Polk Audio SurroundBar-Silver
Product Description
The Polk Audio SurroundBar is designed to complete your High Definition TV experience. It’s the perfect match for flat-panel and shallow screen TVs. And it works with any surround sound receiver. Polk’s patented SDA Surround technology means there’s no need to install rear speakers. SDA Surround creates a completely immersive experience, as if there were dozens of speakers all around you. This technology is based on fundamental research into the way our ears process sound and perceive the direction of sounds.The SurroundBar works in any room, SDA Surround is not dependent on your room’s walls to produce the surround effect. It uses a patented combination of signal processing and acoustical geometry that complements the spacing between your ears to produce surround sound without the need for rear mounted speakers. Since the SurroundBar works directly with the hearing mechanism and requires no special room characteristics, it can deliver a room-filling surround experience in nearly any location in almost any type of room.Installation versatility is designed in. You can wall mount the SurroundBar right below your flat-panel TV. Or use the included cradle on a TV stand, a shelf or for set-top placement. The Polk Audio SurroundBar is a welcome addition for anyone who wants all the thrills of surround sound… but none of the hassles. The SurroundBar is simple to set up. The conductor cable is color-coded and clearly marked for easy hookup, even your kids can do it.Amazon.com Product Description
A perfect sonic and stylistic match for flat-panel and shallow-case TVs, the Polk Audio SurroundBar is designed to offer elegant, high-resolution, single-source surround sound. It comes with everything you need to mount it above, below, or even on your television, and it works with any surround sound receiver. It’s an ideal listening system for anyone seeking rich, enveloping surround sound without the space commitment or hookup hassles of a multispeaker system.
 The SurroundBar is designed to complete your high-definition TV experience and is a perfect match for flat-panel TVs. |
 SDA technology projects sound to both sides and behind you. |
Polk Audio’s patented SDA Surround technology means there’s no need to install rear speakers. SDA Surround technology is founded on extensive research into the way human ears process sound and perceive directionality of sound. Unlike speakers or surround algorithms that merely simulate surround effects, the SurroundBar reproduces discrete, multichannel surround sound using a patented combination of signal processing and acoustical geometry called Acoustic Wave Front Reconstruction (AWFR). Since the SurroundBar works directly upon your ears and requires no special room characteristics, it can deliver room-filling surround sound nearly anywhere.
As with conventional 5.1-channel systems, you’ll hear the best surround effects when you’re centered directly in front of the SurroundBar. However–unlike conventional 5.1 systems–the SurroundBar delivers surround sound regardless of how close or how far away you sit.
While it’s technically a single speaker, the SurroundBar contains seven active drive units, three tweeters, and inputs for all five primary surround channels: front left/center/right and rear left/right. Multiple drive units spaced roughly the same distance apart as your ears allow the speaker to keep you from discerning the actual sound sources. Instead, it will seem as though sound is coming from all around and behind you.
 Mount the SurroundBar below your flat-panel TV, or use the included cradle for a shelf or set-top placement. |
The SurroundBar’s circuitry maintains proper isolation of all amplifier channels and will function correctly with any amplifier or receiver capable of driving a 4 ohm load (that is, capable of powering 4-ohm speakers). Many receivers are rated for maximum power into 8 ohms but function perfectly well–functioning with about half their rated power–into 4 ohms, too. Wiring a stand-alone powered subwoofer in line with the speaker (a procedure illustrated in the product manual) will heighten the sense of realism and visceral power of the SurroundBar.
For even more spacious sound, you can use the SurroundBar with your existing surround speakers, too. In such an arrangement you can wire the surround outputs from your receiver to your separate surround speakers instead of to the SurroundBar’s rear-speaker terminals, using the SurroundBar for the front left, center, and right channels only.
 Simplified color-coded hookup with five channels directly from the home theater receiver. |
Better still, if you have a 6.1- or 7.1-channel receiver, use one of your surround speakers as the rear-center speaker in a 6.1 system, or both surround speakers as 2 of the 4 speakers in a 7.1 system (with the SurroundBar’s 2 surround channels in filling in the sound for the other 2).
The SurroundBar must be mounted horizontally to function properly. Placement directly above or below your TV screen pointed in the same direction as the screen will give the best coordination between your surround sound and the on screen images. Wall mounting, shelf mounting, table mounting, or stand mounting all work equally well. However, walls or other large obstacles within 3 feet of the sides of the SurroundBar will reduce the effectiveness of its surround delivery. Cross-corner locations will work just fine.
The supplied 25-foot, 10-conductor cable is color-coded and clearly marked for easy hookup.
What’s in the Box
SurroundBar speaker, 2-piece wall bracket, a center-channel base, mounting screws, 25-foot wire bundle, and a quick-start guide.
Features:
- Single magnetically shielded surround bar speaker with neodymium motor structures for safe placement on or near TVs
- Equipped with seven 3.5-inch composite cone drivers
- Patented combination of signal processing and acoustical geometry produces room-filling effects
- Equipped with three 0.75-inch silk/polymer composite dome tweeters
- Polk Audio’s patented SDS Surround Technology delivers a vivid sound field from a single 42-inch cabinet
Price At Amazon.com: $549.99
Average User Rating: 4.5
No of Reviews: 8
Click Below To Buy at Amazon.com
Polk Audio SurroundBar Speaker System – Titanium
Joe C
24 Dec, 2009
Good looking but lacks “umph”. Not as good at simulating Surrond as I hoped for the price.
User Rating: 2 / 5
PCGuy
24 Dec, 2009
I’ll be short and sweet, it sounds good, not great. It does look great and really cleans up a room. If you want something that comes close to a 5.1 surround experience in a 1 speaker package I would recommend it. It’s more like 3.1 with allot of ambiance. I did already have a 5.1 receiver and a decent subwoofer. If I had to purchase them on top of the speaker, I might have looked at the Yamaha solutions. I bought an open box that ended up being about 75% off MSRP so for that price it certainly was a great deal. I still have my full 7.1 system boxed up for when my 10 month old grows up a bit and stops trying to knock the floor standing speakers over, but for now this certainly fits the bill.
User Rating: 4 / 5
D. K. Tanabe
24 Dec, 2009
It’s hard for me to tell the surround effects. With a good sub it makes great sound. Much cheaper than other similar designs. Easy to mount. Drilled through the wall to hide the wires.
User Rating: 5 / 5
javajunki
24 Dec, 2009
Plain and simple, we had an ongoing problem. He loves big sound and I hate wires running all over the house. When we recently purchased a new television set decided to give this a try. We already owned a sub-woofer so hooked this into the stereo receiver, connected the television and dvd – great sound, no ugly mess of wires and easy installation.
Like others have mentioned, use the instructions. We originally attempted a different configuration and the results were inferior….in fact, we thought something was wrong with the speaker so took the time to review everything, realized our mistake and were very pleasantly surprised by the superior sound quality.
While others have complained about the lack of “true surround” from not having speakers physically placed behind you, I find this quite superior. At least to my sensory input, I’ve always hated the “disconnect” between seeing something on a screen in front but hearing it behind you. This provides a much more realistic sound quality in that it totally wraps around the room in much the same way that typical sound does. Lows and low, highs are high and the rest is very crisp clean sound. Best of all – banished the wires.
User Rating: 5 / 5
C. Shattuck
24 Dec, 2009
I’ve been a home theater buff for years now, and have only had “true” 5.1 or 7.1 surround setups, with obligatory wires everywhere and unhappy wife as a result (wives I’m convinced care little about home theater, just it works is about it…!!). But I hate looking at wires as I get older, and prefer my current home to be as wire free as possible. The super low roofline makes running wires in the attic to the edges of the room virtually impossible, so my only real option was either wireless or a surroundbar setup. Unless you plan on spending a mint, wireless speakers are pretty good at being surrounds or iPod accessories but that’s about it. There’s just not that certain sound you get from a hard wired speakers. Wireless rear speaker setups are a better option, where you have one receiver and two mini-amps connected to the rears. But I digress…My decision after reading the reviews on the SurroundBar from Polk was to try it out and keep the room clean of wires. It does sound fantastic, no doubt. No, you will not get the same effect as you do with speakers that are behind you. Your room dynamics will affect how the speaker sounds granted, my parlor room is a near perfect cube and pretty large. I will add some wireless rears and run a 7.1 surround setup, since I have the amazing Onkyo TX-SR576S receiver (new also). Get the matching Polk PSW10 sub, or a similar 10″ forward firing sub. An 8″ is too small to balance out with the SurroundBar effectively.
User Rating: 5 / 5