Polk Audio SurroundBar3000 IHT

Small speaker, but big on sound – If you've bought a small flat screen TV, you're going to need a separate speaker system to be able to over-ride the useless tinny sound that these 'modern' TV only squeak out. Unless you want a huge amplifier and five speakers cluttering up your lounge room, then a sound bar is the way to go. I purchased a Polk Soundbar 3000 for my 34" flat… Read more ·  1

screen after a bit of lost sleep following a $600 price tag from the local Harvey Norman store. But it was the right size for my TV cabinet, sounded OK in store (but admittedly difficult to hear in a large busy store), and the reviews on other sites seam to mostly recommend it. And I didn't need a huge amp and large speakers if I were to purchase this thing.

So I bought it. It was easy to install given that it plugs into the power and a option of two ways to connect to the TV, with both cords supplied (one option being left and right audio out from the TV, and the other from the small optical audio output). But note that not all TVs have this ability! My Soniq TV didn't - it only had coaxial audio video out, it there is no adaptor. However, my new Panasonic TV does (but that’s another story), and the sound bar simply clips straight in. The sound bar also comes with a separate Wi-Fi subwoofer which simply plugs into the power without a need for any other connections.

Now here comes the best bit - the sound bar can 'learn' the TV remote control unit code for turning on/off, sound up/down and mute. It was really easy to do (I'm surprised when things actually just work!). Then came time to turn it on. The little tinny speakers of the TV (which although better than the Soniq it replaced, were still tinny) by an almighty roar of subwoofer pounding out the base of the movie that happened to be on TV at the time, with clear and deceptively surround sounds of the rest of the notes from the Soundbar itself. It was pure joy to my (and family) ears!

Although I was annoyed that I had to purchase separate speakers to my new TV, I am very happy with the Soundbar speaker purchase which obviously exceeds anything that I would have expected from a TV in the first place. But it does come at a price. Small size (~800mm long), good separate Wi-Fi subwoofer, looks nice, no need for a separate amplifier, controlled by TV remote control, sound quality. A bit expensive at ~$600, but that's what you would be paying for a bulky surround sound system anyway.