Polk Audio SurroundBar 360: It sounds great--we just wish it had Blu-ray
The Polk Audio SurroundBar 360 DVD Theater delivers excellent sound from a single speaker bar, with the lack of built-in Blu-ray being the real sticking point.
- Self-taught tinkerer, informal IT and gadget consultant to friends and family (with several self-built gaming PCs under his belt)
We first saw the Polk Audio SurroundBar 360 DVD Theater at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2008, where we chose it as one of only three home audio finalists for Best of CES. While it ultimately didn't take the crown, we were still looking forward to the final product. However, the product was pushed back from its April release date, and didn't end up arriving until the autumn of 2008. Looking at it now, more than a year after its coming out party, the built-in DVD seems a bit quaint--most of the home theater systems in the Polk's price range that we saw at CES 2009 had built-in Blu-ray.
That said, the SurroundBar 360 delivers on its three main goals: it's compact (just a single speaker bar and a small DVD/amplifier unit), it's easy to setup (as few as 3 cables--including the power cord--will do the job), and it sounds great (it even delivers enough bass to go subwoofer-free). Yes, we're hoping Polk Audio revisits the product, with either Blu-ray onboard, or with a host of HDMI inputs so you can add your own HD video player. In the meantime, those who don't mind sticking with DVD will find the SurroundBar 360 DVD Theater to be a superior and easy-to-use all-in-one single-speaker system.