Polk's sub-$200 sound bar and sub combo adds HDMI

Polk's Signa S2 updates what is already an excellent sound bar and subwoofer combo with HDMI connectivity.

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Ty Pendlebury is a journalism graduate of RMIT Melbourne, and has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about streaming and home audio.

Expertise Ty has worked for radio, print, and online publications, and has been writing about home entertainment since 2004. He majored in Cinema Studies when studying at RMIT. He is an avid record collector and streaming music enthusiast. Credentials

Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing. As a youth, he was awarded a free session for the photography studio at a local supermarket.

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Ty Pendlebury

Sept. 4, 2018 5:00 a.m. PT

If you needed another reason not to spend your entire salary on a sound bar then the Polk Signa S2 could be it. This is a 2.1-channel speaker with a wireless subwoofer and it's available for just under $200.

It follows up the excellent Polk Signa S1 with one important update. The only "weakness" of the original S1 was that it lacked HDMI , which its rival Yamaha YAS-108 offers, and this is something that's been rectified with the S2.

The HDMI ARC port exists alongside an optical input for users of older TVs , in addition to Bluetooth streaming. The bar will decode Dolby Digital soundtracks as well as offering EQ settings like Movies, Music and Night modes plus the company's patented Voice Adjust for more intelligible dialog.

The sound bar is wall mountable but sits at two-inches in height on a tabletop which the company says shouldn't block your TV's IR port.

If the S2 is anywhere near as good as the S1 you could be looking at a great value sound bar and subwoofer combo.

The Polk Signa S2 will be available in October 2018 with Australian and UK pricing and availability yet to be announced. Expect pricing around the AU$349 and £199 mark, though.