Polk MagniFi Max Issues

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andyrblank
andyrblank Posts: 4
in Troubleshooting
Back in April I sold my Polk Command Bar (I didn't like Alexa) and stepped up to a Polk MagniFi Max.

For the first few months things were great but lately I've had nothing but issues.

For a while every morning I was greeted with a red light in the morning and no sound until I power cycled the unit. I eventually performed a factory reset and that fixed that issue.

That being said just the other day the sound stopped working again on my wife and I had to unplug the unit and turn on the TV speakers so she could watch TV.

Today I called Polk support and they walked me through a factory reset again (which I'm sure is just a required step they have). We also disabled HDMI-CEC/ARC on my TV and re-enabled the feature. The support person also advised that I change the "Digital Out" on my TV from "Bitstream" to "PCM" which doesn't sit well with me since PCM is only stereo but I did it anyway since I expect I'll be calling them again soon to tell them audio has stopped again.

As another note I've stopped connecting the Google Home feature to troubleshoot if that was causing issues (sometimes asking a Google Mini speaker a question lowers the volume on the TV so I thought I'd rule out Google) but I did have it connected before and received firmware updates. On that Does anyone know if a factory reset downgrades the firmware or just resets the existing? Maybe I need to hardwire with ethernet and update again?

I guess my main questions are
  • Are other people experiencing these problems?
  • Should I really be using PCM!?! It seems like the voice adjust would benefit from a discreet center channel signal and Polk advertises Dolby/DTS support.

Setup Info
TV - Vizio P65F1
Soundbar - Polk MagniFi Max (no surrounds)

Wiring:
All devices (Xbox One S, Roku Ultra, Nintendo Switch) have HDMI to TV. HDMI(ARC) is Connected to Polk Soundbar.

TV Settings:
Speakers: Off
Digital Out: PCM
CEC/ARC: ON

Thanks for your time!
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Comments

  • 19Mulder49
    19Mulder49 Posts: 2
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    I have to unplug my Magnifi Max about every other day. And I have two of them that I have to do the same thing to. They simply stop turning on. Nothing works. Not the remote. Not the button on the soundbar itself. Not anything. Power cycle. I'm getting tired of it. I've got one hooked up to a Sony Bravia via HDMI-ARC and another to a Samsung using HDMI-ARC. Both also have Amazon Fire TV sticks and both also have dish network. I'm using the HDMI inputs on the soundbar to handle things. I will say the only reason I haven't thrown them in the middle of the road is they sound good when they're working!
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  • kamandor
    kamandor Posts: 1
    edited March 2021
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    Hi, I’m suddenly experiencing issues with my Magnifi Max - when I change the volume (up or down) this will instantly kill all audio. It’s infuriating.

    The only solution is to press the “TV” input button on the Polk remote. It seems like the sound bar needs to be reminded which input it should be outputting sound too.

    The only thing that I recently changed was that I did configure / add my Google Home to the sound bar. Your original post is making me think that maybe the Google Home has something to do with the audio cutting out issue.

    I performed a factory reset (hold the reset button on the back for 15 seconds until the sound bar beeps loudly at you) and the issue has gone away. I won’t be reconnecting it to my Google Home for the first seeable future. This was driving my toddler is crazy ha ha
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  • JGaudio
    JGaudio Posts: 1
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    I'm having Magnifi Max problems as well, exactly the same as @kamandor.
    Turn the volume up or down and there is immediately no audio, the only way it will return is by hitting the TV button on the remote.

    I've got a 2017 LG WebOS TV, with sound out via their HDMI ARC (LG call it Simplink). I unplugged the 3 HDMI inputs into the soundbar from various devices and the same result.

    The only recent thing I did (today) was plug an ethernet cable and get it appearing on Google Home, so I think that's the issue. I'll disconnect it from Home but I think that's the way the soundbar gets firmware updates?

    The other option I'll try is to switch to Optical Audio out from the TV to isolate a possible HDMI-CEC issue.

    The other (unrelated to this) issue being experienced with soundbar is that the audio is at a bearable volume on nearly the lowest setting (e.g 1 on a 0-10 scale). I shudder to think what would happen if we turned it up to ~50%.

    It's pretty annoying. Hopefully a firmware update can solve the problem.
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,658
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    I'll forward this to Polk.
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  • jslarge
    jslarge Posts: 1
    edited June 2021
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    I have the same issue but it seems to happen after I use AppleAir on my phone to cast
    Update: I removed Polk from my Google home and reset my bar everything worked so I used Apple Air and everything worked fine. So it must be a google thing
    Post edited by jslarge on
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  • iaguilera
    iaguilera Posts: 3
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    mine at first had a problem, when I'd change the channel or source, the audio took a bit to catch up, now I turn the volume up or down for that matter, I get no audio, so I grab the sound bar's remote and hit tv an it works again, I have to do this every time, also to start it was not able to connect to google home, so left it disconnected, and hard wired the ethernet, hoping it would update on it's own, but now it is connected to google home, I try to turn the volume up or down and I get the same thing, does anyone have an answer to this problem?
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  • SeleniumFalcon
    SeleniumFalcon Posts: 3,489
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    I recommend sending an email to Kim.Jasper@soundunited.com for help.
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  • iaguilera
    iaguilera Posts: 3
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    I did, and she sent me a new sound bar set up, but I still have the problem, any ideas?
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  • BlueFox
    BlueFox Posts: 15,251
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    Get a different TV and let us know what happens.
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    Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
    Three 20 amp circuits.
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  • iaguilera
    iaguilera Posts: 3
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    I don't get how a different TV would make the difference, my previous sound bar didn't have an issue at all.
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