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According to our soundbar expert
The PolK Signa S1 is a basic soundbar with a wireless subwoofer that you can use to enhance your TV audio. You can also use Bluetooth to wirelessly play music from your smartphone. With the VoiceAdjust technology, you can modify the way voices sound, so that you'll always hear movie dialogues or sports commentary properly, for instance. The wireless subwoofer produces a sturdy bass and can be positioned wherever you want. You can mount the slim soundbar on the wall, thanks to the key-shaped mounting system.
Connecting the PolK Signa S1 Soundbar to your TV
Use the included optical cable to connect your soundbar to your television.
Built-in WiFi | ||
|---|---|---|
Bluetooth | ||
Width | 89,8 cm | |
Height | 5 cm | |
Sound reproduction | Surround |
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The soundbar has a nice design. Cable management has been well thought out; there are angled connectors in it, which makes it easier to connect cables blindly. The subwoofer is also wireless (with the exception of the power cable) and it works fine as long as it is within 10 meters of the soundbar.
In terms of connectivity options, there is nothing to complain about for this price segment. The soundbar offers AUX (standard jack), Optical S/PDIF and Bluetooth. Unfortunately, those are all the positives I can name.
In my opinion, the most important thing about a soundbar is the sound. The sound of the Signa S1 is unfortunately very disappointing. For example, I noticed that the soundbar actually does not produce any low tones. The bass is played only by the subwoofer. This may sound like a minor problem, but a subwoofer is by definition a mono source. So this causes the loss of stereo sound for all low-frequency sounds - which ends up sounding very messy. In addition, the subwoofer is weak, making sounds such as explosions very bad.
Unfortunately, there is more wrong with the soundbar. For example, it does not turn on automatically with the TV. This in itself is not a big problem, but the soundbar also takes at least 45 seconds to start up. I don't see any reason why this should take so long.
The display is unfortunately not really useful either. You can adjust the volume and bass via the soundbar and the remote control. However, you will not see the current level anywhere on the display. The display has 4 multi-color LEDs, but does not use any of them for anything useful. At least they could have used the 4 leds to show the volume (from low to high - led 1 to 4 on). In my opinion they have been lazy.
Furthermore, the remote control offers access to 6 different sound profiles: movie, night, music - and 3 different speech boost profiles. As with the volume, there is no way to tell what the current mode is. I couldn't notice any difference between the movie and music profiles. The night profile is not very useful, because there is still low sound from the subwoofer (as discussed earlier - the soundbar itself has no bass). The speech profiles can be useful in case of hearing damage, but in general it does not lead to sound improvement.
Finally: I cannot recommend this soundbar. For considerably less money you can, for example, get the Samsung HW-K335. This soundbar offers much better sound, has a handy display with text and more sound profiles. The only thing you miss is a wireless subwoofer, but if you place the subwoofer on the other side of the room, this is not a loss.
Sam Hardeman
31 May 2018
Automatically translated from Dutch
Hearing the name POLK Audio may not immediately ring a bell. The brand is not mentioned in the list of Sonos, Heos and Bose. Still, POLK audio is not as small as the name suggests. The American company has been building speakers since 1972. These are mainly used in cars or for home use. This was the reason for me to give this brand a chance. I was looking for an affordable solution to boost the flat sound of my TV. Below you can read whether I found it with the POLK SIGNA S1 soundbar.
Contents: The soundbar comes with a wireless subwoofer. It only needs power and can be neatly hidden behind the couch or next to a cupboard, as long as it is within 5 meters of the soundbar. The box states that all cables to connect the POLK are present. Yes and no. Power cables are supplied in duplicate, with a European and an English plug. (If you are going to move to England soon, this is not a problem). An optical cable is included. But an aux cable is missing. So if your TV does not have an optical output, you should hope that you have received an aux cable with the TV. A remote control is also included. This one feels a bit cheap, but does what it's supposed to do.
Appearance: The POLK SIGNA S1 is of a reasonable size. It fits perfectly on the TV cabinet and with its dimensions of 5.5 by 90 by 8 cm (HxWxD), the soundbar is not a disturbing factor. It has 5 buttons on the top (on/off, Source, Bluetooth and Vol up and Vol Down) and is finished with black speaker cloth on the front. The POLK can also be mounted on the wall and POLK supplies a template so that you can properly mount the screws (not included) in 1 go. This is really a plus. With many other manufacturers you have to buy special brackets, at special prices, where the POLK 2 screws and wall plugs are sufficient.
Installation: I received the soundbar around Easter. And I could make the pun that connecting the soundbar was a "piece of cake". It is not necessary to read the manual, it is self-explanatory. This is also because the POLK only has 2 physical audio connections (optical and aux). On my TV I only had to set that the sound should now come through the optical output. You can switch on the POLK in 2 ways, via the on button on the soundbar and via the remote control. I do miss the option that HDMI offers. Soundbars linked with HDMI turn on/off with the TV and the volume can be increased or decreased with 1 remote control. The POLK must always be switched on manually, if you do not do this, you will hear the delay of the sound because the TV will also start playing sound again.
Usage: The Polk is easy to use. You can adjust the Volume and Bass via the remote control. The disadvantage is that you do not see how loud the Volume and Bass are. But you'll hear that soon enough. Furthermore, there are 3 sound modes for film, music and a night mode. If you want to buy the soundbar because you can no longer understand speech, there are also 3 speech modes to amplify speech. This makes the soundbar sound a bit too shrill in my opinion, especially on position 3. The Polk can also play music via Bluetooth. A phone is connected and you can fill your room with music via Spotify. Do not leave the phone near the soundbar because Bluetooth does not have a long range.
Sound quality: The most important thing you buy this soundbar for is the sound quality. Although this is of course purely a matter of taste, it can be judged how the price-quality ratio is. For a soundbar of around €200 euros, you certainly get value for money. The sound is fine and the bass is adequate. Expect an upgrade from the flat sound in today's TVs. The POLK SIGNA S1 soundbar with wireless sub woofer is a great purchase, especially for the money. An HDMI connection had completed the soundbar. If you want Surround Sound or a real cinema experience, it is wise to save up something and look at the brands that were reviewed at the beginning of this review.
I De Jong
11 April 2018
Automatically translated from Dutch
Very good value for money
Rien Cappon
26 March 2018
Automatically translated from Dutch
Product number | 787326 | |
|---|---|---|
Manufacturer code | SIGNAS1 | |
Brand | Polk Audio | |
Warranty | 2 years | |
Processing of your defect | Carry-in warranty | |
Old product returned for free |
Height | 5 cm | |
|---|---|---|
Width | 89,8 cm | |
Depth | 8,3 cm | |
Weight | 7 kg | |
Color | Black |
Separate subwoofer | ||
|---|---|---|
Wireless subwoofer | ||
Subwoofer height | 31,1 cm | |
Subwoofer width | 17,1 cm | |
Subwoofer depth | 34,3 cm |
Number of audio channels | 2 | |
|---|---|---|
Number of subwoofer channels | 1 | |
Sound reproduction | Surround | |
Surround sound | Virtual surround sound | |
Surround sound systems | Dolby Digital | |
Hi-Res audio | ||
Radio |
HDMI connector | ||
|---|---|---|
Digital optical connector | ||
Network connector | ||
USB port |
Bluetooth | ||
|---|---|---|
Built-in WiFi | ||
Plays from network | ||
Multi-room audio | ||
NFC |
Best tested |
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