How low can you go? A sound bar for $130

The Polk Signa Solo is a subwoofer-less sound bar for one of the lowest prices we've ever seen.

Ty Pendlebury Editor

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. 7, 2017 5:00 a.m. PT

A $129 sound bar ? In the past I'd laugh and move on -- at least to $200 -- but this year I've seen so many decent ultra-budget models I say: "Bring it on!"

The Signa Solo follows in the footsteps of the excellent $179 Polk Signa S1 and boasts many of the same features. These include the company's own VoiceAdjust dialogue boosting tech and wireless Bluetooth playback.

As you'd guess from the name though, the Signa is unaccompanied by a wireless subwoofer. Instead it comes with four 2.5-inch full-range drivers with built-in bass ports. The bar also comes with an optical digital port and Dolby decoding. It will be available this September.

How will the Signa Solo compete against the current budget king, the $150 Vizio SB3621? I can't say for sure until I test it, but the Vizio's dedicated sub puts this Polk at a disadvantage on paper. However, having at least two manufacturers (three if you count Yamaha) trying to make quality sound bars more affordable is only great for the consumer. No matter what, I'm sure the Signa will sound better than just about any TV's built-in speaker.