Which is the best soundbar by Polk?

joeparaski
joeparaski Posts: 1,865
edited May 2014 in The Clubhouse
Making changes to the system. The main system remains intact with the big SRS in place. The secondary system with the 2.3tl's will get the soundbar and bye bye 2.3tl's. The third system with the 3.1tl's will be sold off.

Soooo.....which is the best Polk soundbar ever made (past or present). Or any recommendations for a different model?

Thanks

Joe
Amplifiers: 1-SAE Mark IV, 4-SAE 2400, 1-SAE 2500, 2-SAE 2600, 1-Buttkicker BKA 1000N w/2-tactile transducers. Sources: Sony BDP CX7000es, Sony CX300/CX400/CX450/CX455, SAE 8000 tuner, Akai 4000D R2R, Technics 1100A TT, Epson 8500UB with Carada 100". Speakers:Polk SDA SRS, 3.1TL, FXi5, FXi3, 2-SVS 20-29, Yamaha, SVS center sub. Power:2-Monster HTS3500, Furman M-8D & RR16 Plus. 2-SAE 4000 X-overs, SAE 5000a noise reduction, MSB Link DAC III, MSB Powerbase, Behringer 2496, Monarchy DIP 24/96.
Post edited by joeparaski on

Comments

  • oldmodman
    oldmodman Posts: 740
    edited May 2014
    Not much of a review since I have only ever heard the one I have.
    It's the Soundbar 6000. It sound OK but just as a stopgap until I get my Polk based surround system completed.

    I have had a few problems with it. Soon after getting it the Sub amp failed and I had to remove it and send it back to Polk for replacement.

    Now I have a couple of other problems. About once every two weeks I have to power down the sub and re start and reset the RF signal due to it becoming more and more distorted. It seems to lose it's connection to the transmitter in the Soundbar.

    The second problem is even more annoying. The Soundbar will power down if I am using my cable box remote to scroll through programming choices. And I have reset all the infrared parameters in the Soundbar and re-synced it to the cable box remote several times.
    Without any luck.
    It's a real pain in the **** to have to keep powering it back up from the Polk credit card size remote.
  • schwarcw
    schwarcw Posts: 7,328
    edited May 2014
    The Soundbar has not been Polk's one of Polk's better products. Sounds good but it can be quirky. After two years I moved on. Keep trying Polk Audio, I am brand loyal to a point.
    Carl

  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,704
    edited May 2014
    The 9000 is the best, but not even close to the 2.3TL's. In fact, the SRS's are not close to the 2.3TL's either.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • joeparaski
    joeparaski Posts: 1,865
    edited May 2014
    Let me get this straight...do sound bars have their own amplification? I thought they did, because I was also going to get rid of the amp that powers the 2.3's (a GAS Ampzilla) and keep the corner sub in place. If they don't have a built in amp I'll have to keep the GAS or use something else to power it.

    I kind of wanted to keep everything "Polk" since I am loyal to the brand also. But since this is to replace the 2.3's I need something good. Btw...the 2.3's are overkill for room they are in and really aren't used to their full potential. I suppose I can bring up the unused 3.1's and put them into service but I'm liking the downsizing idea of everything but the main gear.

    Joe
    Amplifiers: 1-SAE Mark IV, 4-SAE 2400, 1-SAE 2500, 2-SAE 2600, 1-Buttkicker BKA 1000N w/2-tactile transducers. Sources: Sony BDP CX7000es, Sony CX300/CX400/CX450/CX455, SAE 8000 tuner, Akai 4000D R2R, Technics 1100A TT, Epson 8500UB with Carada 100". Speakers:Polk SDA SRS, 3.1TL, FXi5, FXi3, 2-SVS 20-29, Yamaha, SVS center sub. Power:2-Monster HTS3500, Furman M-8D & RR16 Plus. 2-SAE 4000 X-overs, SAE 5000a noise reduction, MSB Link DAC III, MSB Powerbase, Behringer 2496, Monarchy DIP 24/96.
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,704
    edited May 2014
    Let me get this straight...do sound bars have their own amplification? I thought they did, because I was also going to get rid of the amp that powers the 2.3's (a GAS Ampzilla) and keep the corner sub in place. If they don't have a built in amp I'll have to keep the GAS or use something else to power it.

    The 9000 is self powered and the sub is wireless, so you'll have to use the one that comes with it.
    I kind of wanted to keep everything "Polk" since I am loyal to the brand also. But since this is to replace the 2.3's I need something good. Btw...the 2.3's are overkill for room they are in and really aren't used to their full potential. I suppose I can bring up the unused 3.1's and put them into service but I'm liking the downsizing idea of everything but the main gear.

    Replace the SRS's with the 2.3TL's as they are better balanced and more musical.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • AsSiMiLaTeD
    AsSiMiLaTeD Posts: 11,722
    edited May 2014
    I've tried a few sound bars and have yet to find one I really like. The Pioneer Andrew Jones model is decent and probably the best sounding smaller one I tried.