I did not expect this mini soundbar to sound so big, and it’s $150 off right now

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• Polk MagniFi Mini AX soundbar at the moment sells for $349 on Amazona $150 low cost from its retail worth.
• Huge, booming sound from a really small bundle, wi-fi plug-and-play subwoofer, Bluetooth connectivity, AirPlay 2, Chromecast, and Spotify Join make this as simple to make use of as attainable.
• Voices in TV and movie can sound louder than common, which is nice or dangerous relying in your desire.

Polk is a reputation that individuals who know sound can belief. The corporate has been round since 1972, and has produced sufficient high-quality audio system and sound techniques to know what they’re doing.

Additionally: The most effective soundbars: Skilled examined and advisable

So, once I acquired the MagniFi Mini AX soundbar to overview, I had sure expectations. I might loved Polk audio techniques of all types, from automotive stereos and audio system to floor-standing audio system and varied items of audio {hardware}. Though it has been some time since I might skilled the great world of Polk audio, I knew what I used to be moving into with this sound bar.

It didn’t disappoint.

ZDNET Recommends

Polk MagniFi Mini AX soundbar

This small footprint soundbar will fill your area with loads of lows and highs (and voices that may really be heard).

The primary speaker is just 15″ broad, so it may be utilized in tight areas, with out sacrificing sound. The soundbar is each Dolby Atmos and DTS:X licensed and delivers Polk’s fourth-generation SDA know-how for a extra correct soundstage that may fill your room so that you by no means miss a phrase of dialog or a thundering increase of deep bass.

The specs

The Polk MagniFi Mini AX specs look one thing like this:

• Channels – 3.1
• Encompass Format – Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital, DTS:X, DTS HDMA, DTS Digital Encompass.
• Entrance Panel Show – OLED
• Polk VoiceAdjust – sure
• Subwoofer dimensions – 7.2″ x 15.6″ x 14.6″
• Soundbar dimensions – 4.1″ x 14.4″ x 3.1″
• Inputs – HDMI eARC, Optical, 3.5mm
• Most output – 10 Watts
• Weight – 14 kilos

Do not let the ten watts of output idiot you, as this soundbar delivers some pretty impactful sound.

My expertise

I’ve to preface this by saying each soundbar I take advantage of and take a look at is in comparison with my default Klipsch soundbar, which is roughly a decade previous and now not in manufacturing. That soundbar has the most effective total sound I’ve ever skilled in a two-speaker (essential and sub) soundbar. Due to that, I am a bit biased towards the Klipsch sound that’s produced by that machine.

Additionally: I changed my costly Klipsch soundbar with a $300 Hisense, and it stunned me in one of the simplest ways

With that stated, with one exception, I used to be completely impressed with the Polk MagniFi Mini AX soundbar. The sound was spacious, correct, and wealthy. What actually impressed me essentially the most in regards to the soundbar was the bass. Given the small dimension of the unit, I used to be sure the bass would fall brief. It didn’t.

The bass on the MagniFi Mini AX is punchy, with out muddying the entire. It is not fairly as much as what my Klipsch delivers, however that is a reasonably excessive bar. The crossover for the Polk does an important job of not sending too excessive a frequency to the subwoofer.

For individuals who aren’t sure of what crossover does on a subwoofer, think about you’ve gotten a variety from 1-10, with 1 being the bottom and 10 being the very best. For a very correct subwoofer, you need to restrict the vary to the decrease finish of the spectrum. It would not make any sense to ship something above 5 to the subwoofer, as a result of that may muddy the sound. As a substitute, you may want sound within the 1-3 vary despatched to the subwoofer. The Polk does an important job of protecting the mids and better ranges out of the sub to maintain all of it sounding tight and clear.

Additionally: The most effective sound techniques: Skilled advisable

And imagine me once I let you know, this soundbar can produce. I examined it each in our TV room and my train room and located the MagniFi Mini did a stellar job in each situations.

My solely gripes

Perceive that I am very choosy about sound, so preserve that in thoughts. My solely downside with the Polk is the midrange (the place voices hit) is usually a bit tinny. It is a quite common criticism from me for a lot of soundbars. I imagine there is a cause for this pattern.

You see, films and TV (particularly films) are produced such that music and particular FX overpower dialog. This downside is getting worse and worse. To treatment that, producers are having to punch the midrange on their units so dialogue could be heard.

Additionally: These skull-rattling headphones spoiled watching films at house for me – in one of the simplest ways

Due to that, voices are inclined to sound a bit too tinny for my style. Nevertheless, I’ll say that my spouse says the identical factor (and she or he’s not an audiophile). That individual tackle midrange can are inclined to make a speaker sound low-cost. The tradeoff is that you could at all times hear dialogue, irrespective of how loud the music and FX are.

For a lot of, that individual professional far outweighs the con of tinny midrange. And, to be sincere, most customers will not even discover the overpronounced mids and can rejoice that they’ll hear what’s being spoken by the characters they’re watching. Moreover, when you’re not proud of the mids, you may at all times decrease the “voice” quantity on the distant or change the sound from Film, 3D, Music, or Evening to raised match the sound to your wants and explicit listening to capacity.

My second gripe is the optical connection was so tight that I used to be unable to get it pressed in far sufficient such that the soundbar may obtain sound from my TV. The optical connection was tremendous to the TV however, for no matter cause (and irrespective of how onerous I pushed or oriented the plug), I could not get the connection to work.

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

At $499 (or, higher but, $349 when it is on sale), the Polk MagniFi Mini AX soundbar is a good purchase, particularly if you’re restricted on area. And though the mids is usually a bit harsh, if listening to dialogue is a precedence for you, this soundbar may have you smiling and listening to each phrase spoken.