifiMax SR have HDR at all three inputs, to pass thru to the TV?

Have a safe Labor Day Weekend.

Lee

LeeSoFL

HDR on the inputs, as in 18Gbps 60p, or the lesser 10.2 Gbps at 24p.

Nugmo

Does anyone know if the MagniFi Max would be able to connect to the Omni A1 to power some in-ceiling speakers for the surrounds?

TopperDude

Nugmo wrote: »

Does anyone know if the MagniFi Max would be able to connect to the Omni A1 to power some in-ceiling speakers for the surrounds?

No it only works with the sr1 wireless surrounds.

TopperDude

By the way been playing with a polk Magnifi max Sr these last few days and it is spectacular! Totally changes your opinion of what a soundbar can do!

I encourage all of y'all to try it out and see for yourselves. Bordering on shockingly good .

Derf

TopperDude wrote: »

By the way been playing with a polk Magnifi max Sr these last few days . . .

Where did you get one? Polk's web site still shows as "coming soon."

LeeSoFL

Hopefully, in the final countdown to release. Dec 22 listed on Crutchfield, Dec 2017 here on Polk site. Date has been moved a few times to make sure it's perfect.

TopperMan

Hey why the heck did I get banned? What'd I do wrong?

TopperMan

Derf wrote: »

TopperDude wrote: »

By the way been playing with a polk Magnifi max Sr these last few days . . .

Where did you get one? Polk's web site still shows as "coming soon."

I'm from Asia (not the States). Just got it less than a week ago. Am sure the States will be getting their stock in the next few days as well.

TopperMan

TopperMan

Viking64

TopperMan wrote: »

Hey why the heck did I get banned? What'd I do wrong?

Maybe for typing "all of y'all"? That was quite egregious from a grammatical standpoint.

mdaudioguy

Viking64 wrote: »

TopperMan wrote: »

Hey why the heck did I get banned? What'd I do wrong?

Maybe for typing "all of y'all"? That was quite egregious from a grammatical standpoint.

Yeah, everone knows it should juss be "all y'all."

Viking64

mdaudioguy wrote: »

Yeah, everone knows it should juss be "all y'all."

Yeah, that kind of hillbilly nonsense should be punishable by death.

TopperMan

jeez tough crowd

LeeSoFL

...okay.... SO?? how is the soundbar?

TopperDude

LeeSoFL wrote: »

...okay.... SO?? how is the soundbar?

Its excellent in every way! I'm not normally one to get impressed easily but if you closed your eyes and didn't know better, you'd never in a million years guess its a soundbar playing all that beautiful music! I use a lot of Spotify so this aspect is particularly important to me and its great. Especially in all-stereo mode.

As for movies, it gets loud and really fills the room. And sounds very full (not thin). I like it better than the small blackstone setup. And the surrounds work great. Way better than I thought they would especially since they are so tiny.

I know it sounds like i'm hyping it up and theres no way its going to live up to it but thats why i'm encouraging you guys to hear it for yourselves. It really changes the game when it comes to soundbars. Every single friend who has heard the system in action has had their jaw drop .

LeeSoFL

If they move the date further out, I am gonna have a stroke!

LeeSoFL

Thanks TopperDude

LeeSoFL

I got this on Friday and played around with it over the last few days.

Anyone who owns the SR should be a valuable resource to Polk, since this hit the market only a week ago.

I've got it under a 75" TV and it does well with movies, (4K, UHD from Netflix, Amazon etc.) There's solid bass, not over- exaggerated, and the pair of surrounds (wall mounted) fill the space nicely. The room is 15 x 25, a family room, open to the kitchen area.

The disappointment for me is when watching news or two channel television. Without "Voice Adjust" at full, speech seems directionless, thin, and almost out-of-phase. There is a setting for two channel (music button pressed twice) but that does not give a satisfactory result. After having the Klipsch RSB-14 for a few months, I can say the Polk is better for 5.1 movie viewing, but the Klipsch had far better sound contour for standard television content.

(this was my post on the avsforum site today)

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/195-soundbars/2844682-polk-magnifi-max-sr-5-1-soundbar-w-stereo-dimensional-array-launched-2.html#post55391988

veniors

I received the Magnifi Max SR 1,5 week ago. I totally agree with LeeSoFL about his experiences with the soundbar, the Magnifi performs good with movies from netflix and a good audio source. However I do feel the bar and the surrounds lack a little bit of bass. It makes the sound a little bit thin. Almost all of the bass is coming from the subfwoofer which does a good job actually.

Unfortunately I have a serious issue watching tv. While watching tv in cinemamode or sportsmode the rear speakers produce a hizzing/buzzing noise when someone is talking. I can best compare it with the disturbance you hear on a radio when someone is calling on a mobile phone. It's a high noise and makes watching tv inaudible, because off all the high pitch noises you hear behind you. It was the first sound I heard turning the soundbar on while watching tv. I was pretty dissapointed. I performed a reset with the reset button at the back of the soundbar, it didn't solve the issue. The soundbar is connected through HDMI ARC, no issues there. With a good audio source there is no buzzing noise when people are talking. I do hear noise, I think from the frequency, on the rear speakers, even when no sound is playing. This noise however is only audible when you put your ear in front of the rear speakers. I think it is in it's design or software and not a defect, because when I play music in music mode the rear speakers don't produce this high pitch sound.

Polk should adress this issue as fast as possible if this can be done by a software update. When I turned it on the first time I got a report from Google Home the soundbar is updating with new software, so I really hope this will solve the issue. Only then I feel its a good purchase. For now I will contact my reseller and try an exchange to see if the problem occurs on a different set too.

Derf

@LeeSoFL specifically I’m wondering how well you can hear an announcers voice during a sports broadcast? Or, how clear is spoken dialogue in a movie when there is dynamic music playing in the background? And please elaborate further on regular tv and voice adjust. Does the “at full” voice adjust make regular tv sound really good, just ok, or disappointing? Have you tried different connection methods to see if this changes the sound?

Sorry for all the questions, but I currently have a Polk SB 9000 and while it sounds great for a regular tv program (sitcom, news) when watching sports one cannot hear the announcer because of the background noise from the fans in the stadium, and during movies that have dynamic passages of music, spoken dialogue is almost completely drowned out. I was hoping this new model would cure the issues I’m having, but not take away what works.

LeeSoFL

John Wick 2 on Cinemax sounded very good. Great screeching and punches, lots of crash'em up. Dialogue (for what that's worth in this movie) was clear, cut through the effects well. The surrounds were crisp with quick response. (Some bars I know have significant lag getting the signal to the wireless rears.)

Tuned over to War Dogs on HBO and the sound was just fine. There's more music track on this movie and the Polk handled it admirably.

Today, the NHL Winter Classic was live, outdoors from Citifield on NBC. The announcers were clear and the effects were strong. Keep in mind most sports events are mixed with full-bodied surround, so the rear channels have a hefty share of crowd. Lowering the volume on the rear channels or shutting them off completely is always an option.

I did watch Live from Lincoln Center from last night and it sounded really fine. Our PBS station does not broadcast in DD, so the soundbar switched to DTS.

I am getting used to the audio in news programs etc. I wasn't happy originally, with two channel stereo, but your ear get familiar with one type of sound response, and a change from that, always makes it different for that initial break-in period.