Polk Soundbar

aequitas

My parents are looking at this for a condo since the layout really wont allow for placement of rears. I haven't heard much about the soundbar on the forums here. So I was wondering if anyone has heard it and their thoughts.

RuSsMaN

Surroundbar

nadams

How did I know that was gonna be your post, Russ?

While I also would've corrected that point, I'll go ahead and tell you my impressions.

It does do an admirable job of covering the rear soundstage, but it really is no replacement for true rears. But unless your parents are home theater enthusiasts, this will be better than just stereo speakers. One note, a sub should be considered REQUIRED for using the SurroundBar. It has little to no low frequency extension by itself, which is understandable. It does go very loud, and is very clear. I enjoyed my demo enough, it's just unfortunate that the thing has to be so damn long...

beardog03

I had the pleasure of hearing the surroundbar at PolkFest..

I was very impressed..!
Outstanding sound from such a small unit..
It is long , but was designed to go under a plasma flat panel type screen..

I will probably own one someday

But I am a speaker freak so don`t mind me..


Next..!

TroyD

I'd like to have one. Hella-cool for HT.

BDT

aequitas

looks like crutchfield is throwing a free psw10 or $200 credit towards another polk sub with the sourroundbar (my bad on the name). Seems like it would do the job quite well for what they will need. thanks for the inputs...

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-zf0Exc5HjTG/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=11999&I=107SDASBT&search=surroundbar

Willow

Wonder if they'll make it in black ?

mantis

I have installed the surroundbar and it can't be used by itself. you have to have a sub as well. The above statement is very true. For small rooms and no ability to have rears, it works ok. It's passive. It also comes with a ribbin looking speaker cable holding all 5 channels in it.
It hangs nice on the wall as the bracket is built well. Easy to install.

Dan

Willow

I'd like to listen to one but none of the stores I've been to have it set up.
I might like it in a bedroom or gaming room, but I can't see it replacing my main system.
I'm sure my wife could, is there an option to configure what speakers in the bar you want to use ? or do you just not plug them in !?

Found all my answers.

rnp614

Depending on budget I'd look to Yamaha's YSP-1000. It seems that a lot of people on AVS have had good results with this thing.

danger boy

the SurroundBar sounds really quite good. will it completely replace all your HT speakers.. nope. but it does a fairly good job if you can't have all those speakers and wires running around your living room.

I hope to own one too some time in the future for a bedroom or second HT room down the road.

madmax

I was extremely impressed with the soundbar which I heard at polkfest. I could live happily ever after with one and never look back. Highly recommend.
madmax

(surroundbar... )

ND13

rnp614 wrote:

Depending on budget I'd look to Yamaha's YSP-1000. It seems that a lot of people on AVS have had good results with this thing.

WHAWHAWHAWHAT!!!!! :eek: :eek:

I'd lay money on the Surroundbar anyday. Plus the Yammie is just as, if not more, expensive than the Polk. Fry's has had the Polk for $799. Add a decent sub for say $300-400 and you're done. The Yammie combo'd up with a Polk sub, at Fry's, has been in the $1200-1400 range for a while now. :rolleyes:

rnp614

Thats what I meant. If more money is available, one should check out the Yammie as well. I didnt say I've heard either, I just said I read good things about it and its worth looking into! Forgive my heresy!

aequitas

well i went down to the local fry's today and listened to both the surroundbar and the yammie. for just being a bar of speakers, the polk was pretty impressive. obviously needed a sub and obviously isnt going to replace rears. but in a pinch, when the room wont allow the rears, it can work. i was only able to listen to each for about 5 minutes, but here are a few of my thoughts.

I heard the polk with a sub. they played some demo dvd that had a few clips from music videos and movies. i got teh feeling of a wide soundstage, but it wasnt quite wrapping around. it sounded nice and warm, like the rti line (maybe its the same, not sure). but like i said, the rear sound just wasnt quite there.

Next was the yammie, also with a sub. unfortunately it was in a different room so i couldnt a/b it with the same equipment. when it first started playin, i thought some of voices sounded a little harsh. but by the end, the sound was actually pretty impressive and seemed less harsh than when it began. the stage seemed larger than the polk and managed to wrap around behind better than the polk as well. it still was definately weak when it came to rear sound, but it was better.

the interesting thing is that the yammie comes with a built in digital amplifier w/ sub out so technically you wouldnt need a receiver/pre/pro. so while it is $1299 compared to the $799 polk, you would save some on the receiver part. the yammie also has 40 speakers on it. 2 mids and 38 tweeters. the polk has 7 speakers, not sure what they are classified as.

in the end, running wire would be the best. but when thats not really a viable option, these two little beasts seem to work better than just stereo. with the short listening session i had, i think i prefer the yammie because it seems to project a larger sound stage.

dorokusai

The Yamaha is also very room dependent, as it relies on the sidewalls to reflect the "surround effect". The Polk system however does not have that limitation and is much more flexible as far as placement options.

I heard the Yamaha awhile ago and wasn't impressed.