I’ve upgraded from a SONY soundbar to this. Don’t care much for the integrated Alexa thing but the sound is really full, higher-fidelity, and markedly better. I like the adjustable bass and the emphasizing of the “voice” (which is really just bringing out more mid and high-range frequencies in the sound). I did some research and this was one of the top 3 recommended soundbars in this price-band.

I wanted to down size my setup from a Sonos and hi-fi amp/speakers combo and took a punt in this.

The bar itself works well with music, movies, and games. It’s not quite hi-fi standard, but it’s a fraction of the size so I wasn’t expecting miracles. That said, I don’t think they could have made a better bar in this size.

Bass is decent, the mids are fully present, and the high isn’t shrill. It’s very comfortably in the middle sound wise, it’s not flat, but it’s not especially bright or warm either.

The Alexa features work as well as any echo, which is good, because the remote is worthless. The buttons are very spongey, and don’t always fire. You also need to be pointing right at it.

I found myself rewinding to find out what was being said on programs, no matter how loud, I couldn’t distinguish words so thought I’d try this .. brilliant even on a lower setting it works for me I love it, a very happy bunny

Easy setup works great with surround speaker and bought for a good price.

CORRECTION – it took while but it has now updated itself and now Spotify voice commands work.

One major problem. There seems to be a bug when using Spotify voice commands. The Alexa works fine for controlling lights and volume but it will not play any music from Spotify using verbal commands. Works fine if you use your Spotify app on your phone though. Hoping this will be fixed as happy with the sound bar aside from this.

Our Panasonic Bedroom TV has poor sound so we used a cheap sound bar that was an improvement but was difficult to control the volume and had to mute to use Alexa.
This does exactly what is says on the box and after what was a very confusing installation it worked very well, the magic word Alexa immediately mutes to TV sound to receive a command. You can simply say “Alexa, volume 50” to set TV sound midway which also alters the Alex volume to match.
The sound quality is very good for size of speaker and dialogue is clear. Much better than the original sound bar or if playing music the Echo

To connect to Alexa you are told to scan a bar code on rear of unit which is difficult if like me you have wall mounted it and when I did try just stated error connecting to Alexa. What I found is simply powering it up and then ask the Alex app to find it which it does as a new device and is then quite happy.
I do think Polk simply use the Alexa dot device less its speaker glued into a recess in the top of bar as it looks identical. It concerned me that this means he 4 microphones all point upwards towards the TV. While not quite as responsive as my now redundant Echo it still works well. I have distance of 100mm from top to TV frame which is enough to see and operate the buttons if required.
Nice that they include an Optical and HDMI leads, I used the former as much simpler to connect.
As reported else ware the Mains lead has a Euro plug with adaptor so this was replaced by a spare Sky one as looks much neater.
Remote looks OK but do not see point of it as Alexa covers it all.

This is a superb soundbar, offering high quality and very loud performance combined with a fantastic Alexa solution.

The soundbar arrived well packaged and with very easy to follow instructions for installation and set up. I haven’t wall mounted mine but the steps for doing so look very easy to follow. Mine is sat flat on the tv stand. What I really appreciate is the relatively low profile so that it should sit comfortably in front of the tv without blocking any key infrared points for the remotes – it certainly does for mine.

The unit looks very smart too. Material is wrapped all around the speaker and the curved look to it looks really good. The Alexa controls on the top are both discrete but modelled exactly as the Dot so that anyone familiar with one would be able to work with this immediately. Not that it is particularly difficult anyway!

In terms of performance the sound quality is sharp, precise and even when pushed to higher volumes it remains crisp and clear. I have tried the Polk Voice function and I was very impressed. I was expecting it to be like many of these sorts of things on other devices and be rather underwhelming but on this speaker the Polk Voice is really good. The clarity it provides to dialogue is both impressive and also very welcome, as I tend to find a lot of more modern films and tv series suffer from muffling speech under background effects or music. The Polk Voice works nicely in bringing Clarity to speech. The virtual surround sound also works very well, and watching films that have Dolby Digital really shows of the quality of this speaker.

I’m not sure that the optional sub-woofer would be necessary for most people, as this unit as it is provides a really nice level of bass. Certainly more than enough for my ears and enough to provide rubble and depth when a film requires it. Yes, it isn’t quite as impactful as separate amplifier and good floor standing speakers, but the space this takes up plus the lower cost makes this a really excellent solution. Having a full AV set up on my main tv that cost around 1k for amp and speakers I’d say you would need to spend a good 500+ to equal the quality of this soundbar. I’m certainly very happy with this as a great solution.

Overall I think for the quality, flexibility and the space required this is an excellent option. Add to that the flexibility of having Alexa built in and I’d highly recommend purchasing this for a living room or entertaining space.

Perceived as a possible upgrade for an existing soundbar, this “POLK AUDIO React Soundbar for Surround Sound, TV Speakers for Home Cinema Sound System, Alexa Built-In, Night / Movie / Music-Mode, Wall Mountable, Universal Compatibility” offers the simplicity and near certainty that there will be an available HDMI port on most modern TVs with which to connect; it supports ARC (two-way data linkage between source and connected audio receiver or speaker system) which may not always be offered. By using HDMI it allows TVs that do not support Bluetooth as some models do, or an optical connection that tends to be available on TVs with larger screens while some mid-size and small-screen models, and many older models usually do not but it remains an option if needed; optical connectivity is absent from every TV currently used in a bedroom and none is of an age where replacement is imminently planned.

The sound-bar deviates from most in that it appears to be fabric-covered and also lacks the hard, sharp corners and edges that most others employ; here they are rounded-off and far more pleasing to the eye although intended to be heard rather than seen. There is a thin illuminated strip at the front when active and the controls have blue markings, otherwise it is the usual all-black. The older model shares its branding with the lounge TV and includes a floor-standing mid-sized sub-woofer. Although now about 3 years old, memory is that its pricing at that time significantly less than this and where a matching Polk sub-woofer would raise the outlay by 75%, approaching three times that then paid. However, the older model does not support Alexa, includes a remote control unit, offers HDMI and optical connectivity and includes on-board button controls if ever needed. Conversely, there is no provision for expansion or surround-sound.

This Polk sound-bar offers virtual-surround sound capabilities and allows the addition of both a matching Polk rear speaker (product-page phrasing suggests a single rather than a pair although pricing information suggests a pair) and sub-woofer if desired for true surround sound and deeper bass performance respectively, but they are not essential; there is no obviously provided data that concerns placement distance from the main unit but that may be included with the relevant components. Using a single rear speaker would be unusual if true as they are typically employed as a matching left-right pair to extend the existing stereo sound stage.

Pricing for both named expansion options is provided on the product page. If individually purchased, adding the sub-woofer (apparently far larger than most) and rear speaker set will increase outlay to almost 600 but excludes a remote control which is not separately available. There is a further and clearly more economical option that is described as ‘the Surround Sound pack’ that includes the main unit plus both expansion options and a remote control at only 587 at the date of this review. Wall-mounting is an option although it can be placed in front of a TV, behind it or on a shelf beneath it as is most convenient. Ideally, it should be at a height that is not too low and near to ear level. The sub-woofer is floor-standing and should ideally be located in a corner or close to a wall.

In addition to its on-board controls, it also supports Alexa with its verbal commands. That appears to negate the need for a mobile phone app to make volume and other adjustments and for a remote control although one is available within an available ‘pack’. Alexa may prove useful but it is not without its issues – it and another similar system are all but abandoned within the household due to excessive reactivity and the constant annoyance both systems cause with unneeded messages, announcements etc in response to innocent comments and sometimes TV audio. Its size of 86 cm (approx. 34-inches) dictates suitability for a minimum screen size of about 42-inches while those of about 47-inches and larger are probably better-suited. With a smaller screen, it will look out-of-place.

The sound quality is very good as-is and there is a reasonable level of bass produced although the deep rumbling effects that a sub-woofer will allow and that certain action movies demand for their included sound-effects will not be fully realised with the system as supplied; for soaps, sport, TV movies and similar fare, the audio quality it achieves is more than adequate and can be a significant improvement upon the TV’s internal speakers. If used primarily for music, some styles will also benefit from the addition of a sub-woofer for their included gut-thumping bass rhythms. Currently, the addition of the sub-woofer is not an immediate need but may be at a later date; the rear speaker kit is not under consideration.

There is the potential that the sound-bar could be used with a PC and large monitor combinations especially were A-B input switching for two sources (PC and TV) is permissible. Many desktops and laptops offer a single HDMI socket, some two or more, and a few offer optical connectivity. However, with 2.1 PC speaker systems offering a high quality of sound and available at far lower prices, it may not be economical or advisable to purchase one for that express role.

We were happy with the Polk Command bar but got the Polk React for another room.
It sounds much better, and we find we don’t need the sub woofer…there’s more than enough bass without it! Very good sound that really fills the room.