Polk Audio today debuted its latest flagship sound bar systems, the MagniFi Max AX and AX SR. The compact systems both include an 11-speaker-array sound bar with dedicated center channels and up-firing height speakers, as well as a 10-inch wireless subwoofer. The SR system adds two additional wireless surround speakers.
The new sound bars support both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X along with Polk's patented Stereo Dimensional Array (SDA) technology for immersive sound, and AirPlay 2 is a welcome inclusion for Apple fans. Google Chromecast, Spotify Connect, and Works with Alexa services are also supported thanks to both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.
One-touch modes optimize the systems for movies, TV, or music, while Night Mode turns down the bass to reduce potentially disruptive bass sounds and Polk's VoiceAdjust technology ensures that voices are intelligible above the rest of the audio. Connections include 3-in/1-out 4K HDMI ports with eARC, as well as an optical input. A subtle OLED display on the front panel shows your adjustments but dims when not in use.
The MagniFi Max AX ($799) and MagniFi Max AX SR ($899) systems are available to order starting today and will begin shipping next month.
Wednesday February 19, 2025 8:02 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today introduced the iPhone 16e, its newest entry-level smartphone. The device succeeds the third-generation iPhone SE, which has now been discontinued.
The iPhone 16e features a larger 6.1-inch OLED display, up from a 4.7-inch LCD on the iPhone SE. The display has a notch for Face ID, and this means that Apple no longer sells any iPhones with a Touch ID fingerprint button, marking the ...
Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:02 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Over the years, Apple has switched from an aluminum frame to a stainless steel frame to a titanium frame for its highest-end iPhones. And now, it has been rumored that Apple will go back to using aluminum for three out of four iPhone 17 models.
In an investor note with research firm GF Securities, obtained by MacRumors this week, Apple supply chain analyst Jeff Pu said the iPhone 17, iPhone...
Apple is set to "significantly change" the iPhone's design language later this year, according to a Weibo leaker.
In a new post, the user known "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone's design is "starting to change significantly" this year. The "iPhone 17 Air" reportedly features a "horizontal, bar-shaped" design on the rear, likely referring to an elongated camera bump. On the other...
Thursday February 20, 2025 5:06 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Now that Apple has announced its new more affordable iPhone 16e, our thoughts turn to what else we are expecting from the company this spring.
There are three product categories that we are definitely expecting to get upgraded before spring has ended. Keep reading to learn what they are. If we're lucky, Apple might make a surprise announcement about a completely new product category.
M4...
Thursday February 13, 2025 8:07 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19.
"Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag.
The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle.
Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or share any other specific details, so...
Wednesday February 19, 2025 11:38 am PST by Juli Clover
Following the launch of the iPhone 16e, Apple updated its iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia pages to give a narrower timeline on when the next updates are set to launch.
All three pages now state that new Apple Intelligence features and languages will launch in early April, an update from the more broader April timeframe that Apple provided before. The next major point updates will be iOS ...
Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by Joe Rossignol
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week.
Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far.
Apple Intelligence for Siri
Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
Friday February 14, 2025 6:03 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple released the HomePod mini in November 2020, followed by the AirTag in May 2021, and both still remain first-generation products.
Fortunately, rumors suggest that both the HomePod mini and the AirTag will finally be updated at some point this year.
Below, we recap rumors about the HomePod mini 2 and AirTag 2.
HomePod mini 2
In January 2025, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple is ...
I wish these things would compete on robustness and reliability rather than persnickety audio claims that no-one cares about. eg my LG Soundbar + satellite speakers sounds great and is mostly robust, but once a month or so it refuses to wake up when the rest of the system wakes up, so I get audio through the TV until I power cycle the soundbar.
IMHO this is unacceptable in consumer electronics, but no review tracks stuff like this; they'd rather tell you about the 96KHz response curve or something equally irrelevant to normal use cases.
I wonder how this sounds compared to a Sonos Arc with sub and Play Ones setup. I like the idea of having multiple HDMI inputs in the sound bar, it makes it more like an AV receiver, but without the bulk.
Edit: my suggestion is redundant as you don’t want a soundbar I assume.
I got the Sony HT-7000 and SA-SW5 sub a few months ago and the recently released SA-RS5 wireless upfiring rears a couple of weeks ago. Very hefty price overall, but sounds incredible, is well specced if you’re hooking up consoles etc and it gets updates. VRR pass through support is hopefully incoming, but I’m a few years off having a VRR tv anyway.
I go 10 years plus between hi fi setups typically, old one was from 2008, so I don’t mind the hefty price. Bought it to coincide with move to a detached house so there’s no real limit on how loud I can have it, unlike my last place ?
Im not competely closed off to sound bar solutions, I just think that if I am going to spend a considerable amount I could just geta reciever with 7+ HDMI inputs etc. I know the wife would prefer somethnig smaller tho (queue the jokes:p )
I've never understood how I would benefit from wireless surrounds. They still have to be plugged in for power, and copper audio wires from a receiver can be virtually any length (since you can cut them yourself) and are so much easier to run under carpets or along walls. With the bluetooth surrounds, that power cable is going to be a pain to compromise between where the speaker should be placed vs where the outlet is, right?
The difference is that a modern US house (I have no idea about your house) has I don't know, maybe 8 electrical sockets in a TV/family room, including both sockets near the front of the room (power TV, sound bar, bass) and at the back of the room (power satellites). This means that for most people a system with something like soundbar + bass + two satellites is fairly easy to plug in and manage. (Eg I put my two satellites on book cases that are mounted against the back wall).
I don't know exactly what the current CA code is, but it seems to be something like a power point every linear 6 feet of wall. Which might sound ridiculous (and looks like overkill when you see a bare room) but it turns out to be SO nice when you actually live in the house and rarely have to either run long cables or use aggressive power splitters.
I'd really like to know how this compares to a Sonos system. This whole system costs as much as 1 piece of the Sonos system.
I've still yet to buy the Sonos sub because I just can't bring myself to pay another $700+ for just the sub, when the Sonos Arc and Sonos One(s) already put me over $1200. But the system lacks any depth without the sub.
