Calling Sound Gurus to Help! I need Help Please

QTMandz

QTMandz

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This is for all the sound guru's!

Last year I invested in a Polk Magnifi 2 soundbar, I was looking to add some decent sound to my entertainment experience, after some research, I found a reputable audio retailer and had some discussion and took some guidance on what they recommended. We ended up deciding to give the Polk Magnifi 2 a go, I was rather surprised - it was not decent and I never knew it would make such a difference (suppose you dont know what you miss out on until you dont have it...)

Fast forward and thank goodness, right before my warranty expired, experienced a strange issue where it constantly sounded like something is connecting to the device and then disconnects. The audio retailer fetched it, and after 3 weeks with the agents, they dont know what is causing it and I will be refunded.

Now... asked the same audio person, what recommendations he had seeing that the Polk Magnify 2 is now discontinued - he provided me with 2 options - the new Polk upgrade Polk Audio Magnifi Max AX 5.1 Dolby Atmos And DTS:X Sound Bar System (without the 2 additional speakers) which requires a R6000 pay-in or same price range as my refund: Denon DHTS517 Soundbar...

No sound expert on the brands, their history or quality - I am just unsure if I should make the investment in the Polk proposal or is the suggested Denon a good equal or upgrade with the same bells and whistles. I only noted that this specific Denon version does not have the casting functionality - but it is not an ice breaker...

If I consider the upgrade route and make the investment - is there any other suggestions you would have purchased (the budget range should not exceed R12 - R13 000).

Look forward to your guided advise!

Thank you :)
 
Denon historically isn’t a speaker company so I wouldn’t buy a soundbar from them, by default and instead go Polk.

But in your position I would time on YouTube to see what’s what from from real world use.

If the Polk Dolby Atmos unit doesn’t have rear speakers it’s a bit of a non-event, and I wouldn’t bother.

As with all things audio however it’s in the LISTENING and that means you, not someone else.

You can have the best speaker in the world and might personally hate it in favour of something entirely different.

How much are we talking here? There are many options depending on the money. Also, what is the primary use case?
 
QTMandz said:
This is for all the sound guru's!

Last year I invested in a Polk Magnifi 2 soundbar, I was looking to add some decent sound to my entertainment experience, after some research, I found a reputable audio retailer and had some discussion and took some guidance on what they recommended. We ended up deciding to give the Polk Magnifi 2 a go, I was rather surprised - it was not decent and I never knew it would make such a difference (suppose you dont know what you miss out on until you dont have it...)

Fast forward and thank goodness, right before my warranty expired, experienced a strange issue where it constantly sounded like something is connecting to the device and then disconnects. The audio retailer fetched it, and after 3 weeks with the agents, they dont know what is causing it and I will be refunded.

Now... asked the same audio person, what recommendations he had seeing that the Polk Magnify 2 is now discontinued - he provided me with 2 options - the new Polk upgrade Polk Audio Magnifi Max AX 5.1 Dolby Atmos And DTS:X Sound Bar System (without the 2 additional speakers) which requires a R6000 pay-in or same price range as my refund: Denon DHTS517 Soundbar...

No sound expert on the brands, their history or quality - I am just unsure if I should make the investment in the Polk proposal or is the suggested Denon a good equal or upgrade with the same bells and whistles. I only noted that this specific Denon version does not have the casting functionality - but it is not an ice breaker...

If I consider the upgrade route and make the investment - is there any other suggestions you would have purchased (the budget range should not exceed R12 - R13 000).

Look forward to your guided advise!

Thank you :)
Click to expand...
I have the jbl 9.1 from a few years ago

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Give the 800 a try
 
I agree with going to listen to your options, if possible. I bought a Denon DHT-S216 last year (retailer recommend Polk, but I love my Denon receiver). I ended up never falling in love with the soundbar, and currently looking to sell it. The store didn't have a demo model...
 
SauRoNZA said:
Denon historically isn’t a speaker company so I wouldn’t buy a soundbar from them, by default and instead go Polk.

But in your position I would time on YouTube to see what’s what from from real world use.

If the Polk Dolby Atmos unit doesn’t have rear speakers it’s a bit of a non-event, and I wouldn’t bother.

As with all things audio however it’s in the LISTENING and that means you, not someone else.

You can have the best speaker in the world and might personally hate it in favour of something entirely different.

How much are we talking here? There are many options depending on the money. Also, what is the primary use case?
Click to expand...
Thank you @SauRoNZA - the requirement is enhancement of general streaming & occasional music (respecting the neighbours, off course) - prior to getting the Polk Magnifi 2, I wouldn't be able to tell you if X sounded better than Y, not such an expert on this, but the soundbar elevated the experience, not too much and I could listen to music and it sounded great. Since the soundbar went in for repairs - I can now feel that something is missing (whereas previously I was totally ok with just the TV speaker)

I currently have R8000 in credit with the retailer and if the upgrade of the current Polk suggested system (Polk Audio Magnifi Max AX 5.1 Dolby Atmos And DTS:X Sound Bar System) is truly worth it - I am willing to spend the additional R6000 that it requires (and then hoping the system doesn't give issues out of the 1 year warranty and not getting discontinued in a years time).

But if the Denon recommendation for the same value will give me the same experience as the one that broke - I would be ok with that as well. Before purchasing the Polk soundbar, to be honest - I never heard of them before as I was familiar with normal brands you can find in Makro (Samsung, Hisense etc) - its obviously not in the same playing field - but I wouldn't be any wiser had you asked me a year ago.

Now this would probably be an extremely silly question - but what would I even listen for if I go for a demo to determine the preference?
 
nulkoel said:
I agree with going to listen to your options, if possible. I bought a Denon DHT-S216 last year (retailer recommend Polk, but I love my Denon receiver). I ended up never falling in love with the soundbar, and currently looking to sell it. The store didn't have a demo model...
Click to expand...
Thank you @nulkoel, if I might ask, what did you not like about the soundbar - anything specific that you didnt like?
 
QTMandz said:
Thank you @SauRoNZA - the requirement is enhancement of general streaming & occasional music (respecting the neighbours, off course) - prior to getting the Polk Magnifi 2, I wouldn't be able to tell you if X sounded better than Y, not such an expert on this, but the soundbar elevated the experience, not too much and I could listen to music and it sounded great. Since the soundbar went in for repairs - I can now feel that something is missing (whereas previously I was totally ok with just the TV speaker)

I currently have R8000 in credit with the retailer and if the upgrade of the current Polk suggested system (Polk Audio Magnifi Max AX 5.1 Dolby Atmos And DTS:X Sound Bar System) is truly worth it - I am willing to spend the additional R6000 that it requires (and then hoping the system doesn't give issues out of the 1 year warranty and not getting discontinued in a years time).

But if the Denon recommendation for the same value will give me the same experience as the one that broke - I would be ok with that as well. Before purchasing the Polk soundbar, to be honest - I never heard of them before as I was familiar with normal brands you can find in Makro (Samsung, Hisense etc) - its obviously not in the same playing field - but I wouldn't be any wiser had you asked me a year ago.

Now this would probably be an extremely silly question - but what would I even listen for if I go for a demo to determine the preference?
Click to expand...
Definitely sounds like you’ll be more than happy with the Denon given the context.
 
QTMandz said:
Thank you @SauRoNZA - the requirement is enhancement of general streaming & occasional music (respecting the neighbours, off course) - prior to getting the Polk Magnifi 2, I wouldn't be able to tell you if X sounded better than Y, not such an expert on this, but the soundbar elevated the experience, not too much and I could listen to music and it sounded great. Since the soundbar went in for repairs - I can now feel that something is missing (whereas previously I was totally ok with just the TV speaker)

I currently have R8000 in credit with the retailer and if the upgrade of the current Polk suggested system (Polk Audio Magnifi Max AX 5.1 Dolby Atmos And DTS:X Sound Bar System) is truly worth it - I am willing to spend the additional R6000 that it requires (and then hoping the system doesn't give issues out of the 1 year warranty and not getting discontinued in a years time).

But if the Denon recommendation for the same value will give me the same experience as the one that broke - I would be ok with that as well. Before purchasing the Polk soundbar, to be honest - I never heard of them before as I was familiar with normal brands you can find in Makro (Samsung, Hisense etc) - its obviously not in the same playing field - but I wouldn't be any wiser had you asked me a year ago.

Now this would probably be an extremely silly question - but what would I even listen for if I go for a demo to determine the preference?
Click to expand...

Have no experience with Denon Sound bars, but Denon Hi-Fi gear has been good.

What to listen for is difficult - suggest you listen to the Denon for a fair while, then do the same for the Polk, and then go back to the Denon.

You will prefer one over the other, or basically decide, that they are pretty much close - but you prefer the bass/mid/treble of the one a bit more than the other.

End of the day, you are the one who is going to listen to them, for a long time.
 
elf_lord_ZC5 said:
Have no experience with Denon Sound bars, but Denon Hi-Fi gear has been good.

What to listen for is difficult - suggest you listen to the Denon for a fair while, then do the same for the Polk, and then go back to the Denon.

You will prefer one over the other, or basically decide, that they are pretty much close - but you prefer the bass/mid/treble of the one a bit more than the other.

End of the day, you are the one who is going to listen to them, for a long time.
Click to expand...
Also wonder how much being owned by the same company effects them nowadays, I know that Denon, Onkyo and Pioneer all started to look the same in 2019ish, though the Denon might have been a bit cheaper with some more features. Don't know if Onkyo is still even around anymore
 
Lupus said:
Also wonder how much being owned by the same company effects them nowadays, I know that Denon, Onkyo and Pioneer all started to look the same in 2019ish, though the Denon might have been a bit cheaper with some more features. Don't know if Onkyo is still even around anymore
Click to expand...

No idea, as I have been away from the "audio game" for awhile.

Can be very rough on the pocket tho.
 
QTMandz said:
Thank you @nulkoel, if I might ask, what did you not like about the soundbar - anything specific that you didnt like?
Click to expand...
Not sure if I have the audio vocabulary to explain, but it just doesn’t make my ears happy? We were looking for something to use at low volume, with good dialog enhancement and it was acceptable (not great) for that, but I was tempted to also use it for streaming some music (using the appropriate settings) and just don’t like what it sounds like. Obviously nothing against the brand, and I probably have unrealistic expectations because music is not what it was made to do, so YMMV and none of this might be relevant.
 
nulkoel said:
Not sure if I have the audio vocabulary to explain, but it just doesn’t make my ears happy? We were looking for something to use at low volume, with good dialog enhancement and it was acceptable (not great) for that, but I was tempted to also use it for streaming some music (using the appropriate settings) and just don’t like what it sounds like. Obviously nothing against the brand, and I probably have unrealistic expectations because music is not what it was made to do, so YMMV and none of this might be relevant.
Click to expand...
thank you very much @nulkoel - let me go to the retailer and do a demo, the option is available and I remember the difference in the settings I preferred for when I wanted enhanced voice quality etc. Also do the occasional music streaming - I want decent sound and hear the clarity but the ultimate purpose is not hosting a house party if that makes sense.
 
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