Polk MagniFi review

The accompanying wireless subwoofer pairs with the soundbar automatically when you plug it in. Oddly, there’s a 3.5mm audio jack on the back for connecting the two with a cable, but it’s only a meter long so we can’t see why you would use it instead of a wireless connection; the soundbar-to-sub connection worked perfectly from across the room during our testing.

The subwoofer itself is big and boxy, which could make it difficult to hide behind a sofa. However, it’s perfectly capable of producing deep bass for films, games and heavier music tracks. You can’t adjust subwoofer strength independently from the soundbar, but it’s more than loud enough to make itself heard.

In fact, the entire package was impressively loud given its size. We could listen comfortably from five metres away at only a third of maximum volume, and turning it up to 50% gave films and games real presence. Things did sound a little boomy at maximum volume, but there wasn’t any distortion.

The Polk MagniFi is an interesting concept; it clearly works as intended for films and TV, with a focus on clear speech and a dominant mid-range, but it doesn’t quite work when using the soundbar purely for music. When spending £400 on a sound system, we would expect it to work well with all kinds of content. Unless you already have separate speakers specifically for music, the Samsung HW-H750 is probably a better buy overall.