Unlike Denon who opted to use just a few discreet speakers in their DHT-S217 2.1 Dolby Atmos Soundbar, Polk is using an 11-speaker array featuring dedicated center channels, up-firing height speakers and Polk’s Stereo Dimensional Array (SDA) technology. Also all functions are available through the included buttons, something we definitely like in comparison to some other brands that force you to use their mobile app for some more specialized features. Things fall down with the integration of the sub, as the soundbar doesn’t extend quite well enough toward the bottom end and neither does the subwoofer attempt to meet it halfway. It probably won’t bother you during most TV viewing, but on occasion it can be too obvious that a certain sound is coming from the sub rather than just the system as a whole. You don’t want a subwoofer to be a distraction, but you also don’t want to turn it down so much that you might as well not have it. Polk, a Sound United brand, is an award-winning designer and manufacturer of high-performance loudspeakers. Founded in 1972 on the premise that everybody deserves great sound, Polk is the market share leader in premium home theater speakers in North America, and is a leading manufacturer of sound bars, headphones, wireless speakers, mobile and marine speakers and amplifiers, and other high-performance audio products.

Magnifi Max AX | Polk Audio UK

In terms of size the main unit measures 4.6 × 45 × 2.8in (118 × 1143 × 72mm) with a weight of 12.85 lb (5.83 kg) making it a relatively big unit, even though we have seen even bigger than this one in the past.

Summary

Beneath the grille are four 3×1-inch oval woofers, a 1-inch mid-range driver and two 0.75-inch tweeters, all driven by a 180W amp. There are bass ports at either end, and a useful row of LEDs to display the volume level and device status. One really nice touch with MagniFi Max SR, though, is that it’s already been pre-programmed to respond to the IR commands from most big-name TV manufacturers. That meant I was able to turn my Philips TV’s speakers off and still use my TV remote to control the volume of the Polk. Neat. And as a not-insignificant final bonus, the MagniFi Mini AX proves a very good soundbar/lozenge for music listening. A great deal of music sounded highly enjoyable, the bass continuing to be a strength here as well, and the system could be taken really quite loud without the usual musical distress that soundbars get into. We found it tempting to notch up the bass one or two points with those extra volume controls on the remote control, but that could cause some material to become overwhelming: the underlying bass content of RedBone’s The Witch Queen of New Orleans (streaming via AirPlay from Apple Music) was overcome by a weird swampiness in the lower ranges until we returned the bass to its neutral position.

Magnifi Max AX | Polk Audio Magnifi Max AX | Polk Audio

The technology has come a long way in height virtualization where you don’t truly have height speakers firing down from the ceiling, but rather upfiring speakers (or none at all) that use special processing or reflections off the ceiling to simulate height channels. We always advocate for dedicated height channels where possible, but at least Polk’s MagniFi Max AX sound bars have dedicated up-firing speakers to provide that critical overhead element of Dolby Atmos and DTS:X object-oriented sound formats. Polk knows their art and the MagniFi Max AX kept the tempo going without losing much of its balance across the entire frequency range. The mid section felt satisfying and solid and provided an excellent bind between the highs and the low end. Polk Audio always has a unique take on their sound bars. Forward thinking additions like adding smart home assistants to their soundbars, units that could learn your remotes, and big sound out of a small device made them one of our go to choices for competitively priced soundbars. In April of 2022, we covered their release of the petite MagniFi Mini AX, an updated version of their MagniFi Mini. Now, Polk Audio upped the ante with two new flagship soundbar systems, the MagniFi Max AX and MagniFi Max AX SR .

What We Think…

At the top face we get the built-in buttons with Polk using physical buttons in the shape of their functionality. To be honest we like these much more that the touch sensitive ones that some brands are using as these are much less prone to fail or accidental input. There is nothing else visible at the top as the up-firing drivers are hidden under the cloth grille keeping a very minimalistic look. One area where the soundbar really impressed us was its bass as the 10″ subwoofer really takes no prisoners when it comes to its bass prowess and overall power. If you feed it with some demanding low end performance it will surely punch you in the face with its constant sound waves but not on the expense of clarity or detailed bass. Being a ported sub may show its weakness in some extremely crazy tempos and slightly lose its timing but this was a rare case and most of the time will have no problem with whatever you throw at it. The MagniFi Max AX is a system that may not drop your jaw on the floor with its qualities but surely it can create a very satisfying melodic atmosphere. No soundbar should be considered HiFi material and this one does not break this standard. We have tested far more expensive soundbars that offer similar music performance and it is obvious where the limits of soundbars truly are. 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.

Polk MagniFi Mini AX review | What Hi-Fi? Polk MagniFi Mini AX review | What Hi-Fi?

These compact, high-performance systems bring movies, TV, music and games to life in immersive, multidimensional Dolby Atmos and DTS:X sound Now, there are soundbars we had tested before that could push the sound even further to each side but nevertheless what the MagniFi Max AX was able to give us was more that what we were expecting. MagniFi Max AX includes a remote and works with most TV remotes out of the box. Its intuitive front-panel OLED display indicates adjustments and automatically dims when not in use. And MagniFi MAX AX is Roku TV-ready for even easier configuration and control.First and foremost the remote, and here we were a bit surprised as the one we found in the MagniFi Max AX is completely different from all the other Polk remotes in the past. A TV mode that seems to prioritize dialog more, an All Stereo mode that sends the front left and right channels to your surround speakers if you have these installed and lastly the Night mode which reduces bass and volume dynamics while improving voice intelligibility for low volume listening which can be very handy for late night use.