I've had the Polk IHT 6000 Soundbar for a week now and it has been an interesting experience.
I got a new 60 inch Sony LED-LCD TV and was looking to have sound to match. My old sound system was really great with a Yamaha AV Receiver, 3 Infinity speakers in front, 2 JBL surround speakers, and a 10 inch Polk Subwoofer. The sound from that system was awesome, but the wires and speakers everywhere was too much for me anymore, and with the new big TV I no longer had room for the receiver.
I went looking for a soundbar and tried several. Sony, Vizio, and Polk. I tried the Vizio since it was the only soundbar out there with separate rear channels and a wireless sub. It was great looking and great in terms of functionality, but the sound was awful. Muddy, nondistinct, just all around bad. The Sony was OK, but a little tinny and I didn't like that you had to wire everything to the sub first and then to the soundbar... I was trying to get rid of wires. Then I got the Polk.
The Polk's sound is full and rich. The setup is easy, one audio wire, one power cable. I was very happy, but not thrilled and still felt a longing for my old system which went bye by on ebay. After doing a good amount of research, I found that I may have had the soundbar placed wrong. It was above my TV angled down, kind of close to the ceiling (this is in my basement so the ceiling is low). I decided to move the soundbar to just under the TV (They are both wall mounted). It is much closer to ear level now
All I can say is WOW. The difference in sound between the locations is astounding. I am now TOTALLY happy with the Polk Soundbar. The sound is full and rich and really great. It is NOT however as good as a true 5.1 or 7.1 system, but it is pretty darn close and considering how nice it looks and how easy it is, I have no regrets. The surround effects are good but not like a true surround system. If you need to have true surround, this is not the system for you. I am very happy with it, and with a blu-ray in the player, that sound really does fill the room. You do get the feeling that there is surround sound, but it is just a feeling, not the reality you get with a true 5.1 system. Don't get me wrong though the sound is VERY good.
With that said, there are some negatives. First off, there are no audio settings like bass or treble, there is however a sub level adjustment (more on that later). Polk feels that you get what you get. I wish I could boost the treble a little, or that they would put a quality tweeter in the center of the soundbar. The sub level adjustment is OK, but it is basically a volume control for the sub, and there is no level indicator, so I have no idea if it is set at 1 or 10. It is just a guess.
I have also listened to the B&W Panorama soundbar and the Yamaha sound projector. Those 2 units do a better job than the Polk, the Yamaha is slightly better, and the B&W is a lot better, but the Yamaha is a thousand dollars more expensive and not nearly worth the extra expense for such a slight improvement over the Polk. The B&W is truly amazing and a true audiophile solution, but at well over 2 grand, it was way out of my price range.
In conclusion, the Polk soundbar IHT 6000 is in my opinion the best soundbar out there under $1500. Polk Audio Surroundbar IHT 6000 Instant Home Theater (Black)
First I'll start off by making a statement I'm sure has been beaten into the ground in reference to soundbars. This is not a replacement for a true surround system. That being said, the 6000 is pretty darn close. My setup is a Bluray player connected optically, and my HTPC, 360 and Wii running analog out through the TV....I'll explain why.
The one issue I have is with the optical input. The 6000 has a built in Dolby Digital decoder BUT, and this is a big but...it does not have the ability to decode Dolby True HD or any DTS soundtrack. So assuming you have your Bluray player connected to the 6000 via optical, pop in The Walking Dead or the Back To The Future trilogy. You will be greeted to...silence. To fix this you will either have to pick an appropriate sound format using he disc menu (usually a 2ch DD signal is an option), or do what I did....set up any DTS soundtrack to default to 2ch PCM using the BR players setup menu. Its an easy fix but really defeats the purpose of using the optical connection. And considering the fact that most Blurays either use DD True HD or DTS Master Audio, it makes me wonder if the Dolby Digital decoder is necessary at all. If your playing a standard DVD pretty much all of them use 5.1 Dolby Digital, at least that's something. Polk seems a year or two behind the curve when it comes to audio formats. At best it's a novelty and a bullet point to put on the box.
*Also, for all you guys running the optical out from the back of your TV to the 6000, this is a rather pointless endeavor. A vast majority of TVs WILL NOT pass through multi-channel digital audio. What the TV does is downmix the signal to a 2ch PCM signal. So while the signal is still getting pumped out as "digital", its all basically a stereo mixdown signal, no matter what the source. So...if you see a blue solid light on the front panel, its either PCM or analog. If its steady green the decoder is on. Most likely if your running it rough the optical out on the TV, you will see a blue light.
Here's the kicker though: Nothing in the last two paragraphs matter. No matter if you're connected through 2ch analog, optical multi channel or optical PCM, the sound is vastly superior to your TV's speakers. I watch most of my movies and shows through my HTPC, connected to the TV via HDMI, then using the downmixed 2ch analog to the 6000. Its really like night and day. Even though im using the 2ch analog connection which some may view as the "worst" connection, the 6000 still amazes. I'd say the 6000 does about 75% job of recreating multichannel audio. But this will depend on the size of your room and how close the walls are. And when you get lucky and find a Bluray that actually is compatible with the 6000 (in my case T2: Skynet Edition), the sound is even more brilliant. In my opinion though, the 2ch analog sounds better than the 2ch PCM optical...has more of a "spacious" feel. So unless I'm watching a Blruray that I know has DD 5.1, I keep it analog for all sources.
And unlike those chepos Sony and Samsung, Polk actually includes everything you need....optical cable, analog cable and adapters. Whens the last time Sony packaged anything but composite cables (thanks for nothing).
The set up was DEAD SIMPLE. Literally had it set up and running within 5 minutes of removing it from the box. What will take a little while is getting the sound just right...as I stated above. There is also some trial and error when it comes to the subwoofer placement. Don't get me wrong, that lil' devil sounds great. I found it fills the room better when placed in a corner. The same general rules apply to this sub as to any other...just be cognizant of the 50ft wireless range.
*Also very important. I've read reviews on soundbars that use wireless subs where some people have had problems with wireless network interference. Im using an older generation Linksys G router that sits about a foot under the soundbar. I have had no dropouts or any type of interference. Im sure this will vary, just sayin.
Please Google the 6000, its has overwhelmingly positive reviews from actual professionals. I hope my review has been helpful, and at the very least had shed some light in reference to the built in decoder.
(should have called it a NOcoder. Tsss. Chip Chipperson) - Speakers - Home Theater - Sound Bar - Polk'
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