MagniFi Max SR - Surrounds Popping (despite software updates)
Comments
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Damian91, its a hardware issue which Polk is trying to fix by software.
After 115 firmware the sound of my soundbar got a lot better.
BUT !! Sometimes I still heard some crackles.
The solution of all my problems: I just took the old Wi-Fi antenna and soldered it directly to the antenna on the signal reception board (rear speakers).
2 months of testing. Result - any pops or crackles.
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Damian91, its a hardware issue which Polk is trying to fix by software.
After 115 firmware the sound of my soundbar got a lot better.
BUT !! Sometimes I still heard some crackles.
The solution of all my problems: I just took the old Wi-Fi antenna and soldered it directly to the antenna on the signal reception board (rear speakers).
2 months of testing. Result - any pops or crackles.
version 115 is installed. very strong noises and cracking. does it really work if you solder a new antenna? do you have a photo with a soldered antenna that I can show and explain to the master? -
Although the snaps and crackles have been gone for a couple of years, I do notice the main bar has a gurgle sound when there's music in a movie. I thought it might be the Vudu or Netflix service, but I tried the same scene on another TV with a Sony soundbar and it was fine. Anyone else hearing the gurgle?
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I do not have a photo, but it is very simple. I soldered the central wire of the antenna to one “horn”, the braid to another.do you have a photo with a soldered antenna that I can show and explain to the master?
Soon I will be repeating with another speaker. I will take a photo for you.
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Just bought the mag max system last week and I am also experiencing the random crackling in the rear surrounds. I have update 115 currently installed. What's going on here? Is there going to be a solution. I'm not prepared to solder anything on a brand new product that I have just purchased. Pretty annoyed to be honest.
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Although the snaps and crackles have been gone for a couple of years, I do notice the main bar has a gurgle sound when there's music in a movie. I thought it might be the Vudu or Netflix service, but I tried the same scene on another TV with a Sony soundbar and it was fine. Anyone else hearing the gurgle?
I've heard that periodically aswell. Here I was thinking that Polk was a quality product. I used to have car audio from Polk worth thousands. It appears there quality of workmanship has taken a dramatic dive for the worse. I am baffled that these units have these issues. I'm starting to regret my purchase. It's a shame as the overall sound is as amazing for a soundbar, sub and surround speaker set up. Am I missing something? What is the solution ? -
I have 115 and both surrounds have these disgusting sounds. WHO know When we can expect next firmware from Polk? Do they aware that 115 doesnt work? Or maybe they think that everything is OK with 115?!
I really dont understand that Polk cannot fix it for already 2 years! It is f*cking crazy!!!
Yeah man. I have no idea what the hell is going on here. Polk need to remedy this NOW -
kevtheboilermaker
Bro, sit down and relax. Polk will not release a new firmware. They tried to fix the bug by releasing a new firmware - they succeeded, but not perfectly. That's all.
You have two options:
1) return the soundbar to the store and buy something else
2) buy 2 wifi antennas and solder them to the boards -
Hey guys.
Im a newbie here. Aside from the occasional sound pops, Just wondering if you have issues with respect to connecting to 5GHz wifi.. Not sure but ive done a couple of resets but my signifi max sr cant detect the 5Ghz band.. any ideas? if its worth noting - I live in Philippines btw.
Thanks! -
Guys, I was wrong. Polk has released a new firmware v132. An update came tonight. I don’t know what they fixed, but I hope it will put an end to the problems.
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Guys, I was wrong. Polk has released a new firmware v132. An update came tonight. I don’t know what they fixed, but I hope it will put an end to the problems.
How to update? -
I dont know. My device has updated itself.
But this thread has instructions on how to manually update. -
I dont know. My device has updated itself.
But this thread has instructions on how to manually update.
Have you updated? What changes? Has the problem been solved? Or have you already solved your problems with new antennas? -
I see I'm now on 132 also. If you're connected by ethernet, the Polk will update automatically. If you're on Wi-Fi, you need to get the Google Home app. It will search for the device, couple of quick settings and then will update.
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Yes, last version is 132. I don't see any changes.Have you updated? What changes? Has the problem been solved? Or have you already solved your problems with new antennas?
Additional antennas have already solved my problems. Very rarely, there may be clicks or crackles at the beginning of a movie. Solved by rebooting the soundbar.
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Yes, last version is 132. I don't see any changes.Have you updated? What changes? Has the problem been solved? Or have you already solved your problems with new antennas?
Additional antennas have already solved my problems. Very rarely, there may be clicks or crackles at the beginning of a movie. Solved by rebooting the soundbar.
updated, no changes, still clicks. I'll make antennas like yours -
Guys, my tests are complete, and I want to share a solution with you.
= = = = = = =
Like many of you, I was tormented by crackles, mostly from the rear right speaker. Having exhausted all my patience while waiting for the new firmware, I decided to disassemble the rear speakers.
I found a small electronic board (I detached it from the mainboard).
This board is responsible for receiving the signal from the soundbar. I swapped this small board in the right and left rear speakers. As a result, my right rear speaker now sounds great. No more crackles or popping. But problems have moved to the left rear speaker. I conclude that the problem is not in the firmware, but in the quality of the assembly (manufacturing defects). And this is a factory scale problem, not a single instance.
Then I disassembled the subwoofer and found the same small board there.
I swapped it with the left rear speaker. Now both of my rear speakers sounds great. This replacement has no effect on the sound quality of the subwoofer. The system as a whole is now working well.
Now very rarely in the left rear speaker occur crackles (1-2 times per movie and not always). Perhaps this is due to the fact that the subwoofer is very close to the soundbar. If possible, increase the distance between them to 3 feet.
I hope this solution fixes the problems and you can enjoy watching.
I want to note that the board, which is installed in the rear right speaker, is different in color and placement of markings from the one that is installed in the subwoofer and rear left speaker.
Right
Left and Subw
How do you open up the rear speakers? I'm trying to do this but I can't seem to find a way to open them. -
I'm checking back in over a year later. I did not know they had pushed an update to these bars in September or October, but I haven't even hooked up my surround speakers since I moved in May. Not worth the hastle just to leave them turned off all the time.
I will bring them out and update them and see if the issue is fixed/lessened.
The reason I checked this thread again is because my overall polk experience has tanked in the last couple months. After I gave up on the added on rear speakers, and admitted that I had basically ripped up $150 and threw it out the window, I lived a pretty peaceful and stress free polk life. Then the subwoofer started crackling and popping. Not constantly but more than I had ever experienced. And now it's like the sound bar is going senile. It won't turn on immediately with HDMI ARC like it has flawlessly for months. Sometimes it does turn on after a few minutes, when I've already manually switched my TV to built in speakers, when it then commandeers the audio to silence for a few seconds before either playing quietly or jarringly louder due to whatever volume the sound bar was set at when I last turned it on.
The other times it simply doesn't turn on the entire tv watching session. Or it turns on, and plays sound, but won't allow volume adjustment, won't react to TV remote over ARC or its own dedicated remote, and won't connect to chromecast. All of this suddenly in the last few months. So I feel like the new update is to blame. If anyone knows how I could manually go back to 115 I would be thankful, if only to test and see if that solves these new issues. Like I said, after I gave up on the surrounds before these new issues I was living a great life for many months with this system. I think they sound amazing when they're working right. The adjustments available with the remote are enough to cater to my preferences.
Coincidentally, I also own a magnifi mini. I liked this sound bar so much I decided to purchase one of those for my bedroom. And I LOVED it. But then it just bricked one day, while using it no differently than I had for many months. It acted as though it was fine, the LEDs behaved normally and I could even connect to chromecast. But no matter what I tried, it would not output any sound at all. Took it to best buy and they refunded me. Not replaced, refunded. Where I was then able to "purchase it again". So heads up to those who go the geek squad route, this is my first time utlizing that extended warranty I purchased after the manufacturers had run out, and the solution was the refund. This is sucky because I still had 2 more years of warranty that I had purchased, but with the refund this was now null and void. Basically purchasing the geek squad package is a guarantee for a one time replacement of the product, not the 3 years coverage of issues like I was duped into believing. So I purchased another mini (because I assumed it was a singular error, and remember how I really really liked the first one? I was willing to give another a shot) and brought the new one home. Well, it hasn't bricked yet, but it's behaving in similar ways to the max in the living room, by not turning on with the tv every time, or turning on and freezing, etc. And this is a fresh+out-the-box unit, simply hooked up to wifi to auto update.
I find myself unplugging both of these units several times a week to reset them manually. I'm about to put them on smart plugs so I can reset them without getting up, thats how consistent this problem is. So if anyone is thinking of buying into this line of product, DONT. At this point, I simply want away from them. If someone could refund me from polk, or if I even had a friend who was willing to deal with these issues, I would gladly try out another system, the almost $1,000 I'm invested into polk be damned. Looking at the Bose Atmos next. But I'm going to try and figure them out for a couple more months.
I am handy with a soldering gun when given clear instructions, so I will be attempting what the other guy did with the antennas if this new update does not solve the popping in the surrounds and subs. And like I said, if anyone can explain how to revert to the 115 update I would be appreciative so I could test whether my recent issues are due to the 132 update.
Thanks for reading. -
The speaker grilles are held in place by friction. Just pull them forward. Behind them are 4 screws. Good luckHow do you open up the rear speakers? I'm trying to do this but I can't seem to find a way to open them.
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The speaker grilles are held in place by friction. Just pull them forward. Behind them are 4 screws. Good luckHow do you open up the rear speakers? I'm trying to do this but I can't seem to find a way to open them.
Thank you, Ecliz, that helped me a lot! Now it sounds much better, no disturbing popping in the right rear channel. Althouh, it seems like the subwoofer is playing now a little bit quiter (less bass) than before this procedure of board swapping. -
smh. i’ve owned the magnifi max soundbar w/subwoofer, no surrounds, for over a year and a half now and like many others here i too am constantly hearing pops and cracks. the soundbar alone works fine, my issues are solely with the subwoofer which is where the pops and cracks emanate from. i’m on software version 132. i've tried moving the sub to different areas of my living room, system resets and nothing has worked. smh.
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I'll send your contact information to a friend at Polk, he'll send you an email, but probably not until the early part of next week, however. Hang in there!
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@SeleniumFalcon can you send my contact Information to your friend? I have this issue to
I tried to replace wifi antena from sub to right rear speaker with no result. Thanks! -
Will do.
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@SeleniumFalcon i updated my e-mail adres on my profile, i have one bad letter on e-mail. Sorry for problem.
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Everyone I’m pretty sure the popping is caused from the interference from our bodies. I used to have my rear speakers on the wall behind me. Now they are on stands next to my couch. No longer popping unless I move too close to a speaker.
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oceanlife1981 wrote: »Everyone I’m pretty sure the popping is caused from the interference from our bodies. I used to have my rear speakers on the wall behind me. Now they are on stands next to my couch. No longer popping unless I move too close to a speaker.
It seems like good news, would you be so kind to put a picture of how you have them installed? Thank you -
I have them this way and on the left I notice the creaks,
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This is what I have. I might only hear a pop once a week. Like I said before it’s definitely something to do with our body interfering with the signal. My head was too close to one of the speakers a few weeks back. I made an adjustment to the speaker and boom the pop was gone instantly.
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what speakers are you using? The SR1 or SR2 ?, I will try to lower my support to see if it works,
